Basic Recipes 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 1 vote

Basic Sweet Vanilla Crêpes {Recipe}

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.

“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.

How to Make a Rye Sourdough Starter

September 14 By Renée ♥ 19 Comments

Rye sourdough starter is – by far – the easiest sourdough to start. All you need is rye flour and water.

I have a confession to make: I’ve been holding out on you. For nearly two years, I’ve had an amazing recipe in my [digital] back pocket that I’ve been so excited to share, but it kept getting bumped for one reason or another. I’d have it scheduled, and then something else would come up and I’d think,What’s another week? or, I really want to run this one during Ocktoberfest season. Well, Oktoberfest season is upon us once again, and I am not letting it get by me this time.

Two years ago this fall, I went on an absolutely fabulous party-bus ride with some of Portland best food bloggers for a progressive dinner at four of Portland’s most esteemed restaurants. Our main course came courtesy of The Bent Brick in northwest PDX, and among the dishes served was the best spaetzle I’ve ever eaten – made with rye sourdough and dressed with caramelized cipollini [fancy-pants onions], sautéed mushrooms, and Tabasco shallots. If there is German pasta in heaven, it tastes like The Bent Brick’s rye soudough spaetzle.

I’ll be sharing the complete recipe next week, along with many [belated] thank you’s to those who helped bring it to us. But first, there’s a little prep work to be done.

This post may contain affiliate links, but don’t worry – they won’t bite.

In order to make Rye Sourdough Spaetzle (or rye sourdough bread, or rye sourdough pancakes, etc.) you need to put together a rye sourdough starter, which is – by far – the easiest sourdough to start. All you need is rye flour and water.

The Flour: I used Bob’s Red Mill Organic Dark Rye Flour.

The Water: I used tap water, and everything bubbled up just fine. Nevertheless, many sourdough professionals (I am not one) discourage the use of tap water in favor of distilled water, as the chlorine and other chemicals found in treated water can kill the microorganisms that need to flourish to create sourdough. If there is an overabundance of chlorine in your city’s water, you might want to think about using distilled water. All I can say about the issue is that the water treatment facility in my town uses enough chlorine that I can actually smell it when it comes through the faucet, and it wasn’t a problem for me. Just use your best judgement.

Rye Sourdough Starter

Course Bread

Author Renée B. ♥ The Good Hearted Woman

Ingredients

Day 1:

1/2 cup rye flour
1/2 cup water

Day 2:

1/2 cup rye flour
1/2 cup water

Day 3:

1/4 cup water
1/4 cup rye flour
method:

Day 4:

1/4 cup water
1/4 cup rye flour

Weekly feeding (or every time starter gets used):

3/4 cup water
3/4 cup rye flour

Instructions

Day 1:

Using a wooden spoon, mix the rye flour and water in a mason jar or non-reactive bowl.
Cover loosely and place in a dark place at 70°F for 24 hours. (I put mine up against the counter right next to my stove.)

Day 2:

Add the rye flour and water to the starter. Mix with a clean wooden spoon for 30 seconds until the flour has been incorporated.
Cover loosely and place in a dark place at 70°F for 24 hours.

Day 3:

Add the rye flour and water to the starter. Mix with a clean wooden spoon for 30 seconds until the flour has been incorporated.
Cover loosely and place in a dark place at 70°F for 24 hours.

Day 4:

If bubbles have started to form and the flour has begun to ferment discard ⅔ of the mixture. Add the flour and water to the remaining ⅓ and mix for 30 seconds until the flour is well incorporated. If the mixture has not started to ferment repeat step 3.

Day 5:

The starter should be mature by this point and is ready to use. Use the starter you need. After use, see feeding instructions.

Weekly feeding (or every time starter gets used):

After each use of the starter, mix in the flour and water just like Day 4, with the exception of discarding any starter. Let the starter rest in a dark 70°F place for 12 hours and then place in the refrigerator.

♥︎ Want to learn more about baking bread? Click here to check out great baking classes from Craftsy ♥︎

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Seahawks 7-Layer Dip & Superbowl Snack Round-up

January 31 By Renée ♥ 17 Comments

UPDATE: January 2015 – I would like to sincerely thank the Seahawks franchise for making this post relevant for the second year in a row.

Here in the PNW, we are all about the the Big Game this weekend – our very own Seattle Seahawks are in the Superbowl!! (OK, as a Portlander, saying “our very own” and “Seattle” in the same sentence hurts just a little bit, but we don’t have our own football franchise, so it’s time to ~~suck it up and take one for the team~~ embrace and support our brothers and sisters to the north.)

Believe it or not, this will be my very first Superbowl, ever. True story. I’m pretty excited about it too, because as far as I can tell based on the publicity and the Pinterest boards, at least half the hoopla is all about the party food. And beer. (OMGosh – have you seen the new Budweiser commercial with the puppy and the horse? It is so freaking sweet – it seriously made me cry.) Anyway, Mr B. and I are going over to the home of one of his poker buddies to watch the Game, and since I do have my reputation to uphold, I’ve been trying to think of something unique and easy to make for the party. Here’s my PNW-proud take on a classic – Seahawks Seven-Layer Dip:

I love those little cupcake toppers! You can get them FREE, along with lots of other cool free Superbowl Party printables, from Jen at Thrifty NW Mom!

