By January. The house returned to its single-person arrangement and I have settled back into it with the ease of someone who has lived alone long enough to find their own company sufficient and occasionally good. I cook for one most evenings. I make things that serve one well: a single lamb chop with roasted root vegetables, a small frittata with whatever is in the refrigerator, the grain salads I have been making since the pandemic that require no heat and taste better the second day.
Kezia came Friday. She drove from her parents' house where she had been since the twentieth and she arrived at my door with a tote bag and her notebook and the expression of someone who has been at home for weeks and is ready to be in a different kitchen. I fed her. Of course I fed her. I had made the smothered chicken she asked for by text Thursday evening and it was ready when she walked in.
She told me about her program. The fermentation studies. A class on fire cooking — open flame, outdoors, the cooking that pre-dates the kitchen. A seminar on recipe as document, which is exactly the thing she has been practicing with her notebook for four years without knowing it had a name. She talked for two hours. I listened. I asked questions. I refilled her plate. At the end she said, I've missed this kitchen. I said, this kitchen has missed you. She said, I don't think kitchens miss people. I said, you are wrong about that. This particular one does. She smiled and ate the last of her cornbread and we were both quiet in the good way for a while after that.
Most mornings after Kezia left, I made myself something simple — the kind of thing I reach for when I’m cooking just for me, when the house is quiet again and I want color and warmth without a production. This tomato and green pepper omelet is exactly that: it’s fast, it uses what’s already in the refrigerator, and it tastes like someone cared enough to make a real meal even when there was no one watching. Kezia would have eaten two of them. That’s how I know it’s good.
Tomato and Green Pepper Omelet
Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 10 minutes | Total Time: 20 minutes | Servings: 1
Ingredients
- 3 large eggs
- 2 tablespoons whole milk
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1/4 cup green bell pepper, finely diced
- 1/4 cup Roma tomato, seeded and diced
- 2 tablespoons yellow onion, finely diced
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- Pinch of dried thyme
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
Instructions
- Beat the eggs. Crack the eggs into a small bowl. Add the milk, salt, and pepper. Whisk vigorously until the mixture is pale yellow and slightly frothy, about 60 seconds. Set aside.
- Cook the vegetables. Heat the olive oil in a medium nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and green bell pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 3 to 4 minutes. Add the tomato, garlic powder, and thyme. Cook for 1 more minute until the tomato just begins to soften. Transfer the vegetables to a small plate and wipe the skillet clean.
- Build the omelet. Return the skillet to medium-low heat and add the butter. Once the butter melts and the foam subsides, pour in the egg mixture. Let it sit undisturbed for 30 seconds until the edges begin to set.
- Fold and fill. Using a silicone spatula, gently push the cooked edges toward the center, tilting the pan so the uncooked egg flows to the edges. When the top is just barely set but still slightly glossy, spoon the vegetable mixture across one half of the omelet.
- Finish and serve. Fold the unfilled half over the vegetables. Slide the omelet onto a warm plate. Serve immediately, with buttered toast or cornbread alongside if you have it.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 340 | Protein: 18g | Fat: 26g | Carbs: 8g | Fiber: 2g | Sodium: 480mg