New Crepes and Other Things

To any who might read my blog, I apologize for being so conspicuously absent this past month. I got a craving of a different sort - a craving to draw, paint or something along those lines and that has occupied my time of late. Since we moved to Arizona last summer, we are occupying a far smaller house than had been our usual, and there are no spare rooms to set up my painting supplies (easel, table to hold all my paints, brushes, paraphernalia, chair). That leaves me with a lot of supplies, but no way to truly use them. Racking my brain for some way to satisfy this urge to create a picture of some kind, I finally remembered my iPad Pro and an app called Procreate. I love the app. I love being able to zoom in and work on intricate things. And I love what I've created. I have yet to attempt printing my work, so I have no idea whether this is a truly viable venue to work from, but at least it has calmed my creative urges to some degree. These are some things I have done this month.

My "Procreate" Art

And then, anyone who knows me, also knows how much I love frogs, and tadpoles and the color red, when it comes down to it! Frogs have been a life-long fascination for me. In all their strange forms, I just find them cute / adorable / interesting. And so, I chose to create a little folly with a whole lot of tiny little Poison Dart Frogs. These little bitty frogs are often less than an inch long. While they mainly live on the rainforest floor, once their tadpoles emerge, they are taken, individually, on their mother's back, to great heights up into the trees and deposited in any tiny body of water - often in the centers of bromeliads. Each tadpole is placed into its own body of water, with this great journey undertaken repeatedly until all are safely stowed, and then mama frog has to repeat the journey to each tadpole daily, for feeding. And so, my little folly; with one or two more frogs still to be set into the picture before I am done:

Frog Frolicking Folly

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On to FOOD:

My First Try at Buckwheat Rye Crepes

My son and his significant other also live in AZ, but nearly 4 hours away from us. They are currently living in a huge motor home, by choice. And over winter, it sprang a leak and mold was forming, so it is now in the shop for repairs. While it is being repaired, they needed to dispose of a lot of foods that would spoil in their fridge, so they bestowed their largesse on me. 

Crepes, Belgium and Buckwheat

One of the things they gave me was an unopened, but thawed, box of "Belgian Boys" Belgian Crepes. I had never bought crepes before, though I have made them - see my recipe here. I had no idea what the crepes in the box were like, only that they said "Belgian style." Once I opened the box, knowing I had the ingredients for fillings whether these turned out to be sweet or savory style, I found them to be a little sweet, so that left out a savory filling. They were also rather dark in color, compared to any crepes I had made or eaten in past. Until we sat down to have them as dessert, I had reserved any possible judgement on them, but oh my, were they ever tasty! I commented to my husband that they might just have buckwheat in them, as I am pretty familiar with that flavor. I use buckwheat flour in pancakes, breads, scones and anywhere I can find use for it. So, I checked the ingredient list on the package. 

Lo and behold, not only buckwheat flour, but also rye flour and "maize starch," (I am assuming might mean cornstarch, but I am not certain) in addition to "wheat flour." These crepes are made in Belgium. I am not at all sure that the ingredient list shows things in order of how much of any one thing is in them, as is the usual for in the U.S. The ingredients listed "water, wheat flour, sugar, vegetable oil, eggs, buckwheat flour, rye flour, maize starch, soy flour, dextrose, salt, natural flavoring, natural vanilla extract." 

Second Try at Buckwheat and Rye Crepes

I felt that I might just be able to duplicate these crepes, at least to my own standards of taste. As usual, I went online and checked out recipes for "Belgian crepes with buckwheat flour." I had no idea what I was getting into!

Turns out that in parts of France, and Belgium, buckwheat crepes are a real "thing." Two ingredients: buckwheat and water. Period, end of story. Eaten as a savory crepe and often folded around a food as with a galette or rustic pie, these are apparently very well known and loved - as well as devilishly tricky to make!

Okay, this was so NOT what I was looking for. Yet any search that involved the word buckwheat along with crepes yielded only this sort of crepe. If I skipped the word buckwheat in the search for "Belgian Crepes," I got plain white flour crepes. Okay, so back to my drawing board.

