Tuesday, December 25, 2012

Decadence In A Bowl!!!! Merry X-Mass!


The day is about to dawn, and I am typing up a quick post for my blog that is starving for some well deserved attention!!   

It is finally Christmas !  Merry Christmas!!!!
                                           Just got back from our annual Christmas eve party.  At our house....the tree is all decked up, and gifts are neatly stowed under the well lit tree.   Soooooo thankful for everything......
            In our house, this particular festival is celebrated with utmost joy ...   why????  Well... the first and foremost being, you get gifts!!!  The second one being....all things sweet and sugary are served!!   Thirdly, my most favorite....is the whole house is decked up and is christmassy...in colors of red, gold and green!!!  it is the season to be jolly and to rejoice!!  

One small gift from me......I thought, in case if you are hard pressed for time, and you need to whip up something totally sweet and decadent to wow your guests....you must do this!!  I just served some 40 people this at the X-mass eve party to some mighty happy clucks and yummooos and requests for seconds and repeat requests to make some more the next time!! 

It is soooooo simple....you will surprise yourselves....I even wonder if I need to tell the recipe out!!  I shall as I have promised some of my friends that I would share this heavenly yet simple trifle pudding..... 
You will need some....
Fudge brownie... out of a pack, baked, cut into pieces, about 4 cups
Good quality vanilla ice cream  ... about 4-5 cups
Whipped topping .... about 2 cups
Strawberry preserves .. about 2 cups
Chocolate fudge topping .... about 1 cup
Cherries and mint leave for garnish
Now.....
Line a trifle or a glass bowl with a layer of fudge brownies.....

 Add 1 cup of ice cream and spread it to cover the entire surface of the brownie....
Add 1/4 cup of warmed strawberry preserves and spread it on top of the ice cream layer....

Add a squirt of (1/4 cup) of fudge topping and spread on top of the strawberry layer....

Now repeat this yummilicious layering three more times....
oopsies...forgot to take pictures at this stage!!!!  LOL!!!
Cover the top with the semi thawed cool whip, and decorate it with cherries and mint leaves, like so.....
Ahaaaaaa!!!  That looks christmassy to me!!!  Feel free to decorate as you like....with a dusting of cocoa, chocolate shavings, colored sugar crustals, holiday candies....list is endless!!  
I left it white and simple.....just like the fresh fluffy white stuff that we get in plenty here.......

My little Chipmunk tried making individual ones too....absolutely yummilicious!!!  
MERRY CHRISTMAS TO YOU AND YOUR LOVED ONES...........

Monday, December 10, 2012

An Ode To A Lazy Cook!!!

I have been extremely lazy.....have not visited my blog in ages.....though have been nudged by many, cajoled by many, but, have been putting it off just out of sheer laziness!!!  

                                  Now, this laziness is also an amazing thing....it makes your brain work harder in a way....to come up with lazy dishes, recipes which involves few ingredients, not much work and moreover a happy tummy!!  
          I am not going to post any recipes....remember........I am in the lazy mode!!  This post is all about giving you some ideas if you are sailing in the same boat as I and want to reach the destination faster.....
               But will guarantee a happy, yummy edible session....


This was a bit of a fusion.... Falafal Sandwich!  




Here goes.... 
Toast pita bread with a little drizzle of EVOO, cut it in half, slit the halves for pockets.  Stuff it with mixed salad greens, baked falafels (out of a pack....I happen to love the ones from Trader Joe's), a drizzle of Mint and Cilantro chutney....again store bought and a generous drizzle of my famous cilantro lemon yogurt sauce!!!!   
      I whipped together 1/2 cup of yogurt, 1 tbsp each cilantro, scallion chopped, 1 Serrano pepper, chopped and 1 tsp lemon juice!!!  Took me 5 exact minutes!!!  
I emerged out of the kitchen with a sandwich which looked like the one out of a Greek fast food place!!!   
This was my Greek Inspired fast lunch!!!  

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My Thai Table!!  
A platter of Tofu Satays, Indonesian Peanut Saute, Stir fried broccoli with soy-ginger sauce!!  Now, you can do this in a flash, can't you??!!  

