Do you love food? I do! My love of cooking and experimenting with food has led me to develop many of my own recipes. A few years ago, I typed up and printed out approximately a hundred of my recipes, placed them into binders and gave them to my seven children.
Recently, I asked those children to help me select one of my recipes to share with you. My stepdaughter Becky told me, “Your omelettes definitely come to my mind first! They are the best I’ve ever had.”
Her younger sister, Maria, wrote, “Everyone who has tried your omelettes has loved them, both at home and at school!”
My son Stefan, who moved home during the COVID-19 pandemic, also suggested that I share my omelette recipe. Stefan has celiac disease and appreciates that my omelettes are gluten-free.
I have taken their advice and am sharing my simple and basic Oven Omelette recipe. It can be made “as is,” or adapted to make it more “gourmet.”
I developed this recipe when I was a community school coordinator, responsible for overseeing the nutrition program at a school. By creating tasty menus that featured fruit, vegetables and whole grains, we encouraged students and staff to build good eating habits, because a healthy diet has been proven to help reduce the development of type-2 diabetes and heart disease. For the school, all of my recipes needed to be highly nutritious, as well as relatively inexpensive and easy to make. They needed to appeal to all ages, from Pre-Kindergarten to Grade 12, plus adults.
In order to maximize its nutritional impact, we served each piece of Oven Omelette with a side salad (romaine lettuce, carrots, tomatoes, cucumbers, green onions) or a fresh fruit cup (grapes, berries, bananas, oranges).
Five years ago, my husband Stewart and I moved to Rosthern, Sask., to become the owners of a traditional bed and breakfast. Since then, I have adapted that original recipe, making it more “sophisticated.” I have added fresh herbs and more vegetables. I have experimented with different cheeses and different cooking techniques.
When I serve omelettes to my bed-and-breakfast guests, I usually complete their plates with one slice of bacon, one piece of locally made “Mennonite sausage,” a small bowl of fresh fruit with yogurt and granola, and either a slice of whole grain toast or a small portion of homemade hash-browned potatoes.
I strive to make each meal as tasty and beautiful as possible with the addition of fresh herbs and edible flowers, most of which I grow myself. Stew bought me a hydroponic herb garden, so we have fresh herbs year-round!
Even though our business is closed due to the pandemic, I continue to enjoy creating delicious and nutritious meals for the three of us. What we miss most about not having guests is the conversation around the breakfast table. Frankly, I also miss their feedback on our “comment cards,” because in five years of business, with literally hundreds of guests, I am humbled to share that every single card has been marked “exceeded expectations” in the breakfast column.
Recently, Stew and I went to India on a Canadian Foodgrains Bank learning tour, where we were thrilled to eat traditional Indian food every day. There was one food that I missed, though, and it was the first thing I made to eat when we got home—a cheesy, veggie, herb-filled omelette!
Find the recipe for the Oven Omelette and its “gourmet” version by visiting canadianmennonite.org/oven-omelette.
Jill and Stewart Mitchell are members of Eigenheim Mennonite Church in Rosthern, Sask., where they both serve on the hospitality committee and Jill volunteers to do the church bulletin each week.
If you have a favourite recipe and a story of how it helped build connections between people, contact Barb Draper at edassist@canadianmennonite.org.
Read more Gathering Around the Table stories:
A big heart filled with butter tarts
Breaking bread builds community
Christmas Eve tradition brings comfort and joy
Jill Mitchell prepares her Oven Omelette for her B&B guests. (Photo courtesy of Jill Mitchell)
Oven Omelette
Add new comment
Canadian Mennonite invites comments and encourages constructive discussion about our content. Actual full names (first and last) are required. Comments are moderated and may be edited. They will not appear online until approved and will be posted during business hours. Some comments may be reproduced in print.