Cooking Basics Archives | The Good Hearted Woman

Easy Basic Sweet Vanilla Crepes

If you’ve ever been intimidated by crêpes, try these Easy Basic Sweet Vanilla Crêpes and you’ll wonder why you ever worried.

If you can make a pancakes, you can make crêpes. Before you get started though, here are a few tips that will make the process even easier.

Crêpe Batter

Crêpe batter should be thinner and smoother than pancake batter – just thick enough to thoroughly coat a wooden spoon. If your batter seems too thick when you take it out of the refrigerator, add additional milk 1-2 tablespoons at a time until it reaches the desired consistency.
Crêpe batter can be made the night before and left in the refrigerator until you are ready to make them.
When pouring crepe batter into the pan, I pour with my my left hand and simultaneously swirl the the pan with my right hand. (I’m mostly right-handed.) The batter sets up very quickly, and this allows me to distribute it around the pan before it sets.

Flipping Crêpes

Crêpes are ready to flip when the edges start showing the slightest color brown and the center is no longer glossy.
I don’t actually use a spatula to “flip” my crêpes. Instead, I use the spatula to gently lift the edge up enough so that I can get hold of it, and then I flip it quickly using my fingers. I cannot, however, encourage you to do this because it may lead to burnt fingers, and I will not be responsible for that. So whatever you do, don’t flip your crêpes with your fingers. 😉

Filling Crêpes

The are two basic methods for filling crêpes: the Roll and the Quarter-fold (or Cone). For most applications, I personally prefer the Roll method, but that’s just me. However, the Quarter-fold method makes a better presentation for unfilled crepes that just have toppings.

Serving Crêpes

Sweet Vanilla Crêpes can be served plain with just a dusting of powdered sugar and a sprinkle of lemon juice, or filled with your favorite sweet filling.
I prefer to serve my crepes with the second side out: I think it is more interesting to look at. Nevertheless, this is in direct conflict with common practice, which is to hide the second side. It’s all just a matter of personal taste as far as I’m concerned, but I thought you should know… just in case you are planning to host a group of snooty French gastronomes for brunch, because then you will probably want to put the browned, first side out.

5 from 2 votes

Basic Sweet Vanilla Crêpes {Recipe}

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Author: Renée B. ♥ The Good Hearted Woman

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups milk* see note
3 eggs
4 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 cups flour sifted
3 Tbs. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 cup melted butter

Simple fillings or toppings for sweet crêpes include:

A dusting of powdered sugar and a sprinkling of fresh lemon juice
Fresh fruit
Whipped cream
Jam or jelly

Instructions

Put all the ingredients - the milk, eggs, vanilla, flour, sugar, salt and melted butter - in a blender and blend until smooth.
Allow crepe mixture to sit in the refrigerator for at least an hour before using.

To Prepare Crêpes:

Heat a crêpe pan (or an 8- or 9-inch non-stick sauté pan) over medium-low heat. It is important to find the right temperature for crêpes. They are not supposed to be all brown and crispy. Start your pan on medium low and work from there.
If you are worried about your crêpes sticking, rub a little coconut oil or extra-virgin olive oil over the surface with a paper towel. Remove any visible oil before proceeding.
Pour 1/4 to 1/3 cup crêpe batter into the middle of the heated pan. Immediately swirl it around to create a thin flat crepe that reaches just slightly up the sides of the pan. I usually lift it off the burner for this step: it makes it much easier to manipulate the pan.
The crêpe is ready to flip when the edges are just beginning to turn brown and the batter in the middle is no longer glossy or wet looking.
Using a large, thin spatula, flip the crepe and cook another 15-20 seconds.
If you are making another crêpe, don’t let the pan set empty on the burner for more than a few seconds or it will get too hot.

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“Hey, Renée! That’s a pretty groovy little crepe pan you have there! Where’d you get it?”

Well, yes it is, and thank you for asking! I received this sweet crepe pan as a gift from Anolon, for attending a class they sponsored at IFBC 2015 called “How to Create Standout Holiday Content.” Besides being the perfect size and shape to create beautiful crepes, it has a hard-anodized PFOA-free non-stick coating that is (drum-roll, please) safe for Metal Utensils and guaranteed for life. So cool. So far, I am loving it.

