This is how most of my weekend mornings go: first, wake up around 11 a.m. Stare at the clock numbers on my phone for a few minutes, then say, “Nope, not happening,” and fall back asleep. Next, wake up around 1:30 p.m. Wonder fervently what I’m doing with my life, and more importantly, whether I should go to Usdan to get brunch before they shut me out at 2 p.m. Invariably I will procrastinate on this decision until getting an official meal would mean sprinting, disheveled, across campus. I then proceed to sprint, disheveled, across campus.

The most tragic part of this endeavor is that upon my arrival to brunch (complete with uncombed hair and now-broken flip-flops), there really won’t be any food left and I will have to scavenge a sad looking piece of grapefruit and make myself a soggy, toppingless waffle.

My new-school year’s resolution is to try to combat the underlying factor that causes this situation: that I feel I have no respectable and cost-effective alternative to Usdan brunch. (Sorry, WesWings. I love you to death, but getting a breakfast pail on a regular basis will leave me pointless in October… again.)

Omelets are a brunch staple and are wildly versatile, so whether or not you share my weekend brunch dilemma, it makes sense to have them in your repertoire. While fillings are not necessary, they are fun to experiment with. One of my favorite combinations is black beans, onions, goat cheese, and avocado.

According to “The Art of Manliness,” a website I frequent, there are two different types of omelets. One of these is the “classic” omelet, described below. This involves cooking the egg, then filling it with the ingredients of your choice and folding one half of the egg over the fillings. The other type of omelet is the “hotel” type, and it involves mixing the ingredients into the egg and using the pan to flip the heterogeneous egg mixture.

The reason I am teaching you the classic omelet is because it is simpler, in my opinion, and because I lack the coordination to throw food in the air without destroying it. If you learn how to flip an omelet in the classically suave pan-flippy way without having it land on the floor or an innocent bystander, please be sure to teach me.

Ingredients:

2 Eggs

3 tbsp. water

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. Water

1 tsp. olive oil 

fillings

The Basic Omelet

1. Prepare all omelet fillings. Most vegetables, like onions, peppers, and spinach, should be chopped into small pieces and sautéed. Precooked foods, like beans and most meat, are better if heated, but this is not necessary. Cheese and avocado should be uncooked but cut into small pieces.

2. In a bowl, whisk together eggs, salt and pepper. Continue whisking as you add the water, and beat until the eggs are a uniform color and airy.

3. Heat the olive oil in a nonstick pan. An official omelet pan is preferable, but not necessary; just make sure the eggs cover the bottom in a thin, even layer. When the pan is warm, pour in the egg mixture so that it evenly covers the bottom of the pan.

4. Do not stir the eggs, but rather let them cook until the bottom solidifies. Use a spatula to lift up the eggs, then tilt the pan so the runny liquid on top pours underneath the lifted eggs. Continue this process, rotating the part of the eggs that you lift and pour under, making sure that the eggs do not stick.

5. When the top is still slightly runny, put all of the fillings on one half of the omelet. Use your spatula to flip the other half over the fillings. Move the omelet around in the pan to make sure it doesn’t stick, and after approximately a minute once the egg seems entirely cooked, it is finished.