By I closed on a beautiful home in Westchase this week. The buyers — a young couple, first-timers — looked at the keys the way I looked at my real estate license in 2012: like they were holding the future in their hands.
Sophia is researching dental schools with an intensity that would concern me if it were directed at anything other than dentistry. She talked about it at dinner for twenty minutes and I understood approximately half of it but all of the joy behind it.
Some weeks are ordinary. This was an ordinary week. I sold houses. I cooked dinner. I called Mama. I drove to Tarpon Springs on Sunday. The extraordinary thing about ordinary weeks is that they are the ones you miss most when they are gone.
I seared lamb chops in cast iron — hot and fast, finished with lemon and oregano. The kitchen smelled like a Greek taverna in a snowstorm. I ate it on the back porch while the sun set and the air smelled like olive oil and the coming rain. A quiet evening. The food was good. Good is enough. Good is everything.
I visited the bakery this weekend. Mama was behind the counter, flour on her apron, her face set in the concentration of a woman who takes baking as seriously as other people take surgery. I stood next to her and rolled dough and said nothing because the silence between us is not empty — it is full of every recipe she taught me and every critique she gave me and every morning she woke at 4 AM to make phyllo that nobody else can make.
That week — the keys, Sophia’s passion, the lamb chops on the back porch, Mama’s flour-dusted apron — kept circling back to me the next morning as I stood in front of the stove. I wanted something that honored the quiet without making a fuss of it, something that used what the refrigerator offered and asked nothing more. A veggie omelet with goat cheese is exactly that: a little tangy richness, whatever vegetables you have on hand, and the kind of uncomplicated care that Mama taught me long before she taught me phyllo. It is the breakfast of ordinary mornings, and ordinary mornings, I have decided, are worth every bit of effort.
Veggie Omelet with Goat Cheese
Prep Time: 10 min | Cook Time: 10 min | Total Time: 20 min | Servings: 1
Ingredients
- 3 large eggs
- 2 tablespoons water
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/4 cup red bell pepper, finely diced
- 1/4 cup baby spinach, roughly chopped
- 2 tablespoons red onion, finely diced
- 1/4 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1 small garlic clove, minced
- 2 tablespoons crumbled goat cheese
- 1 teaspoon fresh oregano leaves (or 1/4 teaspoon dried)
- Fresh parsley or chives, for garnish
Instructions
- Beat the eggs. Crack the eggs into a bowl, add the water, salt, and pepper. Whisk vigorously until the yolks and whites are fully combined and slightly frothy, about 30 seconds. Set aside.
- Sauté the vegetables. Heat the olive oil in a nonstick or well-seasoned cast iron skillet over medium heat. Add the red onion and bell pepper and cook, stirring, for 2 to 3 minutes until softened. Add the garlic and cherry tomatoes and cook 1 minute more. Stir in the spinach and cook just until wilted, about 30 seconds. Transfer the vegetables to a small bowl and wipe the skillet clean.
- Cook the omelet. Return the skillet to medium-low heat and add a small drizzle of olive oil. Pour in the egg mixture and let it sit undisturbed for 30 seconds until the edges begin to set. Using a spatula, gently push the cooked edges toward the center while tilting the pan to let uncooked egg flow to the edges. Continue until the eggs are just barely set on top but still slightly glossy.
- Fill and fold. Spoon the sautéed vegetables over one half of the omelet. Scatter the crumbled goat cheese and oregano over the vegetables. Fold the empty half of the omelet over the filling and slide onto a plate.
- Garnish and serve. Top with fresh parsley or chives and serve immediately, with crusty bread or a simple green salad alongside.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 380 | Protein: 24g | Fat: 28g | Carbs: 9g | Fiber: 2g | Sodium: 520mg