Would love to hear from you...... Hope you are inspired to whip up these or something as lazy and yummy as these!!  
Adieu from a Lazy Cook!!  

Friday, June 1, 2012

Summer Boot Camp in Minneapolis!!!!!

Royalty-Free (RF) Clip Art Illustration of a Group Of Kids Baking In Home Economics Class by BNP Design Studio


Every summer...I have heard parents fret as to what to do with their children while they are busy working!  I have a few mouthwatering, skill building, exciting options...

your kids can cruise around the globe, without pricey tickets, passports!!

No packing required, just come with a curious, inquisitive mind, and a robust appetite to the following cooking camps.....

Experience the Exotic Far East....
Chinese cuisine has gained international acclaim for its bold and vibrant flavors!!   Now, you can bring home, as a little chef, the flavors of China to the delight of your family and friends!!!   In this class, Chef Anu, from Exotic Palates will guide you through and exciting menu from your famous Chinese restaurant which you will make and enjoy!  You will learn to work with traditional ingredients to make a range of richly flavored Chinese classics.  There will be an informative session at the end of the class which will pertain to Cuisine and Culture of China!!!

  •         Iced Honey Ginger Jasmine Tea,
  • ·         Crispy Egg Rolls,
  • ·         “Ants climbing a tree Noodles”  noodles with ground chicken in a classic Szechuan sauce and
  • ·         stir fried green beans in a mild, sweet chili sauce. 
  • ·         The participants will enjoy dining their creations with a sweet dessert…. Ginger Mint Ice Cream.

 Date:  June 18th, Monday 
Time:  9:00 AM -- 12:00 PM
Location: Wayzata Central Middle School at Central Campus: A306 FCS https://wayzata.thatscommunityed.com/course/wishes-summer-2012/cooking-boot-camp-chinese#map
Other Details:  Min Grade: 3rd  ; Max Grade: 7th   ; Price:  $65.00 per person

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Fast Food Favorites!!

You enjoy a classic takeout food, enjoy the indulgent food and wonder how it can be replicated at home???  Well, here is your answer to it all!!   Classic Fast food cuisine that gets a gourmet and a healthy spin!  There will be an informative session at the end of the class which will pertain to Cuisine and Culture of Fast Food Chains in America!!

 
  • ·         The ultimate Chocolate Milkshake – with melted fudge sauce that you will make!!
  • ·         French Fries – you will cut and make your own fries from scratch, fried and baked variety, seasoned with a variety of seasonings from all over America!
  • ·         Classic Onion Rings served with a creamy Sauce!
  • ·         Chicken Burger –  make a classic Chicken burger with ground meat and spices, and cook it to a mean, juicy, moist burger. 
  • ·         yogurt-and-granola parfait with the yummiest of toppings --- Each child gets to create his or her own kind of parfaits with the array of options offered!!

 Date:  June 19th, Tuesday
Time:  9:00 AM -- 12:00 PM
Location: Wayzata Central Middle School at Central Campus: A306 FCS https://wayzata.thatscommunityed.com/course/wishes-summer-2012/cooking-boot-camp-chinese#map
Other Details:  Min Grade: 3rd  ; Max Grade: 7th   ; Price:  $65.00 per person
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Tapas Menu ClipartTantalizing Tapas
Tapas are tiny dishes, appetizers with big flavors, served on small plates, are designed to be shared and are great for entertaining!   In this class, Chef Anu will show your kids how easy it to prepare an assortment of little bites with big Mediterranean flavors.  This menu full of delicious dishes will be perfect for family meals, birthdays, graduation parties and anytime a group of food-loving friends gather.  
 
  • ·         Baba Ganoush – a classic eggplant dip from the Mediterranean island of Greece!
  • ·         Bandilleras – Traditional  Chicken, cheese and olive skewers served with Picada sauce
  • ·         Savory stuffed mushrooms – with a savory filling, and baked in an oven!
  • ·         Pan fried Pita bread with Hummus and Roasted red pepper
  • ·         Patatas Bravas -- Spicy Potato Bites
  • ·         Wash this all down with a virtual trip to Spain sipping a long glass of Mosto – Grape Spritzer! 


