By Lakshmi:

If you know me even a little bit, you’ll know that food permeates my thoughts ever so frequently during any given 24 hour period.  What shall I eat? What shall I cook next?  What can I create with what I have on hand?  These questions form the fabric of my existence.

This morning, I was craving for something different for breakfast.  If I knew what I wanted, it would have been an easy choice.  It’s too cold for cereal.  Not oatmeal again.  I already did eggs this week.  As these thoughts went through my head, I aimlessly wandered to the refrigerator to see what I might have that could be turned into an interesting breakfast.  The taste buds were demanding something savory.

I pulled out a few things and stared at what I had for a minute.

Whole grain bread, a few baby carrots, a few spoons of homemade hummus and chives (a herb that I have only recently discovered when trying out a recipe for Israeli food).  I was not convinced, but stayed on task.

I took off the crust and toasted the bread.  I spread the hummus I had on the toasted bread.  On went the thinly sliced baby carrots and finely chopped chives.  It looked pretty but something was missing.  Color to tie it all together.  Off I went to get my jar of paprika and a few twirls later, my breakfast was ready to be devoured on a beautiful matching plate.  And it hit the perfect chord to start my day 🙂