More Protein than a Pancake, More Substantial than a Crêpe—It's a Crêpecake!

Granted, I love crêpes—light, airy, eggy wisps filled with yummies and topped with yummies, but tricky to make well. And I love pancakes, too—who doesn't?—although pancakes do not love me (uggghhh—all that starch!). So what's a hungry foodie to do? Take the best of both worlds and you get, voila, a crêpecake. A freshly made light-fluffy-tender-moist cake—lighter and richer than a pancake, chock full of eggs like a crêpe. Crêpecakes. You'll never go back to plain pancakes again. And your family will get more protein and a better breakfast or brunch meal out of the deal. No need to serve eggs on the side, because crêpecake already have the egg base covered.

Ingredients

1 cup whole milk
4 eggs, separated
1 cup unbleached white flour
Dash salt
2 tablespoons raw sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
4 tablespoons butter, melted,
Extra butter and non-stick spray (like Pam) for the frying pan

Optional: 1 cup whole, fresh blueberries or chopped strawberries to add at the last minute to the batter

Serve with little bowls of:

• Warmed maple syrup
• Melted butter

How to Make Crêpecakes

1. Here's the secret: use your mixer to whip up the egg whites until they form soft peaks. Set aside while you make the rest of the crêpecake batter.
2. Mix the egg yolks into the milk until well-blended.
3. Stir the dry ingredients together, and then stir in the egg yolk-milk mixture a little at a time. Stopping as soon as blended (it will be lumpy—don't fret!).
4. Stir in the melted butter s-l-o-w-l-y, so as not to over-work the batter.
5. Fold in the fluffy egg whites a little at a time.
6. If you are adding fruit, add it now.
7. Heat a nonstick frying pan on medium heat, testing to see if a drop of water dances on the surface. Add a small amount of butter, and spray the pan with nonstick spray.
8. Pour about a heaping tablespoon of batter for each crêpecake. Cook on one side until bubbly on top and toasted a bit on the sides (one to two minutes). Flip and finish cooking for 30 seconds to a minute. Crêpecakes should be light brown on each side.
9. Continue in this way, adding a small amount of butter and/or nonstick spray for each batch. Remove each batch to a covered Dutch oven kept in the oven on the lowest heat, until all are ready to serve.

· Drizzle with melted butter and maple syrup and enjoy the accolades.

· Crêpecakes freeze beautifully—just store in a plastic freezer bag and reheat in a microwave or toaster over for a quickie breakfast treat.

Spinach-Bacon-Tomato Poached Eggs

Sometimes the simplest ideas are the most elegant--and surprisingly delightful. This morning, I walked out the back door and picked some of my hubby's organic spinach--enough to sauté. Then, I tossed it in with a little butter and a little dab of bacon fat--yes, bacon fat--just a touch. Added in chopped tomato and sautéed briefly just to wilt. Voila--the base for poached eggs.

Then, I chopped a couple of pieces of bacon and sprinkled that on the eggs. Beautiful with a touch of freshly ground pepper.

The taste was like a bacon-lettuce-tomato sandwich, with no bread, and no fuss. Served with fresh strawberries.

Williams-Sonoma has a lovely egg poacher, which is simply a shallow covered pot with four holes and four tefloned egg-poacher cups. Pour water in the base and when it boils, lightly spritz each cup with Pam. Add one egg per cup (four total) and poach for four minutes. Remove immediately to shallow bowls.

The photo above is not mine, but it's close. My spinach-tomato sauté was wiltier. The poached egg atop the sauté is a perfect round shape. On top of the poached eggs is crumbled bacon, and on top of that is a sprinkling of black pepper. Perfection--and quick to make.

When making bacon, fry up an entire package at one time (it's too messy to do here and there). Drain on paper towels, and freeze. You can use a couple of pieces at a time to flavor baked chicken, salad, eggs, green beans, etc. Frozen bacon lasts a long time that way and is indistinguishable from fresh bacon.

Poached egg variations can be endless. One of our family's faves is to take leftover small, round Belgian waffles (which I make in big batches and also freeze--waffles and other breads freeze beautifully, just as bacon does) as the base, then a poached egg, then hollandaise sauce. TO DIE FOR! Top with finely chopped ham, Canadian bacon, bacon, or tofu crumbles (veggie burger crumbles would be good too).