 Date:  June 20th, Wednesday
Time:  9:00 AM -- 12:00 PM
Location: Wayzata Central Middle School at Central Campus: A306 FCS https://wayzata.thatscommunityed.com/course/wishes-summer-2012/cooking-boot-camp-chinese#map
Other Details:  Min Grade: 3rd  ; Max Grade: 7th   ; Price:  $65.00 per person
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CCouple Being Serenaded at a Sidewalk Bistro clipartuisine from kid Friendly Restaurants of America

Which kid has not unwrapped a sandwich while driving down the highway or pulled a hard U-turn into a fast-food joint on the way home from a late meeting or soccer game? We practically live in our cars, so we need quick food, and please, parents like it to be healthy.  Well guess what...look no further…..you can create your own restaurant classics at home, and feed everyone in your family without stepping out!!

  • ·         Garden Vegetable soup from Panera CafĂ©
  • ·         Mac n Cheese from Noodles and Company
  • ·         Burrito Bowl from Chipotle
  • ·         Orange Chicken with Rice from Lean Chin
  • ·         Ice Cream Brownie Sundae with toppings from Dairy Queen!
 Date:  June 21st, Thursday
Time:  9:00 AM -- 12:00 PM
Location: Wayzata Central Middle School at Central Campus: A306 FCS https://wayzata.thatscommunityed.com/course/wishes-summer-2012/cooking-boot-camp-chinese#map
Other Details:  Min Grade: 3rd  ; Max Grade: 7th   ; Price:  $65.00 per person
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World_food : pumpkin soup with map of worldGlobal Cuisine!!Travel the globe and discover the global chef in you….. In this exciting class, Chef Anu will show your child to prepare traditional dishes served around the world!  This menu full of classics will expand your child’s culinary horizons and open up an infinite number of options to his/her home cooking.  Enjoy the class with an informational session on Global cuisine!! 



  • ·         Chicken dumpling served with hoisin sauce  from China
  • ·         Chicken Curry served over Elaichi Pulao from India
  • ·         Lasagna served with garlic bread from Italy
  • ·         Classic Apple Pie served with Vanilla Ice Cream from America
  • ·         All this while sipping a traditional virgin Mojito from Mexico!!!
     Date:  June 22nd, Friday
    Time:  9:00 AM -- 12:00 PM
    Location: Wayzata Central Middle School at Central Campus: A306 FCS https://wayzata.thatscommunityed.com/course/wishes-summer-2012/cooking-boot-camp-chinese#map
    Other Details:  Min Grade: 3rd  ; Max Grade: 7th   ; Price:  $65.00 per person

Saturday, May 26, 2012

Lazy Day Cooking!!!

I know...I know....I have gone disappearing from the blogosphere....not that I was not eating or cooking anything interesting, but let us say...I was simply pursuing my other passion, close to my heart!!  I was singing away, was blessed with the opportunity to perform in some great venues and sometimes, simply rehearsing in the comforts of my own studio....my cozy little shower stall!  On the whole, enjoying the experience!!  A slight lull at the moment, so thought should devote some attention to my long forgotten blog...(Lol!  been only a short 6-8 weeks since my last post)!!! 


