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Crêpes with Strawberries and Whipped Cream

This simple, quick Martha Stewart crêpe batter recipe is sure to impress and delight! These crêpes make for a great Sunday breakfast, or a nice dessert.

I filled these with homemade whipped cream and sliced strawberries, drizzled with chocolate, but the sky is the limit! Try just a pat of butter on a warm, fresh off the skillet crêpe, sprinkled with some granulated or powdered sugar. Try mixed berries or filled with Nutella.

A few notes: this batter must rest for at least 1 hour or up to 1 day, so be sure to plan accordingly. Also, take your milk, and eggs out of the refrigerator at least 30 minutes prior to making your batter to ensure room temperature ingredients. This will make for a more evenly incorporated batter.

This recipe makes about one dozen large crêpes.

For the batter:

1  3/4 cup all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 cups whole milk, room temperature

3 whole eggs, room temperature

5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted (plus more for brushing your skillet)

Method:

  1. In a large bowl, mix together flour and salt. In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs and milk. Pour milk mixture into flour mixture and whisk until evenly combined.
  2. Whisk in melted butter until evenly combined. Strain through mesh sieve into large bowl, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour (or up to 1 day). Your batter should thicken slightly.
  3. Preheat a nonstick skillet over medium heat and brush with butter. Add about 1/3 cup of batter to skillet, and immediately tilt and turn skillet to distribute thin layer of batter in the pan.
  4. Cook about 1 minute, until batter has set, but not browned. Use a rubber spatula to loosen edges of the crêpe, and gently flip.  Cook about another 45 seconds to 1 minute, until bottom is firm.
  5. Slide crêpe onto a plate, and keep warm. Repeat process with remaining batter, and serve immediately, topped with sliced strawberries and whipped cream (see recipe below).

For whipped cream: (Easy 1:1:1 ratio)

1 cup heavy whipping cream

1 tablespoon confectioners or granulated sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Method:

  1. In a chilled metal bowl, beat heavy whipping cream until soft peaks form
  2. Add sugar and vanilla to bowl, and continue to beat until desired consistency.* Be sure not to over beat!

*For dolloping, soft peaks is a great consistency. For piping whipped cream, beat a little longer until stiffer consistency if formed.

Recipes

Ricotta Stuffed Eggplant

Ingredients:

2 large eggplants

Vegetable Oil

Salt and pepper

2 cups ricotta cheese

1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped

1/3 cup salami (can also use pepperoni, prosciutto, or sopressata), diced

1 tablespoon lemon zest

1 egg, beaten

2 cloves garlic, pressed

1/2 cup parmesan cheese

1 jar good quality tomato sauce

Method:

  1. Cut off end of eggplant and thinly slice lengthwise. Sprinkle slices with salt and let sit for 30 minutes.
  2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F, and preheat grill or cast iron griddle. Pat eggplant dry with a paper towel and drizzle with oil and season with salt and pepper.
  3. Grill eggplant slices on both sides until nice char marks appear, and are soft enough to roll into a cigar shape.
  4. In a medium bowl, mix ricotta, parsley, salami, lemon zest, egg and garlic until well combined.
  5. Begin to stuff the eggplant by spreading 1/8 cup of ricotta filling onto each slice of eggplant and roll into a cigar shape.
  6. In a 9×13 pan, spread 1/2 cup tomato sauce on the bottom and begin to place rolled and stuffed eggplant, seam side down into baking dish.
  7. Top with more tomato sauce, spreading it evenly and sprinkle parmesan over the top. Bake until top has browned, about 45 minutes. Before serving, sprinkle with fresh parsley.
Nutritional Profiles

Jicama

Commonly known as the Mexican yam, Jicama (pronounced “hick-uh-ma”) resembles closely to a turnip, but with a subtly sweet, crisp interior like that of an apple. Their tough skin is considered inedible and should be peeled before consumption.

Jicama is so versatile and can be used as a crudites alongside other matchstick-sliced veggies with your favorite hummus, dip or dressing. It can also be thrown into slaws, salads, or stir fry. A traditional serving of jicama is simply sliced and sprinkled with chili powder, salt and a squeeze of lime juice.

This sweet, crunchy underdog contains a hefty amount of vitamin C (great for staving off infections and boosting immunity), as well as fiber. Some studies show the inulin within jicama can help promote calcium absorption and stimulate good bacteria growth.

