Tonight, we moved on to the stuff that was still good. Last night at dinner we picked up some fixings from the salad bar - spinach, artichoke heart, red peppers, onions - and Jane turned them into amazing omlettes with the eggs and grated asiago we had waiting in the fridge. Every bite was unique, but amazing, and I'm thinking about all the wonderful things that mix of flavors could be, like bite-sized frittata appetizers if made in mini-muffin tins.
One of the things lurking in the bottom of our frige, which doesn't have a freezer but sometimes freezes things anyway, were the Eternal Plums. I bought plums many, many weeks ago - I think right before Halloween - that never got eaten, but never went bad. They weren't frozen, but I think the cold at the bottom of the frige put them in a kind of fruit stasis. We also still have an open box of pancake mix we took home after Iron Chef, so naturally... we made crepes. I'll be honest, I'm trying to lose some weight right now but I feel like this dessert, which isn't bad in moderation, is worth every calorie. Speaking of calories, new feature! Every recipe will now include nutritional information at the end. (Let me know if you like this, or if you don't want to know.)
Crepes with Plum Compote and Nutella
2 c. water
2 c. sugar in the raw
3 plums, pitted and diced (roughly 2 cups)
1 c. pancake mix
1 c. milk
1 large egg
Butter or cooking spray
In a large pot, dissolve as much sugar as possible into water. Heat over low, stirring frequently, until remaining sugar dissolves. Add plums, and barely simmer, stirring frequently, until fruit is cooked and syrup is dark and thick. For us, this took about 40 minutes. The test is that if you put a bit of syrup on a plate, let it cool slightly, and tip the plate sideways, the syrup should drip very slowly. This was so simple, but delicious, and we saved some for breakfast tomorrow. If I were to make it again, I would add cinnamon. Cinnamon enhances sweetness but does basically nothing to the nutritional content of food.
For the crepes, beat the pancake mix, milk, and egg util uniform. The batter should be slightly thinner than regular pancake batter. Put a pan over medium heat and, once warmed, lightly coat with butter or cooking spray. Pour 1-2 tablespoons of batter into the center of a pan, and use a spatula to gently spread the uncooked batter off the edges, making the crepe thin and wide. Flip, cook on the other side, and remove to a plate. Like pancakes, a crepe will "release" when the down side is done cooking, but too much prodding will make the more delicate crepe fall apart. The edges and top of the crepe should "dry" slightly, and no longer have the same shine that uncooked batter does. If you can easily get your spatula under the crepe, it's ready to flip. If you have to do too much wiggling, give it a few more seconds.
Once you have your finished compote and your empty crepes, spoon 2 tablespoons of plum compote and a half tablespoon of nutella (if you so choose) into your crepe. Roll it up and enjoy, because these puppies are delicious.
One plum and nutella crepe, as described above is 140 calories: 26 g. carbs, 4 g. fat, 2 g. protein.
