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A very pandemic Christmas

By in COVID 19, family, holidays 1 Comment

At one point during Christmas dinner, I said something to my brother in law, who was sitting at the opposite end of the table, and he could actually hear me. It was a defining moment.

Fresh pasta with roasted cherry tomato sauce

Our family typically hosts about 30 people for Christmas dinner. It’s a loud, raucous and crazy-fun event. Normally you’d be hard-pressed to hear the person sitting next to you, let alone the person at the other end of the table.

Prosciutto-wrapped asparagus, company carrots, paprika sage butter

But in this pandemic, I believe you should do whatever the least-comfortable person in your group is comfortable with. For us, that meant celebrating with the 6 people in our immediate household and the two we’ve been isolating with.

Our Christmas was different, but it wasn’t terrible. It wasn’t terrible at all.

Duck fat (and vegetarian) potatoes, salmon with anchovies and capers, more fancy butter

Dinner was easier to plan and make. We were able to have things that would have been a hassle to make for 30 people: salmon for one, fresh pasta for another (though my husband would argue otherwise about the pasta). We didn’t have to prep for days in advance, and cleanup was a cinch.

Bouche De Noel (aka Yule Log) adapted from Joy The Baker

Did we miss being with our massive group of family and friends? Of course! But instead of lamenting what couldn’t be, we did our best with what could.

My mom’s Covid-themed decor

And we succeeded. I know that because my mom—who has been expressing her grief with weird COVID-themed gift wrap and a deliberately half-decorated Christmas tree—was happy.

Of course we zoomed!

Happy Holidays my friends. Here’s to what promises to be a much better New Year.

A light in the bubble

By in uncategorized Tags: , , , , , ,

drinks
If there’s one thing that’s kept me going during this lousy excuse for a year, it’s our bubble of people in the magical spot we share on Cape Cod.

Dinner Outdoor dining Things have been different this year in our borrowed slice of heaven. We’ve learned through trial and error—and some awkwardness—how to eat together outdoors while keeping distance between our two bubbles. We’ve become more organized about planning meals and shopping ahead of time, so as to avoid unnecessary trips. And because we can’t really go anywhere else, we’ve spent more time together, and more time relaxing.

FoodOn the Cape, life almost feels like the “before times.” Our kids play together without masks. We give hugs, and sip each other’s beers. We maintain traditions from pre-apocalyptic times. Like Mexican Dinner for my sister Anna’s birthday, which we celebrate on Labor Day weekend each year.

I have a new, yummy salsa recipe for you – one that’s become a mainstay. Aptly, the recipe comes from Anna-of-the-birthday, who will tell you it’s so simple it’s weird, and also really good.

I hope you try it, I hope you enjoy it. I hope you find a little space in your life where you can remember what life was like before.

cakeAlso, Chocolate (Hellman’s) Mayonnaise Cake! I’ve been saying it for years folks, now Melissa Clark is on board too, so you’ve really got to believe me (and don’t forget frosting).

• Jeri’s Salsa •
via a picture of a scrap of paper my sister texted to me

Ingredients
2-3 yellow chiles (green jalapenos will do)
1 – 28oz can whole tomatoes
1 tablespoon salt
3/4 tablespoons pepper
1 bunch cilantro
2 – 15oz cans tomato sauce
4-6 tomatoes, chopped
1 bunch green onions, chopped

Boil the chiles, set aside to cool. Chop chiles and add to blender with 28oz can tomatoes (with juice). Add salt and pepper and blend. Add 1 bunch cilantro and blend using “chop” feature on blender. Pour mixture into a large bowl, add tomato sauce, chopped tomatoes and chopped green onions. Serve with tortilla chips.

cake recipe

Now

By in COVID 19 8 Comments

Note: I started writing this in March of 2020 when I couldn’t yet imagine how long this pandemic would go on. I stopped writing it in May.

There’s a park behind our house. The play structures are cordoned off, the toddler area is padlocked, the basketball hoops are shuttered, but the field is still open.

There’s a woman who goes to the field now, every day. She sword-fights with her two boys using sticks and metal trash can lids. She didn’t do that before.

Now my kids play together. They are 6 years apart.

Now, I take a mid-day walk. I say “thank you for your service” when I pass a mail carrier or delivery person.

Now, we make bread.

Our weekends are quiet now, and a little bit sad.

Now, we talk about gratitude.

