Sunday, May 8, 2011

Mother’s Day Breakfast for One


Mother’s Day is here and you know, it’s been so long since I’ve actually woken up on a Sunday with a feeling of such absolute… calm. 
 
Of course, my kitchen will soon be filled with the sounds of pots and pans banging and burners being lit, but I had ample time. Listening to the sounds of my family asleep was something I missed. For me, mornings mean hustle. Rush. Checking clocks and watches. Beating the traffic so you can enter a stress filled building with a few stress filled people and then doing even more beating, this time with deadlines. You work late sometimes. You come home tired with just enough energy to pick up some takeout on the way, or if you have food stocks in the cupboard, you make something simple to eat. But there’s no real joy during the meal. It’s all automatic. No smells to savour and no anticipation. The body is tired, so you give it fuel. Then, you go bed tired, fall asleep and wake up more tired the next morning, to hustle. Rush. Check the clock…

Oh, how I missed these Sunday mornings!

This Mother’s Day… I wanted to make myself something special to eat, and luckily, I didn’t have to reach very far into my arsenal of favourites. I knew exactly what I wanted… a nice, herbed cheese omelette done just my style; seasoned, lightly spiced and filled with cheese.
It’s funny, but the moment my dream omelette entered my mind, my stomach began to growl in anticipation. There was no turning back.

Luckily, this Mommy had everything she needed to do it just the way she loved it…

Broke two eggs in a small bowl and added red pepper flakes and a pinch of salt.
Sprinkled in a few fresh thyme leaves.
And for my own special touch, I added a little of my homemade, ground seasoning.
Beat everything up until just frothy.
Melted a little butter in my frying pan.
Swirled it around so it coated the bottom and a little way up the sides - a very important step.
Gently poured in my beaten egg.
Now, as soon as the edge began to set, I started gathering the cooked egg from the sides with my spatula to the middle... (check the sequence that follows).



Setting up nicely!

Next, I tilted and twirled the pan a little so that any remainder of uncooked egg would hit the hot sides of the pan and cook up nicely.
Now this is where you gotta work really quickly. In went the cheese on one half of the omelette...
My sliced red onion...
and slices of pimento pepper... this next part always gets me nervous, but here goes the folding!


YAY! Success!

That cheese is looking wonderfully melty!

Into my waiting plate it goes!
Gave it a little Mother's Day decoration with a bit of the leftover filling, hahahaa!
HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY TO ME!

All I needed was a nice cup of decaf with some creamer to go with my tasty omelette.


Yep. That's my Sunday right there. :-)
How to make Halcy’s Cheese Omelette

2 eggs
1 pinch of salt
1 pinch of red pepper flakes
1 pinch of fresh thyme leaves
½ teaspoon of home made ground seasoning (or you can use store bought)
3 slices Anchor vegetarian cheddar cheese
A little less than a ¼ of a smallish red onion
1 or 2 pimento peppers, sliced
A tiny sprig of parsley (for garnish)
1 oz butter (for frying)

Method

  1. Break the eggs into a small bowl and add everything listed except the cheese, red onion, pimento peppers and parsley. Beat everything together lightly until just frothy.
  2. Heat the butter in a non stick frying pan on a medium high flame, swirling it around to cover the bottom and sides.
  3. Pour in the beaten egg and let it spread across the pan.
  4. Just as it begins to set around the edges, take your spatula and pull a few cooked edges from the edge of the pan to the middle so that some uncooked egg can fill the space. Also, tilt the pan to let uncooked egg reach the edges so it cooks and sets.
  5. Lower the heat a little and quickly add in the sliced cheese, red onion and slices of pimento pepper.
  6. When the edges of the omelette are lightly browned and the cheese is slightly melted, take your spatula and ease it underneath the uncovered half and fold it over.
  7. Slide the omelette out of the pan onto a plate, and decorate as you wish with the parsley and any leftover pimento.

I can honestly tell you that as I ate, my brain actually sighed in relief. It’s a personal favourite that I had truly missed. It reminded me of the omelette I had in Grenada at the Spice Island Beach resort while on assignment for the Guardian newspaper a couple of years ago. Again, it was a Sunday. Paired with a small bowl of fruit salad, my omelette came, speckled with fresh herbs and filled with mushrooms and cheese. I had eaten it with gusto before taking a stroll along Grand Anse beach and enjoying the salty breeze.

The pinch of salt in my own omelette would have to suffice though, hahaa! But it felt so good to reconnect with this tasty breakfast. The crunch of the pimentos coupled well with the soft, pillowy eggs and its wonderful flavourings. This is one meal that can’t be rushed, neither is it meant to be eaten in a rush. It’s the perfect start to my Mother’s Day.

Thus, I wish everyone a wonderfully blessed and Happy Mother’s Day celebration. Until my next post, my friends, and don’t forget to mind de pot!  :-)

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