I grew up on a dairy farm; I remember the urgency of spring “fever”, and I feel it myself on these fresh, green spring days.
Spring comes to the farm all at once—we wait through an interminably long winter, it seems, and then—there are baby animals to care for, a garden to seed, sheets and bedding to wash and air, windows to wash, a chicken coop to clean, mulch to spread—and just as the day’s work stretches into evening, there’s dinner to prepare!
You’ll know, if you live close to the land, that very often there are extra eggs and milk on the farm in April and early May—the chickens have made it through the winter, molts, and are once again happily pecking at green grass long past their recent bedtimes. They reward us with lots of fresh eggs!
If you have dairy animals, you’ll know this is also the time for fresh milk.
I often visited my great aunt’s farm when I was a child—it was a self-sustaining small farm with a coop of chickens, a huge garden, a few cows, and a pig that came to dinner after harvest. This past winter – during the wait for spring – I reminisced as my mother and I put together a collection of family recipes. The simple recipe for “Baked Omelet” is one that I remember fondly from the dinner table at my great aunt’s, but it wasn’t until I began to make it the other night that I realized I had only had it in early spring. It’s a quick-to-put-together-after-spending-all-day-in-the-garden recipe that takes an excess of eggs and milk. It’s the perfect recipe for a busy farmwife (or farmer, for that matter)!
The original recipe was very simply written, too. It’s easy to add or subtract ingredients depending on how many are going to be gathered at the table.
BAKED OMELET
3 eggs
3 cups milk
1-teaspoon flour
1-teaspoon salt
pepper
Beat eggs, flour, salt and pepper. Add milk. Pour into a hot buttered frying pan, and bake in a moderate oven. Test with a knife as you would custard.
That’s it! I use my cast iron frying pan and melt a tablespoon or two of butter in it, while I’m beating the ingredients together, and while the oven heats to 350 (that’s moderate, right?). Then, I swirl the melted butter around a little,
pour in the egg/milk mixture,
stick it in the oven,
and start testing in about 45 minutes. When a knife inserted in the center of the omelet comes out “clean”, it’s done.
This omelet is very like custard, smooth and creamy. I toast some bread, add a salad of fresh garden greens, and find I’m always asked for seconds! It’s a satisfying supper for tired folks on busy spring days.
