Whole Wheat Crepes

I went out for crepes twice in the last two weeks.  They're a treat for me, they remind me of the semester I lived abroad in France and all the other trips I made there with family as well as for school.  I don't own a crepe maker, nor will I ever, because they're expensive little suckers.  Imagine my surprise and delight when I discovered you can make crepes in just a regular ol' pan (non-stick, preferably).

I came across this recipe a while ago and immediately liked it above the rest because 1. it uses whole wheat flour instead of white, and 2. it looked very easy.  I made some modifications from the original recipe to make it as South Beach friendly as possible.  I haven't tried the original version.  This modified version isn't exactly like what you'd find on the streets of Paris, but it is very good and will do when the craving hits.

The original recipe says to use a 7" skillet; I only have a 6" one and a 9" one.  The 6" pan was perfect for the Nutella-banana dessert crepes, but way too small for a ham and cheese dinner crepe, so I used the 9" pan for those. 

Tonight's dinner featured ham and cheddar crepes (with a pile of kale chips on the side), followed by Nutella-banana rolls.  And in case you were wondering, no, Nutella is not an SBD-approved item.  But it's so good.  ;-)

Note: cooking times are very approximate.  You'll need to experiment to see what works with your particular stove set-up and heat source.  After you make a couple, you'll get the hang of how long you'll need to cook them on each side.

Whole Wheat Crepes
Adapted from this recipe.

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup EggBeaters
• 2/3 cup skim milk
• 2 tablespoons Smart Balance, melted
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar (Optional for making dessert crepes.  Omit for savory crepes.) 
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract (Optional for making dessert crepes.  Omit for savory crepes.)
• 1/3 cup whole wheat flour
• Your favorite filling ingredients (diced ham with shredded swiss or cheddar, leftover shredded rotisserie chicken with small chunks of brie, Nutella and banana, sliced strawberries, etc.)

Directions:

• With an electric blender, blend the EggBeaters, milk, Smart Balance, salt and optional sugar and vanilla for 15 seconds.
• Sprinkle in the flour and blend for 30 seconds until smooth.
• Cover bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate from 1 to 4 hours.
• When you're ready to make the crepes, place your non-stick pan over medium heat for about 30 seconds, until a light sprinkle of water on it sizzles.
• Stir the batter well.  Pour 2 tablespoonfuls of the batter into the heated skillet and quickly swirl it around so the batter evenly coats the bottom.
• Cook for about 1 minute until the crepe edges are golden brown and separate easily from the pan.
• Flip it over (with your fingers or a spatula) and cook for another 30 seconds.
• While it's cooking on the second side, quickly sprinkle your favorite filling ingredients over half of the crepe.  When it's done cooking after 30 seconds, fold the crepe in half over your filling.
• Transfer to a plate and serve immediately.

If you're not eating by yourself and want to be able to sit down and enjoy the meal with others, I recommend transferring each crepe as you make it onto a baking sheet and keeping them warm in a low-heat oven.  Once you've completed the batch, you can plate the warm crepes and serve them all at once.

Bon appetit!

Spinach and Artichoke Orzo

I saw this beautiful little bag of organic whole wheat orzo at the store last week and just HAD to get it.  And tonight it was the perfect accompaniment to my fresh-out-of-the-oven batch of eggplant parmesan.  I'm a happy girl.


Spinach and Artichoke Orzo
Made up recipe based on what was in my pantry/freezer

Ingredients:

• 1 cup whole wheat orzo
• 1 can (14oz.) artichoke hearts, quartered
• 1 handful frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
• Tastefully Simple Roasted Garlic Infused Oil
• Tastefully Simple Seasoned Salt
• juice of 1/4 lime

Directions:

• Prepare the orzo to al dente, per package instructions.  Drain.
• In a large skillet over high heat, combine the orzo with the artichokes, spinach, a couple tablespoons of oil, and seasoned salt to taste.  Toss for a few minutes until everything is piping hot.
• Remove from heat and squeeze on some fresh lime juice. Toss.
• Serve immediately.

If you don't have any Tastefully Simple Roasted Garlic Infused Oil, just sautee a clove or two of crushed garlic in some olive oil before adding in the orzo and veggies.

Crunchy Buckwheat Granola

Love love love this recipe!  Love the crunch.  Love that it's not overly sweet.  Love that it's healthy.  And oh, did I already mention that I love the crunch?  :-)  The tangy dried cranberries go perfectly with the slightly sweet crunch.  It's great as a yogurt topping, or with milk in the morning in place of your normal cereal, or just eaten straight from the container.

I can't seem to find my 9"x9" square metal pan -- I think it's still in one of our storage boxes somewhere.  So I just used my bundt pan; worked just fine.  I could have used my sheet pan, but opted against that since it would have been a little difficult to stir thoroughly without the stuff going overboard the shallow sides.

Crunchy Buckwheat Granola
From this recipe here.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups uncooked rolled oats
• 1/4 cup whole almonds, roughly chopped
• 3/4 cup uncooked buckwheat groats
• 3/4 cup raw sunflower seeds
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 1/4 cup honey
• pinch of salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
• In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients except the dried cranberries.
• Spread loosely into a 9"x9" metal baking pan (or in this case, a bundt pan)
• Bake for 1 hour, stirring thoroughly at 30 minutes.  (I stirred again at 45 mins.)
• Remove from oven and stir in cranberries.
• Stir occasionally while cooling to reduce clumping.
• Cool completely before putting into an airtight container.

Tip: After you add the oil, use the same measuring cup for the honey.  The residual "lube" from the oil will help the honey slide out of the measuring cup much better, no scraping required.

Cucumber and Mango Salad

This salad is best made with baby/persian/pickling cucumbers and green mangoes.

Baby/persian/pickling cucumbers because they're crunchier than regular cukes, have thinner skin, and have no seeds (well, technically they do have seeds but they're tiny and not as noticeable as the ones in regular cukes).

Green mangoes because of the tang and crunch. Pick a mango that has dark green and red skin, but most importantly, make sure it's FIRM. 

Cucumber and Mango Salad

Ingredients:

• 3 persian cucumbers, diced (about 2 cups worth)
• 2 medium green mangoes, peeled and diced (about 2 cups' worth)
• balsamic vinegar
• salt & freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

• In a large bowl, combine the cukes, mango, and enough balsamic vinegar to liberally coat everything.
• Add salt & freshly ground black pepper to taste.
• Toss well and let sit in the fridge for at least 20 minutes.
• Serve and enjoy.

This salad keeps well in a tightly sealed container in the fridge for a couple of days, but any longer than that and it loses its crunch.  It's actually quite delicious if made the day before and left to marinate overnight in the fridge.