One day after class (I was studying abroad in Paris), a staff member from the school was running a table full of food samples. Each food sample was supposed to be from a different part of France. The whole idea behind the event was to widen the students’ knowledge of French culture beyond that of Paris – which has vast differences. I remember sampling sparkling cider from Normandy, canelés from Bordeaux, nougat from Montélimar, and many other delicious goodies. The first time that I ever had tapenade was on this day. While tapenade isn’t from any particular region in France, I think they just included it because it was so…French? Afterall, I decided to go out of my way to make tapenade because of my Paris withdrawals. I was really craving a good baguette and tapenade to go with it, and thus, this recipe was birthed.
Anyways, each food sample on the table was labeled not only with its name and origin, but also with its key ingredients (in case of allergens). The key ingredients for the tapenade that day was anchovies and olives. As someone who has liked olives since their diaper days, the realization that there aren’t many people who like olives didn’t dawn on me until fairly recently. I may have been in denial of this sad statistic, but it was confirmed when I witnessed the tapenade looking alienated by the students. Perhaps it was also the mushed anchovies in the tapenade that further decreased its appeal. Anywho, if you’re reading this, I’m assuming that you, reader, don’t mind olives at the very least. This recipe does, afterall, contain olives. In fact, it is 80% olive and entirely forgoes both anchovies and capers, essential ingredients in a traditional recipe. If you didn’t catch it, that was my disclaimer that this recipe is not traditionalor authentic.
While I usually strive to make food as authentic as possible, I did not feel it was necessary this time around because I wanted something fast, simple, and easily attainable. While I did say that I like olives, it isn’t something that I usually have in my pantry. I don’t usually have capers or anchovies either. When I set out to the grocery store, I had a budget and felt too lazy to carry three heavy jars back home (especially since I walk to and from the store). If you, reader, are afraid of anchovies, then fret not, because while I would like to include anchovies in this recipe, I couldn’t afford it (or capers), but found that the recipe was still tres bien~!
This is a very rough recipe so adjust to taste! Add more or less olives or garlic if you’d like. I also don’t add salt since I think it’s perfect without, but feel free to add some if you’d prefer it saltier.
Ingredients
1/3 Cup pitted green olives, roughly minced
4 Tbsp garlic, minced
4 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 Tbsp lemon juice
Directions
Infuse garlic with olive oil in a small pan over low heat until fragrant. Cool to room temperature.
Mix olives, garlic, and oil in a container.
Add lemon juice. Mix until all ingredients are well combined.
Serve with some bread or plain crackers. I even made a salad using tapenade as a dressing!
Once again, I made a variation of sablé cookies using only the vanilla portion of the recipe. I made lemon, “cherry,” and “strawberry” shaped cookies to give away as thank you presents.
The red parts (“cherry” and “strawberry”) were made with red gel food coloring and roughly chopped dried cranberries. The green parts were colored and flavored with only matcha powder (too much matcha powder creates a bitter flavor, so substitute with some green gel food coloring if this bothers you). The yellow in the lemon shaped cookies were colored with yellow gel food coloring and flavored with lemon zest!
Note: I would like to use all-natural food dyes, but I didn’t have any on hand (except for green matcha) so I had to use gel coloring. Use whatever dyes you prefer!
The “strawberry” and “cherry” cookies were free-form, meaning I shaped each one of them by hand- the bodies and the stems! Armed with the red and green dough, a lined cookie tray, and a good TV show (like The Bold Type), I went to work. All the while, the checkerboard shaped cookies and the cylindrical lemon cookies (encased in a paper towel roll with a slit lengthwise) were chilling in the freezer.
I highly recommend watching The Bold Type for some womanly empowerment!
By the time I had finished shaping a satisfactory amount of cherries and strawberries, the cookies in the freezer were hard enough to slice. I cut up some checkerboard and lemon cookies into 1/4 inch slices and added them to the empty spaces of the cookie tray.
Once again, I baked the tray at 350°F for about 7 minutes or just until the edges begin to brown.
Finally, I made a quick icing with milk and powdered sugar to pipe on the strawberry seed and lemon wedges.
It is honestly a tedious process but so worth it for all the smiles you get when you give them away
👈 This was my first crepe that I made successfully. It was my third attempt making a batch of crepes, so this was probably crepe #18. The skin was thin, not egg-like, and best of all, it was perfectly circular.
The idea to make my crepes came to me in high school when I was watching Yumeiro Patissiere. In the very first episodes of the show, the main character, Ichigo, pursues her dream to become a great pastry chef like her late grandmother. Her first challenge? Making crepes.
Ichigo really struggled making crepes. However, with the help of her friends and lots of practice, she got better at it quickly.
Since Ichigo was able to succeed pretty quickly, I figured I could do it too. So I did. Except that it did not go well. I ended up with some really thick crepes that tasted more of eggs than of a thin pancake.
