5 QUESTIONS: JEN ALTMAN

{Photographer/Writer/Mother, Asheville, NC} 

Jen is one of my favorite people. She is a wonderful mother, a beautiful photographer and writer, and a brilliant creative mind.  She is a co-author of Instant Love and the author of the forthcoming, Gem and Stone. She will also be opening a new online shop very soon, called Cisthene--I can't wait to see her amazing curation!  And....Jen is co-hosting an incredible Instant Love retreat in Marrakesh in February.

Jen's food photography

Jen's food blog.

THE QUESTIONS

What is your favorite thing to make for breakfast?

I absolutely love my homemade salmon spread on top of a fresh, doughy everything bagel. But lately I’ve been really trying to eat a bit less bread and more protein. So there’s been a lot of avocado and eggs in my life. When my husband is not on the road, he sort of takes over breakfast and one of my favorite things right now that he makes in the mornings is soft scrambled eggs with cream cheese and sausage rolled up in a tortilla.

all photos by Jen Altman. 

What is your favorite thing to order when you go out to breakfast?

I’m not sure how old I was when I actually started ordering breakfast at breakfast – I think maybe in my twenties. Before that, I ALWAYS ordered a cheeseburger for breakfast. It really did offer everything you needed to get through the day! Now I love all sorts of eggs benedict. One of my favorites is from the Park House Eatery in San Diego – they use Applewood bacon and mix avocados into their hollandaise. It’s amazing. The best breakfast I’ve ever eaten was recently at Locanda Verde in TriBeCa – it was a breakfast calzone stuffed with fennel sausage, the most perfectly poached eggs ever and artisan Italian cheeses. I still dream about it.

Do you have a favorite local spot?

Sunnypoint Café in West Asheville is my favorite breakfast in town. Everything is so flavorful and I love that they source so much out of their own community garden behind the restaurant. In Brooklyn, I can’t get enough of General Greene.

What is your favorite morning ritual?

My coffee, music and a candle. We have a sitting area near the front of the house with French doors that look out onto our yard – surrounded by giant trees. I try to get up before my husband and daughters, start the coffee and sit there with music in the mornings – doors open – the cool mountain air awakening the house. It’s my quiet consciousness.

Where would you like to go for your dream holiday + ideal breakfast?

I’ve been so blessed to fulfill a lot of those dreams already but I always, always dream of going back to Greece. Breakfast there is simple and light, but the thought of simply being there – drawing on that energy while enjoying fresh yogurt and honey – the thought makes me giddy.

thanks for being my guest, Jen!