My Version of These Crepes

Second Try at Buckwheat and Rye Crepes

I opted to take my old tried and true recipe for crepes and just play with the flour amounts. In essence, the ingredient list on the box of Belgian Boy crepes listed all the normal things in my crepes: flour, liquid, fat, eggs. All I had to do was change the flours out a bit, add vanilla, use oil rather than butter. My first attempt at these was day before yesterday. They came out splendidly, if I do say so myself. The flavor was exceedingly close to what the boxed crepes tasted like, though I felt that a little more buckwheat was called for. To that end, I remade the recipe yesterday morning, using more buckwheat and less white flour. Other than that, the identical recipe. They already tasted great; this was just my own finickiness at work. 

The results were not hugely noticeable. Still, I could tell a difference, and so my second attempt remains my preferred recipe. If you happen to be able to get hands on buckwheat and rye flours, do give these crepes a try. I made a dulce de leche and cream cheese mixture to put inside them, and this was also amazing.

Buckwheat and Rye Crepes

Makes 7 to 8 Crepes, about 10-inches in diameter

Early in the day, combine together in a bowl the three kinds of flour, sugar and salt. Stir or whisk to dry ingredients to evenly distribute the ingredients. In a measuring cup, combine the water, eggs, oil and vanilla extract. Whisk well and pour all at once into the dry ingredients. Using a whisk, briskly combine the ingredients until the mixture is smooth. No need to overwork the batter. Mix only until smooth. Cover the container and refrigerate at least 3 hours or overnight before proceeding.

Heat a non-stick skillet with a 10-inch diameter base over medium heat until very hot. Put a small amount of neutral oil in a small bowl and use a pastry brush to very lightly coat the surface of the pan. Pour in at least a one-third-cup portion of batter, then quickly lift and rotate the skillet to let the batter reach the edges of the bottom of the pan. You are looking for a 10-inch crepe, made slightly thicker than usual crepes. Once back on heat, watch as for pancakes: there will be small bubbles form, the wet, shiny surface will become dry looking and the edges will begin to turn golden brown and lift slightly away from the pan. This should take about 2½ minutes. Lift an edge with a spatula, and once the bottom is golden, flip the crepe and cook this side for about 1 to 1½ minutes. Remove the crepe to waxed paper and begin again, with lightly brushing the pan with oil. As each crepe is done, set a new piece pf waxed paper atop the first, set the next crepe on top and repeat with each. Keep watch on the heat of the pan. If the crepes begin to get done too quickly and look like there are dark brown spots, lower the heat to medium low. This seems to happen by the end of the second crepe.

Process of cooking crepes

If not using right away, refrigerate the crepes. They can be rewarmed briefly in the pan before using, if needed. 

Dulce de Leche Filling or Dip

Makes 1¼ cup

8 ounces cream cheese
4 tablespoons dulce de leche
2 small pinches of Kosher salt

Place the ingredients into a bowl and stir until smooth or use a hand mixer to mix until smooth. Use a tablespoon or two per crepe, spreading over the surface of the crepe, then roll or fold the crepe to serve, dusted with confectioner's sugar.


My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.

A Keralan Breakfast

If you are new to this blog of mine, I must mention that I am way, way into Indian cooking. I love the flavors, the spices, the smells while cooking. I have yet to visit India, but I study regions and foods continuously. And I am always trying something new. Indian food has been a passion of mine, growing exponentially over the past 20 years. I try to stay as authentic as possible to recipes, including searching out new and/or unknown spices to try.

For those who have read this blog, I apologize for repeating myself. I just cannot help myself when it comes to Indian food!

For the past couple of years, I have had a couple of recipes setting on the back burner, so to speak. Most definitely of interest, but somehow I just never got down to refining a recipe of my own. These recipes are from Kerala, a state that runs down the southwest coast of India (similar to Chile, in South America). Apparently coconut trees are ubiquitous to the area, and Kerala is sometimes called Land of the Coconuts. Rice is another food found everywhere and at most meals. Not surprising then, that coconut and rice together play a huge part in the cuisine of this state. 

