My Grandma's Pancakes

Swedish pancakes, crepes, Grandpa's pancakes. It doesn't matter what you call them so long as you call them breakfast sometime very soon. It's a long weekend coming up. Perfect for spending a little extra time making something special for breakfast.

As kids we would go up to my Grandparents house on the lake almost every weekend. Us kids- my brother, cousins, and I- would get up early on Saturday and go with Grandpa on his morning walk to the "treat store" (when the grand kids weren't there I'm pretty sure he just called it the store where he got the newspaper). If you weren't up by the time Grandpa left for his walk you were left behind. We would get home and have some "crepes" that Grandma had started making at the butt-crack of dawn in order to feed the hordes.

I use quotations on "crepes" because these are not your dainty French crepes that are not to brown when cooking. These are big, spotty Swedish pancakes. Only Grandma is Estonian. They're not pancakes- those are fluffy and you put maple syrup on them- so we just called them crepes. We would get home from the treat store with our candy that we were not to eat until after breakfast and sit down to stuff our faces with crepes.

In hindsight, I'm not sure why we had to wait to eat our candy. Now that I think about it, the crepes probably weren't much better on the healthy scale. We always ate them with strawberries and whipped cream or applesauce with cinnamon sugar. When I was a bit older I also started to eat them with lemon juice (from a bottle but now I'm a snob and use fresh) and sugar. The crunch of the sugar with the tartness of the lemon is my favourite. Jam is good too. Or you could eat them like Grandma- standing at the counter after everyone had finished eating, holding a crepe smeared with lingonberry jam in one hand and a cigarette in the other.

I wish I could say that this is Grandma's recipe, but she doesn't have a recipe. She's been making crepes so long that she just mixes stuff together, tastes the result, and tweaks it if needed. Perhaps one day I'll get there, but even recipes I know off by heart I still look up just to be sure. So I cobbled together a recipe from a bunch of different recipes for Swedish pancakes online. These are very close to Grandma's. If you're really good you can work two pans at once in order to crank them out faster like Grandma used to.

PS I wish I had taken made the crepe in the lead photo look nicer, like the one below. Or used a smaller plate at least. But I am digging the breakfast table setting so I went with that one. I guess I don't do my best food styling at 7:30 am. My apologies. 

One Year Ago: Mystery Box Dinner and The Reveal

Two Years Ago: Bulgar Salad + Three Corn Cornbread

Three Years Ago: n/a

GRANDMA'S CREPES

Serves 8 (2 crepes per person, although members of my family have been known to eat 5 in one sitting)

• 4 eggs
• 2 cups milk
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup butter, divided (to grease the pan)

Toppings:

• Applesauce and cinnamon
• Jam
• Berries- thawed from frozen are good, then you get some nice berry juice
• Lemon and sugar

Heat an 8 to 10 inch skillet over medium high heat. Whisk together milk and eggs in a large bowl. Add flour, sugar, salt and whisk until mostly smooth.

Once pan is heated add a small pat of butter and spread around the pan to coat. Add a soup ladle of batter while turning pan so that batter coats it evenly. You'll get a feel for how much batter to add for the next one on this first crepe- you don't want your crepe too thin or too thick. Even if they're not perfect, they'll be rolled up so don't sweat it. Flip once the crepe is golden on the bottom, about 45 seconds to a minute. Cook until browned on second side.

Transfer to a plate, stacking subsequent crepes on top. If crepes cool before eaten, warm one at a time (i.e. the one you're about to eat) in the microwave for 15 seconds. Spread desired filling all over the crepe or just down the middle- everyone has their preference- and roll up.

Soft Scrambled Eggs

I had the best day with my son, Parker, on Friday. I'll be honest- the first year was rough and made me not want to have any more kids. He's 19 months now, so it's just beginning, I know, but so far the toddler years are so much fun! Sure, he has tantrums and sometimes screams at the top of his lungs in the middle of the grocery store, but at least we're now getting some sleep. Everything is doable if you have more than 4 hours of sleep a night.

Parker and I started the morning by watching Samantha Pynn's (I love her interior design style) show Summer Home and drinking coffee (me, not the kid obviously... worst parent ever). Then we went for a long walk. Long time-wise; it was only 1 km to the store but it took us 45 minutes. Parker wanted to pick up every stone, compare every pine cone, chase every robin, and touch his forehead to every tree branch within reach (I've said it before and I'll say it again- my kid is weird and awesome). We went to the grocery store, baked a pie (I cooked, Parker ate gobs of pureed pumpkin the whole time), made a pizza. To end the evening Parker had a fun bath where he "washed" all of his sea animal bath toys. I love getting to know this wild and crazy guy.