                                  Memorial day weekend, gateway to the summer season filled with sunny days, endless jugs of lemonade,  trips to the beaches, water park, grilling and BBQs and more....but sadly does not look that way!  Rainy, windy, wet and grey is more like the picture in my neighborhood.  How does it look at your neck of the woods?!  Seriously.... hoping for the day to brighten up and get cheerful!  this kinda weather does put us all in a lazy mood, don't you think??         
                                         All I want to do is cuddle up by the window, listen to some quaint Indian music from my grandmother's era, sip ginger laced tea, maybe a book, with absolutely none to bother but the pitter patter of the rain beating against my window sill!!  Ohhhh! I so want to do that!!!  But, who let's me?????!!!!! I can hear hubby asking my tots, "what do you think mom is making for lunch"?!  " maybe you guys should go and ask her"!  Aaaahhhh!!!  I love them, but, too lazy to get up and make something!!  Oh!  why did I insist on pampering them by cooking and feeding them everyday?!  Should have listened to wise minds when they asked me to have them be more self sufficient!!!  Oh why did I not?!  Too late now!!  
                                                    Orrrrr....maybe as soon as I get this done and have it out of my way, I can go be my lazy self again!!  Come cook with me and be out of the kitchen in exactly 15 minutes!!!!  Can't believe it?!  Will try and whip a yummy lunch, and be back in exactly 15 minutes to tell you all how and what I did!! 
I am backkkkkkkk.......
Was sooo yum and the scene is absolutely quiet as they are slurping and munching, and I was able to sneak away to tell you all about it!  Hopefully some of you girls...sorry guys too....who want to whip up something speedy get inspired to do this or come up with something of your own on the same lines....but be sure to share it with us!   
Ok....read on then.......
Went to my neighborhood Panera to enjoy a cup of coffee with hubby last morning, and picked up a loaf of Asiago Focaccia!  Yummmmm!   Not much of sandwich ingredients either...but thought these might do great....
A tub of Cream Cheese
Some Mixed shredded Cheese
A jar of Fire Roasted Red Pepper
A small jar of Marinated Artichoke hearts
Some generous drizzles of good quality olive oil!






Heat a grill pan! Brush it slightly with olive oil.  Cut the bread in half.  Grill one half of the bread, cut side down, until nice and toasted flip and toast the other half also until you see grill marks.  




 


Spread the other half of the bread with the cream cheese (I used about a couple tablespoons).  Layer with artichokes, roasted red bell pepper strips and shredded cheese (I used 3/4 cup of Mexican cheese for the tang in it!!); Top it with the grilled half of the focaccia loaf. 




Gently lift the sandwich, transfer it to the grill pan!  I advice you to work alongside your grill pan!  Life lesson tip to avoid messes and clean up!!!!  hahaha!  


Ok...watch carefully if you don't know this already....create your own Panini grill at home without a panini maker!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



Place a clean saute pan on top of the sandwich and place 2 canned items on top of the saute pan!  The weight of the can will press your sandwich and create this magical panini sandwich without shredding your wallet!!  this way....one less gadget in your kitchen!!!!  yayyyyyyy!!! 



How to Slice a Panino and Present it!   Like so........Use a serrated knife, use your palm to gently press the face of the panino, and slice it in half and quarter it!  All this was being assembled while a store bought soup, was gently simmering away in a pot on the next stove! 


Lovely Meal.....A panini with hot, steaming cup of soup, dotted with pepper, a book, a blanket and a cozy nook!!  
back to being a lazy meeeee until the next meal time comes calling.....
Ensoyyyyyyyyyy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Saturday, March 17, 2012

Chillar Wich!!!!! HAHHHHHAHHHHA!!!!

