Take a hint from the French and perk up your morning fare with the incomparable flavors of fresh herbs.
With just a few snips of your kitchen scissors you'll transform your favorite egg, potato, quick bread or crepe.
"Fresh herbs expand everything," explains David Barry, an instructor at the Culinary Institute of America who teaches breakfast cuisine.
"You can take something as basic as eggs and completely change how the aromas are going to taste," he says. "We turn to herbs a lot for our scrambles."
Adding herbs to a recipe can make it healthier, as well as tastier. The additional flavors reduce the need for salt, says Georgeanne Brennan, who wrote the cookbook "Brunch" and runs a cooking school in France.
Here's what you need to know to experiment with herbs at breakfast.
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EGGS
"Eggs are a great place to try herbal flavors," says Barry. "They have a nice but mild flavor and welcome a wide variety of herbs depending on what you might have in your garden or left over in that grocery store clamshell."
Try adding one tablespoon of herbs, such as basil, parsley or chives, per two or three eggs. Opt for slightly less of more flavorful tarragon or dill, and just a teaspoon of woody herbs such as thyme, rosemary and sage.
It can be helpful to think in themes and accent other ingredients in your egg dish.
-French scramble: Round out a simple scrambled egg with chervil, parsley, tarragon and chives.
-Mediterranean scramble: Combine diced tomato, avocado and feta with freshly snipped cilantro.
-Tex-Mex scramble: Combine salsa, jalapenos, poblanos, broken corn chips, cheddar or jack cheese, and fresh cilantro.
-Provencal omelet: Fill your omelet with ratatouille (fresh tomatoes, eggplant and zucchini) as well as onion, garlic, fresh basil and a sprinkle of dried herbs de Provence.
-Italian omelet: Combine fresh mozzarella, fresh sage or basil, and a sprinkle of red hot chili flakes.
-Smokey quiche: Add bacon, onion and a teaspoon of minced fresh sage.
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POTATOES
"Potatoes are such a great canvas," says Cheryl Jamison, co-author of "A Real American Breakfast." "Chives come immediately to mind. I don't think there's a greater thing a chive can be than with a potato in any form."
Use similar ratios of herbs per three potatoes as listed above for eggs.
-Spiked hash browns: Snip fresh parsley and sage into a hash brown mix before frying.
-Herbed home fries: Fold fresh lovage, thyme, parsley, summer savory, rosemary and/or chives into home fries during the final 5 to 10 minutes of cooking.
-Rubbed baby potatoes: Roast olive-rubbed baby red potatoes with sage sprigs.
-Thyme scalloped potatoes: Fresh thyme and minced shallots complement creamy, eggy scalloped potatoes. Rosemary or sage also could be used.
-Rosemary potato pancakes: Combine rosemary, butter, cheese and mashed or grated russet potatoes. Flatten and fry on each side. Or try a similar technique with dill.
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BREADS
Herbs can transform a basic quick bread recipe to savory or sweet depending on your ingredient combinations.
Per dozen muffins, scones, biscuits, or rolls, add two to three tablespoons of delicate herbs such as chervil, parsley, or chives.