 

Recipes

Stuffed Peppers with Chorizo & Romesco

Romesco is a Spanish nut and red pepper based sauce and this is my version. Leftover sauce can be served with shrimp, potatoes, kabobs, or as a base for a panini.

These stuffed peppers use rice,  chorizo or spicy pepperoni, and manchego cheese to top off the Spanish theme of this dish.

Ingredients:

2-3 bell peppers

1 yellow onion, diced

1 jalapeno, diced

1 cup chorizo or pepperoni, diced

3 cups cooked long grain white rice

1 cup manchego cheese, grated

Romesco Ingredients:

3 cloves garlic

2 teaspoons salt

1/2 cup almonds (preferably marcona almonds)

1/4 cup canola oil

2 tablespoon fresh parsley

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

1 cup roasted bell pepper

1 teaspoon cayenne

Method:

  1. To prep peppers: cut off top 1/4 inch of pepper, and clean out seeds and white flesh from inside with a spoon.
  2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Bring a large saucepan to a boil, and place peppers into saucepan. Boil for 5 minutes, then drain up side down.
  3. In a preheated skillet, add 1 tablespoon vegetable oil and saute onion and jalapeno until onions are translucent. Add diced chorizo or pepperoni and saute another 2-3 minutes.  Remove from heat, add cooked rice, and mix until well combined.
  4. Slice peppers into boat shapes by slicing each pepper into thirds and place in a 9×13 pan. Fill each pepper boat with rice mixture and top with manchego cheese.
  5. Cover with foil, and place in oven for 25 minutes until peppers softened.
  6. Meanwhile, place ingredients for romesco in a high speed blender or a food processor until well combined.
  7. To serve, spoon romesco over pepper boats.
Recipes

Orecchiette with Swiss Chard & Spicy Italian Sausage

This distinctive looking pasta, orecchiette,  earns its name from the word ‘orecchio’ or ‘ear’  and originates from Southern Italy. Orecchiette is a great pasta for dressing up an occasion. This recipe uses beautiful colors of swiss chard and spicy italian sausage for heat and some saltiness.

Note that this recipe reserves 1 cup of the pasta water to make a sauce, so be sure not to dump all of the pasta water when draining the cooked pasta!

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 pound spicy italian sausage

2 cloves garlic, pressed or minced

4 leaves of swiss chard, stems and leaves separated (thinly dice stems and cut leaves into thin ribbons)

1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

salt and pepper to taste

1 pound orecchiette pasta

1 cup reserved pasta water

optional: 1/4 cup fresh chopped parsley & 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

Method:

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil.

2. In a preheated medium skillet, add 1 tablespoon vegetable oil and sausage. Break apart with a wooden spoon and continue to cook over medium high heat until all meat is browned and cooked through.

3. Next, add garlic to skillet and cook 1 minute, stirring to be sure not to burn garlic. Then add chard stems and cook another 2 minutes until slightly softened. Add red pepper flakes and season with salt and pepper. Remove from heat.

4. Once water is boiling, cook pasta until al dente, usually about 10 minutes (cook to package instructions). Reserve 1 cup pasta water when draining pasta.

5. Add 1 cup pasta water and pasta to skillet and return to a low- medium heat to warm through and mix. Add chard leaves and check seasoning.

6. Optional: serve with fresh parsley and grated parmesan cheese

Recipes

Breakfast Quinoa

Quinoa for breakfast? That’s right! I am always trying to find more wholesome ways to start my day other than a bowl of cereal.

I cook extra quinoa at the beginning of the week, and use it for breakfast during the week. Really, this recipe is good hot or cold.

To cook the quinoa:

1 cup quinoa

2 cups water

1/2 teaspoon salt

Method:

  1. Combine quinoa, water and salt in saucepan and bring to a boil.
  2. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low and bring to a simmer.
  3. Simmer for 15-20 minutes, until water is absorbed.
  4. Remove from heat and leave covered for 5 minutes. Uncover, and fluff with a fork.

Ingredients:

1 cup quinoa, cooked

1/8 cup dried apricots, chopped

2 tablespoons maple syrup

1/4 cup fresh blueberries

1 tablespoon orange zest

Optional: 1/4 cup chopped nuts (pecans, walnuts, or toasted hazelnuts are great)

Method:

1. Preheat skillet over medium heat, and add 1 tablespoon vegetable oil and the quinoa. Stir until quinoa is warm.

2. Add dried apricots, and stir.

3. Remove from heat, and add maple syrup, blueberries, orange zest and nuts. Enjoy!

Tips & Tricks

How to Dice an Onion

Here is a little tutorial on how to efficiently dice an onion. It takes practice but once you get it, you will find relief in not having to spend minutes re-chopping what you’ve already diced. Make sure you have a knife with a sharp blade. There is nothing more dangerous than trying to cut with a dull knife.