Vegetable Ishtu

And so, we come to the point of this rambling monologue. The recipes I had been eyeing for a good couple of years were a Coconut Vegetable Stew, called Vegetable Ishtu (or Ishtoo), the locals' pronunciation of the British term of "stew." The stew looked so pretty with its white base and colorful vegetables. Plus, I just love coconut and coconut milk. The other recipe I was eying was one of the many, many possible accompaniments to this stew, called Appam, a bowl-shaped rice and coconut crepe. 

Vegetable Ishtu

Vegetable Ishtu

Serves 4 to 5 as an accompaniment

½ cup peeled, ¼-inch diced potato
½ cup peeled, ¼-inch diced carrots
½ cup frozen baby peas
½ cup cauliflower, in tiny florets, optional

GROUND MIXTURE:
1 tablespoon channa dal/desi channa dal
3 tablespoons raw cashews
1 tablespoon white poppy seed, optional
1 - 3 green chili peppers, seeds removed for less heat
1½-inch piece true cinnamon quill
2 whole green cardamom pods
2 whole cloves

TEMPERING:
1 - 2 tablespoons coconut oil
20 curry leaves
1 onion, chopped finely
1-inch piece fresh ginger, minced

1 can (14.5 ounce) coconut milk
½ -1 teaspoon salt, as needed

Heat a dry skillet over medium to medium high heat and toast the channa dal, stirring constantly, until deep golden. Set in a plate to cool. Toast the cashews briefly, stirring constantly, until they get some browned spots. Place into the plate to cool. Once cooled, put these and the remaining Ground Mixture ingredients into a blender container with ½-cup water and blend to a smooth paste. Set aside.

In a saucepan combine the cubed vegetables and just barely cover with water. Bring to boil, reduce to simmer and cook the vegetables until tender, about 15 to 20 minutes. While the vegetables cook, heat the skillet again and add in the coconut oil. Once hot, drop in the curry leaves to crackle a bit and add in the onion. Saute the onion until nice and soft, but not golden. Add in the ginger and stir, cooking just until fragrant. Add the reserved ground past mixture along with the vegetables with their water and the coconut milk. Add in the salt and taste for seasoning. Stir well and cover over very low simmer, to meld flavors.

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Appam, huh?

Appam seems to be a generic term for a whole variety of possible iterations of the basic rice and coconut based bread-like accompaniments that run from thin and crepe-like to pancake thick and all sorts of variations. The terms are very confusing, because many places seem to term Appam and Palappam as the same thing. Then there is Vallayappam, which seems to be the same batter, except instead of thinning to crepe-consistency, this batter is left like pancake batter and made like pancakes, although without flipping them. There are also Idiyappam, where the batter is pressed through a device that results in strings that are bunched into an idli mold and steamed, as for idli. There are some variations that call for the addition of some vegetables and or onion. It seems, truly, that the variations are almost endless, when it comes to Appam.

Appam / Palappam

What all of this comes down to is the use of rice and coconut in a fermented batter. The batter is fermented, similarly to idli, whether by natural fermentation, the use of yeast or the use of a local fermented alcoholic beverage. In the making of idli, I have yet to have the batter actually ferment, so I end up using a bit of baking soda at the last minute. In the recipe I cobbled together for my Appam, I did use yeast, and the batter fermented beautifully, all bubbly and aromatic in the morning. My Appam (or Palappam) are a bowl-shaped crepe-like creation, and often are cooked until the underside is truly browned. I cooked mine to a bit less done: they were golden underneath, though nowhere approaching browned. They are delicate and soft and white and lacy. 

