Great beginnings

I can have breakfast food any time of day – I'm sure many of my foodie readers would agree with this. There's something about the freshness, the comforting tastes, the sense of new beginnings that every breakfast meal has that makes it such an enjoyable experience for me anytime. It doesn't matter if it's Panamanian fritters (I could go for some carimañolas right now!), a Pancake platter, steak and caramelized onions, or a skillet egg dish. It is always pleasurable.

My first breakfast at Farmer's Daughter.
Delightful!

I recently visited Canberra, the Australian Capital, my first time in the big island. There, I visited several eateries which are quite worthy of praise, at the hand of my dear host, Chef María De Los Ángeles (visit her amazing blog). In future posts, I will write about many of the places where we shared beautiful meals; today, I want to share my first meal from what became an instant favorite breakfast place of mine: Farmer's Daughter, at Yarralumla.

Everything at Farmer's Daughter is incredibly fresh. Our first time there, I had One-pan Bacon and Eggs, an honest, unpretentious dish with breakfast basics, combined with a spicy cannellini bean cassoulet and presented with Sourdough toast and truss cherry tomatoes. Two free-range eggs, made to taste (I chose soft yolks), top a generous portion of bacon, which in turn rests on the beautifully seasoned sauce. I must say this is no ordinary bacon, either. Thick-cut, with lots of savory meat, never too salty or overwhelmingly smokey. The traditional combination of these two breakfast favorites takes off to new heights through its renewed marriage with the cassoulet as a spicy catalyst.

When it is all in your mouth, you feel how the flavors transform progressively as the sauce begins to bathe more and more of the eggs and bacon. The last bite was pure inspiration, the flavors now fully combined in order to create an explosive sensation in tongue and palate. The fresh tomatoes and the toast add touches of cold moisture, contrasting textures and more neutral tastes to create a lovely equilibrium in the dish.

Afterward, María recommended we sample the macaroons, made especially for Farmer's by a man whose day-job is as a plumber. Well, I bet he must be an extraordinarily good plumber, because his macaroons were not only artful and perfect in confection, but also spectacular in taste and texture. We had lemon, elderflower, and Red Skins, all equally perfect in every regard.

I will share the menu of our second visit to Farmer's Daughter on another post. It is a lovely, cozy, and friendly place to have a great beginning, or to celebrate on a special occasion. For us, it was the perfect way to celebrate our first flight on a hot air balloon, over Lake Burley Griffin – a truly magical day I will never forget.