Seahawks Seven-Layer Dip

This is WAY easier to put together than it looks – it should only take about 30 minutes tops, start to finish, including making the tomatilla salsa. For 1- 9×9 or 8×12 Layered Dip you will need:

1 batch Black Bean Dip Base (recipe below)
2 cups Guacamole (fresh or store-bought)
1 cup Plain Sour Cream
1 cup Blue Sour Cream (directions below)
Tomatillo Salsa (recipe below)
6 oz. Low-fat Cotija Cheese, grated (or finely chopped)
Top with cilantro and olives

Layer in the order above, beginning with Black Bean Base. I put the sour cream and guac in ziploc bags and cut a hole on the end to squeeze them out with more consistent, controlled distribution. For a festive, easy-to-hold option, layer individual servings into clear plastic cups instead.

Serve with:

Blue Corn Chips
Guacamole-flavored corn chips

Black Bean Dip Base

1 Tbls olive oil
1 large sweet onion, chopped
4 cups cooked black beans (or 2 [15 oz] cans, rinsed and drained)
1/3 cup chopped cilantro
1 clove garlic, minced
1 small jalapeño, seeds removed and diced
Juice and zest of one lime
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Saute chopped onion in olive oil until translucent. Add garlic and saute one minute more.
Put half the beans, all of the sauteed onions, and the remaining ingredients into a blender or food processor. Pulse until chunky-smooth. Add the remaining whole beans and stir to combine.
(I like a little texture in my bean dip – if you like yours completely smooth, then add all the beans at the beginning. Can be made ahead of time – easily keeps for a couple of days to a week in the fridge.)

Blue Sour Cream:

Mix 1 cup of light Sour Cream with a few drops of Homemade Natural (or Store-bought Artificial) Blue Food Coloring, until you achieve the color you want. (I’m not a big fan of food-coloring, but this is a special occasion. If you avoid artificial coloring all together, the Homemade Natural Food Coloring takes just a few minutes: you will need a few leaves of red cabbage to make it.) Or you can just use blue food coloring from a tiny little plastic bottle.

Tomatillo Salsa

This is the best stuff!! You can make it when you need it, or way ahead of time. It does thicken up as it cools. Keeps in the fridge for a couple of weeks.

10 tomatillos, husked
½ large sweet onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 jalapeno pepper, chopped
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
salt and pepper to taste

Place tomatillos in a saucepan and barely cover with water. Bring to a boil, and reduce to a simmer, cooking until tomatillos soften and begin to burst (about 10-12 minutes).

Drain tomatillos and place in a blender or food processor or blender with onion, garlic, jalapeno pepper, cilantro, salt and pepper. Pulse until chunky-smooth, but don’t get too carried away.

Weight Watchers: One cup (as shown above with 1/3 cup beans, 3 Tbls light sour cream, 2 Tbls guacamole and a generous sprinkle of cotillja) is just 5 little PointsPlus! Serve it with carrot rounds or little peppers for dipping and you are good to go!

I’m not the only PNW blogger who has the party spirit though! Check out these great recipes from some of my favorite blogger buddies!

Kale Chips & Cocoa-Chili Spiced Nuts from Killer Pickles (Sarah says, “Try Oregon hazelnuts for the Spiced Nuts!”)

Chilled Vegetable Pizza from Pechluck’s Food Adventures (Pech lives in a mixed-eating household, and has a ton of Veggie-friendly recipes on her blog!)

Game Day Eats from Spabettie (This is a marvelous collection of Vegan recipes!)

More Game Day Recipes from Spabettie!

Northwest Bruschetta and Fried Pickles from Noble Pig (The bruschetta looks absolutely melt-in-your-mouth devine!)

How to Build a Snackadium from Sunshine & Sippy Cups

Homemade Steak Fries from The Coupon Project

How to Caramelize Onions in a Slow Cooker

November 19 By Renée ♥ Leave a Comment

Caramelized onions are a staple in my kitchen, but it takes so flipping long to do them right! Recently, I spent some time looking up other methods for caramelizing onions and found many people have had good success doing them in a slow cooker, so I decided to try out the process myself. What I found was that, like most instructions for caramelizing onions, time estimates vary dramatically from kitchen to kitchen. (Note: If you ever read a recipe that say you can “caramelize” the onions in 15 minutes, don’t believe it for a second! You can “brown” onions in that time, but it isn’t the same thing. True caramelizing takes time – usually at least an hour on the stove-top.) The majority of slow-cooker caramelizing directions that I found suggested that my crock-pot full of onions would be ready in 10-14 hours – mine took 24 hours, beginning to end. I’m sure that this depends on the size, make and model of your slow cooker, and the type of onions you use.