Now, my son can ride a bike.

Now, we do puzzles.

We make more bread.

We fall apart. Come In Bear started it.

Instead of school we burn leaves with a magnifying glass and paint the driveway.

Now a child sick. We know it’s anxiety but call the doctor anyhow.

My heart feels funny.

We’re ok.

Now it is spring.

We fall apart again. It’s not Bear’s fault.

Now I put on a mask and drive to CVS for Easter candy. I think I may have forgotten how to drive, just a little bit.

CVS is stupid, why did I go there so often before?

It’s been a month since we came inside. Now we have a curfew.

I say “thank you for your service” to a mail carrier during my lunchtime walk. He has earbuds in and he can’t see me smile because of my mask, I hope he got the gist of my wave.

Now we sanitize our groceries.

We skip school and make a bow and arrow. Or, we do schoolwork at 9pm.

We sleep so late. Except me, who still has work.

People lament online about having to clean their own homes. I think “hello from the other side” and then feel like a bad person because I know I’m just jealous.

My heart still feels funny.

Now masks are mandatory.

We fall apart on Wednesdays. And Thursdays.

We have half-birthday parties, because why not?

My kids are freckled and sun-kissed, it’s only April.

I prefer a bandit-style mask.

My bread game is excellent.

I am a bread bandit.

I feel like nature is fighting back. As if to prove me right, it snows in May.

On Mother’s Day, I say: “Don’t endanger your lives going out to get me something. You know all I want is for everyone to be nice to me.”

I make gifts for the moms in my life deliver them on foot. I like these gifts better than the store-bought kind.

After 8 weeks my kids are willing to take walks with me. I think they are getting nicer.

Now my kids are expert social-distancers, sometimes militant.

There’s no end in sight.

I can’t wait for hugs. I’m going to hug the hell out of people.

Bread roundup

By in COVID 19

If you follow The Steady Table on Instagram you’ll know that our bread game is strong right now. We’ve jumped on the COVID-baking bandwagon and jumped on it hard.

When we started isolating back in mid-March we quickly plowed through our 5lb bag of flour. We then depleted a 25lb bag and are now well into a 50lb bag.

The 50 pounder just gets moved around the kitchen floor because it’s so big we have nowhere to store it. I’m thinking of giving it a name.

Here are four breads that have been really doing it for us lately. From the very-quick Irish Soda Bread, to the pretty-quick No-knead Peasant and Parker House Rolls to the totally-worth-the-21-hour-wait Classic No-knead bread.

• Irish Soda Bread •
from the Avoca Cafe Cookbook
Start to finish, less than 1 hour
Image bottom left. This is a simple, dense but not too dense white bread great with butter and jam or with a soup or stew. It’s best if you have a weighing scale for this recipe but I’ve put equivalents just in case.

Ingredients
1 lb flour (about 3 2/3 cups)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
400 ml / 14 oz buttermilk or milk mixed with a teaspoon of lemon juice or white vinegar

Heat oven to 450 degrees. Grease a 9 x 5 ” loaf pan with butter. Mix all the dry ingredients together in a large bowl. Gradually mix in the buttermilk to make a moist dough. Place dough in greased pan and bake for 30 minutes or when the loaf sound hollow when removed from the pan and tapped on the bottom. Cool on a wire rack.
_____

• No-Knead Peasant Bread •
from Food52 (Alexandra Stafford)
Start to finish, about 2 hours
Image top left. This is a flavorful yeasty bread, with enough saltiness to eat on it’s own (not that we’d ever forsake butter).

Ingredients
4 cups (512 grams) unbleached all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons kosher salt
2 teaspoons sugar
2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast (I used active dry and it was fine)
2 cups lukewarm water, made by mixing 1/2 cup boiling water with 1 1/2 cups cold water
Softened unsalted butter, for greasing

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, sugar, and instant yeast. Add the water. Using a rubber spatula, mix until the water is absorbed and the ingredients form a sticky dough ball. The recipe says that if you are using active dry yeast instead, proof it in the lukewarm water first for about 10 minutes, until foamy, before adding to the other ingredients – I did not do this and my bread came out brilliantly.

