Kate's Crepe Mix

Well, as many of you know, this week I will be celebrating my 15th wedding anniversary with my crazy husband Ace. Let's face it...any man who has to deal with my passionate insanity...deserves a magnificent week! Am I right? So to kick it off, I thought I'd still keep with my theme for Mix Monday and show how to use food storage items to make something a little more...special. Mind you, my regular pancakes or biscuits are in and of themselves pretty awesome. I just wanted a step beyond the ordinary...for a very unbelievably odd...I mean...fantastic...marriage. On our first date, we had crepes. I have to admit that I was pulling out the big guns on the first date. It must have worked. He came swooning back day after day and calling me on the phone at all hours of the day and night. Now I realize it's called "stalking". Or is it only called that if you don't want someone else calling? I felt the same for him...so I guess it was love. Obsession. You name it. I don't need a name for it. It was amazing!

Ironically, before that first date, he sat by me every week for a month at our Sunday services in the singles congregation at church. I was getting annoyed because he had not asked me on a date or for my number. People...ya don't stake a claim if you don't call the dame. You know? Finally I decided to ask him out myself. That same fated week that I asked him out, his best friend had told him, "Dude...ask her out today or I'll break both your legs."

Yeah. I asked him out on our first date. Not that it matters. He was hooked already.

Blah,blah,blah...yadda, yadda, yadda...Well. I squealed when my dear sweet friend Kate sent me this wonderful email to start off the new year! It's like she read my mind on every level. That may not be too terribly hard to do...but...okay.

"Stephanie,
I wanted to wish you a happy new year and thank you for your blog. I read a lot of food blogs, but yours is my favorite. I appreciate the mix of practical, gourmet and quirky stuff you post about. I also wanted to make a suggestion for one of you mixes. My family and I have Swedish pancakes (i.e. crepes) several times a week and I have been using food storage stuffs to make it for some time. I thought it would make a good mix. Here is recipe I use, but you are welcome to toy with it:


1/2 c. powdered eggs
1 c. flour
1 T. sugar
1/3 c. instant powdered milk
1/2 tsp. salt

to that add 2 c. water and 2 tsp. vanilla. Blend in blender or really well by hand. We use a non-stick pan and some spray oil to cook them up."

Also, here is a link I thought you might like: http://www.foodinjars.com/2009/12/gift-in-a-jar-vanilla-syrup/ .
Happy New Year!---Kate"


I used her recipe as is...and it was perfect. PERFECT. There. I shouted it out to the world in general. Thank you Kate!

Now...for those who want the play by play on how to cook these little cuties. Combine the dry ingredients. I added a grate of fresh nutmeg.

Add the 2 cups water and 2 tsp vanilla. Mix well to combine. The batter should be just thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.

Use a very small amount of oil in a non-stick skillet. I use an 8 inch skillet...and

Medium low heat. If your pan is too hot the crepe batter will start to cook before you can coat the pan with it.

I use 1/4 cup batter and just roll the pan around until the batter lightly coats the bottom of the pan. Cook 2-3 minutes on one side and then gently turn over.

Usually you'll have one side that gets a little more brown than the other. Look at these though!
Kate did it! I did it! Thank you Kate!

Now, on our first date, I filled the crepes with cottage cheese and some fresh fruit. Today we're filling it with key lime cream cheese filling

8 oz cream cheese, softened

zest of 3 key limes (about 3 tsp)

1/4 cup key lime juice

1/2 cup powdered sugar

I then had to drizzle something. Drizzle is not optional in my family. We drip. We drizzle. We enjoy the food experience. Especially this one.

Drizzled with homemade kiwi pineapple sauce.

There you go. Crepe away!

Fresh Corn Sourdough Crepes with honey glazed berries

In another time and place, these evil crepes where used to woo my unknowing and perfectly innocent boyfriend into a marriage proposal. I served them on the first date following a perfectly romantic hike . Poor boy... he didn't have a chance. Now, 13 years later, our son Little Man told me that (in no uncertain terms) these little bad boy-crepes are "the Devil".

Seems like a perfectly wonderful addition to our evil sourdough week. (Random thoughts...Sourdough.) Don't you think? Remember the cartoon skunk Pepe Le Pew? Not sure I spelled his name right but I am sure he once fell madly in love with a black cat that got mixed up with a bottle of white hair dye. I remember because the cat was furiously trying to wash off the paint to show Pepe that she was a cat. My favorite line ever from a cartoon followed. In a heavy French accent Pepe said, "Oh, she is making herself dainty for me. Well dainty or not...it is time to commence with zaa woo-ing". Shall we then? Commence with the woo-ing? (Oh and Tammy from Kansas City...this one is for you! Fresh corn!)
Fresh Corn Sourdough Crepes

2 cups fresh corn (frozen works if thawed)

2 cups sourdough starter

6 eggs

1/4 cup vegetabe oil

1 tsp salt

Cut the corn fresh uncooked corn off the cob. I used 2 1/2 cobs to get 2 cups. You may need more or less depending on the size of the corn cobs.

Combine corn, sourdough starter, eggs, oil and salt in a blender.

Blend about 2 minutes until a smooth thin batter is formed. It will be kind of foamy on top.

In an 8 inch non-stick skillet, lightly oiled, heat on medium. Pour 1/4 cup batter into the center of the skillet. Lift and tilt the pan to evenly coat the bottom. Cook until it appears dry. Tenderly turn crepe over with a spatula and allow to cook on the second side about 15-20 seconds.

Remove to a plate an continue cooking crepes. This recipe yields about 15.

Honey Glazed Blackberries and Blueberries

1 cup fresh blackberries

1 cup fresh blueberries

1/4 cup honey

dash of cardomom

Ever so gently, stir the fresh honey and cardomom into the berries.

I fill the crepes with fresh Homemade cottage cheese, but feel free to put whatever you want it them. Ricotta would be divine.

Top generously with some of those lucious and tempting berries.

Please be sure to invite me to the wedding. Dainty or not...

There you go.