Many people choose not to cook for one or more of these reasons:

• They don’t have time

• It’s too hard

• It’s cheaper to buy ready-made food

I am going to dispel those myths with some simple, nutritious, easy-to-cook recipes. You DO have time. If you can find 30 minutes, I have recipes for you, and if you can’t find 30 minutes, then sit down and find them. Have a glass of wine while you’re looking for them.

It is NOT too hard. If you can turn the dial on front of the oven, I have a recipe here for you. It is NOT cheaper to buy ready-made food. This recipe would cost at least $7.00 per person ready made but you can make enough for four people for less than $5. Cooking is a great source of pleasure for many people, myself included, and here is a very simple recipe. The Spanish Omelet is a standard item on most Spanish restaurant menus and is not to be confused with Mexican Tortillas. Tapas bars usually serve it as an appetizer, but it makes a great, easily cooked family meal. This is my own recipe after trying many variations.

Tortilla Espanola (Spanish Omelet)

You will need:

Equipment

• 2 large bowls

• A hotplate

• A sharp knife

• A potato peeler

• A skillet or large frying pan

• A spatula ( fish slice if you are English)

• A colander or large strainer

• A large dinner plate

Ingredients:

• 5 large potatoes

• 1 large Spanish (yellow) onion

• 6 eggs

• 3⁄4 cup of olive oil

• salt and pepper

• 1 bottle of wine (red or white)

First, make sure you have all the ingredients to hand.

Second, open the wine, pour yourself a glass and get ready to cook. Wine is the essential ingredient in many of my recipes, and sometimes I even put it in the food. If you are under-21, make that a soft drink. Sorry.

Third, peel the potatoes and onion. Slice them both thinly.

There are all sorts of special devices to slice vegetables, but I prefer a good sharp knife. It’s probably best to do this part before you finish the wine.

Next pour the oil in to the skillet and turn the heat to medium. When the oil is hot, turn the heat to low and add enough potato slices to cover the bottom of the pan. Then add a layer of onions and sprinkle a little salt and pepper over. Repeat this until you have used all the potatoes and onion. Cook for about 15 minutes but do not let the potatoes go brown. They are properly cooked if you flip the mixture and the potatoes break easily. Don’t worry of you break a few in the process.

Now turn the heat off and pour the mixture into a colander over a bowl to drain the excess oil.

While the oil is draining off, break all the eggs into another large bowl and beat them gently with a fork.

Next add the potato/onion mix to the eggs and stir so that the eggs are all over the potatoes. Once again, don’t worry if some of the potatoes break. Leave this mixture to sit for about ten minutes. Sip wine, repeat.

Now turn the heat back on under the skillet and add 2 tablespoons of the drained oil. Add the potato mixture and spread it evenly over the pan. Make sure the heat is low because you do not want the eggs to burn. Cook for about 10 minutes. To check the doneness, use the spatula to lift the edge of the omelet. When it is ready to turn, the egg will start to turn brown on the bottom. The egg in the middle of the pan will probably still be a little runny.

Now take the skillet off the heat, place a large dinner place over the top, and holding both the skillet and the plate together tip the tortilla out on to the plate.

Put the skillet back over the heat and add another 2 table spoons of oil. Slide the tortilla back into the skillet and cook the other side for about 5 minutes. Once again, lift the edge to check that the eggs do not burn.

When the tortilla is finished, cut into slices like it was a pie and serve with salad as an entrée or on it’s own as an appetizer.

It’s probably time for another glass of wine about now. Rioja goes well with this dish. I would not say that this is one of my healthy recipes, but it is not exactly unhealthy either.

This is the basic Spanish omelet recipe,. This version is one of my favorite vegetarian recipes, but there are many variations. I add cheese sometimes, or ham, bacon or chorizo, pretty much whatever you or your family like. Make sure that you add cooked bacon or sausage if you want to try the variations.

Bon Apetit !