Cover the bowl with a damp tea towel or plastic wrap and set aside in a warm spot to rise for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, until the dough has doubled in bulk. Note: Here’s a trick for making the perfect warm spot for the dough to rise. Set the oven to 400° F and let it preheat for 1 minute, then shut it off. The temperature will be between 80° F and 100° F. you should be able to place your hands (carefully) on the oven grates without burning them.
Set a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat it to 425° F. Grease two 1-quart oven-safe bowls, like Pyrex (I used one pyrex bowl and one 1 quart pyrex storage container), with softened butter—be really generous with the butter – I had a bit of a time getting my bread out of the container. Using two forks, deflate the dough by releasing it from the sides of the bowl and pulling it toward the center. Rotate the bowl quarter turns as you deflate, turning the mass into a rough ball.

Using your two forks and working from the center out, separate the dough into two equal pieces. Use the forks to lift each half of the dough into a prepared bowl. If the dough is too wet to transfer with forks, lightly grease your hands with butter or oil, then transfer half to a bowl. (If your dough drops and breaks apart on the transfer, don’t worry, just divvy the dough between the bowls and it will come back together as it rises.) Do not cover the bowls. Let the dough rise on the countertop near the oven (or another warm, draft-free spot) for 10 to 20 minutes, until the top of the dough just crowns the rims of the bowls.

Transfer the bowls to the oven and bake for 15 minutes. Reduce the heat to 375° F and bake for 17 to 20 minutes more, until evenly golden all around. Remove the bowls from the oven and turn the loaves out onto cooling racks. If the loaves look pale, return them to their bowls and bake for 5 minutes longer. Let the loaves cool for 15 minutes before cutting.

Note: If you don’t have 2 one-quart bowls, you may use other vessels, though differences in pan sizes will affect the shape of the final loaves. This recipe can be adapted for 2 loaf pans (preferably 8.5 x 4.5-inch pans) by multiplying the quantities of ingredients by 1.5 (i.e. 6 cups/768g flour, 3 cups water, etc.).
_____

• Parker House Rolls •
via The Food Network (Bobby Flay)
Start to finish, about 3 hours

Image top right. These are rich and flavorful buns. They work well as hamburger rolls in a pinch or eat on their own. They keep for a couple of days, just pop into the oven to refresh before eating.

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups milk
1 stick unsalted butter, cut into pieces, plus more for brushing
1/2 cup sugar
1 package active dry yeast
1/2 cup warm water
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
6 cups all-purpose flour

Place milk in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer. Remove from the heat, stir in the butter and sugar and let cool. Dissolve yeast in warm water and let sit until foamy. Combine milk mixture, eggs, yeast, salt, and 1/2 of the flour in a mixer with the dough attachment and mix until smooth. Add the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, and stir until a smooth ball forms.

Remove from the bowl and knead by hand on a floured surface for about 5 minutes. Place in greased bowl, cover, and let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about 60 to 70 minutes. On a floured surface, punch down the dough and shape into desired shapes. If you want the classic small roll make your pieces about the size of a golf ball – they grow quite a bit. For hamburger-sized rolls make a bit bigger. Place on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Cover again and let rise until doubled, about 30 to 40 minutes.

Preheat the oven 350 degrees F.

Bake for about 20 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from the oven and brush with melted butter before serving.
_____

• No-Knead Bread •
From Epicurious (Jim Lahey)
Start to finish, upwards of 22 hours

Image bottom right. This is without a doubt the best bread I’ve ever made. Let it rise for the full 18 hours for a really good chewy texture and good crust.

Ingredients
3 cups (400 grams) bread flour
1 1/4 teaspoons (8 grams) table salt
1/4 teaspoon (1 gram) instant or other active dry yeast
1 1/3 cups (300 grams) cool water (55 to 65 degrees F)
Wheat bran, cornmeal, or additional flour, for dusting

In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, salt, and yeast. Add the water and, using a wooden spoon or your hand, mix until you have a wet, sticky dough, about 30 seconds. Make sure it’s really sticky to the touch; if it’s not, mix in another tablespoon or two of water. Cover the bowl with a plate, tea towel, or plastic wrap and let sit at room temperature (about 72 degrees F), out of direct sunlight, until the surface is dotted with bubbles and the dough is more than doubled in size. This will take a minimum of 12 hours and up to 18 hours (go for the 18 – you won’t regret it). This slow rise—fermentation—is the key to flavor.

