Gloomy Weather and Spinach Crepes to Improve my Mood

If you read my blog regularly, you know I'm usually a positive person, going on and on about how much I love one thing or another....Spring for its sunshine and blossoms and asparagus and fresh lamb and Passover Seders in Halifax (this year there'll be a little addition at the feast, although he/she won't be eating too much)....Summer for picnics and BBQ's (even though we use our BBQ in the dead of winter, it's not the same) and terrace dining and farmers' markets and endless easy to prepare bounty...Autumn for its crisp weather after sweltering summer and gorgeous colors and Jewish High Holidays and the return of what is truly one of my favorite things - long, slow cooking with aromas filling the house. The smells actually envelop me and certainly take me back to my mother's and grandmother's kitchens...soups....stews...roasts - lamb...chicken...beef (I can't believe I don't have a post with a roast beef recipe!).

BUT - I'm already tired of Winter and it's not officially here for another month!!! It's been cold and gray and gloomy. I've also been spending a ton of time in front of my computer trying to get my manuscript finished. I really do intend to have eBook and CD-ROM versions of Every Kitchen Tells Its Stories - Recipes that Warm the Heart ready for sale right here by the first week in December. (shameless plug, I know!)

So what do I do when I'm grumpy? I head to the kitchen - it always cheers me up. I'm a little behind in reviewing cookbooks, participating in Blogging Events and just sharing my favorite recipes. I thought I'd do a little catch up on all three fronts here.

It's time for my favorite event - Kalyn's Weekend Herb Blogging - I missed last week's unfortunately. This time around it's being hosted by Haalo of Cook Almost Anything Once and I figured that since my weeks seem to fly by, I'd enter early - thyme being my herb of choice this time around. It is one of my favorite earthy herbs and really says Fall/Winter to me.

A while a go I received a new cookbook called Crepes, Waffles & Pancakes!. Truthfully, I'm not a waffle person - don't hurt me!!! and I rarely eat pancakes either, but crepes are another story entirely. In fact one of my favorite teenager memories is of a wonderful creperie in Montreal called Crepe Bretonne which, sadly, no longer exists. They made those huge thin, thin, thin crepes stuffed with whatever you liked. My sister's favorite was ham & cheese and mine was vanilla ice cream covered with maple syrup - I'm drooling just thinking about it....but I digress.

So I flipped through my new cookbook, not expecting to find recipes I'd choose to make and found a wonderful recipe for Spinach Crepes with Creamy Mushroom Filling. For those of you who DO like waffles, pancakes and crepes, the book actually is very well organized with basic crepe, waffle and pancake recipes up front and then a myriad of options for you to try.

I admit it, even when I was making the crepes, I didn't really think I'd like them. They were quite thick for a crepe because of the spinach - but OH....MY....G-!!! so buttery and yummy I can't wait to make them again. Next time around I might use some baby arugula instead of spinach for an even earthier flavor, but I'm getting ahead of myself. I knew I would love the creamy mushroom filling (although I did find it too creamy to go inside the crepe) and I will definitely be doing a baked chicken dish smothered with it very soon. So without further ado....

Recipe
Spinach Crepes with Creamy Mushrooms

Related links: Food and Drink recipes weekend herb blogging crepes spinach cookbooks