Crepes, tacos and noodles are all great ways to start a slow day off.
By Tejal Rao
When I was growing up, my dad cooked us massive quantities of basic crepes on Sunday mornings and set the table with butter, jams, plastic squeeze-its of lemon juice, Nutella, cut fruit, you name it. I’d roll mine up with sugar and lemon juice in such excess, it immediately seeped through the pancake and onto my fingertips.
He taught me to make crepes the same way as he did, leisurely, and without measuring anything: a heap of flour with a pinch of salt in a big bowl, with milk and eggs, mixed with a giant whisk until smooth, and finished with a knob of butter, browned in the pancake pan and tipped into the runny batter.
Whenever I have a few days off, as I do right now, I still want crepes! But I crave them savory more often than sweet, and I like mixing some buckwheat flour, or other flours, into the base. They’re so good with spontaneous, random salads or generously seasoned sautéed vegetables or leftovers from the fridge — with everything, really:
Crepes + dressed salad leaves and herbs + sliced radishes + avocado + chopped walnuts
Crepes + chopped hard boiled eggs + lots of asparagus + spring onion + mustard vinaigrette
Crepes + swiss chard sautéed with chile flakes and garlic + a fried egg
Long weekends call for special breakfasts, and though I wasn’t introduced to Tex-Mex migas until I moved to the United States, I believe migas breakfast tacos are an ideal way to start the day. In Genevieve Ko’s recipe, the tortilla chips are smashed up with scrambled eggs, onion and poblanos, then folded in a corn tortilla with avocado, salsa and cheese.
And I’m a big fan of noodles first thing, whether they’re boiled and chewy in soup or fried and stretchy and sauced. Sarah Jampel’s spicy rice noodles look so good, with crispy baked tofu and sesame-chile oil, and I love the idea of making a little basil paste right on the cutting board, instead of lugging out the food processor and then having to wash it. I’m on vacation!
Unmeasured Crepes
Go to the recipe.
Migas Breakfast Tacos
Go to the recipe.
Spicy Rice Noodles with Tofu and Spinach
Go to the recipe.
One More Thing!
Last week, I forgot to add the link to the wonderful story on flour by Dayna Evans — sorry about that, and please find it here. I also asked readers what they were growing in their gardens and got so many replies. Here are a few:
“I live in Driggs, Idaho. I am starting my onions: leeks, yellow, red, spring and fennel. All indoors as it’s still -20 at our house in the morning. I will be able to start greens in my greenhouse by mid-March. It’s a very short growing season, but we make it work!” — Carolyn
“I have a small vegetable garden here in northeast North Carolina, and despite freezing temps and a bit of snow last week, the rest of the green onions and parsley bed are doing fine, as well as some chives and thyme.” — Lee
“I live in Connecticut where the weather is particularly nasty at the moment. However, the aquaponic tower in my basement is groaning with kale, bok choy, broccoli rabe, turnip greens and other yumminess while I wait for the ground to thaw.” — Fene
“I live in the Bay Area. This year, I tried growing Chinese loose leaf cabbage (check out Kitazawa Seeds) and they have been thriving. I chop up the leaves to be about ¾-inch width thick, either to have in a salad with feta, mint, olives, etc. or as a fresh topping for a hearty bowl of noodles with chili crisp.” — Parul
Thank you so much — I loved reading your emails and hearing about your gardens! — and see you next week.
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