To make these, a rounded pan, like a small wok (called an appachatti), is used. The batter is poured into the center and quickly swirled, as for crepes, but with the batter going up the rounded edges, then pooling back down to the center. The center remains thicker and soft, while the outer edges become very lacy and a little crisp. As I do not own an appachatti, I used my smallest pan, an old All-Clad "non-stick" 8-inch pan. When I rotated the pan to allow the batter access to the sides, I had to be careful not to get the batter onto the inner rivets, as it would stick. So, my appams were a little lower on one side, but it made no difference at all.

The true recipe for Appam (of any variety) calls for the use of raw rice and fresh coconut. It can also call for additions of Poha rice (a flattened, dried, parboiled rice) or some previously cooked and cooled rice. Some recipes call for a cooked rice flour paste to be added also. As the batter should ferment, and I have no local Indian alcoholic beverage on hand (in the U.S. southwest), I used a yeast version and made a shortcut method that worked wonderfully well.

Appam / Palappam

Appam / Palappam

Makes about 20 (10-inch) Appam

2 cups plain white rice flour
1 can (14.5 ounce) unsweetened coconut milk
1½ cups water, plus more for adjusting
¼ cup pre-cooked, cooled white rice
3 tablespoons sugar
½ teaspoon instant yeast
¾ teaspoon salt

Eight hours before using the batter: Mix the coconut milk and water in a blender with the cooked rice, sugar and yeast, blend briefly, then add in the rice flour and starting slowly, blend the mixture to a fine batter. If it is too thick, add in water, ½ cup at a time, until just shy of crepe batter consistency. Pour into a large mixing bowl and cover with plastic film. Allow this to stand on the counter 8 hours, or overnight.

After 8 hours, the batter should be bubbly and yeasty smelling. Stir and add in the salt. If the mixture is still too thick (which is easy to determine once you make one or two), add more water, a little at a time.
Preheat a small, round-sided pan. I used an 8-inch (bottom diameter) skillet. Whatever pan is used, it should have rounded, flared sides. Once very hot, brush with a film of ghee or coconut whatever is needed to be able to very quickly roll the pan so the batter goes up the sides of the pan. Once done swirling, the remaining batter should pool in the center of the pan, while the edges become very lacy. It takes a few minutes at medium heat or higher until the edges begin to loosen. Once the appam is browned on the bottom, remove to a plate. Amount of browning is totally subjective.

Serve these appam with the Vegetable Ishtu recipe above, or (less authentically) with Sambar. It is also great with any chutney, or any meat or fish stew leftover from dinner. 



My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.

An Idea for Leftover Turkey or Chicken

I realize that not everyone has leftover turkey in September. I did happen to bake a turkey breast recently, and even with just the breast, there were leftovers. Plenty of them, really. 

I have a very old cookbook, "Better Homes and Gardens Favorite Ways with Chicken, Turkey, Duck and Game Birds," copyright 1967. Long title, but the part that is biggest and boldest is just "Favorite Ways with Chicken." Chicken and turkey can be interchanged in a recipe, so this book has been very handy over the years. The difficulty lay in the fact that when I began learning to cook, I was in Guatemala, where many of the things called for just did not exist. Like canned soup. If anyone is fond of reaching for a can of soup to make a sauce or gravy, not having them is a distinct disadvantage. 
 

Turkey Crepe Casserole

When I went to Guatemala, I was just 20 years old. Just barely out of teenage, and still very full of myself, with all the pride and hubris only a teenager can have. It is only later, when one looks back on her life that this becomes very apparent. And yet, without all that, I may never have managed to learn all that I did. I learned, not just to cook things I knew of from home, but new foods, some I'd never heard of prior to my time there. I went about learning all I possibly could. I felt I needed to prove myself. Prove I was a good housewife and mother. Learn the language, so I could understand and be understood. I applied myself diligently, although sometimes kicking and screaming.

