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Every single day I have walked the streets of Paris, I’ve had a crepe in my hand for almost a minute.  They don’t last much longer than that!

Back in the real world where crepes seem indulgent, I welcome the healthy version for a lazy Sunday.  I guess the Sunday isn’t that lazy if I’m going to get up and make crepes.

Here’s a recipe I found that happens to vegan. It calls for a crepe pan which I’m sure is important, but I’ll probably give it a shot in a pan first.

Chop and sautee up anything that sounds good and and throw it inside.  You could always opt for my favorite combo - butter and sugar, in French, bur e sucre (which sounds much more fabulous).

Vegan Buckwheat Crepes

via Vegalicious

Ingredients

• 2 egg replacements (I would use eggs)
• 3/4 cup buckwheat flour
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1 &1/4 cups water possibly 1/4 cup more

Preparation

It is best to make the crepe batter 2-3 hours before.

1. Place the 2 flours in a large mixing bowl.
2. Add the salt and cornstarch.
3. Prepare the egg replacements (or beat eggs).
4. Pour the “egg” mixture into the flours, add the water and oil, and mix with a fork to a smooth consistency.
5. Cover and allow to rest for at least 2 hours.
6. Stir the batter and check the consistency. If it is too thick, add a bit more water. It should be a medium thin, mixture.
7. Heat a crepe pan.
8. Spray evenly with oil.
9. Pour 1 ladle full of batter onto the crepe pan. Gently rotate the pan to spread the batter.
10. As the top of the crepe becomes dry, gently shake the crepe pan to loosen the crepe. Carefully check the bottom of the crepe by lifting an edge with a spatula. As it is crispy golden, it is done. Shake the crepe onto a large plate to be filled.
11. Traditionally the galette is filled in the center then each side folder over to form a square with the center slightly open showing the filling.

Searching for a quick dinner recipe I came across Chicken Lettuce Wraps on my epicurious app and went with it.  Tasty, healthy, quick, and a welcome change from all of the herb infused dishes I’ve made lately.

Stir-Fried Chicken Lettuce Wraps

Serves 6

• 16 large butter lettuce leaves
• 1/2 cup Asian sweet chili sauce (optional)
• 1 pound skinless, boneless chicken thighs, minced
• 2 scallions, minced
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch
• 2 tablespoons peanut oil (I used Canola)
• 3 medium shiitake mushrooms (about 1 ounce), stemmed, minced (I used white button mushrooms)
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 teaspoon minced peeled fresh ginger
• 1/4 cup unsalted, roasted cashews, chopped (I totally forgot to do this and I didn’t miss them)

Preparation

1. Do all the prep work of mincing first, then get ready to cook.
2. Mix chicken, scallions, soy sauce, and cornstarch in a medium bowl; marinate 10 minutes at room temperature, stirring occasionally.
3. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet.
4. Add mushrooms; stirfry 15 seconds.
5. Add garlic and ginger and stir-fry 10 seconds.
6. Add chicken mixture and cook, stirring often, until golden brown and cooked through, about 3-4 minutes.
7. Arrange lettuce leaves on a large platter.
8. Spoon chicken mixture into lettuce leaves, dividing equally.
9. Garnish with cashews. Roll leaves around filling and dip into chili sauce.

**Veggie Additions

I sauteed chopped kale in a separate pan and then added into stir fry at the end. I could have used broccoli, zucchini, eggplant, maybe even carrots to make this more nutritious!

I watched my girlfriend Kim, queen of “easy breezy,”  whip up this fresh and healthy pizza within 20 minutes the other night.  The part that amazed me was how easy it was to make her tomato sauce from scratch.  I never thought of simply sauteing cherry tomatoes until they become saucy and delicious.

 Here’s what you need: cherry tomatoes, garlic, seasoning. That’s it!

Simply:

1. Cut the tomatoes in half.
2. Chop or mince a clove of garlic.
3. Throw in a pan with a little olive oil and season.
4. Let cook for 15 - 20 minutes stirring occasionally.

You can use it for pizza or pasta.

Kim’s easy breezy version of the pizza uses rotisserie chicken, sauteed broccoli, and grated Parmesan cheese.  She toasted a frozen pizza crust in the oven.  Pre-pizza dough is another option.

When I made it, I roasted chicken breasts (skin on that I stuffed with herbs) and broccoli together.  I sauteed down some kale to add into the sauce.  I could have very easily put all of that on top of pasta, quinoa, or wheat fresh bread instead of pizza dough.

Celebrating the holiday yesterday, even being in church, I realized I have no clue as to how we went from Jesus’ resurrection to a bunny laying eggs.  During my search for an alternative deviled egg recipe on Real Simple this morning, I found a reasonable explanation. You can read it here.  Pretty interesting and helpful to make the connection from the religious events to the Hallmark traditions.

On to the good stuff: what to do with those leftover eggs?

Out of everything I saw - cobb salad, breakfast pizza on an English muffin, the standard deviled egg - I thought that Curried Egg Salad Sandwich sounded the most appealing.

Curried Egg Salad Sandwich

From Real Simple, By Dawn Perry,  April 2011

• 8 large eggs
• 1/3 cup mayonnaise
• 1 teaspoon curry powder
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives
• kosher salt and black pepper
• 4 slices pumpernickel bread
• 4 large leaves Bibb lettuce
• potato chips, for serving

SUPER EASY SEA BASS FOR SUMMER!

If you haven’t already, trade in your savory veggies for fruit and heavy sauces for lighter oils.  You’ll use both on this sea bass from Bon Appetit.  It’s the perfect dish for warm days when you aren’t grilling.

