Is Homemade Always Best?

We don't live near many restaurants you'd classify as walkable. (Or much else you can stroll to, for that matter.) However, of the couple that are only a short trek, there's this little mom + pop crêperie. We'd go every other weekend during my pregnancy, which is when we truly discovered the place. Since we're creatures of habit, we'd usually order one sweet (Nutella or PBJ), one savory (something with eggs, veggies, and cheese), and always a huge mug of hot chocolate.

We haven't been back in a while for a variety of reasons -- money, time, toddler restaurant tantrums, etc. -- so, when the craving struck me, I figured:

How hard could this crêpe-making be?

I followed Alton Brown's recipe as well as I could, but had trouble getting my batter to the right -- super thin -- consistency. Probably because I used a 50:50 mix of white + whole wheat, which may have been was too heavy. Plus, the actual cooking method is rather delicate -- and I'm definitely more of a baker.

Obviously, I can refine and master with time and practice. But it got me thinking about those foods that are just better out versus in. The list is unique for everyone because we all have different strengths and weaknesses in the kitchen. For example, Stephen and I have perfected our home pizza recipe (by simmering various homemade sauces and following this genius baking method) to the point we much prefer it over takeout.

These crêpes?

They tasted alright (especially with a thick layer of homemade blueberry jam), though much egg-ier than I would have liked. More than that, the texture has a lonnng way to go, probably due to over-whisking. I think we'll have to pay our friends another visit to take care of this Nutella and hot chocolate craving. Otherwise, I'd say more exotic dishes, like Indian and Thai meals, are difficult for me to perfect at home because I'm too lazy/cheap to buy all the necessary spices. I'd like to work on that!

Is homemade always best?

For budget and health reasons, we choose to cook/bake/assemble the vast majority of our meals. Still, when it comes to flavor and texture, there are times we like to indulge. What foods/meals do you like better out versus in?

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Banana-Stuffed Faux Crepes

Good morning! By now you know we love a good breakfast recipe -- and this one is certainly a keeper. Here's how it all started: We're slightly (OK. TOTALLY) obsessed with Flatout Bread right now. Wraps in general, really. We use them for our peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Impromptu (and super healthy) pizzas. We even toast them to make pita "chips" and dunk them into hummus.

Then on Saturday, I got this idea to make French toast with them. Thing is, I quickly realized they were going to turn out way more like crepes than French toast. Crepes, at least for me, are difficult impossible to make. We made some great vegan crepes a year or so ago, but my more recent attempts (2 of them, in fact) went horribly wrong. So, forget all the mixing and tricky flipping. Just follow this recipe . . . and you'll be golden brown in no time at all.


FAUX CREPES

What you'll need . . .

• 1 large banana
• 1/2 cup soy or almond milk
• 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoons ground cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon chia seeds
• 4 flatout bread slices (we like the Light, Original kind for this recipe)

Method . . .

1. In the bowl of an electric mixer, use the paddle attachment to vigorously mix together the banana, almond/soy milk, cinnamon, cloves, vanilla, and chia seeds. Mix until the consistency is smooth and there aren't any lumps.
2. Then pour the mixture into a shallow dish big enough for dunking.
3. Cut the flatout slices in half (not lengthwise, you want like two square pieces from each, not two long skinny pieces). Then dunk each (one or two at a time) in the wet mixture.
4. Heat a pan over medium-high heat on the stove. Pour onto it a little oil. Then -- one at a time -- place each soaked piece of flatout on and cook on both sides until golden.
5. Keep repeating with the remaining pieces, if you just want crepes.

If you want to take things up a notch and make banana-stuffed faux crepes, here's what you need to do.

1. When you're "done" cooking a piece of the flatout bread, keep it on the heat and place half a banana on one corner.
2. Then roll it up and place seam-side down on the pan (yes, you're still on the heat now).
3. Flip over and cook -- again -- just briefly. You're mostly warming the banana at this point.
4. Then remove from heat and repeat with the remaining pieces.

Sprinkle everything with cinnamon and powdered sugar. We served ours with maple peanut butter, though syrup would work wonderfully, too. To make the peanut butter, just mix a part peanut butter with a part maple syrup. Equal proportions.


Easy.
As.
That.

I'm pretty sure you can make these with any other kind of flat bread/wrap that has a texture and thickness similar to flatout. If you try and succeed or fail, please let us know!


Did you have any out-of-this-world delicious or unique weekend breakfasts or brunches? Tell us all about 'em! Just leave a comment or email us at neverhomemaker [at] gmail [dot] com. And stay tuned for our weekend recap.

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Vegan Crepes

Quick lunch post and . . . GO! Here's one of my favorites from the METHOD archives . . . I had never, ever eaten crepes before I made them myself. Honestly. So, one sunny Sunday morning, I was thinking of making pancakes . . . and then decided to give it a whirl. I found a rather boring recipe online, so I switched it up a bit -- and then created this amazing topping with some random fruit we had around.

For those of you who haven't had crepes before . . . they're light yet satisfying. You can fill them up with pretty much anything -- from sweet stuff like Nutella (or Peanut Butter & Co's Dark Chocolate Dreams -- my current favorite) to more savory fillings. This particular recipe is more suited for the sweeter side of things, however. I'm sharing these with you all now because it makes an excellent Sunday brunch treat.

Oh, and I doubled everything so it can serve 4 (approx. 3 hefty crepes each).

What you'll need . . .

• 1 cup regular soy milk
• 1 cup water
• 1/2 cup melted Earth Balance (or other butter sub.)
• 2 tablespoons raw sugar
• 4 tablespoons regular molasses (heated up so it's thin, not thick)
• 2 cups wheat pastry flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Method . . .

1. In a large bowl, blend (I used my mixer with the whisk attachment) all ingredients together.
2. Cover and chill for about an hour (the recipe said 2 hours, but I could only wait 1).
3. Heat a large fry pan (whatever you usually make pancakes in -- the diameter of the one I used is 9 inches, so depending on the size of your pan, change the amount you pour in accordingly) over medium-high heat & lightly grease with some extra soy butter.
4. Pour approx. 5-6 tablespoons of batter into the pan. I found it was best to use a soup ladle -- and rather than simply pour the batter into the pan, I spread it in a circular motion. NOTE: If you find your batter is thick, add some water a tablespoon at a time. It should be thin . . . and once you have it in the pan, you should be able to swirl the pan around and coat with the stuff. Very technical, right? Hah!
5. Cook until golden brown, and then flip (this is the tricky part -- see more notes below) and cook the opposite side.

MIXED BERRY SAUCE

What you'll need . . .

• 1/2 cup frozen mixed berries
• 3/4 cup apple cider or apple juice
• 1 banana, sliced
• 2 heaping tablespoons agave or honey

Method . . .

1. Heat apple cider or juice in a small saucepan until bubbling.
2. Add the frozen mixed berries, heat again until bubbling, then lower heat and simmer for about 5 minutes.
3. Add banana slices and agave, stir, and heat for approx. 4 minutes.
4. Put mixture into a blender and pulse until smooth. It's almost like a hot smoothie. It's light, airy, and a great compliment for crepes!

Alright. I'll admit I'm not the most experience crepe-maker in the world. But I did find a trick to flipping them. Basically, you wait until the batter is bubbling up from the pan -- then you can check to see if the bottom is brown (by lifting an edge a bit). When you get to that point -- and ONLY when you get to that point -- take your flipper and QUICKLY shove it under the crepe. Do this very fast. Just go for it. And then just as quickly FLIP over.

You may find that the crepe doubles over a bit. Very gently pull apart. It takes some patience and a good practice crepe, but you'll get the hang of it.

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