I used sweet onions because that is what I had on hand, but next time I will use plain yellow field onions, which is what I usually use when I am caramelizing onions on the stove-top. Yellow onions ultimately caramelize better for a couple of reasons: they are lower in water content, which will significantly speed up the process. This excess water is probably what accounts for the additional time it took for my onions to caramelize in the slow cooker this time. Second, while we perceive sweet onions to be sweeter, this has more to do with the fact that yellow onions have more of those pungent lachymators (i.e., stuff that makes you cry) than sweet onions, giving us the impression that they are significantly less sweet. The truth is that yellow onions actually have a far more complex flavor profile, and yield more flavorful caramelized onions.

All that being said, the sweet onions did turn out just great – they just took a heap more time. The process couldn’t be easier though:

First, cut up your onions, from root to stem. America’s Test Kitchen did exhaustive tests on caramelizing onions, and found that they turn out better if you cut them this way.

Fill your slow cooker about 2/3 full of cut onions. Drizzle on a little olive oil and toss them a bit.

Cover and put on low. Stir once every couple hours.

When they are the color and consistency you want, you can remove the lid and let them dry out a bit. This may take 2-5 hours, depending on how much water they have left in them.

How to Make Your Own Homemade Pumpkin Pie Spice {Using Fresh Spices}

October 9 By Renée ♥ 7 Comments

Pumpkin Pie Spice in the fall is the seasoning equivalent of a down comforter – hand me a pumpkin spice latte, a good book and a glowing fire and I’ll curl up like a cat in sitting on a sunbeam in paradise.

The thing is, Pumpkin Pie Spice in those little bottles at the store costs a fortune (relatively speaking), and you never know how long it’s been been sitting on that shelf anyway; and what’s more, they never have just the right balance of nutmeg to everything else for me. (I love nutmeg!)

I decided it was time to start making my own Pumpkin Pie Spice, and turns out its pretty darned easy – plus, the price differential will blow you away. To put things in perspective, the ingredients for this recipe collectively cost less than 40 cents. By comparison, bottled Pumpkin Pie Spice can run more than twenty times that much, especially if you are buying organic.

To make fresh, homemade Pumpkin Pie Spice, you first need to gather the freshest ingredients you can. Cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and cloves are easy – buy them whole in your bulk section and grind them yourself. Grinding your own ginger is another thing entirely, so you probably just want to buy pre-ground ginger.

Homemade Pumpkin Pie Spice

Keyword pumpkin pie spice

Prep Time 10 minutes

Author Renée ♥ The Good Hearted Woman

Ingredients

4 3-inch sticks of cinnamon = 4 tablespoons ground cinnamon
1 whole nutmeg = 2 teaspoons ground nutmeg
15-20 whole allspice = 1 teaspoon ground allspice
14-16 whole cloves = 1 teaspoon ground cloves
4 teaspoons ground ginger

Instructions

You will need:

Hammer or meat-tenderizer
Spice grinder or clean coffee grinder
Microplane or nutmeg grater

INSTRUCTIONS

Pound cinnamon sticks with a hammer or meat tenderizer to make smaller pieces. In a spice grinder or clean coffee grinder, combine cinnamon stick pieces, whole cloves, whole allspice and grind into powder. Leave it in the grinder and set aside.
Grate nutmeg on microplane or nutmeg grater and add to cinnamon spice mix in grinder. Freshly ground nutmeg is much more “lofty” than the kind you buy in the store, and much more aromatic! Measure this. If you like nutmeg, use 2 teaspoons. If you aren’t as much a fan, use only 1 1/2 teaspoons.
Add ground ginger to grinder and give everything a whirl to combine.

It's so easy to make your own homemade Pumpkin Pie Spice using fresh spices!! 🍃 Click through to get the How-to 🍂 Click To Tweet

In upcoming posts, I’ll be sharing some of my favorite ways to use Pumpkin Pie Spice. But for now, I think I’ll just sprinkle some on a a vanilla steamer, sit back with a good book, and relax.

(Not really – that was just for dramatic effect. I have to go vacuum now.)

Thank you so much for being a faithful reader and supporter of The Good Hearted Woman. ❤ Be sure to Pin and print this recipe!

How to Roast Garlic

September 3 By Renée ♥ Leave a Comment

Roasted garlic is so simple to make. It’s wonderful in sauces, casseroles, vegetable dishes, or by itself spread on a good piece of bread. Tomorrow’s post will include a garlic sauce that includes it, so I thought I’d better include a quick “How to Roast Garlic” post today!

Preheat oven to 450º. You will need a head of garlic, a pinch of coarse salt, about a teaspoon of olive oil, and a large square of aluminum foil.

Cut the top of of the garlic head to expose the tops of the cloves.

Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt.

Pull the corners of the foil up and twist. Put the wrapped head of garlic in the oven. You can put it in a muffin tin to keep it upright. Bake for 45-60 minutes, or until the cloves feel soft and the top looks caramely.

Garlic will be *very* hot when it comes out of the oven. Wait for it to cool, and then remove cloves individually, or just squeeze it all out at once.

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.

Course Basic Baking

Prep Time 15 minutes

Total Time 15 minutes

Servings 1 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.

Recipe Notes

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

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.

Course Basic

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 3 hours

Total Time 3 hours 20 minutes

Servings 8

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.

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.