Then to top off that wonderful day, Saturday morning I made the best scrambled eggs of my life. I will never make scrambled eggs any other way again. Sure, there are lots of ways to make scrambled eggs- even microwaved scrambled eggs are decent. But nothing compares to these Soft Scrambled Eggs from Bon Appetit this month. They are custard-y, buttery, and don't take all that much longer than your standard scrambled eggs. Mother's Day is coming up and your mother wants you to make her these eggs. Trust me.

SOFT SCRAMBLED EGGS

Bon Appetit April 2012

The above link also has a video on how to make these eggs, with great tips on the technique. I cooked mine a little further than how they do it in the video- personal preference. Also, I started the eggs just above medium heat and then reduced to medium-low when they started to cook. I have a gas stove, but if you are using electric I would stick to medium-low the whole time as you don't have the instant temperature control of gas. Also, I use salted butter for everything. So although the original recipe calls for unsalted, salted is fine too but you probably won't need to season with more salt.

• 4 large eggs
• 2 tbsp butter, divided
• pinch cayenne pepper or ground black pepper (I prefer black pepper, but the eggs won't be as uniform in colour)
• salt to season, if required

Combine eggs, 1 1/2 tbsp butter, cayenne in a small saucepan. Place over medium-low heat, whisking gently and constantly while scraping bottom and sides of pan, until eggs are just thickened, creamy, and small curds begin to form, 3–4 minutes total. (If mixture begins to stick to pan while cooking, remove from heat; whisk gently for 30 seconds, then continue cooking over heat.) Remove from heat. Add 1/2 tbsp butter; whisk until melted. Season with salt if needed. Serve immediately.

Ham, Cheese, and Spinach Strata

What do you do when you have a couple of slices of ham, half a loaf of week old bread, and a couple ends of cheese lurking in your fridge? You make strata! Or I do anyways.

You can hide all kinds of good stuff in here. I mixed some pumpkin puree into the batter and you really can't tell it is there. For spinach haters the spinach can be left out of course, but please try it with the spinach- you won't really taste it and it adds so much nutrition and colour.

Any bread, except white sandwich bread, will do, but I had a loaf of Seeduction bread from Whole Foods that my Grannie brought when she visited last week (no Whole Foods here, unfortunately). This bread is a showstopper- it's deeply brown and crusty with lots of different seeds. If you can find a loaf like that, all the better. This is the only way Tyler will eat bread like this- he doesn't like his bread with "stuff" in it.

Strata, bread pudding, call it what you want, either way it is delicious. The best strata ever is my Papa's (now my uncle's since Papa passed away). It is reserved for once a year at Easter, not only because it contains just bread, cheese, eggs, and possibly cream (read: no vegetables) but because it is something to look forward to once a year. If we made it all the time it wouldn't be special anymore, right?

HAM, CHEESE, AND SPINACH STRATA

Serves 4

• 1/2 loaf crusty bread (stale is better), cut into bite-sized cubes
• 1/2 300g box frozen chopped spinach, thawed and excess moisture squeezed out
• 1 cup diced ham
• 1 cup grated cheese
• 3 eggs
• 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
• 1 cup milk
• salt and pepper to season

Toss together cubed bread, spinach, ham, and cheese in a large bowl. In a medium bowl, whisk together remaining ingredients. Pour egg mixture into bowl with bread and stir to coat all bread cubes with batter. Let stand while oven heats.

Heat oven to 375 degrees F. Coat a casserole dish with cooking spray. When oven is heated, pour bread mixture into prepared dish. Bake 35-45 minutes, or until top is browned and crusty.

Sriracha Devilled Eggs

Sometimes I make devilled eggs for myself. Is that so crazy? Everyone loves them. They're always the first to go at a party (you know you're getting old when devilled eggs make an appearance at your parties). They even have a lengthy Wikipedia page. Why save them for special occasions? If you're going to eat a hard-boiled egg, take an extra 30 seconds and mix the yolk with some mayo. And while you're at it add some sriracha. 

Sriracha devilled eggs. It's where it's at. Yo.

SRIRACHA DEVILLED EGGS

Serves 1

I really don't think this needs a recipe, but here you go anyway.

• 2 hard-boiled eggs, cut in half and yolks removed
• 1 tsp mayo
• 1/4 sriracha, or more to taste
• pinch salt and pepper

Mix egg yolks, mayo, sriracha, salt in a small bowl. Spoon into egg whites. Sprinkle with a little pepper.

Mushroom, Caramelized Onion and Goat Cheese Quiche

Dang, it's been almost 2 months since my last post. It's not that I haven't been cooking- that would be akin to not breathing- but I haven't made anything worth sharing. For some reason everything has been turning out just okay.

I had really high hopes for brownies from Fat Witch Brownies, considering people (in Internet land, not people I know) have said they're the best brownies ever. They aren't even in my top 10 best brownies ever. I made two versions from the book and neither was very chocolaty. Call me crazy, but if I'm going to indulge in a brownie I'd like it to have full on chocolate flavour. I did however make some great pecan bars from the book, so not all is lost. I will be keeping that recipe once the book goes back to the library.

