There have been some great posts catching my eye in the blogosphere as of late. Time to share the link love!

1. Pinterest drives more traffic than Google+, YouTube, Reddit and LinkedIn combined.
2. I used to love making bookmarks as a kid, but I never use them.  Time to make some of these adorable DIY bookmarks!
3. Homemade izze sodas.  So simple.
4. The art of recipes.
5. Apparently, Greek yogurt is on a marathon-like growth spurt.
6. These petit fours are adorable. I’d like some, please.

What’s on your reading list this week?

A loaf of bread and a crockpot full of soup or chowder will take you through the week with little to no effort required.

My first encounter with crepes was 9th grade French class.  We ate them with some butter and powdered sugar, then with some Nutella, identifying each flavor an ingredient en français.  I was in heaven.

In high school, my friends and I would have “crepes party,” making plates stacked high with paper-thin crepes to fill with Nutella, strawberries, bananas or sugar.

In January, I was reading through a list of food holidays.  I got all excited that today was National Crepes Day, and came up with a crepes recipe with strawberry chai sauce.  Last night, I went to confirm and saw that it is indeed National Crepes Day…in France.  I probably should have noted that before putting the day on my calendar. So to all my French readers, Happy Crepes Day!  To everyone else, make these this weekend, even if you aren’t French. You won’t regret it.

Print

Sweet Crepes

Prep Time: 1 hour

Cook Time: 25 minutes

Yield: About 12 crepes

These sweet crepes can be served for breakfast or dessert. Fill with strawberry chai sauce (recipe follows), Nutella, or butter and powdered sugar. For a savory version, remove the sugar and add a pinch of salt and another tablespoon of flour.

Ingredients

3 eggs

1 cup skim or low-fat milk

3 tablespoons melted unsalted butter

3 tablespoons granulated sugar

1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour

Instructions

Whisk all five ingredients together until smooth. The batter should be very runny. Cover and refrigerate for at least an hour. It sounds like a long time to wait, but if you don't, there will be too many bubbles and your crepes will tear when you flip them.

Preheat a greased griddle or skillet over medium-high. Pour a little under 1/4 cup of batter into the center of the pan, then lift and swirl the skillet in a circular motion to spread the batter. Do this quickly before the batter begins to set.

Nudge the edges of the crepe with a spatula. This will make it easier to get the spatula underneath the crepe to flip it.

After about 40 seconds, peek under the edge of the crepe every 20-30 seconds. If it is beginning to brown, it is time to flip. Carefully slide a spatula under the center of the crepe and quickly flip. Cook for another minute or so both sides are slightly firm. Remove to a plate.

Repeat with remaining batter. You may need to re-grease the pan after every few crepes.

Serve warm with your favorite fillings.

Make Ahead and Storage

Batter can be made up to 48 hours in advance. Cooked crepes can be covered tightly with plastic wrap, then reheated on a griddle or skillet for a few seconds on each side before serving.

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http://www.savvyeat.com/crepes-with-strawberry-chai-sauce/

Copyrighted by Julie Grice and Savvy Eats

With all this warm weather, I’m itching to get my garden planted.  I want to be picking lettuce and arugula and herbs for my salads.  I want to be coaxing tomato vines onto the netted trellis set around the raised beds.

But I can’t just yet.  It may feel warm and springlike outside, but I know we’re bound to get some snow storm that wipes everything out.  So instead, I’m ordering my seeds and planning the garden layout.

All my seeds arrived last week (except the sungold tomatoes, which weren’t available from Seed Savers Exchange).  I can’t wait!

What are you growing this year?

Too often, we get caught up in our day to day routines and forget to appreciate the little things in life.  In my Little Things series, I like to honor the details that are making me happy today, and ask you to do the same!

The Little Thing making me happy today is…

This mug my sister gave me for Christmas.  It says “enjoy the simplest pleasures in the everyday.”

