Omelet Tortilla Wrap

Isaiah left for Charlotte. Junior year. He packed the car, he packed the apron, he packed a jar of my spice blend and a copy of the cookbook that he'd dog-eared (THE GREENS CHAPTER IS DOG-EARED, the man has bookmarked his own story, I cannot). He hugged Derek. He hugged me. He said, "I'll call Wednesday." The thread. The Wednesday thread that connects Charlotte to Cascade Heights to the kitchen where a twelve-year-old boy sat down and asked to learn.

School starts for Zoe and for me. Zoe: senior year, AP Art, AP English, college applications sent, the last year of high school for the last child in this house. Me: year twenty-two. Twenty-two years of tissue boxes and open doors. The years stack up like the layers of Mama's cake — each one complete, each one supporting the next, the whole thing taller than any individual layer.

New students already. A sixth grader named Amira who speaks three languages and eats lunch alone because the other kids think speaking three languages is "weird." I put her at the lunch table in my office and we eat together and she tells me about her grandmother in Eritrea who makes injera and the telling is the connecting and the connecting is the healing and the healing starts with lunch.

Made a simple weeknight dinner: lemon garlic chicken with roasted potatoes and a green salad. The meal of a woman starting a new school year in a kitchen that still smells like summer through the open window. Curtis said, "Another year." I said, "Another year." He said, "Good." Another year. Good. The prayer of a sixty-nine-year-old man in a wheelchair who has survived a stroke and the death of his wife and the selling of his house and the moving to a new one and the passage of ten years since Easter Sunday: another year. Good. Amen.

The lemon garlic chicken that night was really about having something warm and uncomplicated on the table after a day that held multitudes — Isaiah in Charlotte, Zoe counting her lasts, Amira eating injera stories over lunch in my office, and Curtis’ quiet “good” hanging in the air like a blessing. This omelet tortilla wrap is that same energy: nothing fussy, nothing that requires you to be more than you are at the end of a full day, just good ingredients coming together the way people do when they choose to show up for each other. It’s the meal I reach for when the kitchen still smells like summer and the new year is already asking everything of me.

Prep Time: 5 min | Cook Time: 10 min | Total Time: 15 min | Servings: 2

Ingredients

4 large eggs
2 tablespoons whole milk
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1/4 cup diced red bell pepper
2 tablespoons diced yellow onion
1/4 cup shredded cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese
2 large flour tortillas (10-inch)
Optional: salsa, sour cream, or hot sauce for serving

Instructions

Whisk the eggs. In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, salt, and pepper until fully combined and slightly frothy. Set aside.
Soften the vegetables. Melt butter in a 10-inch non-stick skillet over medium heat. Add the diced bell pepper and onion. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 2—3 minutes until softened and just beginning to color.
Cook the omelet. Pour the egg mixture over the vegetables. Let it sit undisturbed for about 30 seconds until the edges begin to set, then use a spatula to gently push cooked edges toward the center, tilting the pan so uncooked egg flows underneath. Continue until the eggs are just set but still slightly glossy on top, about 3—4 minutes total.
Melt the cheese. Sprinkle shredded cheese evenly over the eggs. Cover the pan for 30—45 seconds until cheese is melted. Remove from heat.
Warm the tortillas. Heat tortillas one at a time in a dry skillet over medium-high heat for 20—30 seconds per side, or wrap both in a damp paper towel and microwave for 30 seconds.
Assemble and serve. Cut the omelet in half and lay one portion in the center of each warm tortilla. Fold in the sides and roll up burrito-style. Serve immediately with salsa, sour cream, or hot sauce if desired.

Nutrition (per serving)

Omelet Tortilla Wrap — Another Year, Good