Full English for Sunday Lunch!

I suppose it had to make an appearance here one day, so here it is: "The Full English Breakfast".  Okay, so the word "full" is debatable, as various other components can be considered "essential" to a cooked breakfast, depending on where in England you live, your family or community history and your personal tastes, but in general the term "full English" simply relates to a cooked breakfast along the lines of the one pictured here.

Now, for non-natives of England, please let me explain that this is not (seriously, NOT) what English people eat for breakfast every day ... heaven forbid!!  There may be the odd person who does, but they are very few and far-between.  For the vast majority of us, the "full English" is part of our culinary tradition (like roast beef and fish & chips) that we have as an occasional treat ... especially when staying in a hotel or guest house.  It's seen by many as part of the experience, when taking a British holiday or weekend break; those whose work takes them away from home during the week don't indulge every morning, either, as all B&B establishments also offer more widely-preferred breakfast options, such as fruit, yogurt, cereal and toast.  It must be said, however, that a decent "full English" breakfast will satisfy you almost for a whole day, meaning you only need a small meal in the evening and rarely any lunch at all.

Yesterday, we chose to have a "full English" instead of a roast Sunday lunch.  Consisting of (oven baked) pork sausages and bacon, sauteed mushrooms and tomatoes, fried bread and a couple of fried eggs, it was rather scrummy and, as expected, filled us up for the rest of the day.  We had a light snack during the evening, but there was certainly no need to cook anything else!

(Note: Although bacon and fried eggs are the traditional "bare bones" of a British cooked breakfast, there are no set rules about what else can be on the plate.  Our choices yesterday represent our preferences, but they can be substituted or supplemented by any of the following: poached or scrambled eggs, baked beans, any of the various meat "puddings" - black pudding, hog's pudding, groat pudding, etc - hash browns or potato waffles, bread & butter ... we even once had a neighbour who liked to include a beefburger!!)

V  Making a vegetarian version of this meal (whether for a breakfast treat or at any other time) couldn't be simpler, as the meat is only one aspect of it ... indeed, when we had vegetarian B&B guests to stay, in the Cornish inn we once owned, I frequently provided a cooked breakfast for them.  Simply swap the sausage and bacon for your favourite meat-free sausages (Linda McCartney, vegetable, Quorn, etc) and add as many other components as you like.  These can include any or all of the following: tomatoes (grilled, fried or tinned), mushrooms, fried bread, fried or poached or scrambled eggs, baked beans, hash browns, potato waffles ... the only limitations are your taste buds and your imagination!