So, when looking through this cookbook, I found the idea of making crepes quite interesting. I didn't generally have access to turkey, but chicken? Yes, of course. And then I ran into the problem of canned soup. I did know that a creamed soup straight from the can was thick, and had to be diluted. So, I felt I could create a similar product by making a roux and adding less liquid to keep it thick. The liquid would have to be well flavored, to be able to flavor the casserole. At that time I did use bouillon cubes. The ones most commonly available in Guatemala were "Maggi" brand. As it turned out, this approach worked out well, and I have made the recipe the same ever since. Except I don't use bouillon cubes anymore, because of the amount of salt and MSG. Instead, these days I use either a chicken "base" or a chicken demi-glace for the chicken flavor I am looking for. 

Back at that time in Guatemala, I kept milk in the house, as I had growing kids, and I did eat cereal. These days, I don't keep milk in the house, as we don't drink it, nor do we eat cereal (except for me and oatmeal, but no milk there either). What I do keep is either heavy cream or evaporated milk, and usually both, in case of need, such as this. So when mixing milk into some of the faux "can of soup" mixture, I either dilute the cream or the evaporated milk with half water and use that. 

Ultimately, the recipe is fantastic, making use of some leftover cooked chicken or turkey, albeit in very small portion. It is delicious, and with a salad and some green beans alongside, a very nice and satisfying meal indeed, whether as a dinner or as a brunch.

Turkey (or Chicken) Crepe Casserole

Turkey Crepe Casserole

Serving size 2 - 3 crepes

CREPES:
1 egg
1 cup milk
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
1 cup all-purpose flour

FILLING:
1 cup finely diced cooked turkey or chicken
1 (9 - 10-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed, squeezed dry
¼ cup Panko crumbs
¼ cup freshly-grated Parmesan cheese
¼ cup finely minced shallot

CHICKEN BECHAMEL:
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon white pepper
1 teaspoon chicken "base" or chicken demi-glace
1¼ cup hot water
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1 cup milk
½ cup sliced almonds

Make Crepes: Beat egg, milk, melted butter and flour, either with a whisk or a blender, until smooth. Do not over beat. Heat a small (7 to 10-inch) nonstick skillet. Lightly grease the skillet (nonstick cooking spray works well). Pour in 2 tablespoons of the batter and lift the pan, swirling the batter to as large a circle possible. Set pan on heat and allow the top of the crepe to become dry, similarly to a pancake. Remove the crepe to a plate and repeat this procedure, 2 tablespoons at a time, until you have 12 crepes, lightly browned on the bottoms but not the top. Set them aside.
 

Making Crepes

Make the Filling: Combine all the filling ingredients in a bowl and set aside.

Make the Bechamel: Mix together the hot water and the chicken "base" or demiglace, stirring until dissolved together. Set aside to cool while beginning the sauce. In a saucepan, melt the butter. Once melted, stir in the flour, salt and white pepper until smooth. Add in the chicken base mixture, stirring, until the mixture is thick. Pour half of this thickened mixture into the Filling mixture, as a binder, stirring to incorporate.

To the remainder of the bechamel, add the last cup of milk and stir well. Set aside.
 

Filling crepes and arranging in casserole

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Have ready a 9 x 13-inch casserole, lightly sprayed with cooking spray. Set one crepe, unbrowned side upwards. Spoon a heaping tablespoon of filling onto one end of the crepe and roll up. Set into the casserole, then repeat with the remaining crepes and filling. 

Once filled, pour the remaining bechamel mixture over top of the crepes. Sprinkle with the sliced almonds. Bake the casserole for 30 minutes, until bubbling. 

My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.

Easy, Versatile Crepes

If anyone out there has never made crepes, all I can ask is, "WHY?" 

You have all probably made pancakes. Crepes are just thin pancakes. There is no horrible science. They are not at all scary to make. Just a little time investment is all they need. The great thing about crepes is they can be made up to a week in advance of using them, so they are great to make ahead when there is going to be a time crunch. 

Crepes, for all their simplicity, can elevate a meal or a dessert to new heights, just by their very nature. They look pretty. They look inviting. And, if you thought they were hard to make or too scary - chances are, your guests will think the same and you have just won yourself more culinary points in their eyes! Only you will know how easy they are.

