Gluten-Free Coconut Crepes

The recipe was borrowed from this fantastic website featuring coconut recipes.  Others are able to take gorgeous pictures of their food...I'm still practicing.  My genuine gluten-free crepe is featured in the picture above, but see the original recipe here.

 Coconut Flour Crepes

• 2 eggs
• 2 tablespoons coconut oil, melted (or butter, if needed)
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract 
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons coconut flour, sifted
• small pinch of nutmeg
• pinch of cinnamon
• 1/3 cup whole milk (can substitute regular coconut milk*) 

In a medium bowl, whisk eggs, oil, milk, and vanilla.  In a separate bowl sift coconut flour, spices, and salt.  When combined, blend the dry into the wet ingredients and beat until batter is smooth.

Warm oil in a frying pan, making sure all sides are oiled.  When warm, pour just enough batter to coat the frying pan with batter, but no more.  You want these to be thin.  When the batter begins to bubble and brown on the bottom, quickly flip your crepe; channel a French chef to make it easier.  When the second side is browned, remove from the stove and fill with whatever delicious ingredients you have on hand.  

Suggestions: I had an apple and a few bananas on hand when I made my crepes, so in a separate pan I melted butter and cooked down the apple (in thin slices) and the banana.  I coated the mixture with a dusting of cinnamon and the juice from half a lemon, and then I filled my crepes.  I also whipped some yogurt with honey and lemon juice and used that as my sauce.  It was delicious!

 

Enjoy!

Health-Conscious Pancakes

 

That's right, even the pancakes can't stop thinking about how healthy they are!

I recently found myself in an international food market in Seoul and was fortunate to find whole wheat flour, raw honey, and a handful of other goodies that made me quite excited for breakfast this morning.  And after a brief Google search for a new, hearty pancake recipe, I soon found myself opening my crisp new bag of flour, whisking eggs, and devouring a delicious late-morning treat.

The recipe is written very well by another blogger out there, so please see her website for the original recipe.  However, I have also written the recipe below to reflect a few of my changes to accommodate the readily available ingredients in Seoul.

 Whole Wheat Yogurt Pancakes

• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/3 cup milk
• 1 egg
• 1 cup (or 2 containers) low-fat yogurt
• 2 tsp canola oil
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/8 tsp regular salt
• 2 small bananas
• Raw honey, optional 

Mix wet and dry ingredients separately.
Combine and stir until just combined.
Cook 1/4 cup batter servings on a medium hot griddle.
Melt a little butter on a pan and lightly sear chopped bananas until slightly brown.
Top the pancakes with the baked bananas and drizzle honey over the top.

Enjoy!

A Man's Breakfast

Yesterday we got to chatting about all the amazing breakfast joints in Portland.  We reminisced about the french toast at Bread & Ink, the scrambles at the Radio Room, and Alex's favorite: biscuits and gravy.  

We are far away from home and mouth-watering food is often hard to find in Seoul.  But thanks to some leftover turkey drippings, a little meat and mashed potatoes, and an easy stove top biscuit recipe online, I was able to whip together a southern-style breakfast, with a side of french press coffee, for my husband.  

Not bad for stove top cooking, eh?

Creativity & Spice

A few evenings ago Alison and I wanted some wine after our long Friday of teaching.  But good red wine is hard to find around here without paying an arm and a leg for the imported wines from Italy, Spain, and France.  If I had had the energy to grab a cab to a large grocery store, my chances would have been great.  But, I didn't.  Instead, I took my chances with a shockingly cheap bottle of red wine from a local corner market.  It tasted like alcohol grape juice.

So, I poured the entire bottle into a pot, peeled a few clementines and threw the wedges in.  Then I added two slices of lemon it the peel and lightly covered the top with a sprinkling of cinnamon and nutmeg.  I turned the heat on low and let it simmer for about thirty minutes.

Lo and behold, I had delicious, festive mulled wine!  Alison and I had no problem finishing two bottles of wine this way, (these bottles were very small and only yielded two glasses of wine in total).  And when the wine was gone, we devoured the wine-laden fruit, which was also scrumptious!  

If you need a relaxing, holiday-inspired moment to yourself or to share with a friend, wonder down to the market and buy the cheapest bottle of red wine you can find.  Then get creative!

Inaugural Dishes

A few months ago I decided to post my best recipes online as a way of sharing my new way of cooking (or baking) with my friends in Korea.  We are without ovens and many of the tools and ingredients taken for granted at home in the States, thus I have had to become creative.

If you are interested in some new recipes, or are like me and are lamenting over the loss of an oven and the delicious treats that can come out of such a wonderful machine, then please feel free to follow my posts.  I have organized each recipe onto its own page of this site to ease organization.

Happy baking!