My Morning Made Right: A Canvas For Those Who Love A Classic Breakfast

The classic omelet is nothing short of a masterpiece. For most people, it is a morning essential as it is filled with protein, easy to make, and relatively efficient for those with a busy schedule. However, the omelet holds an artistic trait in its ability to be treated like a canvas. The bare-boned yellow hashed dish can be coated and stuffed with ingredients that give your pallet life. For those who feel they want a true triple Michelin star dish, topping the dish off with a new garnish or herb and building the omelet in the style of a cylindrical shape may create the exact level of sophistication you are looking for. Perhaps the omelet is perfect in itself and only a few spices and a set cooking time is required to make the perfect dish. On the contrary, drowning your omelet in hash browns, mushrooms, sauces, and spices may support the consistency of your meal to your liking. No matter how unique or common, robust or flexible, fluid or sharp your cooking style may be, the egg reciprocates its appreciation for your style with an artistic dish known as the omelet.

Despite eggs being a part of almost all my breakfasts, I have fallen out of love for the original taste. Having eggs almost daily has drained my taste buds to the point where a simple omelet appears revolting.

My mom and dad have both made omelets for me my entire life that have been prepared with the internal gooey cheese and slightly crispy exterior that I love. Sided with classic Eastern European style brown bread (черный хлеб) and cucumbers (огурцы) with black tea and milk, my breakfast was complete. However, this meal repeated daily for years with very little variation created a bland feeling for my taste buds, and would later translate into distaste. I attempted to alter the sides, but the problem lay in my true canvas; the omelet. I had grown to lack appreciation for my canvas, so when it was my time to cook, I tried replicating the creativity of my parents. The phrase “my dish was cooked with love” usually refers to the failures, altercations, and pure dedication put into a dish. With that being said, my dish really did need an original source of love, but it had to do with my growth. My creativity needed to lie in my journey of growth, an ever-changing pallet, and the will to accept a new style.

For this recipe, you will need eggs. The omelet’s foundation is built upon the humble egg which we will manipulate to our preferred taste. We can’t be too careless with our work as creativity doesn’t allow for sloppiness, so when cracking the eggs, we make sure to leave out any part of the shell. The more egg you add, the thicker your omelet will be. Make sure to pour enough milk into your bowl of raw egg so that the hue of your canvas becomes a little lighter and the taste of your dish is a little creamier. I never used a whisk when making my dish because my parents never used whisks when they were younger. They got used to the fork-beat eggs that they had made before they immigrated to the US. The stirring is complete once there are no lumps or large discolorations in the bowl.

The heart of my omelet and my canvas lies in the ingredients I place inside. The slightly bitter, tarty skins of the tomato and the juice that soaks into the yellow soul of my dish dignifies my style. To represent myself in my dish, I need my statement. The tomato is the statement as it allows for parts of the omelet to keep its original nature while leaving bites in my meal that pack a punch in my mouth. Of course, there needs to be a balance. Too many tomatoes cut into heavy pieces will cause the omelet to fall apart and become a soup. The tomato cannot consume the dish, it must work with it. The tomato cannot consume who you are but supplement your ever-changing nature. The cheese is representative of the outside factors we can’t control. The fridge only has Colby jack, Cheddar, Mozzarella, or Harvarti at one time; we need to work with what we have. Take the cheese of your choice and break it into small pieces with your hands. For the final stroke of our brush, we will add the scallions. Scallions are dangerous; they are bold, consuming in nature, and leave you with bad breath. Accept the scallions’ ability to be controlling in your dish, and appreciate it for its nature. Control the stroke of your brush when cutting small pieces of scallion.

Once you have added your butter to the pan, added the egg mixture onto the pan, and placed small amounts of your various ingredients onto the egg solution (evenly spread out of course), you will need to leave your canvas to dry. Give it time to cook, and fold it in half when you feel it is ready. The sides are your choice, as this is your canvas.

The most important step is the will to change parts of your omelet tomorrow if it doesn’t sit well with you today.

Enjoy your art.