After the first attempt, I decided that crepes were best left to the hands of chefs who know what they’re doing. I didn’t keep practicing like Ichigo. I was immature and afraid of failure because I didn’t know how to deal with it. And, due to my conclusion that I would never be able to do it, my excuse was that I couldn’t afford to waste more ingredients. Looking back, I realize that it wouldn’t have been “a waste” had I stuck with it and learned how to do make crepes properly. Think about it as investing for a better future.
I can’t say that I decided to try making crepes again to prove my younger self wrong– although that would be cool.
Like the majority of creations, this endeavor was also motivated by my strong sense of gluttony and love for making food affordable. I was just a broke college student that really wanted a good crepe without the guilt of spending too much money on one food item.
And thus, I challenged myself to learn how to make crepes. This time, I would persist. I can’t say that I’ve mastered crepes now, but I am pretty satisfied with where I’m at. I did practice a lot.
Subtle flex: I can make a mille-crepe cake now!
I also experimented a lot as I did practice a lot. I’ve folded crepes in different ways, incorporated different flavors, made some sweet and some savory, and even made them dairy-free with soy milk and vegetable oil. I use almond milk in this recipe because it’s what I had in the fridge, so feel free to use whatever milk fits your fancy. You could also substitute the butter for vegetable oil to make it completely dairy-free (I see you, lactose-intolerant folks)
Banana-Chocolate (Dairy-Free)
Spinach-Ham (blended spinach into the batter to make it green)
Breakfast Crepe (2nd attempt)
I must admit though, that the recipe varies a little every time I make them, so I must tell you what to look for when making a crepe batter so you can adjust accordingly.
Pointer Tips:
Expect the batter to be runny. It should be only slightly thicker than water and thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. If it’s too thick, add more water or milk.
Resting the batter in the fridge thickens the batter slightly, but resting the batter helps the flour bind to the other ingredients and produce a more cohesive batter that doesn’t separate. If you chill your batter and it comes out too thick (see point #1), don’t be afraid to add more water/milk before cooking.
You don’t need to chill the batter, but I’d recommend it.
Finally, let me stress that cooking the perfect crepe takes practice. Don’t expect to get a perfectly thin and round crepe on the first try. I would recommend using a round, 8″ non-stick frying pan; a 1/4 cup measuring spoon; and a thin spatula. Scoop the batter with the 1/4 cup to get a consistently even amount of batter per crepe.
There isn’t a set way to get circular crepes because I found that everyone does it differently. I had to find the method that was most comfortable to me. Personally, I find that pouring the batter slightly off center and then quickly tilting the pan counterclockwise works.
Heat-control is also really important because if the pan is too hot when you pour in the batter, it’ll be hard to make a thin crepe since the batter will cook on contact and will be less likely to spread. I like to keep my heat on low and cool the bottom of my pan with a wet towel between crepes.
Substitute the milk with your preferred milk-substitute. Here, I’m using almond milk. Use a lightly oiled 8-inch skillet. Pouring the batter using 1/4 Cup measuring spoons will help make the crepes look uniform.
Crêpes
2 eggs
1/4 Cup sugar
1/2 Cup almond milk
1/2 water
1 tsp salt
1 Cup flour
1 Tbsp melted unsalted butter
Directions
Beat eggs and salt together until homogeneous.
Add sugar, flour, milk, water, and melted butter. Stir to combine.
Chill the batter in the fridge for at least an hour.
Lightly coat a frying pan with oil.
Heat the frying pan on low heat and have a wet towel on standby.
Pour about 1/4 batter onto the pan and immediately tilt the pan in a circular motion.
Cook the crepe for 2-3 minutes or until the edges become easy to lift up with a spatula or your fingers.
Flip the crepe and cook for an additional minute.
Set the crepe aside on a plate. Cover the crepe with plastic wrap/foil.
Cool the pan by placing it on the wet towel for a few seconds.
Repeat steps 6-10 until batter is used up.
While I made the crepes, I made the fillings conveniently in the microwave. Feel free to use water fillings you want, but I wrote out the recipe for custard and mixed berry compote I used this time:
Filling for Berry Crepes
Custard Filling
1 egg
2 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 Cup almond milk
1/4 Cup flour
2 Tbsp unsalted butter
Directions
In a microwave-safe bowl, whisk the egg with all the ingredients except butter.
Microwave in 10-15 seconds intervals, whisking the mixture in-between.
When the mixture starts to become thick (after at least 3 minutes of microwaving–yes, it’s a long process, but it saves a lot of dishes), add the butter and stir to combine.
Set aside to cool.
Berry Compote
1/4 Cup frozen strawberries
1/4 Cup frozen blackberries
1/4 Cup sugar
Directions
Add all the ingredients in a microwave-safe bowl.
Stir to combine.
Microwave in 30 second intervals for at least 2 minutes, or until berries become soft and liquid is released.
Set aside to cool.
Toppings
1/2 Cup chopped strawberries
1/4 Cup blueberries
1/4 Cup blackberries
Chocolate syrup
Powdered sugar
Directions
Assemble toppings onto the crepe after they have been filled!
HUNGRY CRAVING 
