Something AMAZING

Guess what I'm making?

Okay, so I confess. The egg obsession continues.
I like eggs. I like adding things to eggs. I like all the possible combinations (my computer is insisting that combinations is not a word), and I like eggs every way I've ever had them. Omelets clearly being my favorite.
Doing four miles of biking every day, though, my body craves protein, and drives me towards the nearest protein-y foods (like peanut butter. And eggs.) and demands that I eat. Who am I to say no?
As some of you may have noticed, I bought basil yesterday for that failure of a smoothie. Thankfully, awesomely, I had some leftover for today and didn't really feel like giving the V8 a second chance. It's just a waste of good basil (well, goodish, the Co-op's selection wasn't great) and garlic. So, I decided to spoil myself with another omelet.
What makes this omelet different from the others is that, while the others are entirely edible and delicious, this one takes the cake. In fact, this is possibly the best omelet I've ever had, and easily my FAVORITE omelet now. However, there is one thing that could make it better. See that white square in the upper left hand portion of the photo? Yeah, let's replace that with a pile of mozzarella, please. Preferably fresh.
This omelet was smooth, and bright with little dark notes. It's well suited for anyone who'd happily just sit in front of the TV with a bag of basil leaves, nomming away. Or anyone who's favorite sandwich is just basil pesto smeared on bread. Or anyone who would rather have a bouquet of basil than a bouquet of roses for Valentine's day. Eh, I'm just talking about myself here.


The Princess Omelet
Serves 1 really greedy princess.

1/2 small onion, diced
1/10 red pepper, diced (I wasn't in a peppery mood, but still wanted pepper)
1 handful of basil leaves, fresh and chiffonaded
1 slice American cheese (or a handful of mozzarella)
2 eggs
black pepper
butter for the pan

Directions:
1. Dice all vegetables and basil, set aside while enjoying the delicious fragrance of basil filling the kitchen and even overpowering the onion (is my onion lazy?).
2. Crack eggs into a bowl, whisking with a fork. Add a very generous amount of ground black pepper, and whisk some more.
3. Heat pan, preferably teflon (I'm too scared to use the cast iron pan for eggs, even though I've seen Will and Julia [Ms. Child] do it easily), buttering the bottom. Users of canola spray or Pam, just go away. Don't look at my blog again, you're a disgrace to foodies everywhere.
4. Pour in eggs.
5. Wait thirty seconds after adding the eggs, shaking the pan gently. Add filling. I, refusing to stick to omelet protocol, cover the whole surface of the eggs, rather than just half or one third. I also added my filling in this order (first item at the bottom, last at the top): cheese (in strips), basil, red peppers, onions.
6. Gently poke around the edges of the pan to make sure your eggs are not sticking and to make sure you'll be able to get your spatula under the damn thing. If you make a mess, that's okay, it's still edible. When the bottom has solidified slightly, attempt to flip it in half. I made a mess of this as I always do.
7. After cooking for another minute or so, flip the entire thing over to cook the other side somewhat.
8. When done, flip your omelet out onto a pan and bask in its glory for a moment before diving in with great greediness and vigor.

For those of you getting tired of my egg obsession, don't worry. We only have three eggs left in the carton until Friday. There's a good reason why my mother buys 18 eggs a week. Hopefully soon I'll be able to do something interesting as a main dish. Some things in the garden are ready to be harvested (lettuce mostly, but if it's more than Boston lettuce or iceberg I have an idea, sort of), so maybe there will be a post with some fresh veggies.

Rainbow Mock-Fajitas

There are few foods that comfort me the way fajitas do. It's a meaty dish full of color and flavor, that keeps your stomach feeling warm for hours (and I promise it's not acid reflux). It's comforting on rainy days and sunny days alike.
Like most people in North America, my primary exposure to "Mexican" food was through Old El Paso salsa and flavor packets. This was such a hit and miss experience for me that I wasn't sure if I loved or hated Mexican food. I still don't know, because my exposure is still severely limited (we still use those stupid flavor packets and salsa, and all I can tell you is that I HATE tacos).
Those flavor packets were, to me, the equivalent of mystery meat. You don't know what's in it, but you're not sure if you even want to know. The fearless masochist that I am, I wanted to know. To be fair, there's nothing really bad in it. They're free of MSG, as far as I can tell, and their worst ingredient is silicon dioxide (sand). However, this doesn't change the fact that I want to control what goes into my mouth and how my food is prepared. I'm a control freak like that.
The two foods I feel the need to control the most are spaghetti and fajitas. Spaghetti will be addressed some other day, as I'm currently basking in the glory of something fajita-esque. There is nothing traditionally Mexican about these fajitas, but they taste to me as I think fajitas should taste. So, probably not like fajitas. In other words, this is my interpretation of fajitas.

Rainbow Mock-Fajitas
Serves 4 or so

2 chicken breasts
1/2 green bell pepper
1/2 yellow bell pepper
1/2 red bell pepper
2 small yellow onions
1/2 cup water
2 tbsp paprika
1 tbsp ginger
1 1/2 tbsp Dijon mustard
1 tbsp Sriracha chili sauce (this is mostly to taste, mine wasn't hot)
grapeseed oil


Directions:
1. Cut chicken breasts into pieces of a desirable size (I like them fairly square and large). Cook in a large, preheated stainless steel pan with grapeseed oil. Be careful not to brown your chicken, you're just looking to cook it all the way through.
2. DICE THE VEGGIES! Or cut them however you want, I'm a dicing freak.
3. Once chicken is cooked all the way through, but still somewhat soft and moist, add all your veggies. Yes, all at once.
4. Add water (so that the Dijon and spices don't stick to the pan), and then go wild adding all spices and condiments. Timing isn't really too important in this recipe. Stir until everything is incorporated.
5. Allow to cook and reduce until you have a light sauce, or do what I do and just wait until the veggies are cooked and coated and then serve.

This recipe is, admittedly, a little heavy on the Dijon and may, in the future, be a little heavy on the ginger side. Anybody who has a homemade fajita recipe of their own, feel free to share! I'm always looking for better fajitas. This is just a little starter.
Enjoy!