Until recently, David worked every Saturday and Sunday at his second job, in addition to his Monday-Friday 9-5. As such, we rarely had time to sit down and have a nice breakfast together. That is, until a snowstorm two weeks ago left us stranded in the house without groceries. Luckily, moving out recently meant BOCA burger crumbles in the freezer.

To be honest, I’d never made a frittata before in my life; my mind had been geared more toward omelets that morning, but a frittata sounded like the perfect thing for a cold, icy morning, and it meant I could finally put my brand-new, cast iron skillet through its paces. I’d received the skillet as a hand me down from my parents, my father having purchased it one day for my mother under the false assumption that she’d actually use the damn thing, and it sat for at least a year collecting yellow rust rings like ringworm on a wrestler, unseasoned and unloved. When David and I moved out, I instinctively grabbed it, determined to rescue the poor thing from the neglectful parents who forgot about its existence.

A month later, my father emailed me. “Next time you come down and visit, you should take that big cast iron pan with you. Your mother never uses it.”

They didn’t even notice it was gone.

Since coming to our household, the cast iron skillet has found itself much loved and the subject of much attention. David finds it brilliant to make his mother’s spaghetti bolognaise recipe; I am quite fond of it for pancakes, falafal, fried chicken, and curry. In fact, with rare exception, we make almost any dish in that pan, whether it calls for non-stick skillet or wok; now that it has been seasoned, heated, and reseasoned–lather, rince, repeat–several hundred times, it is possibly one of my favorite cooking utensils, especially because it can do one thing those Teflon-coated pans cannot: go from stove to oven and back again without even wincing.

Playing with this baby, I think to myself, “This is how God must feel.”

By the way, I ate my Boca Breakfast Frittata with ketchup because I am a complete and utter sucker for ketchup; it is, after David, my one true love. However, David enjoyed his just the same without a condoment, because he’s a risk taker like that.

BOCA BREAKFAST FRITTATA

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup cholesterol-free egg product (we used five eggs)
• 3/4 cup fat free milk
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1/2 cup chopped green pepper
• 2 cups cubed cooked red potatoes
• 1 (8 ounce) package frozen BOCA Meatless Breakfast Patties or Links, chopped
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup reduced fat mozzarella cheese

Directions

1. MIX egg product and milk; set aside.
2. HEAT oil in 10-inch ovenproof skillet on medium-high heat. Add onion and green pepper; cook 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add potatoes, chopped patties and seasonings; stir. Cook 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat; sprinkle with cheese. Pour in egg product mixture.
3. BAKE at 350 degrees F for 45 minutes, or until center is set.