Sunday Breakfast: Fresh Tomato Basil Omelets

I think I've mentioned before that I'm not a huge fan of fresh tomatoes.  In the dead of summer, when everyone else is gobbling down as many tomato and mayo sandwiches and caprese salads as they can get their mitts on, I'm busy canning said delicious fruit.  In recent years, I've gotten to the point where I do enjoy some fresh salsas and I'll even eat a pasta dish prepared with some fresh diced tomato, as long as it's been heated a little and seasoned a bit.

This morning, I looked at my counter, noticed a gorgeous tomato I had picked-up at the farmer's market, a huge bag of basil, and I thought about the carton of farm-fresh eggs in my fridge and thought--DING!  Fresh tomato and basil omelets.  The wife thought that was a good idea too.

First, I diced some tomatoes and chopped some of the basil and combined them in a bowl, adding some salt and pepper to bring out the juices and get the flavors going and a dash of good olive oil.

While the tomatoes were marinating, I mixed-up four of those fantastic farm-fresh eggs with a tablespoon of milk, salt, pepper, and some more chopped basil.

Everything in place, I heated a 10-inch nonstick skillet on medium heat with some of said olive oil and added half the tomatoes (half for each omelet).  I let them sizzle and soften just a bit to give them that "heated-through but still fresh" taste that I enjoy.

I then poured-in half the eggs (again, for one of two omelets).  This is the tricky part.  Working on and off heat to control the temperature a bit, I swirl the eggs to coat the edges of the pan and use a rubber spatula to make holes in the eggs and fill-in the holes.  Once the eggs are just about cooked through in the middle and the sides are set, I start scraping-down the sides a bit and loosening the eggs so the entire omelet will move when I shake the pan.

Now's the time to add some cheese.  I had Smoked Gouda.  The wife requested good 'ole American.

The final part is to gently shake the pan so that the omelet is at the side, slide it off the pan and onto the plate, flipping the top over so the cheese ends-up somewhere in the middle.  Takes some practice and doesn't have to be 100% perfect anyway.  Use a fork and gently push it around till it looks good and put some shreds of basil on top.  Add a slice of toast.  Yumm...

Hmm...I think it needs something else.  Maybe a few strips of bacon and some hash browns?

Wait.  Those aren't hash browns!!!  Okay, so I didn't have any potatoes on-hand.  A handful of tater tots from my big-honking-bag had to do.  :-)

And voila.  A (nearly) perfect meal.  And as fresh-tasting as anything I've had in ages.