So, the aforementioned quiche. My cousin and her boyfriend, who are awesome and love food and I'm so glad they're back from BC cause I missed them, came for lunch yesterday and kicked me out of my cooking rut. This quiche was awesome. The combo of goat cheese, onions, and mushrooms is delicious, but really anything can go in quiche. Want to make a man-quiche (cause quiche is kinda girly, right?)- add some sausage. Make it Mediterranean inspired with sun-dried tomatoes, olives, roasted red peppers. Or, leave out the crust and make it a frittata.

One Year Ago: Roasted Tomato and Goat Cheese Pasta

Stuffed Pasta Shells

Dinner Party Menu

Easy Cheesecake

MUSHROOM, CARAMELIZED ONION AND GOAT CHEESE QUICHE

Serves 4

The pastry recipe will make two crusts, so you can either make two quiches or freeze the half the dough for another use. The key to rolling out pie dough successfully is keep it moving- do a couple rolls, then give it a quarter turn. If it starts to stick dust with a little flour. If it rips when at any point, just press it back together- you're only going to see the edge of it once the filling is in anyway.

• 1 pie crust- store bought or using this recipe
• 2 onions, sliced thinly
• 250 g mushrooms, sliced
• butter and olive oil for cooking
• 1/4 cup goat cheese, crumbled
• 2 eggs + 2 egg yolks
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. If using homemade dough, roll out to larger than pie plate and line pie plate with dough. Cut off excess leaving about 1/2 inch overhand. Fold overhang in and press with a fork to make a nice edge. Refrigerate until filling is ready.

Melt some butter and olive oil over medium heat in a large saute pan. Add onions, season with salt and pepper, and cover for 5 minutes. Remove lid and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are golden brown, about 15 minutes- don't let them get crispy. Set onions aside. Add a little more butter and olive oil to the pan and turn up heat to medium high. Add mushrooms, season with salt and pepper, saute until golden brown. Set aside.

In a medium mixing bowl whisk together eggs, yolks, milk, and season with salt and pepper. Remove crust from fridge and place onions, mushrooms, and goat cheese in bottom. Pour over eggs. Bake 30-35 minutes in lower middle of oven, until filling is just set. Cool for 5 to 10 minutes before serving.

Hiding in Plain Sight + 1 Year!

It has been exactly a year since I started this blog! A year ago I wasn't sure how long I would continue this. I thought I'd just see how it went and I figured I'd lose interest after a while to be honest. I tend to do that with hobbies. I know I haven't been posting much lately- hopefully that will change as this baby thing gets easier.

Lately, however, I have been putting a lot of thought into how I can boost the nutrition in what we are eating. When I do get a chance to make something to eat when Parker goes to sleep, I want it to pack in as much vitamins, fibre, etc as I can without compromising flavor. I mean, if I want to eat mac n' cheese, I don't want some super healthy bastardization of mac n' cheese with tofu and cauliflower instead of noodles or some such nonsense. But I do want something a little healthier- and I hate side salads- so I try to think of some way to boost the nutrition a bit so as to not feel guilty about eating just a bowl of noodles and cheese for lunch. Plus I get a certain satisfaction from saying, "How do you like the mac n' cheese? HA! There's pumpkin in it and you didn't even know it!"

So, this post is about sharing some of the more creative ways I have been upping the nutrients in our meals.  Hopefully I will inspire you to trick your kid, husband, or yourself into eating just a little healthier.

Leafy Greens: For the last few weeks I have bought a tub of baby spinach or arugula to keep in the fridge. Then I find ways to use it throughout the week, mostly by throwing a couple of handfuls into the pan at the end of cooking and letting it wilt. This works great for pasta, rice, etc. and was delicious with a fried egg on toast (pictured at the top). I have even put a small handful of greens into my morning smoothie.

Pureed Pumpkin: I used canned pumpkin left over from making pumpkin pie in all kinds of things. Add a quarter cup to mac n' cheese or Kraft dinner and you won't even know it's there. I also put it into a spread for crostini (pseudo-recipe below).

Beans: White beans are delicious in pasta, or pureed with herbs into a hummus-type spread.

Frozen Vegetables: I would say throw frozen veggies into any number of dishes, except that I hate frozen veggies. I find them watery and gross. So what I do is thaw them, drain off any excess water, and puree them with tomato pasta sauce.


Frozen Peas: I'm sure you've caught on to my love of frozen peas by now- see this post and also this one- but I also put peas in anything that I think needs a boost of veggies.

One Year Ago: Inaugural Post with Caldo Verde recipe

BUTTERNUT SQUASH, ROASTED GARLIC, AND CANNELINI BEAN SPREAD

I haven't listed measurements here for two reasons: I didn't measure as I made this and because it is really a throw together recipe that I came up with because I had all these odds and ends of leftovers in the fridge. 

