Sunday morning breakfast has become one of our weekly rituals. Other mornings we get by with coffee, fruit, yogurt, and maybe a bowl of cereal. On Sunday, though, I make an egg white omelet with a slice of cheese melted in it. I fold it over, cut in two. Turkey bacon, supposedly lower in fat. Toast or, as in this case, an English muffin. Coffee. The sunday newspaper. A cat or two. It makes for a nice, leisurely breakfast.

For several years, I had a nice, non-stick pan that I used for omelets. It made things very easy, but it had a flaw. Despite a “lifetime” warranty, the finish on these expensive Calphalon pans regularly wore out after less than a year. This despite using plastic spoons and taking other steps to prevent damage. I returned one or two and the company replaced them under its warranty, but I finally decided it just wasn’t working.

I recall thinking that it meant the end of omelets, since I assumed eggs would tend to stick in our cast iron frying pans. Not so, it turns out. Cast iron actually turns out very nice omelets, thank you, very much. I’m very much a fan of our old cast iron, which all came from thrift stores or garbage piles.