Crepes!

Apple, quince crepes with cranberry sauce. Photo: Travis Stevens

Breakfast has always been my favorite meal of the day.  It's even better than dessert in my book. Some women shop to reward themselves, I cook.  Brunch is a treat to myself where at least once a week I take the time to cook and enjoy some of my favorite foods with loved ones before I start thinking about everything I have to do that day or that week. 

Crepes can be intimidating, but once you've made them once you will quickly realize they really aren't complicated.  Plus, you can fill them with just about anything, including cherry pie filling. I happily stumbled upon this filling combination one recent Sunday.  Quinces and apples are in season and hence what I had on hand.  Thus a filling was born.  The fruits are cooked down to make a sauce that warms the sweetened sour cream filling to the perfect temperature and consistency when both are wrapped in a warm crepe.  The result is a light, creamy and satisfying mouthful with a balance of sweet and tart that does not require additional syrup.  

Apple Quince Crepes
Crepes
4 eggs
2 C flour (all rice or 1c white rice, 1/2 c brown rice, 1/2 c sweet rice)
1 C rice milk
1 C water
4 Tbls melted butter

1. Beat eggs, sift in flour and beat until smooth.
2. Stir in milk, butter and water.  All ingredients should be room temperature so melted butter does not solidify when added to ingredients.
3. Chill for 1 hour (or at least for as long as it takes you to make the fillings).
4. To make a  crepe, pour about 1/4 cup of batter into a well greased, pre-heated, small pan.  After adding batter to pan, immediately tilt pan to spread batter over the entire bottom of pan.
5. Cook 1-2 minutes or until crepe pulls away from bottom and sides of pan. Flip to brown other side. Repeat until batter is gone.  To keep crepes warm, cover with a kitchen towel or place in a warm oven.

Sour cream filling
8 oz 'sour cream' substitute
2-3 Tbls sugar
1. Combine ingredients to taste.  The mixture should still be a little tangy and not overly sweet. Set aside at room temperature while you prepare the fruit filling.

Apple quince filling
 1 apple, peeled and diced
1 quince, peeled and diced
1-2 Tbls sugar
cinnamon
1. Add fruit, sugar, spices and a small amount of water to a small sauce pan and simmer over low heat until fruit is soft.

To assemble crepes add a few tablespoons of each filling.  Roll and place seam side down on a cookie sheet or plate.  If making a lot of crepes, warm them in the oven before serving. If eating right away, heat from the hot filling should be enough to take the chill out of the sour cream filling.