Last week I had the privilege of traveling to Oregon with the nice people from The Good Egg Project to visit a Willamette Egg Farm, and learn more about the goodness of eggs.

Our trip began with a tour through one of the Willamette Egg Farms where we saw first hand how eggs make their way from the farm to our grocer’s shelves. Willamette Egg Farms is a family owned farm who go to great lengths to produce a safe and healthy product. And with all the scary news about the egg recalls, it was good to hear and see firsthand how it’s being done responsibly. A few bad eggs can spoil the bunch, creating bad press and concern for the majority of the rest that are doing it right.

Plus I learned that brown eggs do come from brown chickens, and white eggs come from white chickens. I feel so learned now that I know the truth of it all. We didn’t discuss whether the chicken or the egg came first though. I forgot to ask.

After the tour, we learned from Mary Donkersloot, RD, about how the egg offers great nutritional benefits, like high quality protein that produces long lasting energy levels, lutein and zeaxanthin, two antioxidants that have can help with vision, and choline, an essential nutrient necessary for healthy cell activity and much more.

There’s a lot of goodness packed in that little shell.

A lot of goodness for very little money too.

Howard Helmer, the world’s fastest omelet maker, followed Mary and showed us his mad skilz as a master omelet maker. His enthusiasm is infectious.

Everyone should have a Howard around cheering them on in the kitchen.

He broke down the omelet making process into simple steps so that even a child could learn to make their own omelet. “Dig Hole. Fill it up. Dig a hole. Fill it up,” was his mantra. He even showed us how to make an omelet for on the go wrapped in a flour tortilla shell. Fun and easy. Easy as an omelet.

Chef Jeffrey Saad rounded out the trio with even more tips and tricks for cooking tasty recipes with eggs.

You may have seen Jeffrey on The Next Food Network Star. He’s skilled man. And he’s passionate about cooking. Jeffrey has a new show that will be airing this fall on The Cooking Channel called United Tastes of America, airing November 16. Watch for it.

Anyway, back to the eggs…

Jeffrey showed us how to make a quick pan quiche and how everyone can learn to poach an egg.

Really.

I poached an egg that actually turned out like a poached egg. It was like magic. For realz.

At the end of the day we had a table full of tasty creations, all made with the simple, but satisfying egg. I’m excited – or should I say egg-cited – to try out some of the new tips, tricks and recipes I picked up in Oregon. For a full list of recipes to try out for yourself, search for an egg recipe from the Incredible Edible Egg.


Now for a recipe. This is the recipe for the burrito omelet thingy that Howard shared with us. I’m gonna call it the Omelet Burrito, real original. If it goes by another name Howard, please let me know.

The first thing is to choose your omelet ingredients. Get creative. Use what’s on hand. One of the tips we learned that make the omelet such an easy fix, is to have all the ingredients/fillings ready to go. You can fill your fridge the night before with your prepped omelet makings, so you’re ready to go in the morning.

For this one, I chose salsa, black beans, two cheeses, butter and of course, salt, pepper, and other herbs.

Begin by cracking two eggs (this recipe makes one omelet) into a container. Notice the cloudy egg whites?

I learned that cloudy egg whites are a sign of fresh eggs. Clear egg whites are an indication of not so fresh eggs. I’ve always thought the opposite. Who knew?

Add to the eggs 2 tablespoons of water.

The water acts as a heat barrier helping the eggs not to cook too quickly, it kinda lightens them up a bit too.

I go ahead and add my salt, pepper and herbs/seasonings now.

Beat it all together until combined.

To the stove. We’re using a flour tortilla to wrap it all up in at the end, so it’ll need to be pliable, easier to roll. Heat your omelet pan over a medium-medium high heat. I use an iron skillet for my eggs. Non-stick is preferable, and works like a charm. I’m just hard headed. I like my iron skillet.

Once the pan is ready, lay the tortilla in the pan and warm on each side for 5 seconds, then set the tortilla aside on a plate to wait for the rest of the gang. If you’d like, cover with a cloth or lid to keep warm.

The butter is next. I’ve kinda got a little much butter here, you can certainly get by with less. Olive oil would work too. The butter helps keep the omelet from sticking to the pan – plus it tastes good too.

Place the butter in the heated pan to melt.

When the butter has melted, pour in the egg mixture, to completely cover bottom of pan, and reduce the heat a bit.

The eggs should instantly bubble if you have the pan heated correctly. You may not be able to tell, but there are bubbles here. Howard, I promise, there are bubbles. There are. You’d be so proud.

Now here’s where you “dig a hole and fill it up.” Using a spatula, immediately begin pulling the edge of the cooked egg away from the edge of the pan, thus “digging a hole.”

Once the hole is dug, tilt the pan to allow the uncooked egg to flow into the hole, to “fill it up.” Continue to “dig a hole, and fill it up” all the way around the circumference of the pan, maybe 3-4 times total.

Work quickly so your omelet doesn’t overcook. This whole digging and filling it up thing should only take 10-15 seconds at tops.

Next go on the omelet fillings. Top the egg with your ingredients of choice.

Almost done! Gently slide the open faced omelet onto the the flour tortilla.

Mine didn’t slide so well, cause, yeah, I’m kinda hard headed like that, with the whole iron skillet vs. non-stick pan thing. But if I didn’t show you, no one would’ve never known, because it’s all going to be rolled up, covering up my lack of Howard Helmer’s mad skilz cooking with eggs. I’m working on it man. This time next year I’ll be a master omelet maker too. Maybe Howard and I could do an omelet cook-off? Nah. He’s too quick for me.

Where was I, oh yeah, the wrapping and rolling of it all. Wrap and roll the flour filled tortilla up like a burrito, folding in the side first then rolling and tucking as you go.

Cut it in half and enjoy a bite of your success. It’s a fun way to serve an omelet. My kids will love it.

Burrito Omelet Recipe
(makes one burrito)
adapted from the great, fantabulous Howard Helmer

Ingredients:

2 eggs

2 tablespoons water

pinch of salt

pinch of pepper

seasonings of choice

1 flour tortilla

2 tablespoons butter

omelet fillings of choice

Preparation instructions:

Crack eggs in a mixing bowl or large measuring cup.

Add to the eggs 2 tablespoons of water, salt, pepper and herbs/seasonings. Beat all together until combined.

Heat omelet pan over medium-medium high heat.

Lay the tortilla in the pan and warm on each side for 5 seconds, then set aside. Cover with a cloth or lid to keep warm.

Place the butter in the heated pan to melt.

Pour in the egg mixture, to completely cover bottom of pan, and reduce the heat. The eggs should instantly bubble if you have the pan heated correctly. Using a spatula, immediately begin pulling the edge of the cooked egg away from the edge of the pan, and tilt the pan to allow the uncooked egg to flow into the hole. Continue this process around the circumference of the pan, maybe 3-4 times total. Work quickly so your omelet doesn’t overcook. This should only take 10-15 seconds.

Top the egg with your ingredients of choice.

Gently slide the open faced omelet onto the the flour tortilla.

Wrap and roll the flour filled tortilla up like a burrito, folding in the side first then rolling and tucking as you go. Cut in half and serve.

Enjoy!

(Thanks to The Good Egg Project for covering the cost of my trip.)