Overall  it’s, easy, light, and delicious, just how I like my dinners.  I paired it with quinoa (1 cup quinoa, 2 cups water, boil and simmer covered for 15 minutes) mixed with fat free feta, chopped, flat leaf parsley, sea salt, and pepper.

Sea Bass with Citrus and Avocado Oil

From Bon Appetit April 2012

There are a million chocolate chip cookies recipes, but I love this one because there are 3 distinct levels of flavor in every bite.  First you get the butter in the cakey cookie, then the rich chocolate, and finally a tinge of kosher salt!  Jim Lahey’s recipe calls for kosher salt instead of table salt (which is what I would usually use so it would melt into the dough). It makes the cookie a little more exciting than simply sweet.

Jim Lahey, the award-winning baker and founder of the famous Sullivan Street Bakery in New York City, is the go-to guy for classic recipes (see his recipe for no-knead bread here when you scroll down.)  I won’t say that his recipes are THE BEST, but they’re pretty damn close.  My only complaint about this cookie is that it’s too cakey.  Next time I’ll add a little more butter to thin it out.

Of course, I didn’t follow his recipe exactly because I always like to make a “healthier” version :)  So you’ll see his recipe below along with my substitutions.

Jim Lahey’s Classic Chocolate Chip Cookie

From Bon Appetit March 2012 

Now pass me the cookies.  haha

A reader said, “I wish I could see your grocery list”  Well, here it is!  Can you read it?? Yeah, me neither. I actually have nice handwriting when I’m not rushing….

No, seriously, I never make a list unless I’m determined to cook, which I was this week. 

If I don’t make a list, here’s what I usually pick up (as I go through the store):

• Broccoli crown or broccolini bunch or green beans
• Spinach or salad mix with herbs
• Herbs (rosemary, thyme, basil)
• 1 tomato
• 1 sweet onion
• 1 avocado
• 1 sweet potato
• 1 honey crisp apple
• 1 pineapple
• 2 small bananas
• Fresh OJ - medium
• Fresh Green Juice - small
• Grapes or clementines or strawberries or blueberries
• 1 cup quinoa
• 2 cups granola
• 1/2 cup of roasted (no salt) nuts I’m in the mood for
• 1/2 cup Thompson raisins
• Dark chocolate
• 1/2 chicken with bones and skin or in-store roasted turkey slices
• 1 filet white fish
• 1 serving of flavored organic yogurt
• 3-4 Justin’s almond butter packets
• 1-2 Gnu bars
• Terra sweet potato chips, no salt
• 1 bottle white wine
• 1 awesome beer
• Cookies of some sort (the healthiest that sounds appealing)
• A couple pre-made deli stuff: broccoli crunch, butternut squash, green beans, edamame, a soup

This week I’ve made two recipes from publications. But really, nothing special.  You can see them for yourself.

Roasted Talapia with EVOO and herbs.  Spinach using the Whole Foods recipe I posted last week.  Brown rice with lime and cilantro.

This didn’t turn out as I had hoped.  Island pork recipe from Clean Eating magazine and green beans with sesame oil.

Apple-potato latkes with maple-cinnamon yogurt from one of my favorite sources: Melissa Clark’s column “A Good Appetite” in NYTimes Dining section on Wednesdays.  (I fell in love with her making this Chicken Adobo.  Then I found THESE BAD ASS RIBS!) I’m sure hers were MUCH better, but my circumstances were not great.  I had to make the mix and then put it in the fridge for an hour before frying them. Ideally, I’d like to broil them!  I’ll try that soon.  Until then, see my healthy substitutions below and see what you can do with them.  Here is the recipe:

Apple-P0tato Latkes with Cinnamon Sour Cream

From Melissa Clark, NYTimes Dining

• 6 tablespoons sour cream or Greek yogurt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon maple syrup
• 2 Golden Delicious apples, peeled and cored
• 1 large russet potato, peeled
• 1 medium yellow onion, peeled
• 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 3 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• Olive oil, for frying.

MR used: Nonfat Greek yogurt. Wheat flour. Whatever apples I had in the fridge.  Whole Foods brand agave syrup, both Maple and Cinnamon (in addition to ground cinnamon). 

Instructions

1. In a small bowl, whisk together the sour cream or yogurt, cinnamon and syrup. Cover and chill until ready to use.

2. Coarsely grate the apples, potato and onion. Put the mixture in a clean dish towel and squeeze to wring out as much liquid as possible. For the crispiest pancakes, you want the least moisture.

3. Working quickly, put the mixture in a large bowl, add the flour, eggs, salt, baking powder and pepper, and mix until the flour is absorbed.

4. In a heavy-bottomed pan over medium-high heat, pour in about 1/4 inch of oil. Once the oil is hot (a drop of batter placed in the pan should sizzle), drop heaping tablespoons of batter into the pan, cooking 3 to 4 latkes at a time. Use a spatula to flatten the scoops into disks. When the edges of the latkes are brown and crispy, 2 to 3 minutes, flip them. Cook until the second side is deeply browned, another 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer the latkes to a plate lined with paper towels to drain. Repeat with the remaining batter. Serve with dollops of the cinnamon sour cream on top.

MR notes: I know nothing about oil except their benefits.  EVOO was too thick to fry in.  Test a latke in the oil before making all of them.  I had to add additional potato and apple because my batter had too much flour.  And the yogurt is unexpectedly amazing; you need it.  I used it instead of ketchup.