Home Smells Like Cooking: Week 5 Monday: Crepes with Fruit and Cream cheese; Caldo Verde / Parmesan Pine-nut Bread / Purple Cows

It's Monday morning of Week Five.

It's a new week, Halloween is coming and it's cold and blowing outside. This week is starting off perfect with vanilla crepes filled with slightly sweetened cream cheese and raspberries. We all LOVE these things. They are so good!

For dinner, it's Monday so it's a soup or stew day -- and up today is Caldo Verde it is a rich blended vegetable based soup with a little sausage. It's really creamy and smooth but without the added fat from cream. It's creamy because the vegetables slow cook together all day and then get blended until smooth before adding leafy collard greens and sausage slices.

On the side will be Parmesan Pine Nut Bread. It's a bread machine recipe but I'm going to make it the old fashioned way - in a stand mixer. IT's a really great bread, with Italian seasoning, a generous amount of parmesan and crunchy pine nuts. I can't wait - it's going to smell almost better than it will taste!

For dessert Monday is always something with ice cream. Tonight is ultra simple - Purple Cows - vanilla ice cream floats made with grape soda. These are so good and it's been a long time since we've had this combination. It's such a perfect combination - everyone is going to go to bed happy after having these! Perfect ending to a Monday.

Crepes with Fruit and Cream Cheese

Caldo Verde, Parmesan Pine-nut Bread and Purple Cows

BREAKFAST:

CREPES

Crepes can seem intimidating at first if you've never made them. But once you get the hang of it, they are easy and versatile. They can be used for breakfast, dinner or dessert depending on what filling you make to go inside. Sometimes I make crepes for dinner with chicken a la king and then also do a dessert filling and have them for both dinner and dessert.

But they make such a delicious breakfast with fruit and a sweetened cream cheese!
Definitely a favorite around here.

The recipe makes a lot of crepes, so I am halving it since we are only having them for breakfast.

1. I put 2 eggs in a bowl of warm water to bring them to room temperature. Then melt a Tablespoon of butter in a small dish.

2. Measure one cup of flour in a medium size mixing bowl. Add a pinch of salt and sift well.

3. Make a "well" in the center of the flour. Pour in 1 1/4 cups of milk, add the eggs and vanilla. Mix well. It will be very thin. Stir in the melted butter.

4. Now heat one or two small frying pans (omelet size) on high.

5. When the pans are very hot, pick one up and spray generously. Take about 1/8 cup of batter, pour right into the center of the very hot pan. QUICKLY tilt the pan in all directions, 360 degrees, until the batter spreads in a wide thin circle.

(The batter will begin to cook the minute it hits the hot pan so you must move quickly!!)

6. Put the pan back down on the burner. Let it cook until the edges are dry and bubbles have formed and popped. Using a fork or spatula, pull the edges away from the pan and than slide the fork or spatula under and flip it over.

7. Let it cook for a bit on the other side. Just long enough for it to lightly brown. Then pick up the pan and tilt the pan over a platter to let the crepe slide out. Repeat with the remaining batter. ENJOY!

CREAM CHEESE FILLING

1. Put 1 or 2 packages of cream cheese in a medium mixing bowl.

2. With a hand mixer, beat the cream cheese until it is soft and creamy.

3. Add a little powdered sugar - to taste. You don't want it too sweet. The sugar shouldn't mask the flavor of the cream cheese, just sweeten it a little.