Sour Potatoes

For our family, June and July mean family birthday madness. So, we are basically in BBQ’n, cake eating, white man’s overbite party mode until the second week of July. Yes, we are coming to the close of our annual family party season and though it is always a worthy opponent, I must say, this year, it really gave me a run for my money. It’s like if you’ve ever had that experience of playing in the ocean and swimming out too far and the waves keep crashing over you and for a minute you’re not quite sure which way is up, and you lose your bathing suit a little bit. It’s kinda like that only with parties instead of scary, drowning scenarios. Yeah, it’s exactly like that.

Well, making crépes on Adam’s birthday was like bobbing up and seeing some guy on a fishing boat, about to throw a doughnut and pull me to safety…it gave me the strength to make it through the last two parties of the season.

I, myself, had never ingested a crépe (or is it a crépes, I don’t speak French) so I wasn’t quite sure what all the excitement was about. Now I understand. Crépes are ridiculously delicious. With a plethora of filling choices and the flexibility of swinging both sweet and savory, crépes have become a new favorite food canvas. They can also be used to satisfy your hankering for food of an ethnic nature or fulfill you unmet daily dietary needs. In the mood for some French/Mexican cuisine? Try a Crépes Mexicani. Haven’t had your required serving of veggies (or dairy, for that matter) today? Stuff that French pancake with some cheese and broccoli. There are any number of scrumptious combinations but being of a classical nature myself, I chose to go straight up strawberries and cream and here’s how I went about it…

Strawberry and Cream Cheese Crépes Magnifique

Crépes

• 2 eggs
• 2 tablespoons water
• 4 tablespoons flour
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1/8 teaspoon salt

• 4 cups of fresh strawberries, coarsely chopped
• juice of 1 lemon
• 1/3 cup sugar

I like to begin with the sauce to give the strawberries plenty of time to release all of that delicious juice. Place berries, sugar, and lemon juice in a mixing bowl and mix gently. Set aside. (By the way, this also works great with other kinds of berries and makes a mean sauce, which our family l-o-v-e-s over ice cream)

Sacre bleu…that’s delicious! Happy Birthday, Adam!!!