When the first fermentation is complete, generously dust a work surface (a wooden or plastic cutting board is fine) with flour. Use a bowl scraper or rubber spatula to scrape the dough onto the board in one piece. When you begin to pull the dough away from the bowl, it will cling in long, thin strands (this is the developed gluten), and it will be quite loose and sticky—do not add more flour. Use lightly floured hands or a bowl scraper or spatula to lift the edges of the dough in toward the center. Nudge and tuck in the edges of the dough to make it round.

Place a cotton or linen tea towel (not terry cloth, which tends to stick and may leave lint in the dough) or a large cloth napkin on your work surface and generously dust the cloth with wheat bran, cornmeal, or flour. Use your hands or a bowl scraper or wooden spatula to gently lift the dough onto the towel, so it is seam side down. If the dough is tacky, dust the top lightly with wheat bran, cornmeal, or flour. Fold the ends of the towel loosely over the dough to cover it and place it in a warm, draft-free spot to rise for 1 to 2 hours. The dough is ready when it is almost doubled. If you gently poke it with your finger, making an indentation about 1/4 inch deep, it should hold the impression. If it doesn’t, let it rise for another 15 minutes.

Half an hour before the end of the second rise, preheat the oven to 475 degrees F, with a rack in the lower third position, and place a covered 4 1/2–5 1/2 quart heavy pot in the center of the rack. I use an enameled cast iron pot.

Using pot holders, carefully remove the preheated pot from the oven and uncover it. Unfold the tea towel, lightly dust the dough with flour or bran, lift up the dough, either on the towel or in your hand, and quickly but gently invert it into the pot, seam side up. (Use caution—the pot will be very hot.) Cover the pot and bake for 30 minutes.

Remove the lid and continue baking until the bread is a deep chestnut color but not burnt, 15 to 30 minutes more. Use a heatproof spatula or pot holders to carefully lift the bread out of the pot and place it on a rack to cool thoroughly. Don’t slice or tear into it until it has cooled, which usually takes at least an hour.

Half-birthdays and enchiladas

By in cakes, family, parties

Normally, I don’t condone half-birthday celebrations. They seem like a gateway to third and quarter birthdays, and if you open that door, your cake situation is going to get totally out of control.

However, normal went out the window for us 41 days ago (not that I’m counting). So when Rose asked if we could celebrate her half birthday with enchiladas for dinner, I said “Sure! I’ll even make you half a cake.”

Enchiladas are new to our repertoire but they’re an appropriate pandemic food because of all the canned goods that go into them. I’ll post my recipe below.

Per usual, we had our favorite Chocolate Mayonnaise Cake (recipe here). I halved the recipe (even though halving 3 eggs is tricky), frosted it with cream cheese frosting and topped it with 6 and 1/4 candles. We sang half of the happy birthday song with my aunt, uncle and cousin who dropped in via zoom.

Happy 12.5 to my girl. Hang in there, folks.

• Bean & Cheese Enchiladas •
serves 4-6

6-8 flour tortillas
Two 14oz cans enchilada sauce (we use one mild and one medium)
15oz can vegetarian refried beans
15oz can pinto beans, rinsed and drained
4 cups grated cheddar cheese (3.5 will do too)
Sour cream and cilantro leaves for topping
(Avocados would be nice if you can get them)

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Combine the beans, 1 can of enchilada sauce and two cups of cheese in a bowl and stir to combine.

Pour some enchilada sauce in the bottom of a 9″ x 13″ baking dish. Roll about 3/4 cup of bean and cheese mixture in a tortilla and place in the baking dish. Repeat until your bean mixture is gone. Pour remaining enchilada sauce over the tortillas and top with remaining grated cheese. Bake for about 30 minutes until bubbling.

Let sit for 10 minutes or so and serve with sour cream and cilantro.

Pandemic Easter

By in family, holidays

It feels wrong to say we had a lovely Easter today, but we did. Everything was different because everything is different. And though we missed our people and our traditions terribly, we did ok.

Maybe it was because we had no expectations.

In the morning we enjoyed a socially-distant egg hunt with our neighbors. In other words, we picked a common time in which to hunt for eggs in our yard, while they hunted in theirs.

We put hot cross buns on the property line and stepped away so they could take some. Rose ate a bun, but did not enjoy it out of loyalty to our absent Auntie Gail, who is the hot-cross-bun-maker in our family.

Our neighbor brought out her ham. Shane looked at from a distance of 10 feet before giving her some advice on how to cook it.

My sister and brother in law checked in via face time.