• cannelini beans (also called white kidney beans)
• roasted squash
• pureed pumpkin
• roasted garlic cloves
• salt and pepper
• red pepper flakes
• splash of lemon juice
• olive oil
• fresh parsley, rosemary, or sage

Puree everything but herbs in a food processor until smooth, scraping down sides as necessary. Add herbs, pulse a few times to chop herbs small and combine into spread. Serve on crostini, crackers, or even use as a sandwich spread.

Breakfast Club Sandwiches

I'm back on the bacon train! I've been off bacon since I first became pregnant because it made me feel sick, even just the thought of it. Slowly but surely over the last month, however, I've been becoming friends with bacon again. As a result of my temporary bacon aversion, I haven't made weekend breakfasts for a while. I saw Ricardo Larrivee make these sandwiches on his show this past week (side note: does he play for the other team or is he just French? Talk amongst yourselves) and I've been thinking about it ever since, so made this on this holiday morning and it was fantastic. Tyler high-fived me, so I take it the breakfast club sandwich gets the husband stamp of approval as well.

BREAKFAST CLUB SANDWICH

Adapted from Ricardo and Friends on The Food Network

Serves 2 (recipe is very easily multiplied to serve more)

• 4 eggs
• 1/4 cup milk
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 4 slices bacon
• 6 slices sandwich bread
• Mayonnaise (or Miracle Whip if you live in my house)
• 1 tomato, sliced
• 2 leaves Romaine lettuce

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Lightly beat eggs, milk, salt, pepper in a small baking dish. Put bacon on a baking sheet or broiler pan. Bake eggs and bacon in oven until bacon is crisp and golden and eggs are set- about 10 minutes for the bacon and about 5 minutes more for the eggs. Remove bacon to drain on paper towels. Cut eggs in half and fold each half over itself (like you would an omelet).

While bacon and eggs are cooking, toast bread. Spread one side of 4 of the slices with mayo, spread both sides of the remaining bread with mayo (this is your middle piece of the club sandwich).

To assemble each sandwich, place egg on the mayo side of a slice of toast, top with double-mayo toast, top that with 2 slices of bacon, tomato, lettuce. Top sandwich with another slice of toast. Slice in half or quarters diagonally to serve. 

Farm food pick up

I picked up my farm vegetables last night (see this previous post on my local food discovery). I went to the church where the pick up was being held, not knowing what to expect. I also realized that I had forgotten to bring cloth bags to bring the stuff home in, and I was pretty sure that plastic bags would get me shunned. I used a box in my trunk which was totally unwieldy and awkward but it did the job.

So here's how it works. You go into the church gymnasium, pick up your list of what you ordered from which farm at the front, and walk around to each of the tables picking up your order. Then they check your order, you pay and go. That is how it is supposed to work anyway. If you are me, you walk around aimlessly with a massive cardboard box, get frustrated that you can't find a few things (who knew that Jerusalem artichokes look like small potatoes?), go to the front to pay anyways, then the cashier has to run around finding things for you. I may be shunned after all...

I am very pleased with my veggies (and eggs) and honored them by making roasted root vegetables with lemon aioli for dipping. The list of stuff I got- almost all organic- and ailoi recipe follows. To roast the veg, I cut them into batons, tossed with some olive oil, salt and pepper, and roasted them in a single layer on a baking sheet at 400 degrees F for about 25 minutes, tossing halfway through.
4 huge red onions
2 small spaghetti squash
1 x 3L basket Gala apples
1 x 2L basket small sweet potatoes
1 lb Jerusalem artichokes
2 butternut squash
1 celeriac
2 bulbs garlic
1b parsnips
1 dozen free range eggs
= 33.75 total

LEMON AILOI
Adapted from Bon Appetit via Epicurious.com

*This makes a lot- about 2 cups, and I even halved the recipe.

• 5 garlic cloves, peeled
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 large egg yolks
• 3 tbsp water
• zest of 1 lemon, grated
  
• 4 tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1/2 cups light fruity olive oil
• 1/2 canola oil
• 1/4 tsp white pepper
  

Mash garlic and salt in mortar with pestle until paste forms. Whisk egg yolks, 6 tablespoons water, lemon juice, and mustard in medium metal bowl. Whisk in garlic mixture. Set bowl over saucepan of barely simmering water (do not allow bottom of bowl to touch water) and whisk constantly until mixture thickens and instant-read thermometer inserted into mixture registers 140°F for 3 minutes, about 10 minutes total. Remove bowl from over water. Cool mixture to room temperature, whisking occasionally, about 15 minutes. Gradually whisk oil into yolk mixture in very thin slow stream; continue whisking until aioli is thick. Season to taste with pepper and more salt, if desired.