Crepes folded in quarters with a sweet chestnut paste filling

I was scanning blogs and other sites to see what people thought about crepes. Lots of complaints, but then lots of people just like to complain about something. A recipe I saw with similar amounts to mine had one woman say she was busy for "hours" making these and what a pain it was. It took me just 2 minutes per crepe. My turnout was 17 crepes, so approximately 35 - 40 minutes in total. The nice thing is, once the batter is made, it has to be refrigerated before use, so that step can be done up to a few days ahead. When ready to make the crepes, they do not have to be made all at once. Heat the skillet and give yourself 15 minutes. Make as many in that time as you can. Stack them between waxed paper and store them in a zip-top bag in the refrigerator. Next day, make a few more and stack them with the ones made previously, and so on. Crepes are the ultimate in do ahead ease.

Crepes with Ricotta Cream Cheese Filling and Blueberries

Once you have your crepes, and have decided whether they will be for a sweet or savory application, you will have to decide on fillings. The little bit of sugar in the crepe batter can be eliminated completely if desired, even for a sweet filling; it's just a matter of choice. I made a ricotta and cream cheese filling, flavored with orange zest and vanilla and topped this with fresh blueberries. Any fresh fruit will be good in crepes. Mixtures such as Nutella and banana seem to be a strong contender for a prized filling, particularly for breakfast or a snack. Remember, once the crepes are in the fridge, it is easy to grab one for something quick. Crepes can be rolled, folded in quarters or folded up like a burrito. They can be used to hold blintz filling and fried or baked. They can hold savory foods. Try using shredded meat and gravy for a perky use for leftovers. Use them to hold a breakfast egg mixture of choice. The applications are endless and only limited by your imagination.

I had not made crepes for quite some time and was unsure how many the recipe would make, so I started out using about 3 tablespoons of batter per crepe. This turned out making crepes that were far larger than needed, so I scaled back to 2 tablespoons of batter per crepe. I got 17 crepes out of the recipe, having started with more batter per crepe, so I am not totally sure of the yield for this recipe. I would estimate at least 20. If you want to make tiny crepes for a party appetizer, try using just 1 tablespoon. My crepes were about 7 inches at first, using 3 tablespoons of batter, and were about 6 inches when I scaled back to 2 tablespoons of batter.

Crepes with Ricotta Cream Cheese Filling

Crepes

Makes about 20 (6-inch) crepes

1¼ cups milk

3 large eggs

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

¾ cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar, optional
¼ teaspoon salt 

Nonstick Spray 

These are easiest made in a nonstick skillet measuring about 10-inches at the bottom. Heat the pan over medium heat to start. Once heated, spray lightly with the cooking spray and have ready a spoon, ladle or other measure that will hold approximately 2 tablespoons of batter at a time. Spoon one (2 tablespoon) portion of the batter into the hot pan and immediately lift the pan, tilting and swirling to spread the batter as thinly as possible. Once the batter no longer spreads, set back on heat and wait for 1 – 1½ minutes, or until the top looks dry and it is easy to insert a spatula underneath. Flip the crepe and cook for about ½ minute longer. If the crepes take longer than this to cook, turn the heat up slightly. If they want to burn, turn the heat down slightly.

Stack the crepes on waxed paper when done. If using immediately, set aside on a plate. If making ahead, cool the stack of crepes and store in a sealed container or zip-top bag in the refrigerator until needed.

Ricotta Cream Cheese Filling

Enough to fill the above amount of crepes
 
¾ cup ricotta cheese
6 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
½ cup confectioners’ sugar
2 tablespoons fresh orange zest
1 teaspoon vanilla 

Using a hand mixer, combine the ricotta and cream cheese. Add the confectioners’ sugar and beat until incorporated. Add the orange zest and vanilla and beat to combine. Cover and refrigerate until needed.

Use about 1½ to 2 tablespoons of filling per 6-inch crepe, smearing quickly over the surface. Top with blueberries as shown, or other fruit of choice and roll up into a tube shape to serve. Top with confectioners' sugar and more berries.



My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.