Picture this:  Saturday morning....my son's class just got rescheduled, my daughter is still recouping, so she did not have to go to class so did not have to get ready!!  Feels luxurious to have sooooo much free time on hand!  Or...you will typically see me getting everyone ready, their bags ready,whipping up waffles or pancakes or eggs with per-programmed recipes and on auto mode.  
                                                  Scurry hurry scurry!!!  You get it!!!!  I am suspecting, it is the same scenario at your home too!!   
                                                  But....today, I don't have to hurry anywhere, scurry anywhere, so I decide to sleep in and enjoy those freebie minutes!!!  My hubby thinks otherwise!!!  Nooo.....don't get naughty yet!!  He wants to smell the coffee!!!  Everyday I get to drink his....and for once he wants to be "served"!!!  
                See...I am blessed with a great hubby who also plays the role of a perfect kapee maker to the "T"!!!!!  Kapee aka coffee aka cafe latte is my primal need first thing in the morning and I look forward to everyday morning when I get it delivered to my hands or  woken up some-days with...."Good Morning...your coffee mam"!  some days....."kapee kapee"...resonating the hustle bustle voices form the Indian railways!!!  Or some days, it is his turn to demand and he will, in his tam bram lingo....will demand "chuda chuda pongal, idlee, vadai, and coffee!!!"   Meaning piping hot south Indian breakfast and coffee like back home in India (I am guessing from an era which is now long forgotten ...hahahha!!).  
                                  Do you think I comply, as much as I love to cook???!!!   Hahahahhaha!!  Nooooo!!!  And today was no different, was woken to the perfect cuppa....but with his yearning look of wanting to eat something with it!!!  Now....I drag myself out and comply a bit....after all it is only decent enough to  return his favor, when he tirelessly makes me his yummy coffee every morning!!!!
                                                                  He wants my "egg-cup"!  That is another breakfast that is a big favorite around my house.  It is a soft eggy souffle that is whipped in a matter of couple minutes!!  Shall save that for another blog!   Now, I do not have any eggs, but my brain is working in super fast mode and as recipes come cramming inside, one stands out!!!  I do not need eggs, this is for you my vegetarian friends.....it is an egg less omelet....at least that is how I treat this!  OK!!  I am not going to keep you in the blind,  I am making CHILLA, a crepe made from chick pea flour/besan from the north east region of Southern India....Andhra Pradesh!  Here is my twist...of course (!) I had to make it my own....Chilla crepes in a sandwich leading to the most delicious Chillarwich!!!!!!!!!!!  Howzzat for a great breakfast???!!!   !  What a lovely ingenious idea!!!  Sometimes, I do surprise myself!! 
              So, with a huge smile on my face I march down and open my pantry and refrigerator and take out these......
1 cup Chickpea flour, 3 Tbsp scallions, chopped, 1 Serrano pepper, chopped, 2 Tbsp. cilantro, chopped



 You embellish this above fragrant Chilla base a little more with the following......
Add 3/4 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper powder, 1/2 tsp ground ginger, 2 tbsp coconut powder, and 1/2-3/4 cup room temp water.
Mix all of the above and whisk the batter to a smooth, light consistency like so.......
the batter should resemble a thin pancake batter! 
 Now....onto the pan!  
Heat the pan to medium -medium high heat.
Brush it evenly with 1/2 tsp canola oil.  
Add 3 tbsp of the batter, swivel the pan around to coat the batter evenly.
As soon as the bubbles appear on the crepe and the sides start curling inwards, flip the crepe.
Let it cook on the other side till it gets a few brown beauty spots on the back as well.
Take it off the pan and stack it up on a platter. 
Now...how do these yummy, rustic chillas get transformed into chillarwich???!!!!!   Like so......
I used some of the classic sandwich fillers used in my household.... some mint and coriander chutney, some cheese, some tomato ketchup and of course good old butter!
This is how a chillarwich is constructed!
Toast the bread, butter both the toasts, Apply green chutney on one and Tomato ketchup on the other.  Place half a chilla folded, on the green toast, top it with your choice of cheese, close it with the tomato toast.  Press down and slice it on a diagonal.  Love the layers inside!!!  Spicy and Yummmmm!
Your Chillarwich is ready!!!!!  You can enjoy it with a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice for breakfast; with a bloody mary (spiked or un-spiked) for brunch; or with a bowl of tomato soup for lunch!  Either way...it is going to be a happy camper in your tummy!!
Enjoyyyyyyyy!!!!! 

Friday, March 9, 2012

Dimple Pakodiyans!!! Noodle Pakodiiiiiis!!!!!



Pakodiiiiiiiiiis!!!!  Yummmmooooo!!!!   
whatever might have been the reason for me to pull this together when I had just 30 minutes to spare!!!!!       This is for my little princess!!!    My sweet little daughter is sick :(  Really sick!!!  Just got back from the doctor, who proclaimed that she was alright but with an ear infection!!   
Alas!!!  She was soooooo crestfallen!!!  She is one person in my family, actually one of the four (!) who has a robust appetite, loves, simply loves "good" food!!  I have a secret feeling that she hates falling sick as she is refrained from eating normal yummy food!   Now who wouldn't??!!!   So, I decided to treat her!  I was taking her to my friend R's house, for a dance session,  No people!!!  I am not going to have her dance!!!  LOL!!!  She is just going to sit out!  But, thought shall treat her to something before I took her!!  