You can be a part of “The Little Things: Reader Submissions”page! Send me a photo of one of the “little things” making you happy today, along with a short note. You do NOT have to be a blogger to take part, but if you have a blog, I will link back to you. Send your posts to me at savvyjulie@gmail.com

INSERT THIS CODE INTO A TEXT WIDGET:

<div align=”center”> <a href=”http://www.savvyeat.com/category/reader-submissions-the-little-things-2/” target=”_blank”><img src=”http://www.savvyeat.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/LTBadge1.jpg”/></a></div>

My favorite way to make grilled cheese calls for only three ingredients: sourdough bread, sharp cheddar cheese and sungold tomato preserves.  No butter required.

It goes like this: 2 slices of fresh sourdough.  Spread preserves on one slice… and don’t be stingy.  You’ll regret it and your sandwich will be sorely lacking that rich, sweet flavor.

Thinly slice some cheddar and double layer it on top of the preserves. Sandwich the second slice on top and grill.  You have two options here: a Foreman grill/panini press OR a cast iron griddle/skillet.  If you go with option 2, just be sure to cook on both sides and press down on the bread with a spatula.

Sadly, you may not have sungold tomato preserves.  I’m sorry — it is a very sad occasion.  I know how it feels — I didn’t get enough sungolds out of the garden to make more this summer, so we are carefully rationing out the last two 4 ounce jars from the year before.

If you don’t have sungold preserves (which you can also buy here), you can also use a different preserve or jam.  I’ve used strawberry red wine jam, and loved the richness it adds.  You could also use a cherry preserve or strawberry spread.

Slice your sandwich in half and savor every cheesy, sweet and fruity bite.

I’ve made some changes to the navigation around here!  First, you may have noticed the new “smart life” tab in the menu bar:

From now on, all of my non-food posts will go directly to that page, reserving the front page solely for food-related posts.  This means book reviews, home DIY projects and Little Things posts will all show up on the “smart life” page.

If you are subscribed to my RSS feed (via a reader or email), everything will still show up, food and non-food alike.  If you aren’t, then be sure to click over to the smart life page regularly to see what’s new!

AND, you can still navigate and find posts from certain categories from the sidebar buttons:

Happy Monday!

When we were in elementary school, Mom packed healthy lunches for my sister and I to take to school.  As a treat, we were allowed to choose a day or two each week to get hot lunch from the cafeteria.  Mom would hang the calendar, torn from the school’s newsletter, on the refrigerator door.  Whenever French toast sticks were on the menu, I’d count down the days.

The French toast sticks were soft and sweet and dusted with powdered sugar. We dunked them in syrup.  They were served alongside triangular pieces of hash browns, which we dipped in ketchup.  It was all perhaps a bit more sugar than my little eight year old body needed, but it was a treat, a break from the healthier peanut butter and honey sandwich, boxes of raisins and carrot sticks.

Occasionally, Mom would decide to support the school and treat us to a box of the French toast sticks ordered from Market Day, just like the ones from the cafeteria.  She’d bring us to the cafeteria after school to pick up the white cardboard box covered with the green and red logo.  When Dad worked late or was away on business, we girls had breakfast for dinner, French toast sticks.

On our long drive back from the midwest earlier this month, we passed a Market Day delivery truck, no doubt delivering boxes for another school’s fundraiser, and I’ve been craving the French toast sticks ever since.  I finally decided to make a (slightly healthier, more grown-up version) of them, and they are just as wonderful as I remembered.

There have been some great posts catching my eye in the blogosphere as of late. Time to share the link love!

1. “You can and you should.  Work hard.  Don’t stop.  Unless there’s wine.  Drink it.  Then work harder.” — Joy the Baker
2. My new favorite blog lately: Enjoy It by Elise Blaha
3. This heart-shaped container is awesome… and made out of a tuna can.
4. It’s not you, it’s your oven.  Really.
5. What are you listening to right now? Enter it on this site and it will recommend a drink to fit your musical mood.
6. I love chocolate. I love amaretto. I love crepes.  Clearly, I need to make this cake.
7. The Alt Summit A-Z. Love this recap.
8. Forks for notes would go well with  my spoons for aprons!

What’s on your reading list this week?

If you braise a single pork shoulder this Sunday and follow it with just an hour of prep work, you’ll have a week of great dinners ahead of you.