Outstanding Omeletes

Asparagus and spinach with pepper jack cheese.

Omelets are outstanding! Often times folks steer clear of them at home thinking it is difficult to get a beautifully cooked omelet without breaking or burning it.  I'm hear to tell you that it is not only doable, but its actually quite simple with a bit of knowledge.  And if something goes wrong, my belief is that you can just say you were making a scramble and mix it all up!

Now is a great time to be making omelets because of the surplus of backyard eggs my ladies are laying and because there are so many yummy spring veggies to fill them with: lettuce greens, spinach, asparagus, leeks, spring onions and garlic, spicy mustard greens.  The possibilities are endless really.  Then when you consider the different cheeses you can add....oh the ooey gooey goodness!  There are two key components to making a good omelet: 1) temperature and 2) pan size/ or number of eggs.  The temperature of the pan must be just right.  Hot so that when you pour the eggs in they begin cooking immediately, but not so hot that they are going to burn (I'll be honest and admit that the omelet pictured above left is slightly overcooked for my taste because I let the pan get too hot).  A good way to judge the temperature is from the reaction of the oil you add just before the eggs.  It should NOT sizzle.  IF it does it is too hot, but the pan should feel hot when you place your hand about an inch above it.  With regards to number of eggs or pan size, you need to use a pan that is large enough to have 1 thin layer of egg so that the mixture will cook evenly.  Traditionally in a restaurant, an omelet will have three eggs.  I find that not only does this make for too heavy of a breakfast for me, but my pan is too small for it. So I prefer to use two eggs with my pan (which I think is 8" in diameter).  Now for the how to:

Chop, saute and prep by any means necessary the stuff you will add to the omelet. Then drizzle about a tablespoon of oil (I use light olive oil which works great when you want to be slightly healthier but not add the pungent flavor of olive oil) and swirl around the pan.  Then pour in your eggs that have been whipped with a splash of water (not milk!).  For those of you who are wondering why, milk is used for scrambled eggs to make them extra creamy.  Water is used in an omelet to get a nice whipped consistency but then essentially evaporates as the egg cooks in the hot pan leaving a light airy omelet.  Immediately swirl the eggs around the pan to coat the entire bottom.  Remember they should have started cooking immediately if your temp was correct so the center won't move but the outer edges will expand as the top layer of eggs spreads out.  Once you've given the bottom a minute or two to cook add the fixings you prepared previously including any cheese.  If you are using the correct number of eggs for your pan size (or correct pan for the number of eggs you prefer) there will be no need for flipping! The omelet should cook through without burning the underside. Lastly, if you oiled the pan well the omelet will slip right out with the help of a spatula*.  Slide out half onto a plate and then tip the pan as you slip the rest out folding over the top for a half circle omelet.  That's it!  Add a sprinkle of extra cheese and a garnish if you wish then enjoy!

*I use a fish spatula.  If you don't own one of these I highly recommend you get one.  I know some people are kitchen gadget people (me!) and some people aren't, but seriously this is one of those tools that should be one of your top ten.  I honestly use it everyday!....In fact, I think I'll post about my love of the fish spatula another day...

Absence makes the heart grow fonder

I haven't posted in 12 days, and I am ashamed. Like the absence of a vegetable in the off season, my hope is that I've left you wanting more.  But first, my apologies.  I've got one excuse, which is quite literally just a reason: work. Enough said, don't want to talk about it! Sadly though this has led to less cooking, not no cooking, just less.  So hear is a brief recap:

This evening is the third farmers' market and hopefully I will finally remember to take pictures. I've been picking up asparagus and leeks.  I love leeks!  They are just like onions and garlic and chives, but subtle and sweet. And somehow the ones in my garden are never as big and beautiful as the ones at the farmers' market.  My sister has been requesting baked potato soup for weeks and I had just come across a potato leek soup recipe that I hadn't tried yet, so that was the first thing I made despite the fact that we were already into 80 degree weather (prematurely I should note)-recipe coming soon.  So there it is LEEKS are in season!

This little piggy went to MARKET!

After much anticipation, opening day of the Farmers' Market finally arrived.  I was so excited for the opportunity to see what the local professionals were growing that I managed to convince four of my friends to come along with me.  The farmers' market always seems like the place to be in town on Thursday evenings.  There was a lot of socializing going on!  I however was on a mission.  I wanted to pick up some spinach, leeks and asparagus.  The first thing I saw when I walked in were the familiar faces of my favorite farming family with a table full of asparagus.  I promptly introduced my friends to their lovely crop and the grower to my lovely friends.  I briefly asked how their winter was and then moved on to locate the best deal on spinach,

Spinach at the farmers' market appears to be quite expensive: $5/lb.  But spinach doesn't weigh that much.  My friend and I did a little experiment.  I bought from a friend's farm that sell their spinach for $2.50 a bunch while my friend purchased hers at another farm by the pound.  She asked for half a pound (equal in price to my purchase). Sure enough, when we compared the quantity of spinach was pretty much equal.  On another note, I broke down and bough 'NW grown' spinach from the grocery store yesterday.  I almost never by produce from the major chain grocery and I feel a tad guilty.  But my boyfriend keeps requesting a spinach pie recipe he heard about on NPR and it call for a lot of spinach.  The grocery store spinach was a little under half as expensive (in this case) but I have to say, it looked like sh*t compared to the stuff that comes out of my garden or from the farmers' market.

My last purchase of the day were three decent sized leeks.  I grabbed the last three fatty-ies, which 1- I felt lucky about and 2- made me realize that even they grow green onion sized leeks like i do!  So that's my market finds.  Today is the Saturday market where I was hoping to get rhubarb and fresh flowers, but I have a commitment this morning so things might be sold out by the time I get down there.  Hopefully not!  I am looking forward to some great recipes to share this week!

P.S. Sorry there are no pictures.  I was so excited about the farmers' market and so determined to score great produce that even though I brought my camera I forgot to take any pictures!

A New Read & Q's to Consider

I am just starting a new book called How to Pick a Peach.  Although I'm only on page 15, I can tell I am going to like this book very much.  Sadly I've been too tired to read before bed at night, but I enjoyed those first 15 pages in true spring fashion: in the sunshine with grass beneath my back and my wanna be farm dog resting beside me.  If you're wondering how I could possible know if a book is right for me after a measly twenty minutes of reading (followed by an additional twenty of napping) just listen to this:

• "At its heart, cooking is a primitive act and remarkably simple.  You choose what seems tastiest, and then you try to make it better."
• "The first thing you have to understand is that whole idea of eating locally and seasonally is not based merely on some philosophical framework.  It may indeed be good for the planet, but that is for greater minds to decide - I [the author] am mainly interested in fixing a good dinner."

It got me thinking.  Why am I so interested in eating seasonally and mostly locally?  I mentioned that this all began as a resolution to be more aware of where my food came from; this urge burgeoned from deep seated roots in growing food and a desire to make use of what was around me. Not to mention I love good food.  But still, why seasonal?  Why mostly local?  You tell me.  Why do you eat seasonal and local?  Or, why are you so interested in learning about eating seasonal and local????