The kids wanted Maggi!!!    Now, this one dish without me having to do anything, except boil a pot of water actually a cup of water per pack....gets 100 points....Bingo...everytime!!   

                                            I am sure my mother felt that way too when I was growing up!!!  Oh boy!!  Has Maggi been around really that long??!!!  I remember, when it first came out, it was Rs.2.00 per pack and was a rage!!!  My mother  always an enthusiastic shopper, would try all products that would get launched!!  And my dearest dad had a huge part in it!!  He used to work in a food research institute and they would get samples from all of the food industry to try their product, do shelf life studies, analyze, to find nutritive value and so on!!  Well...though he was a biochemist, he had a ton of friends who would pass on these products to him....and he would bring them home for us to try, even before it hit the market!!!  
                                               Now who doesn't like trying and devouring yummy food for free??!!!  hahahhah!!!  That was us!!  Mom would tirelessly try out different things out of the prepackaged products.....these yummy pakodis are the result of one such pursuits in her food experimentation of ready to eat foods!! 
                Here is my reproduction of the same to my family and you!!!  But how did this get its name??!!  you wonder??!!!  well!  Let us make the pakodis and talk about that while munching on them with tea shall we??!!!!  
Here goes it........
You will need....
A.  The Filler Mix:  1/4 yellow onion, minced; 1 Serrano pepper minced; 3 tbsp cilantro, chopped; 1 small carrot, peeled and grated; 

B.  The Star of the Pakoda filling:
1 packet of Maggi prepared with the Maggi bouillon,  according to the package

C.  Base Mix --  1 cup Chick pea flour/Besan; 3/4 tsp salt, 3/4 tsp baking soda; 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper powder; a scant 5 oz of room temperature water.


Add all the ingredients of the base into a bowl and whisk the mixture until nice and airy for about a minute or so!



Now... add the filler ingredients, and the star ingredient - the prepped noodles into the base mixture and mix well.  The mixture should be very chunky!!!  Like so.....


  
Meanwhile, heat a pan with canola oil.  Add a droplet of the pakodi batter.  If it floats up and sizzles, then the oil is ready for you!!  If the droplet burns, then it is too hot!  Move the pan away from the heat immediately and wait for couple minutes for the oil to cool down.  If the droplet sinks -- your oil needs to come up to temp.    That was frying 101 for you!!!



Use a tablespoon of the batter, drop it into the hot oil.  Do not overcrowd the pan.  My pan could easily fit 4-5 of these yummy morsels. 

 


Let it turn golden brown, and flip the pakodis and let them brown up on the other side also.  
Drain the pakodis on a platter lined with paper towel to drain off excess oil from those golden morsels!! 



Serve them with a chutney of your choice.  I went with the theme and served my pakodis with Maggi hot and sweet sauce!!   And......my daughter loved them....she gave me her signature thumbs up sign.....get well sooooooon sweetie!!!  Miss your little snippets of your day in your sing song voice around the house!!!


 Now, armed with a cup of Chai and a plate of Pakodis, would like to reflect the conversation that I had with Jay when I came up with the name for these .... at the dance...we were discussing Dimple Kapadia,...a famous actress from Bollywood, and munching on one of these, and somehow with the twist in the syllables the name was coined!!!!  Haahahhahahhaha!!!  Some girl friend humor!
Enjoyyyyyyyyy!!!!

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Crepeliciously Delicious!!!

I feel I have been a "pleaser"  all my life!  
I have been a very good daughter, my mom can vouch for it!!  
I have been a very good sister...I think my brother, grudgingly and forgivingly will vouch for me!!  "S", please say "yes"!!!  
A wonderful hubby pleaser, hubby will happily vouch for that one, if I promise to dish out endless supply of gourmet eats all his life!!!  My kids....yes...they will scream out that I am the best mom in the whole wide world ...... 