Homemade Flour Tortillas

June 30 By Renée ♥ 12 Comments

It’s been nearly twenty years since I had homemade tortillas for the first time, and the memory is as fresh as if it had happened yesterday. I watched fascinated as our cousin Leah, the daughter of long-time missionaries born and raised in Mexico, rolled out one tortilla after another, flour motes dancing with each turn of her pin. In well-practiced rhythm, she rolled, flipped, turned, and fried each one with machine-like consistency, quickly building a stack of warm, floury flat-breads tall enough to feed our small army of children. Soft, flavorful and tender, Leah’s tortillas made nearly every tortilla I’d eaten up until then taste like flattened papier-mâché. Watching her work was a moment of pure grace, and I remember feeling immense gratitude for her efforts.

If you have never made homemade tortillas, it’s high time that you do. And once you do, you will never go back to store-bought. (OK, maybe you will sometimes, for the convenience, but after these, those store-bought tortillas will never taste the same again.) But here’s the biggest secret of all: homemade flour tortillas are surprisingly fast and easy to make!

My flour tortilla recipe is an adaptation of “Flour Tortillas Diaz.” I love that it doesn’t call for lard or shortening, and the tortillas it makes are soft and pliable even after they have been sitting for some time.

Homemade Flour Tortillas

Prep Time40 mins

Cook Time20 mins

Total Time1 hr

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Course: Bread

Author: Renée B. ♥ The Good Hearted Woman

Ingredients

4 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons Kosher salt
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 cup olive oil
1 1/2 cups warm water not HOT

Instructions

Mix together flour, salt and baking powder. Drizzle in the olive oil and mix with your hands.
Mix in a little water at a time with your hands until you have a soft dough. (The dough should be soft but not sticky. You can always add more flour if you need to.) Knead the dough for about 5 minutes, adding flour as needed if the dough gets sticky.
Form the dough into a ball and wrap in plastic or cover with a towel. Let rest for about 20 minutes. (This allows to gluten to rest.)
Divide dough into 2” balls (about the size of a golf ball). Flatten a dough ball with your palm and dust each side with flour, then roll into a 5-6” circle. Turn and flip each tortilla a few times as you roll them out. [See note]
Heat a frying pan or griddle over medium heat. Do not grease or spray with cooking spray. Place a tortilla in the pan and cook until it bubbles a little – around 20-30 seconds. Flip it and cook the other side 20-30 seconds.
Place cooked tortillas in a tortilla warmer, or inside a folded kitchen towel. The steam from the hot tortillas softens them.

Notes

It takes about the same amount of time to roll out a tortilla as it does for to fry one, so after you roll the first few, it is easy to get into a rhythm of cooking one and rolling the next at the same time.

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Want to make an awesome tortilla warmer like the one in the picture above? Check out my tutorial here!

How to Roast Eggplant

August 5 By Renée ♥ 2 Comments

Preparing eggplant often involves frying and a lot of vegetable oil. Roast eggplant is a great tasting, healthy alternative, and is very easy to do.

To roast a whole eggplant, wipe the eggplant clean and slice them in half lengthwise. With the tip of a knife, score the flesh deeply in a diamond cross-hatch pattern by making two or three long cuts, cutting at a steep angle, and then rotating the eggplant to make another set of similar cuts. Press on the edges of the halves to open the cuts and sprinkle salt (1 to 1-1/2 tsp. total for all the halves) over the surface and into the cuts. Set aside, cut side up, for 30 min.

Over the sink, rinse and gently squeeze the eggplant to extract the salty juice, and then wipe them dry with a paper towel. Brush each half thoroughly with olive oil (about 1-2 tsp. per half, depending on size) and season lightly with salt and pepper. Arrange each half, cut side down, on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Roast for about one hour at 400°F. The eggplant will collapse and the bottoms will be a very deep caramel color. Let cool considerably before handling, at least 20 min. Gently turn the cut side up, and with a spoon separate the flesh from the skin. Roast eggplant can be eaten as is or used in a variety of recipes.

This content was originally published on my personal blog, Sock Monkey in 2011.

Sweet Pie Crust

July 6 By Renée ♥ Leave a Comment

Last November when I shared my recipe for savory Herbed Pie Crust, I also shared some advice that I was given about pie-crust making when I was a child by the our across-the-street-neighbor. Like my own mother, Mrs. Rothenberg made delicious pies. Unlike my own mother, Mrs. Rothenberg’s advice did not go in one ear and out the other – it stayed with me: I can still hear her cautioning, “Once you have your ingredients mixed up and you’ve added the water, don’t mess with it! That’s why people have tough pie or soggy pie crusts – they think they need to mess with it.”

Keeping her advice in mind, I spent some time this spring working on my sweet pie crust, and I think I have finally nailed it perfectly. Follow the directions below, and you will too!

Sweet Pie Crust

Whether making tiny tartlet shells like those pictured here, or a full-size pie, this easy to make pie crust will hold your favorite fillings with sweet, flaky perfection.

