Crepes

Blender Crepes

1 cup flour
1 cup milk
1/2 cup tap water
4 eggs
1/4 cup butter, melted
1/2 teaspoon salt
Extra butter for the pan

Combine the first six ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Cover and let stand about 30 minutes. May be refrigerated at this point for up to two days. Place a small medium skillet over medium heat. Add about half a teaspoon of butter to the pan. As butter is melting, tilt the pan so the melted butter spreads. Pour just enough batter into the pan to cover the bottom. Return pan to the heat and cook until the crepe begins to bubble – just a bit over a minute. Flip and cook the other side until it begins to brown. We like crepes for dinner with cooked chicken and cream sauce or chopped ham and melted cheese. They’re also great for dessert or breakfast with berries and cream or Nutella.

Bouillabaisse

Easy Bouillabasse

2 pounds fresh mussels (only use the closed ones)

2 pounds snapper fillets, cut into 1” pieces

1 pound peeled and deveined shrimp

1/2 cup olive oil

1 tablespoon fresh garlic, chopped

2 cups chopped onions

1 large can tomatoes, chopped

1 teaspoon fennel seeds

A pinch of saffron

1 teaspoon coarse salt

2 teaspoons fresh ground pepper

1/2 cup white wine (non-alcoholic wine works, too, but cooking wine tends to be a bit salty)

8 cups fish or vegetable broth

Suate garlic and onions in oil over medium heat for a few minutes.  Add tomatoes, seasonings and wine. Simmer about five minutes. Add broth and bring to a boil. Add fish and boil gently about five more minutes. Add shrimp and mussels, lower heat a bit and simmer, covered about ten more minutes. Serve hot with a nice, crusty bread.

Aioli

I was checking the “bargain bin” at a local quilt shop when I happened upon several sandwich bags filled with fabric scraps. An employee told me they were leftover block-of-the-month kits for sale without their directions. The blocks have numbers but no names. Since the quilt they’re designed for is called “Memories of Provence,” I’ve named them after flavors that area is famous for.

Blender Aioli

2 or 3 fresh cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped

Large pinch coarse sea or kosher salt

1 egg yolk at room temperature

Half a large lemon, juiced

1 cup light olive oil

Fresh ground pepper

Place garlic and salt in a blender. Pulse for 2 seconds. Add the egg yolk and lemon juice and pulse until blended. Turn on and begin adding the olive oil in a thin stream. If it becomes too thick, thin it out with a bit of tap water and continue adding oil until you've used it all. Blend in pepper last.Use in the place of mayonnaise.

Don't Feed the Bears

We got a significant snowstorm on Thursday, then Friday was clear and cold. I could have wished for a few more weeks of mild autumn weather, but it feels as though winter isn’t far away. Here’s a good recipe to make use of the last of the garden tomatoes.

Tomato Basil Bisque

A dozen Roma tomatoes

4 cans Campbell’s tomato soup

2 cups chicken broth

1 cup beef broth

A big handful of fresh basil leaves

1 cup sugar

2 cups cream

Spread tomatoes on a baking sheet and roast at 350 F until their skins begin to turn black. Stir tomato soup and broths together in a large pot. Puree tomatoes and basil in blender until smooth and add to pot. Stir in sugar and cream and heat through. Serve hot, garnished with a dollop of sour cream.

Lancelot

Lancelot was in the crossword puzzle this week. The clue was, “Round table member.” That doesn’t exactly narrow it down. There were Gawain, Percival, Galahad, King Pelinor, and of course Arthur. And several more whose names I’ve forgotten. But the grid had eight letters, and I knew the first was L. It wasn’t much of a stretch. It’s been decades since I read Idylls of the King, The Once and Future King, or even A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court. It may be time to dust them off again. At the moment I’m enjoying The Hobbit instead. It’s amazing how much a book changes when you set it aside for at least ten years before picking it up again. The first time I read about Bilbo I was in my teens. The second was when I had kids in diapers. I’ve reached the slaying of Smaug for the third time, and I can scarcely wait for the movie to come out.