Monday, September 5, 2011

Cheese Omelet

This is barely a recipe, but sometimes the best meals require no effort at all. And the simplest recipes can also be the most versatile.


Read on for a fun omelet and some ideas on making cooking more interesting.


Cooking is fun.

And that's the way it should be. The preparation of a meal is one of the things that separates us from animals, and while we started doing it out of necessity, we now do it because we enjoy the experience, and it lets us be creative. But for many people it ends up becoming a chore. It stops being something effortless and enjoyable, and starts becoming a repetitive task.

If you find yourself bored by cooking your meals and eating them, you should change your approach. It doesn't even have to be a big change.

All it takes is maybe one new ingredient. Just think about it. All the food you take for granted. Remove one ingredient, add a new one. Just from the top of my head, something I haven't done myself yet: Pineapple in the bread, ground coffee beans in the burger, feta cheese on the pizza. Why not? What's the worst thing that could happen?

You can also try to change the way you make it. You're used to make it in a frying pan? Try to bake it. Try to grill it. Try to steam it. Here I don't have any good examples, but a classic one is to make bread in the frying pan. It can be done, so why not?

Another thing you can do is to make fairly complicated recipes by memory, or if it's something you've never made, try make it without the recipe at all. The ingredients are usually no problem, but the amount can be tricky. I believe that challenging yourself like that can increase your skill and confidence in the kitchen.

Want a challenge that's not really a challenge? Want a good place to start experimenting? Make an omelet. There's absolutely no way you can fail making an omelet. Let me show you.

These were the exact ingredients I used:
A few eggs
A tablespoon or five of milk
Lots of cheese
Salt and pepper
Basil
...I suspect I may have had onions too.

This recipe makes a fairly neutral tasting omelet. Aside from the cheese (and I guess the basil - but that was really just for some color), it's as basic as you can get an omelet. Basic omelet is eggs and milk mixed together. Add salt to reinforce any tastes. From there on, you can start experimenting.  

This was exactly how I made it:
Mix the eggs and milk thoroughly. Add salt, pepper, basil and cheese. Pour into a warm pan. Let it sit in the pan at low to medium heat for a while. Serve on bread or along with bacon. Make a simple salad.

On it's own, the omelet has a neutral taste. And you know that the egg is the most versatile ingredient you have, used in both breakfast, dinner, dessert and cakes. So there's no reason why you can't put shrimps and peas in the omelet. Or onions and chili.  Or chocolate and strawberry jam. Or bacon.

Enjoy, people, and don't forget to experiment when cooking.

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