To start, make a flat surface on the onion by slicing off the blossom end (the papery end of the onion, NOT the root end!). It is very important to leave the root end in tact to hold the onion together as you begin to make your cuts.

onion

Now that you have a flat surface to work with, cut the onion in half vertically, cutting through the root, so there is a little root on each half as shown below:

onion

Now, peel off the outer paper of the onion and place one half of the onion on the cutting board with the root facing opposite your cutting hand. (As shown below).

onion

With your knife parallel to the cutting board, make your cuts by using the entire length of the knife, starting with the heel and ending at the tip (bringing the knife towards you). Be sure not to cut through the root.

Continue to make your cuts up the onion as shown below.

onion

onion

Now to make your second set of cuts, turn the onion with the root facing away from you (at 12 o’clock), and make your cuts across the onion, again leaving the root intact:

onion

onion

Finally, for the last set of cuts, turn the onion back with the root facing opposite your cutting hand. As you make your way towards the root, the diced onion will nicely fall off the knife.

onion

onion

 

onion

 

onion

With practice, you will be left with a nice pile of diced onion with very little onion towards the root. Remember that the closer together you make your cuts, the smaller your dice will be.

Good Luck & Happy Dicing!

 

Recipes

Simple Spaghetti Squash with Garlic & Parsley

I love this recipe & is fantastic for a weekday meal. This is an easy way to get your veggies into your diet when you are craving pasta. Cooked in a little bit of butter and garlic makes for a mouth watering combination, and a lot of fresh parsley for a fresh, invigorating bite.

To Cook the Squash:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

2. Slice squash in half lengthwise, and scoop out seeds. Drizzle flesh with olive oil, salt and pepper, and place flesh side down onto a baking sheet and cook for 60-80 minutes, until flesh can easily be fluffed with a fork.

Ingredients:

2 cups spaghetti squash, cooked

2 tablespoons butter

2 cloves garlic, pressed

1/4 cup parmesan cheese

1/2 cup fresh chopped parsley

salt and pepper to taste

Method:

1. Preheat a skillet over medium heat; add butter and garlic. Cook garlic about 1 minute, careful to not let burn.

2. Add cooked spaghetti squash to skillet, and stir frequently until squash is rewarmed. Season with salt and pepper

3. Serve squash in a bowl, sprinkled with parmesan cheese and fresh parsley. Enjoy!

 

 

Nutritional Profiles

Spaghetti Squash

Spaghetti squash is a variety of winter squash with a shelf life of 1-2 months if stored properly. Do not refrigerate; keep in a dry, cool place until ready to use. This particular squash earns its name from its fluffy, stringy and pasta like flesh. To cook, preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Slice squash in half lengthwise, and scoop out seeds. Drizzle with oil and season with some salt and pepper and place flesh down onto a baking sheet. Cook for 60-80 minutes until flesh is soft and can be easily fluffed with a fork.

Avoid boiling when possible, as this tends to dilute the flavor. Roasting is an excellent way to cook spaghetti squash, or any winter squash, as roasting will enhance its sweetness by caramelizing its natural sugars.

Spaghetti squash is rich in fiber, which is great for digestive health, and many vitamins and minerals. For example, spaghetti squash is a good source of vitamin C (great for cellular growth & repair as well as your immune system), B-6 (which aids in energy metabolism), and manganese (which is important in thyroid, metabolic and bone health).

This variety of squash is great for sweet or savory dishes, and makes an easy substitute for pasta.

Recipes

Jicama Cilantro Slaw

A vibrantly colorful slaw or salad to share. The beets add an earthy heartiness, while the jicama offers a refreshingly sweet crunch.

Ingredients:

2 medium beets, roasted, peeled, and cut into matchsticks

1 large jicama, peeled and cut into matchsticks

2 oranges, segmented

1/2 cup cilantro, chopped

3 tablespoons lime juice

salt and pepper to season

Method:

1. In a medium bowl, mix together beets, jicama, orange, and cilantro

2. Toss with lime juice and season with salt and pepper to taste

3. Refrigerate one hour before serving.