Good eats... injured bird...

I journeyed across the street this afternoon to visit the farmer's market. With supper in mind, I came home with some camembert cheese, swiss chard, patti-pan squash, zucchini, onion, bread, baby carrots, and peas in the pod. Using eggs from last week's market shopping, I made a puffy omelet. I love this recipe because 1) it's delicious, and 2) it's totally adaptable. It can even be turned into a sweet dish by using fruit and sugar(and sour cream topping!) instead of vegetables.

I have made this with all type of vegetables. If you cannot have green veggies then carrots, cauliflower, tomatoes, yellow squash, etc. can be used instead. I always steam the vegetables instead of saute them, I think they retain more flavor that way. It only takes 5 minutes. While the veggies steam I mix up the batter and put that in the toaster oven. It cooks quickly in the toaster oven--taking only half the time specified in the recipe.

For today's omelet I didn't use any cheese because I didn't have any. Camembert would not have been suitable, but it did make a nice appetizer. I included all the veggies mentioned above and it was very delicious. The swiss chard was extra special and I think I will try to always use some in this omelet. When it came out of the oven I sprinkled a tiny bit of garlic powder and oregano on it, plus salt and pepper.

I got the recipe from a magazine that was published in 2007 called "Prize Winning Recipes"... substitute any vegetables to your heart's desire, ditto the cheese...

Vegetable Oven Pancake

1 teaspoon butter
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
2 cups fresh broccoli florets
1 cup chopped green pepper
1 cup chopped tomato
1/2 cup chopped red onion
2 tablespoons water
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1-1/2 cups (6 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese

Place butter in a 9-in. pie plate, heat in a 450 degree oven until melted. Carefully tilt pan to coat bottom and sides. In a bowl, beat the flour, eggs, milk and 1/4 teaspoon salt until smooth. Pour into pie plate. Bake for 14-16 minues or until puffed around the edges and golden brown.

Meanwhile, in a skillet, cook the broccoli, green pepper, tomato and onion in water for 8-10 minutes or until crisp-tender; drain well. Add pepper and remaining salt.

Sprinkle 1/2 cup cheese over pancake, top with vegetables and remaining cheese. Bake 3-4 minutes longer or until cheese is melted. Cut into four wedges; serve immediately.


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By the time I came upstairs from cello practice, it was already dark outside. The birds don't usually have any problem getting themselves to bed other than apparently not liking to see the day end. They get very chatty--downright noisy--just before dark falls. As I passed through the hall I heard one fly--they do occasionally get spooked--but it's flight ended with a small thud. That means it was on the floor. So I went in and shone the flash light on the wall so it could see. It usually takes at least a minute before they move because their eyes have to get adjusted to the light. Well it fumbled instead. I thought it just needed a little more time but when I shone the light on it I could see it was injured. This is downright unusual. It hurt it's wing just where it connects to the body and there was some blood. I have no idea how this could have happened. First thought is that it had a spat with another bird. They can be quite aggressive with one another at times. At any rate I placed it in a cage where it will be safe, and I suspect a trip to the vet will be on tomorrow's schedule. I hope it's nothing serious.