I’ve been experimenting with a bunch of heirloom varieties.

So, I bought a bungalow and am now quite literally living my dream. I grew up in a bungalow in Nigeria that had a small farm in the back with a garden, and that was my ideal living situation. My garden’s name is Emmeline, and I started it when I bought my house in New Orleans last March. I recently became a person who has an olive-oil subscription - actually, two olive-oil subscriptions, Fat Gold and Bright Land - so I always have relatively fresh olive oil. Sometimes I’ll include vegan cheese or smoked salmon. And then around midday or afternoon, I have my actual breakfast, which is the same thing every day: two slices of gluten-free toast, olive oil drizzled on top, basil from my herb garden, two eggs that are semi-poached - I fry the bottom, steam the top - and then I season with oregano, pink salt, and black pepper. My first is a bowl of Special K and oat milk, which I make when I can’t really think or cook. I do not drink any coffee because caffeine makes me terribly sick. Then, once he takes his midmorning nap, I’m allowed to start working. It’s been nice to have the structure imposed of us having breakfast together, and then having playtime scheduled. I’ve dealt with severe depression and anxiety for most of my life, so being stuck in bed for the whole day is no longer an option. It’s a very loving hostage situation - I’m grateful for that because he gets me out of bed. I have to do it silently because if my cat hears my voice, he knows that I’m awake, and he starts screaming outside my door. I also try to get some stretches in - I’ve had a chronic shoulder injury for the last couple of years - and do my whole skin routine. My cat is an extremely social cat, so the minute I start engaging with him in the morning, all my alone time is done. I read my emails and go through social media, mostly because I’m trying to carve out a space and time where I’m just alone. I usually wake up, stay in bed for a little bit, and unfortunately I check my phone. I didn’t used to have a morning routine, but then I got a cat, and a morning routine became extremely necessary.

Freshwater akwaeke emezi