Prep Time15 mins

Total Time15 mins

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Course: Basic Baking

Servings: 9-inch pie crust

Author: Renée ♥

Ingredients

1/2 cup butter-flavored Crisco Sorry, but this really does yield the best results, and it is the only time I ever use it, I promise!!
1/2 cup butter - chilled in freezer for one hour Don't use margarine. I always use salted butter, but you don't have to.
3 cups unbleached flour
3 Tablespoons white sugar
1 teaspoon white or cider vinegar
5-6 Tablespoons Ice water

Instructions

In a medium bowl, mix flour and sugar with a fork. Mix in Crisco shortening with your fingers, then cut cold butter into 1/4 pieces and sprinkle them into the flour mixture. Mix with your fingers some more - until mixture resembles <em>very</em> coarse crumbs.
Sprinkle vinegar over mixture on toss to combine. (The theory is that that a bit of acid helps relax the gluten formation that would otherwise toughen the pastry.)
Sprinkle ice water over the top and stir with a wooden spoon until a ball forms. Press into a ball and let rest at least 10 minutes in the refrigerator before using. (I tend to let it rest a couple of hours, but you don't have to.)
For best results, let sit at room temperature for 15-30 minutes before rolling out.
Bake according to directions for whatever you are making.

Notes

If you are making one pie crust, this will make enough for that plus a few little extra treats for the kids.

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Herbed Pie Crust

November 1 By Renée ♥ Leave a Comment

When I was a little girl, I lived across the street from a lady named Mrs. Rothenberg. She had a grand-daughter about my age, and one fall day when I was about eight, I went over to play and Mrs. Rothenberg taught us how to make pie crust. Her advice sticks with me to this day: mix up the dry ingredients, pinch in the shortening with your fingers, then add the coldest water you can find and stir it up just enough to get it to stay together. Let it rest, roll it out once, and then “don’t mess with it!!”

Just for the record, my mother could make a great pie, too, but we sometime forget the moments when our mothers teach us, because they do it every day.

Herbed Pastry

This savory pie crust is the perfect finish for a vegetable or meat pie; or cut it into 4" circles, add filling, and pinch the edges together to make flavorful little turnovers for lunches or snacking.

Prep Time10 mins

Total Time10 mins

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Course: Basic

Servings:

Calories: 143kcal

Author: Renée ♥

Ingredients

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon dried sage
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup butter
7-8 Tablespoons ice water

Instructions

In a medium bowl, mix flour, sage, thyme and salt. with a pastry blender or fork, cut in butter until mixture resembles very coarse crumbs. (Really, who am I trying to kid - I use my hands for this.) Sprinkle ice water over the top and stir with a wooden spoon until a ball forms. Press into a ball and let rest at least 10 minutes in the refrigerator before using.
Makes enough to cover about three 9-inch pies, or one large baking dish and one medium-size dish. If you don't need that much, just cut the recipe in half.
Bake according to directions for whatever you are making.

Nutrition

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Roasted Fall Vegetables

October 31 By Renée ♥ 1 Comment

Roasting root vegetables together creates a rich, savory-sweet medley for the senses that will wrap you up like grandma’s quilt on a cold autumn evening.

Roasted Fall Vegetables

This recipe reflects my current preferred mix, but you can change up the veggies to suit your tastes. (A word of advice: don’t leave out the sweet potatoes.) Once roasted, these veggies can be served as a side dish or a main entry, or used as an ingredient in a multitude of other dishes, from soups to pan-fries to my all-time favorite – pot pie!!

Prep Time20 mins

Cook Time1 hr

Total Time1 hr 20 mins

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Course: Basic

Servings:

Calories: 194kcal

Author: Renée ♥

Ingredients

2 medium russet potatoes
1 very large or 2 medium sweet potatoes
1 1/2 cups fall squash acorn, pumpkin, or butternut all work nicely
1 large sweet onion cut in half & sliced lengthwise
4 medium carrots
5 cloves garlic sliced very thin
1 Tbsp chopped fresh thyme or 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme Use fresh. Really
2 Tbsp olive oil
Kosher salt & pepper
1 cup vegetable stock
**All veggies except onions & garlic should be peeled and cut into 3/4-inch cubes

Instructions

Heat the oven to 425 degrees F. Spray a 17 x 11-inch pan with the cooking spray. (I use a large glass roasting pan.)
Toss all ingredients with oil in the prepared pan and season with salt & pepper. Roast the vegetables for 30 minutes. Pour the soup stock or broth over the vegetables and stir.
Roast for 30 minutes more or until the vegetables are fork-tender.
This will serve about 12 people as a side dish - just adjust the amounts according to your needs.

