French Crepes (Brittany style)

It was a beautiful sunny day in San Francisco and we met up with Arnaud from Brittany, who works with my roommate Angie. Brittany is a part of france known for their crepes. He cooked up some amazing crepes and we smothered them with ice cream, banannas, cherries, and love. We had them on the stoop of his victorian house in the Haight and we soon had melting ice cream dripping down our hands from the warm crepe....it was a divine experience. I was also taught how to fashion the crepe in the proper french style (being American I was thinking we would need a knife and fork). I would highly recommend learning how to make crepes because not only is it delicious, it is also a great way to enjoy any stoop on a sunny Saturday. I didn't have time to get the exact recipe, but here is one close to it. The key is using the right amount of butter on the pan when you're cooking the crepe, and getting it thin and slightly crispy on the edges. The inside toppings are up to you, but from my experience with the French, nutella is one of the primo ingredients. I also like sugar and lemon.

3/4 cups all purpose flour (buckwheat flour is also good for savory crepes)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg
2/3 cup milk
2/3 cup water
3 tablespoons unsalted butter

mix everything in a large mixing bown until smooth
(you can also chill the batter for 30 minutes in the fridge if you have the time)
Heat the pan over medium and brush with butter (Arnaud used a paper towel dipped in butter and spread it on the pan)
Pour the batter in the hot pan and swirl to coat the bottom of the pan in a thin layer. If there are still uncoated portions of the pan, pour more batter on and swirl. Cook for about a minute and flip using a spatula or a flick of the rist if you're daring.
This makes about 8-10 crepes.

Stack the crepes on a plate and take them outside to the stoop. Be sure to add your toppings only to a small part of the crepe, fold in half, and then fold again so the crepe makes a triangle. It's best to take the first bite from the bottom where all the goodies are, but this does result in a bit of a sticky mess for the inexperienced such as myself. But I'm willing to practice my crepe technique as much as possible if it means I can make more crepes. The next crepe will be buckewheat crepes with ham and Gruyere.

Greek Style Taco

I love the way the yogurt sauce in this taco really balances with the vegetables and creates a very refreshing meal. I stir fried the vegetables with onions, red pepper, black beans, and garlic with a little cumin. The black beans were Rancho Gordo beans from the ferry building farmers market. We had some leftover tortillas from enchiladas we made before and I was inspired by the crisp cucumber waiting in my fridge to be eaten. I added the yogurt and diced cucumber with some salt and pepper and put it on the taco as a finishing touch. The crunch from the cucmber also gave the taco that extra pizzaz. Here is the recipe:

Half and Onion
one green pepper (or other colored peppers)
1 clove garlic
black beans (soaked and pre cooked)
corn torilla
nonfat yogurt
english cucumber
salt and pepper

Saute the chopped onions and garlic in olive oil. Add the cumin unti aromatic, about 2 minutes. Add the chopped pepper and let soften about 5-10 minutes. Add the black beans and stir. Meanwhile, made the yogurt sauce with cucumber, salt, and pepper (you cad add dill or vinegar as well). Cook the corn tortilla on a pan with a little olive oil until crispy, about 5 minutes. Put the begetable and bean mixture in the corn tortilla and spoon over the yogurt sauce. Enjoy and make seconds!