On a “normal” Easter, between the egg hunt and dinner we would typically spend hours cooking, clearing and washing dishes, dying eggs, doing Pysanka, socializing, drinking and telling kids to quit it with the candy.

This year there was nothing to do between 10 and 4. In those hours, my mom graded student work. Shane slept. Rose made us a new walkway with old house paint and tape. Sid burned leaves with a magnifying glass and played in the log pile. My dad puttered.

We had no grand plans for our Easter meal because there were only 6 of us, rather than the usual 30. And because we were not able to procure a grocery delivery time slot.

We made do with what we had: A Torta Verde made with spinach, sweet potato and mozzarella instead of swiss chard, regular potato and feta. A barley, corn and endive salad made with barley, corn and capers. A carrot salad because we have a lot of carrots. And pork chops because that was the only meat left in the freezer.

We did ok, but we miss our people. My mom says we’re going to have Easter again when this is all over even if it has to be in the fall. I like the way she thinks. Miss you friends!

 

 

The lava cake promise

By in dessert

This past week for February break, I took 3 kids to Great Wolf Lodge for three days.

As someone who’s easily overwhelmed by chaos and doesn’t like to drink in the daytime—which seems to be the MO for parents Great Wolf—a vacation like this was way out of my comfort zone. I was scared. But I decided to suck it up because something told me that this trip would result in some serious joy. And it did.

A downside of our visit was how long it took to get a table for dinner, and once we did, how painfully slow the service was. So at 9:00pm when the waiter told us it would be another 20-30 minutes for lava cakes, I said no thanks, and promised the kids I’d make them myself when we got home.

A promise is a promise. Here come the lava cakes. Feel the joy.

• Chocolate Lava Cakes •
from Food & Wine
makes 4
30 min start to finish

Ingredients
1 stick unsalted butter
6 ounces bittersweet chocolate (I used semi-sweet chocolate chips)
2 eggs
2 egg yolks
1/4 cup sugar
Pinch of salt
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

Preheat the oven to 450°. Butter and lightly flour four 6-ounce ramekins. Tap out the excess flour. Set the ramekins on a baking sheet. 

In a double boiler, over simmering water, melt the butter with the chocolate. In the bowl of an electric mixer, using the whisk attachment, beat the eggs with the egg yolks, sugar and salt at high speed until thickened and pale.

Whisk the chocolate until smooth. Sift flour over the egg mixture, quickly add chocolate and fold in. Spoon the batter into the prepared ramekins and bake for 12 minutes, or until the sides of the cakes are firm but the centers are soft. Let the cakes cool in the ramekins for 1 minute, then cover each with an inverted dessert plate. Carefully turn each one over, let stand for 10 seconds and then unmold. Serve immediately with homemade whipped cream

The batter can be refrigerated for several hours; bring to room temperature before baking. I made the batter before dinner and left it out, so it would be quick to pop these into the oven to enjoy right after dinner.

Italian flag cookies for fonder hearts

By in dessert

I still miss New York. It’s not that I don’t like living here, I do, mostly. I have so much to be grateful for, like my parents who live downstairs, and their kitchen which we fondly refer to as “the bodega.”

Still, I miss the real bodega. And the little independent shops and grocers where I’d stop every day, in part because we didn’t have a parking spot (which I do not miss) to accommodate conventional large-scale shopping trips.

Recently, Rose said “Let’s go to a bakery! We haven’t been to a bakery in ages.” She wanted to go to an old-school Italian bakery, the type of bakery which does not exist in our fancy town. She wanted Italian flag cookies.

The planets must have been aligned just-so for almond-flavored, chocolate-coated, red, white and green cookies, however. Because later that day, a friend from our old neighborhood posted a picture of them. She had just made a batch with her daughter, and she sent me the recipe.

Rose and I made them over the weekend. I love that she loves these cookies. They brought us joy and helped our hearts-growing-fonder, to feel a little fuller.

• Italian Flag Cookies (aka 7 layer cookies) •
2-3 hours active time, 11 hours start to finish

makes about 5 dozen

4 large eggs, separated
1 cup sugar
1 (8-oz) can almond paste (marzipan)
2 1/2 sticks (1 1/4 cups) unsalted butter, softened
1 teaspoon almond extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
25 drops red food coloring
25 drops green food coloring
1 (12-oz) jar apricot preserves, heated and strained
7 oz fine-quality bittersweet chocolate (not unsweetened), chopped

Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350°F. Butter a 13- by 9-inch baking pan and line bottom with wax or parchment paper, leaving a 2-inch overhang on 2 ends, then butter paper.

