Saturday, October 25, 2008

Hello Saturday Morning Breakfast!


I know what you're thinking: "Oh noes! Another sweets recipe - is she turning into one of those baking maniacs?"

Well the truth is that baked goods are so photogenic. And let's face it, no one really wants to visit a blog where all the writer moans about is calories, no butter and food that tastes like paste (hey, I rhymed!). Anyhoo, I'm not giving up on healthy meals just yet - the only time I have so far has been used to make recipes that I've wanted to try for a long time now. And those recipes just happen to be made up largely of sugar and flour (*wink!* -- Sarah Palin style).


Once again, a huge thank you to The Omnomicon for being a big inspiration. She set in motion my craving for crepes, something which I've never justified paying close to $7 in a restaurant for. I made a simple pear and vanilla compote to go with the crepes. The other variety was peanut butter, apples and cinnamon. I made a healthier crepe recipe using half all-purpose flour and half whole-wheat flour.


Basic Crepes
Makes 6 crepes

1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp sugar
Pinch salt
1 egg
1/4 tsp vanilla essence
1/4 cup low-fat or soy milk
1/4 cup water
1 tbsp melted butter

In a blender, combine all the wet ingredients first then the dry. Refrigerate batter for about 45 minutes.

In a non-stick 8" skillet, brush a little bit of cooking oil on the surface and pour 1/4 cup batter on the heated pan. Swirl the pan around the coat the entire surface of the pan. Heat should be on medium to low. Cook the crepe about 1 minute on the first side, flip and cook the either side for 1 minute. Add in ingredients and fold. Garnish with powdered sugar or honey.

Pear and vanilla compote
4 servings

1 large comiso pear (or soft bartlett pear), cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1/4 vanilla bean
4 tbsp brown sugar
1/2 tbsp lemon juice
1/4 cup water

Incise the vanilla bean through the middle and remove any seeds.

Bring 1/4 cup water to boil in a saucepan. Add in all the ingredients and simmer for about 20 minutes until the water has evaporated and the pear is soft.

8 comments:

Heather said...

oh, these look beautiful! i love cooking a nice breakfast on weekends :) such a wonderful, lazy way to start the day :)

Amanda said...

heather: It's always good to make a change from the usual toast or cereal. It gives me a reason to wake up on weekends instead of sleeping in till 12 :P

Anonymous said...

can you believe that i've never had a crepe before? they look amazing though! and i love that you used actualy vanilla bean...the little black dots make it more interesting and i'm sure it tastes better. question though: what do you do with the other 3/4 of a bean? how do you store it (or do you have to use it right away)? also, do you cut off the 1/4 and then slice it or just slice 1/4 of the way up the bean?

Anonymous said...

those crepes are divine! and it's never bad to go on a baking craze - everyone around you will love you, not that they don't already do :)
love tht i can see the vanilla seeds...makes it so pretty!

Amanda said...

mysweetestday: I got the inspiration for the compote from a jar of French jam - you really should try making crepes, it's super easy. I store the leftover vanilla in it's bag in a jar and put it in a dark place. It should keep for about 6 months. I sliced off the part I needed first, then did the incision.

diva: I think good quality vanilla pastes have the same "bean flecks" effect too. :)

Anonymous said...

These look so pretty!!!!

Anonymous said...

Those look absolutely amazing! I used to make crepes and fill them with banana and chocolate but this sounds so good!

test it comm said...

What a great way to start the day!