                                  Errrrrr.... maybe that was a bit of a stretch there!!  Maybe as long as I let them watch endless hours of TV, arrange play dates all the time, do not bother them about their school work and say yes to everything they think is fun under the sun.....Yes!  I will be the best mom on the block!!!  

Alas!  Reality check:  I am a mean, task master....which I am hoping one day they will come to realize it was after all orchestrated towards their betterment in life!!!!!!  Till then I am willing to wait for them to hand over the coveted prize of "best mommy award" to me!  

                                                                                  But, I do try to please them...I do! I do! I do!!!   Especially with food!  Today was no differnet!  Came back from school and after the usual wanting to do something....I grudgingly let them watch tv, so could get some quiet time for myself.  I urged them to help themselves to some snacks...healthy junk option (huh??!!!).....hahahhahha!!  But, they were bored with all my regular options and could not stand the fact that I was admiring my own pictures shamelessly on facebook and bantering  smart comments back and forth with friends!    They had this strong, saddistic desire to put me to work!!!  

                                                             So, my daughter came up with this idea..."hey mom, can you make me some crepes, those yummy chocolaty ones for IHOP??"  huh!  IHOP..eh???!!  Now, she has bruised my small ego big!!  I had to come up with a better recipe than them....IHOP, ofcourse!!!  I went to the internet, looked around, pulled up the first one....and tweaked it big time!  
It called for less flour, upped it!  More eggs...nah...hate the eggy smell...so decreased the egg!!  There was oil....do not like the sliminess of the oil in the batter, so did not bother to add that!  Love the sweet flavor of vanilla which magically sweetens things without adding any sugar....so included vanilla....pretty much had hit everything on the list...hahahaha...my dear friends........ did you realize....there are very few ingredients to a good crepe recipe.....some flour, milk, and egg???!!  Viola!!!! Can you believe.... these gorgeous little silky roundels can be whipped up with just 3 basic ingredients!!!!   So here it is......

You will need..... 
1 Scant cup of milk (I used 1%), 3/4 cup of loosely packed all purpose flour, a pinch of salt, 1 whole egg, and 1 tbsp good quality vanilla essence!

 Add all the above ingredients into a jar of a blender, and blend well until combined.  Blend at low speed for 30 seconds and high speed for another 45 seconds and this is how it should look...with lots of bubbles!!

Your crepe batter is ready!!!  No resting time required, these can be spread into silky sheets of soft indulgence and they come together in no time!!!
Cautionary Pointers: 
Use a well seasoned pan
Heat is always on medium-medium high
Start making the crepe just before the pan starts smoking
Use a brush to moisten the pan with either oil or butter (I used bland canola oil ...about 2 tbsp in all)
Be alert...these thin sheets cook up very fast!

Now follow the picture to make a crepe.....

  • Add 2 tablespoons of the batter into the pan.  
  • Swivel the pan around to spread the batter around in the pan.  
  • Wait for the edges to uncurl away from the pan, and small bubbles should appear in the crepe.  
  • Gently lift the edge, nudging with a spatula. and gently coax it out of the pan.  As you get couple of these done, you will be able to literally pluck it out of the pan with your fingertips and flip it around.  A nonstick pan helps the process to go smooth!!!   
  • Flip it around and let it cook for 30 seconds or until you see tiny bubbles from beneath.  
  • Now, transfer the crepe to a serving platter. 

Work with one crepe at a time..... you could apply chocolate hazelnut spread aka Nutella or strawberry preserves.  My kids went the whole 9 yards....they squeezed a jolly god amount of the whipped cream on top of the chocolate spread, rolled it up and enjoyed them!!!  
                                                               These are so delightfully light, delicate, thin, silky sheets, they disappear in no time!!  Was very hard to keep aside a few for the pictures!!  If it is easy and quick to whip these beauties up it is super easy to devour them, takes no effort at all!!! 

  
Enjoy making them with ease with this easy recipe!!  The flair of crepe making (please.....it is not rocket science!) will come to you within the second or the third crepe.  Enjoyyyyyyy!!!!!!!!!!!!