Things were pretty desperate around here the other evening. I’d been immersed in a project all day, did nothing in the plan-ahead department, and so at 5:30 with a meeting to go to at 6:15, I looked in the fridge to see what I could find. Not much. I thought, man, we are going to eat some kind of pathetic excuse for a supper tonight.

What I had most of was eggs. There was an almost whizzled red bell pepper, cheddar cheese, and I have lots of onions. So I thought, the old man is going to get eggs scrambled with peppers and onions. And he’ll eat anything I melt cheese on.

While I was chopping up the pepper and onions, I spotted a large potato sitting on the counter, and suddenly remembered a frittata I used to make. So I peeled it, grated it, and dumped it on a very hot frying pan, finished chopping the rest of the vegetables, grated up some cheese, scrambled three eggs, threw it together, and skittered out the door by 6.

I used to make that frittata more often. It is a veritable kitchen sink into which you can dump all kinds of vegetables, as long as they are outnumbered by the potatoes which hold the mess together. Less watery vegetables work best; summer squash would be too mushy. You can even add bits of meat, and you don’t have to put cheese on it. You jazz it up with stuff like hot sauce or put salsa or ketchup on top. It’s good for supper, or a big breakfast, lunch, or brunch.

What follows is really more a set of guidelines than a recipe for a frittata for two; feel free to fiddle around with it. You can’t possibly mess it up.

Frittata

1 large potato

Olive oil

1 medium onion chopped

1 cup vegetables, raw or cooked, (celery, bell peppers, chopped broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus, green beans, kale, etc.)

A sprinkle of chopped ham, sausage, chicken (optional)

3 eggs

Salt and pepper

Seasonings of your choice (oregano, basil, red pepper)

Grated cheese (optional)

Peel the potato and grate coarsely. Heat the olive oil in a heavy fry pan (cast iron if you have it) over a high heat. Put the grated potatoes in the pan, and brown them on one side. If you use raw vegetables chop them finely, then add them with the onion, vegetables and meat, and flip it over. Keep the temperature as high as you can without scorching. Brown the potatoes, then reduce the heat, add the eggs, cooking them until they are firm. Add the cheese if you wish, and put it under the broiler briefly to melt it.

Looking for … venison sausage recipes. I have a biggish hunk of venison, and I saved out some pork fat from our pigs. I’d be up for making breakfast sausage, or some other sort. Surely one of you makes sausage and could share your recipe?