Notes

Originally published on my blog Sock Monkey for Vegan Mofo 2011.

Nutrition

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Vegetarian Gravy

October 31 By Renée ♥ Leave a Comment

Sauces are made and broken (I made a little cooking joke there!) by the base with which they are made, and canned vegetable stock just doesn’t make the grade – especially when comes to making a rich, savory gravy! If you have the time, make some homemade vegetable stock – it will make all the difference!

Rich Vegetarian Gravy

Prep Time2 mins

Cook Time5 mins

Total Time7 mins

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Course: Basic

Servings:

Calories: 91kcal

Author: Renée ♥

Ingredients

1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
2 cups vegetable stock
2 cups 1% milk
Kosher salt pepper, garlic powder

Instructions

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt butter. Whisk in flour and cook, stirring constantly for 1-2 minutes. Add stock and milk. Stirring, bring to a boil and boil until thickened.
Season your gravy with herbs what will complement whatever you are serving it with. The gravy in the photo has been seasoned with a little thyme and sage.

Nutrition

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Rich & Hearty Homemade Vegetable Stock

October 30 By Renée ♥ 1 Comment

Every cook needs a great vegetable stock recipe – for soups, sauces, and enhancing all kinds of dishes. Canned stocks work in a pinch, but take the time to make this Homemade Vegetable Stock – made from roasted vegetables – just once and you’ll become a true believer.

When I was growing up, I didn’t even know that you could buy soup broth or stock from a can, because we always made it at home. Then I grew up, moved out, and learned that for the price of a cheap hamburger, you can buy it ready-made. Cool!

Well…as it turns out, canned stock isn’t so cool after all. What it is is flat and flavorless. So I went back to making my own, and I’ve been doing so ever since.

Homemade stock is cheap, easy to make, and amazingly versatile – and essential for cooking soups and stews and sauces. The basic vegetarian version includes onion, celery and carrots – add or delete vegetables according to your own tastes and the produce you have on hand.

The parsnip, by the way, is homage to my grandpa.💙

Homemade Vegetable Stock from Roasted Vegetables | The Good Hearted Woman

Rich & Hearty Roasted Vegetable Stock

Vegetable stock is cheap, easy to make, and amazingly versatile - and essential for cooking vegetarian soups and stews and sauces. The basic version includes onion, celery and carrots – add or delete vegetables according to your own tastes and the produce you have on hand.

Prep Time20 mins

Cook Time3 hrs

Total Time3 hrs 20 mins

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Course: Basic

Servings:

Author: Renée ♥ The Good Hearted Woman

Ingredients

1 large sweet onion peeled and sliced vertically
½ a bunch of celery chopped into chunks
6-8 medium carrots cut in big chunks
1 parsnip peeled and sliced thick
½ pound tomatoes quartered
5 cloves garlic smashed
6 sprigs fresh thyme
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 gallon water
1/2 teaspoon whole peppercorns
4-5 whole cloves
1 bay leaf
Dash or two of hot sauce I use Cholula

Instructions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
Put the prepared vegetables and thyme in a 9 x 13 glass baking dish. Sprinkle with kosher salt and a little freshly ground pepper, and toss with olive oil.
Place vegetables in the preheated oven. Stir the vegetable every 20 minutes. Cook until all of the vegetables have browned and the onions start to caramelize, this will take about an hour.
Transfer the cooked vegetables to a large large stock pot. Add water, peppercorns, cloves, bay leaf, and a dash or two of hot sauce. Bring to a full boil, and then reduce heat to simmer. Cook uncovered until liquid is reduced by about half (I tend to boil it a little longer - I like my stock rich and robust. Plus, you can water it down later if you want to. Taste and season with more kosher salt, pepper, etc, until it fits your personal tastes. (I usually add a teaspoon or so of brown sugar and some garlic powder.)
Pour the stock through a sieve. Stock can be used immediately, or stored in the refridgerator for later use, or frozen.
Makes about 2 quarts.
P.S. Technically, since this is seasoned when prepared, it is a broth, but "broth" sounds like something you eat when you're sick, so I'm calling it stock.

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Prepped vegetables ready for roasting. They look so pretty.

Roasted vegetables ~ Can’t you just smell the flavors!? After you put the vegetables into the stock pot, deglaze the roasting dish with a little of the stock-water to loosen the caramelized bits and get every bit of flavor into your stock.

It takes about an hour and a half to reduce the stock. Stir every once and awhile, but otherwise, just let it do its thing. Season toward the end when the flavors of the vegetables have permeated the stock; do it too early in the process and it is easy to over-season.