Crêpes

During summertime in New York City, there is a rotating street fair. Happenstancing upon these random markets is one of those little luxuries in life and most of the luxury comes from one reliable presence at these street fairs: crêpes, prepared when you order, as you like them, and wrapped in a little cone. I can't tell you how many times I have shown up to work with powdered sugar all over my face because I tried to eat a crêpe (and succeeded) while running up first avenue. 

Anyway, point is, crêpes are delightful. I'd been craving something sweet after cooking tons of savory, healthy recipes in honor of National Nutrition Month, when I realized: crêpes are light, not to sugary at all and make for a sweet and guilt-free end to a healthy meal. I get to missing dessert sometimes, and I figured you might too. Plus, making crêpes is an undeniably awesome party trick. They're really easy to make, but let's just keep that our little secret, okay?

Crêpes
By Alton Brown


Ingredients
2 large eggs
3/4 cup skim milk
1/2 cup water
1 cup flour
2 Tablespoons butter, melted
Butter for coating the pan


Recipe
Mix all ingredients together in a blender (pulse for 10 seconds) or whisk together in a large mixing bowl until thoroughly combined. Refrigerate mixture for 1 hour (it will keep as batter for 48 hours).


Pull batter from fridge and heat a crepe pan over medium/medium-high heat. Coat the pan with butter. Once the pan is hot and the butter is melted, use a 1/4 cup measure to make each crepe. Pour mixture into pan and swirl around very quickly. (It might take you a couple tries to get this right. Don't worry about it. Practice makes perfect.)  Cook for 30 seconds, until slightly browned on bottom side. Flip and cook for another 10-15 seconds. Slide the crêpe off the pan and onto a cutting board (lay flat) to cool.  Yields about 10 crepes. 


I garnished mine with lemon juice, sugar and fresh raspberries. Other sweet options include a light spread of nutella (otherwise we can't call it healthy anymore) and fresh cut bananas. These crêpes can also be made savory via toppings.


Enjoy!

Bell Pepper & Basil "Stir Fry"

For many people, Mondays are insane. When you finally head home, after a barrage of emails and voice mails and meetings, nothing sounds better than a warm meal. And, for a lot of people (even people like me, who love to cook), making dinner seems like a lot more energy than it is worth. This stir fry, however, is easy. Seriously, really easy. 

 

And, in honor of national nutrition month, it is a colorful and healthy meal as well. Bell peppers, basil and a (reasonable size portion of) brown rice. To prepare myself for Monday nights, I usually do the prep work on Saturday or Sunday so all that is left to do is throw things in a pan and eat the delicious results. And, you know what happens to be a great thing to munch on while you're waiting for this to cook? Sweet potato wedges, of course.

Pepper & Basil "Stir Fry"

By Alexandra Rogers


Ingredients
1 cup brown rice, cooked
2 Tablespoons coconut oil
2-3 red, yellow or orange bell peppers, julienne
1/2 large Red onion, sliced into half rounds
1/3 cup fresh basil leaves, torn
3 medium garlic cloves, minced
1 inch piece of fresh ginger root, grated
2 Tablespoons rice wine vinegar
3 Tablespoons soy sauce


Recipe
In a large pan, heat coconut oil over medium-high heat. Add onions, separating into separate pieces, and stir once to coat with oil. Cook for 5-7 minutes, until onions have begin to caramelize and become tender. Do not stir often, as this interrupts the caramelization process.


Add peppers and cook for 3-5 minutes, until peppers are slightly tender and browned in spots. 


Add garlic and ginger to the pan, stir thoroughly, and cook for 2-3 minutes. Add soy sauce and rice wine vinegar and cook for 2 minutes. 


Lastly, add the fresh, torn basil leaves and cook for about 3-4 minutes, until basil is wilted and sticking to peppers and onions. 


Serves 3. Serve warm, accompanied by 1/3 cup rice. 

Sweet Potato Wedges

I have had an addiction to sweet potatoes since I was about 8 years old. I was a vegetarian then, and thanksgiving generally consisted of green bean casserole, a biscuit and these lovely boiled (and drenched in brown sugar) sweet potatoes my grandma always made. That was, and still is, a delicious way to prepare sweet potatoes, but in the interest of healthy and colorful food, I decided to share a recipe that lets the sweet potato speak for itself and does not cancel out its many health properties. 

Sweet potatoes are low in sodium and very low in saturated fat and cholesterol. They are a good source o Dietary Fiber and several other vitamins. Like kale, sweet potatoes are anti-inflammatory, making this snack especially good for you after a workout. Plus, they taste great and it seems like a thoughtful appetizer before serving a stir fry or a burger or, just about anything!

Sweet Potato Wedges

By Alexandra Rogers

Ingredients

2 Sweet Potatoes/Yams, sliced into wedges

1-2 Tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon ground cumin

heavy pinch of salt

Recipe

Preheat oven to 500 degrees Fahrenheit. In a tall-sided baking pan or sheet, place sweet potato wedges. Sprinkle lightly with olive oil, cumin and salt. Cook for 15 minutes, then shake the pan to flip the wedges. Cook for another 10-15 minutes. Serve with soy sauce and chopped scallions.