Omelets tasty vehicle for introducing children to garden greens

Finally, it’s May and the children can play outside again. They’ll probably get muddy, but that’s OK. Mud means that things are growing again and the farmers’ markets will be up and running very soon.

What market farmers have the most of this time of year is greens, oodles and oodles of tender, crisp greens like spinach that appreciate cool weather.

Greens are absolutely some of the healthiest things to eat – but they’re not automatically a childhood favorite. Sometimes my son will gobble up a fresh spinach salad with poppy seed dressing, sometimes not. Sometimes I have to sort of hide those greens in other things. Soup, pasta and stir fries are all dishes that take well to the addition of greens, but my favorite quick solution is to mix them with scrambled eggs or to include them in an omelet.

When cooking greens and eggs, I always start by sautéing some chopped onion and a small amount of diced smoked bacon. That combination is delicious with greens; the sweetness of the sautéed onion and the satisfying mouth feel of the bacon grease contrasts perfectly with the bitterness of the greens.

If you don’t cook with bacon, try a good olive oil or a little butter instead.

The stems of spinach and chard are perfectly edible so don’t throw them away. In the case of chard stems, they’re absolutely delicious, worthy of cooking and eating on their own.

When cooking chard or spinach to mix with eggs, separate the stems from the leaves. Chop the stems into small pieces and sauté them first, adding the roughly chopped greens after the stems are tender.

Probably the most interesting part of cooking greens, from a child’s perspective, is that you can fit an awful lot of greens into a hot frying pan. Perhaps they’d like to take a guess beforehand how small the pile of fresh leaves will become as it cooks, but don’t do so many that there’s no room for the eggs.

Children tend to make a mess of cracking eggs into a bowl but it’s great fun for them to try, and beating them lightly is usually within their capabilities.

Once the greens have reduced in size, simply add the lightly beaten eggs to the pan and cook as usual, adding a little salt and pepper, along with a little cream or milk, or for a really special flavor, a dollop of cream cheese.

There’s no need to think of scrambled eggs and omelets as breakfast, by the way; they make an excellent dinner any night of the week. The grownups can even do as the French do, and enjoy their omelet with a glass of wine.

Cheese and Bacon Omelet with Spring Greens

Serves 2 adults or 4 children

1 small yellow onion or a small bunch of green onions

¼ lb. smoked bacon, diced (optional – substitute 2 tbsp. olive oil or butter)

1 large bunch spinach or chard or mixed greens

6 eggs

1/2 cup half and half or milk

4 oz. cream cheese or 1 cup grated cheese (such as cheddar, gouda, or provolone)

Salt and pepper to taste

Peel and dice the onion, or trim and slice the green onions into slices about 1/8 inch thick. Wash the greens in cold water and drain them well in a colander or salad spinner. Separate the stems from the chard leaves if using, chopping the stems finely and the leaves roughly. Place the eggs in a bowl with the milk or half and half and lightly beat.

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Saute the onion with the diced bacon until the onions are translucent and the bacon well-cooked. If using green onions, don’t add them to the bacon until the bacon is almost done.

Pour off any excess bacon grease if desired, leaving a little in the pan for cooking the greens, or adding a little butter or olive oil instead. Add the stems first and then the greens to the pan, stirring them a little until they’re wilted and tender and any excess water from them has evaporated. Remove the onions, bacon and greens from the skillet and set aside in a bowl.

Pour the eggs into the skillet and cook over medium heat, moving quickly with a wooden or heat-resistant spatula to lightly scrape the cooked eggs from the bottom and outside edges of the pan toward the center and letting the uncooked eggs run off onto the hot skillet surface at the outer edges. Tip the pan a little to help with this if necessary. The eggs should fill the bottom of the pan, and be very lightly browned on the bottom but still soft on top.

When the eggs are almost cooked through, arrange the pre-cooked mixture of onions, bacons, and greens on ½ of the surface of the omelet, and dab the cream cheese or sprinkle the grated cheese on top. Season with salt and pepper. Lift the opposite edge of the omelet with the spatula and fold it over in half, on top of the greens. Divide into servings and serve immediately, accompanied by fresh fruit and hot buttered toast.