It is a simple thing really. Two or three eggs fried in a pan with various ingredients to add flavor. It is a common name that most people know and a few have used to make fun of my own. The etymology of the word omelet is not for certain. The French are most widely known for omelettes (yeah yeah yeah the resemblance is striking), however most credit the Roman epicure Apicius who used to make an overmele which consisted of eggs with honey and pepper. Either way the omelet is also very similar to the frittata which is basically mixing your additives in with the eggs instead of folding the egg around the mixture.

However I have most recently became acquainted with how much I enjoy making omelets. I have never been a skilled chef. Joseph was the creative accomplished workman, Mom was always quite an improvisionist, but I just floated by. There was a season when we were all working jobs, Joseph and I in school, and so we all took a night. Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday were all divied up. My night was always reserved for something simple like burritos, tacos, spaghetti. Creating in the kitchen just wasn't my forte. But recently I have found quite a bit of pleasure in it all.

There are a few universal necessities in an omelet. Salt and pepper - I'm beginning to think you cannot cook anything without them. Butter - real butter, make up for the points someplace else it just isn't worth it here. Medium Heat - if your blessed enough for stainless steel then go down to Medium Low. Cheese - as we will cover later the type of cheese is optional the presence of it is not. And an 8-10 inch pan. I prefer 8 but if you can manage a 10 your better than I and probably don't need any of my advice.

Eggs are beat with a smudge of milk added in and salt and pepper. Have your additives ready for quick access. Don't cook anything prior in your pan or at least anything that requires more heat because you don't want it to get too hot. The butter goes first an eight of an inch off a stick should be fine, and then pour the eggs in the pan. No need to wait long for the ingredients. They go in the pan and are best placed around the center of the eggs. Then comes the hardest part. The wait. You want to be sure and let the eggs cook a little while so that you can fold. I usually start with one fold. I take one side and fold it toward the center. Wait a little while longer... then the other side. Either way you want the center of the omelet to be covered majoratively with eggs. If you have to you can try and roll the omelet over letting a few uncooked eggs to run out and produce a covering for any left over parts. Either way, a big key is to even after you have folded both sides over to let it cook. Your low heat comes into play here because it will be a while before you burn anything, and by letting the omelet sit there you are letting the eggs inside to fully cook and mix with your ingredients.

As far as ingredients I like mostly the Mexican flavor. Some Rotel, Mexican blend cheese, and Sausage is always good. Cilantro adds great flavor and little sprinkled on top looks rather cool. I did try something different for Julie and Sis Jones one Saturday morning. I diced tomatoes, mixed a few red onions (Julie just loves onions), some black olives, a touch of mango's and some feta cheese. It tasted really well. When I served it I sprinkled a little oregano on it and that shredded Parmesan cheese... mm mm good.

To make a long post longer... I would have to consider the joy I find not necessarily in the omelet or the kitchen, but rather in the ease of a Saturday morning. The time that I have to relax and put a little more of myself into something that is usually stolen by the important things in life. I wonder this morning how many pleasurable things I have missed in my life because I robbed them of the time that would bring to them simple joys.