For the love of crepes

I wanted to take one photo of the crepes that we ate today and post it on our Facebook page, but somehow managed to take enough photos to make it into a post. I am a huge fan of crepes, and even though this is a very basic recipe, what is a food blog without a crepe recipe that works every time, right? 

My favorite little person to make crepes for is my eight year old niece, G., also known as (the self-proclaimed) Master of Sweets. That is because I can hardly pinpoint an individual that enjoys crepes as much as she does (I guess she reminds me of myself at her age). She likes them so much that she comes up with these creative ways to get me to make them, such as preparing a surprise dinner for her mother. We don't know what we're cooking, but we know we're surprising her with crepes for dessert.

Danas sam namjeravala napraviti jednu fotografiju palacinaka za nasu Facebook stranicu, ali sam nekako uspjela napraviti dovoljno fotografija da napisem i post. Palacinci su omiljeno 'slatko' mog djetinjstva. Razmisljala sam da bi bilo dobro da se na ovom blogu nadje i poneki bazicni recept, onaj koji uvijek uspije i za koji znamo da ce se svima dopasti. Stoga pocinjem sa omiljenom poslasticom mojih mladjih dana. 

Najvise volim da pravim palacinke za moju osmogodisnju sestricnu, G., jer ne znam niti jednu drugu osobu koja u njima uziva onako kako se ja prisjecam da sam sama uzivala u njenim godinama. Njena radost je cista i potpuna. S vremena na vrijeme smislja nacine da me nagovori da joj napavim palacinke, npr. predlozi da iznenadimo njenu mamu specijalnom vecerom. Obicno nista na meniju nije definisano, izuzev da ce za dezert biti palacinci. 

Basic Crepe Recipe

Ingredients

3 eggs

2 cups whole milk

1 cup flour

1 tsp sugar

1/4 tsp salt

2 tbsp melted and cooled butter

Method

Using a hand mixer, beat eggs and milk until smooth. Sift together the dry ingredients and beat them in the egg and milk mixture. Mix in melted butter. Let sit in the refrigerator for half and hour (optional).

Fry the batter in a shallow, lightly greased pan over medium heat, until golden brown on both sides. Serve warm with your favorite topping. My absolute favorite part are the crispy edges (it's how my Mom always made them!) but you can use a taller frying pan to get the perfect round ones.

Palacinci

Sastojci

3 jaja

2 mjerice mlijeka 

1 mjerica brasna

1 kasicica secera

1/4 kasicice soli 

2 kasike istopljenog i ohladjenog maslaca 

Priprema

Mikserom umutite jaja i mlijeko dok ne dobijete glatku, svijetlozutu smjesu. Prosijte zajedno suhe sastojke i dodajte ih smjesi jaja i mlijeka, muteci mikserom do glatke smjese. Na kraju umijesajte ohladjeni otopljeni maslac. Ostavite pola sata u frizideru.

Pecite u plitkoj, blago namascenoj tavi na umjerenoj toploti. Servirajte toplo uz svoj omiljeni namaz ili prilog. 

Mulberry and Rainier Cherry Clafoutis

So I stumbled upon some black mulberry at the market, as usual while looking for something completely different. I like it and I know that it is in season. Why not try making something with it, I thought. 

Little did I know what amazing superfruit I had in my bags. Some say its antioxidant properties are unmatched, and it helps with a number of ailments (I learned later). I found a gluten-free clafoutis recipe that I felt does not take away from mulberry's health benefits. It's one of those easy dessert meals that does not leave you feeling guilty. I also used some of the leftover mulberries to make muffins, following this recipe. 

The rest we ate fresh with our hands (my fingertips are still purple).

I don't know about you, but to me mulberry carries the sentiment of the time passed, living in the memories acquired from the stories of those who came before me. In particular, it reminds me of my late grandmother who first let me taste it, holding a bunch of them in her hand. I pried one out, squishing it slightly with my fingers and letting the dark dye run down my little fingers. It was juicy and sweet, and she smiled as she saw the look of approval in my eyes. 

Kao sto to cesto biva, trazeci nesto sasvim drugo na pijaci, na jednoj od tezgi naletjela sam na crni dud. Volim ga jesti (M. bas i ne), a znala sam da je sad u sezoni. Zasto ne bih probala napraviti nesto s njim, mislila sam. 

Dok nisam dosla kuci i obavila pretragu na internetu, nisam znala za brojna hranjiva svojstva duda. Neki kazu da je dud medju ostalim vockama najbogatiji antioksidantima. Imala sam recept za clafoutis bez glutena, i sve sastojke za desert poslije kojeg vas ne grize savjest. Koristeci ovaj recept, od duda sam napravila i ukusne muffins. 

Ostatak duda smo pojeli svjezeg (moji prsti su vec drugi dan ljubicaste boje).  

Ne znam za vas, ali za mene dud nosi miris nekog davno proslog vremena, koje i poznajem samo indirektno, iz prica onih koji su dosli prije mene. Sjecam se kad sam ga probala prvi put, probirajuci jedan plod od njih nekoliko sa rasirenog dlana moje nene. Njeznu ovojnicu sam pregrubo stisnula, a ljubicasta boja se razlila po mojim djecijim prstima. Bio je socan i slatkog okusa. Nena se nasmijesila na pogled odobravanja koji sam joj uputila.

Mulberry and Rainer Cherry Clafoutis (gluten-free)
Inspired by Cannelle et Vanille

Ingredients

1 cup wild mulberries
1 cup pitted, halved Rainer cherries (other kinds will also work)
1/2 cup raw honey
1/2 cup cornstarch
pinch salt
5 tbsp pistachio meal (plus 1 tbsp chopped raw pistachios)
3/4 cup milk
1/2 vanilla bean, seeds scraped
1/4 tbsp butter for brushing the baking dish

Method

Preheat oven to 180 C (350 F). Butter the baking dish, coating the sides also.

In a medium-size bowl, whisk together honey, vanilla beans, and eggs. Add the cornstarch and whisk until incorporated. Add pistachio meal, chopped pistachios, salt, and milk, and stir until combined.

Pour into the buttered pan, and arrange mulberries and halved cherries on top. Bake for 25 minutes, or until the edges are golden brown. Serve warm, dusted with confectioners' sugar.



Clafoutis sa divljim dudom i bijelim tresnjama (bez glutena)
Prilagodjeno sa Cannelle et Vanille

Sastojci

1 mjerica/casa/235 ml divljeg duda 
1 mjerica/casa bijelih tresanja (moze i neka druga vrsta) 
1/2 mjerice meda
1/2 mjerice gustina
1/8 kasicice soli
5 kasika mljevenih svjezih pistacija (plus 1 kasika nasitnjenih svjezih pistacija) 
3/4 mjerice mlijeka
1/2 stapica vanilije (sjemenke)
1/4 kasika maslaca za premastiti posudu za pecenje 
Priprema

Zagrijte pecnicu na 180 C (350 F). Maslacem premazite posudu za pecenje (dno i unutrasnje strane).

U posudi srednje velicine, rucno umutite jaja, med, i zrna vanilije. Dodajte gustin i mijesajte dok se grudvice gustina ne umute. Dodajte mljevene pistacije, nasitnjene pistacije, sol i mlijeko, i umutite.

Uspite u posudu za pecenje a po vrhu rasporedite dud i polovice tresanja. Pecite oko 25 minuta, ili dok ivice clafoutisa ne dobiju zlatnu boju. Servirajte toplo, posuto secerom u prahu.