Tuesday, March 13, 2012

A Quick and Lovely Breakfast-Lemon Crepes

Have guests for breakfast, or feel like treating yourself to something a little more fancy than toast and PB this morning? Whip up some lemon crepes, brew a cup of tea, and sit back to a lovely, refreshing treat. Armed with a bowl of fresh lemons from a friend in town, my morning hungries led me straight to the Sweet Rice Flour and tada...crepes. This recipe is quick and easy, and you probably have everything in the house.
Lemon Crepes

Quick and Easy Lemon Crepes
1 cup Sweet Rice Flour
1 cup milk (almond or regular)
1 egg
pinch of salt
1 tsp vanilla
zest of one lemon
juice of one lemon
butter (for cooking crepes)


1. Combine all of the above ingredients, but just use 1/2 a cup of milk to start. Then add milk little by little until you have a mixture that resembles very loose pancake batter.

2. Put a tsp of butter in the bottom of a flat frying pan and melt over medium heat. (I don't have a crepe pan and this works perfectly for me.) Take about 1/2 cup of crepe mixture and pour into pan while tilting pan to coat the bottom of the pan. Depending on the size of your pan, you may need a little more or less. You want a thin, even coat over the bottom, but not too thick.

3. Cook for about 1-2 minutes until the bottom looks slightly brown and the edges start to pull away. Then gently just slip a spatula under the crepe and flip it. Cook the other side for about a minute. Then slide it out onto a plate.

4. Use a little more butter for each crepe. This keeps it from sticking. Stack the crepes as you go, or fold them one by one.

5. Sprinkle each crepe with a little fresh lemon juice and powdered sugar. I have also spread these with Nutella (leave out the lemon), spread them with fresh strawberry jam, kumquat marmalade, or even just a little butter. Go crazy and put anything you want on them. My daughter loves hers simply with fresh strawberries.

Enjoy! These are refreshing and light, but sweet and comforting.

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

The Pizza Quest Continues


Naked Pizza in my car, oh yeah!
Still on my quest for the best GF pizza, Daughter and I took a long trek out to the northwest of Phoenix to try Naked Pizza. They boast a gluten-free crust and all precautions for cross contamination including changing gloves, separate area and separate toppings for GF pizzas. Watch this video on their page (right side of the page) if you’re interested.
But, bottom line, how did it taste? If any of you remember Pizza Hut’s thin crust pizza (from pre-GF days), this comes closest to that. The texture is chewy and thin, like a thick cracker, but better. It is beautifully lacking in that gluten-free funny taste that so many GF items seem to have. It’s crispy, chewy, and light, making it much too easy to eat an entire ½ of a pizza in one sitting. (What? Shhhhh)
Unfortunately, there are no tables in these pizza joints. There are a few around town, all of which are too far from me for a quick bite. Without inside seating, that means you have to find somewhere to eat it. Now if you live close by, that’s not a problem. Take it home and enjoy it in front of the big game. But if you’re traveling about 30 minutes on the freeway to try it, (I know, crazy huh?) that leaves a dilemma. We ended up finding a pleasant spot and sitting in the car and eating it. That was actually quite fun, I might even eat another pizza in my car (shhh).
Although pizzas come in multiple sizes, GF pizzas are only one size (12"). They start at $9.99 and toppings are additional. One pizza with ½ pineapple and ½ mushrooms, a bottle of water, and a soda came to about $17 (including tax). Sounds about right for a GF pizza these days. Much less than making it yourself or even a frozen pizza, but a fresh pizza comes at a cost. And, we’ll never have a $5 Dominoes special anymore will we? But then again, would you really want that?
I’m giving this one two thumbs up as far as crust goes. But I suppose it’s better for us that it’s so far away. Any closer and I’d be spending a lot more on pizza.