Beat whites in mixer fitted with whisk attachment at medium-high speed until they just hold stiff peaks. Add 1/4 cup sugar a little at a time, beating at high speed until whites hold stiff, slightly glossy peaks. Transfer to another bowl.

Switch to paddle attachment, then beat together almond paste and remaining 3/4 cup sugar until well blended, about 3 minutes. Add butter and beat until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add yolks and almond extract and beat until combined well, about 2 minutes. Reduce speed to low, then add flour and salt and mix until just combined.

Fold half of egg white mixture into almond mixture to lighten, then fold in remaining whites gently but thoroughly.

Divide batter among 3 bowls. Stir red food coloring into one and green food coloring into another, leaving the third batch plain. Set white batter aside. Chill green batter, covered. Pour red batter into prepared pan and spread evenly with offset spatula (layer will be about 1/4 inch thick).

Bake red layer 8 to 10 minutes, until just set. (The recipe says to undercook but mine took a solid 12 minutes – a tester should come out clean but you want them still to be very moist)

Using paper overhang, transfer layer to a rack to cool, about 15 minutes. Clean pan, then line with parchment or wax paper and butter paper in same manner as above. Bake white layer in prepared pan until just set. As white layer bakes, bring green batter to room temperature. Transfer white layer to a rack. Prepare pan as above, then bake green layer in same manner as before. Transfer to a rack to cool.

When all layers are cool, invert green onto a parchment or wax-paper-lined large baking sheet. Discard paper from layer and spread with half of preserves. Invert white on top of green layer, discarding paper. Spread with remaining preserves. Invert red layer on top of white layer and discard wax or parchment paper.

Cover with plastic wrap and weight with a large baking pan. Chill at least 8 hours.

Remove weight and plastic wrap. Bring layers to room temperature. Melt chocolate in a double boiler or a metal bowl set over a saucepan of barely simmering water, stirring until smooth. Remove from heat. Keep chocolate over water but turn off heat.

Trim edges of assembled layers with a long serrated knife. Quickly spread half of chocolate in a thin layer on top of cake. Chill, uncovered, until chocolate is firm, about 15 minutes. Cover with another sheet of wax or parchment paper and place another baking sheet on top, then invert cake onto sheet and remove paper. Quickly spread with remaining chocolate. Chill until firm, about 15 minutes.

Remove from fridge, carefully cut into 1″ squares and enjoy!

Crumb cake for lunch

By in cakes 3 Comments

Sometimes you just want to be that mom who wakes up early on Sunday, goes for a run and then comes home and bakes something special for her family to enjoy for breakfast.

But really, you are that perennially sleep-deprived working mom who wakes up at 10am to realize that her 5 year old has been entertaining himself for 3 hours, and her tween won’t be up for several more hours. And you’re not a runner.

You make Martha Stewart’s Classic Crumb Cake anyhow, and everyone has it for lunch. And that’s ok, because what you are is that mom who’s doing her best.

5 minute easy crepes

By in quick

One of the lovely things about where we live now, is that when kids get to be 10 or 11 they start walking and taking the T around town, on their own. On one such outing this summer, my 11 year old discovered crepes, which sparked an idea.

My kids have very different schedules on weekends, one wakes up at 7:00 and the other (your guess) around lunch time. They eat different things at different times, and though I could easily tell them to grab a bowl of cereal or a yogurt on their own, I don’t. We’ve always put a little extra effort into breakfast on weekends, because weekday mornings are such a colossal mess.

It occurred to me that crepes might just be faster and easier to whip up for one person than pancakes. And so I figured out how to make them. Below is my 5 minute recipe. Enjoy!

• Easy Crepes •

Makes four 6″ crepes

Whisk 1 egg with 1/2 cup milk till combined. Add a good slug of vanilla extract and a generous pinch of salt. Sift in approx 3 tablespoons of flour and whisk again till combined. The batter will be quite thin.

Cook about 1/4 of the batter at a time in a generously buttered nonstick skillet over medium low heat. Cook just until top side is no longer wet, about a minute. Do not flip.

Slide into a plate and roll to serve. Or, fill with your filling of choice and roll. My guys like chocolate chips, Nutella or cinnamon sugar inside. I like them straight up with salted butter.

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