Ma France Creperie

This is my blog, and so I can write about whatever I want.  Whether or not anyone reads it, I write it mostly for myself and so I can choose whatever topics I want.  Mostly I write about things I have made, but I want to write about some things that inspire me as well.

When I visited France, I was a vegetarian.  They don't understand what that means.  Most conversations went like this:
"I'm a vegetarian, I don't eat meat."
"So chicken, OK?"
"No, I don't eat meat.  Chicken is meat."
"Then fish?"
"No, I don't eat meat.  Fish is meat."

Then I ended up eating delicious, but not so nutritious "crepes avec Nutella" literally every day for lunch.

There is a little place in Ocean City called Ma France Creperie that brings that back for me.  Even after a week of "crepes avec Nutella" I wasn't sick of them.  Sweet crepes... mmm.  We've been there a handful of times and I've gotten to try some delicious varieties of dessert crepes.  (Savory crepes, and savory breakfasts in general, do not appeal to me at all.)  I've had the simply prepared sweet crepes with lemon juice and powdered sugar, the "tatin," with grated apple, the "Melba," with sliced pears and a delectable homemade dark chocolate sauce.

 La Pomme Figue

This past weekend Ken wanted to go, which worked out perfectly since I was hungry, and he ordered a classic - La Pomme Figue, which I'm fairly certain is the only thing he's ever ordered there, and if you could taste it you would understand why.  Sliced apples, sliced dried figs, brie cheese and almonds folded neatly in a dark, buckwheat crepe.  This is what I meant when I said I wanted to write about things that inspire me - I would love to find a way to recreate this at home.  I'm not sure it's possible, but I would certainly like to try.

Crepes with Nutella, fresh fruit and whipped cream

I ordered the crepes with Nutella, fresh fruit and whipped cream.  I walked in desperately wanting Nutella and bananas, but that particular combination wasn't on the menu.  When my plate arrived in front of me I saw a mound of sliced strawberries - yum.  I was fairly satisfied, but as I dug deeper into the dish I found the sliced bananas I had been wanting.  It was amazing.  The whipped cream was delicious, too - something I can normally do without, but it had a fantastic texture and wasn't too sweet at all.


They have some lovely espresso drinks as well - Ken likes the caffe ligeois, espresso with whipped cream.  I had a soy mocha.  I love how they serve the lattes in a bowl.  :)

Nutella and Banana Sandwich

Sometimes I get up around 4AM to run before work. (Yes, I am crazy!) Usually I eat a little something before I go, just a few bites to keep my stomach from growling, but today I was too sleepy and didn't even think of it. So when I got back from my run I was STARVING! I saw some ripe bananas on the counter and was reminded of my afternoon spent catching up with Closet Cooking posts yesterday, where I saw a gooey sandwich with Nutella and bananas.

I put two slices of cracked wheat bread in my toaster oven. (I got this bread at Stop & Shop when I couldn't find the regular bread aisle. I can never find what I am looking for there and it is always SO obvious.) While it was toasting, I cut 9 banana coins, which was about half the banana. When the toast was done I put a dollop of Nutella on each slice and spread it thinly. There is no reason to have a lot of Nutella, but everything is better on BOTH sides of your sandwich. Then I placed the 9 banana coins on the bread, overlapping a little in 3 rows.

At first I thought the sandwich might be too banana-y, but I think it turned out to be the perfect amount of banana. After assembling I cut the sandwich into two triangles.

One minor problem I encountered was that it cooled down very quickly. The toast did not keep it warm enough. I tried to solve this by putting the whole sandwich in the toaster oven. It worked for a few seconds and then got cool again. Luckily it was still very tasty.

I look at a lot of food blogs, and all the ones I like take fancy pictures. I have been using my Blackberry (and my mom's iPhone, which explains those few better pictures) but I am going to TRY to start using my digital camera. I used to really like photography, so I think I can handle taking some nicer pictures of my food. Look forward to higher quality images - coming soon!