I’ve never really thought of myself as a perfectionist. I always thought of perfectionists as those people with lovely handwriting and Martha Stewart level obsessiveness when it comes to every aspect of their life. I was pondering this because I have become stalled when it comes to this blog, amongst other things. I’m trying to get to the root of this problem and one of the reasons I haven’t been blogging is that I want everything to be perfect. I want what I write to be witty and interesting. I want the photos to be just right, and the recipes need to be tried and true.
The recipe is the easy part for me lately. I have several recipes that I want to share but I’ve been worrying over the photos because I’m not able to achieve the vision in my mind. Even when I’m begrudgingly satisfied with the photos, my next, and most formidable hurdle, is always writing the blog post.
I’m forcing myself to get over this blog writing funk. I’m fully aware that life isn’t perfect so why I feel like I need to write some sort of masterpiece that will go viral is beyond me. I don’t always make perfect dinners, even though I usually only share the good stuff I made on social media. It’s my highlight reel after all. There are currently hot dogs in my fridge that will be cooked for dinner tonight and last night I had Cheesies for dinner at 8:30. My boys had quesadillas before Timothy’s T-ball game so I wasn’t completely derelict in making some sort of a meal for the family. Actually, I was. My husband made those for the kids while I tried to squeeze in a workout in the living room while I listened to the chafing sound of the boys whine in the kitchen.
Somedays I pull it all together and I make a lovely sit-down dinner replete with dessert. Other days, I get the dinner sorted but dessert is stale cookies from the pantry. Sometimes, dinner is grilled cheese but I’m able to get a simple, yet rather attractive dessert made, like these crepes. They can be made earlier in the day and the chocolate sauce can be the kind that comes in a squirt bottle from the grocery store or you can really be on the ball and make it yourself (David Lebovitz’s recipe is simple and delicious).
I think that the way to push passed these self-erected barriers of perfectionism and insecurity will be through self-compassion and striving to avoid comparison with other. If you have some practical ideas on how to move forward with stalled creative endeavours, then please share them with me. If you feel like commiserating, then do that too.
A little note on the teff flour. It is a gluten free flour that I got from the bulk food store. If you don’t have access to it, aren’t gluten free and don’t have a strange tendency to buy esoteric flours and other ingredients, then just use regular white flour.
Hopefully this new recipe is a fresh start for me where I can just get it done, and get it out there. Plus, there is chocolate…yum.
Yields 12
Chocolate, gluten free crepes that are a perfect dessert or a treat for a brunch.
25 minPrep Time
20 minCook Time
45 minTotal Time
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup teff flour
- 3 tbsp cocoa powder
- 2 tbsp sugar
- pinch of salt
- 1 cup milk
- 3 eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- Whisk the dry ingredients together.
- Whisk in the wet ingredients and let the batter sit for 15 minutes or so. Whisk it again and look to see if the consistency will spread easily. It should be quite runny, like melted ice cream.
- Heat a crepe pan, or very shallow small non-stick frying pan on the stove over a medium heat. Lightly brush the pan with oil and ladle about a 1/4 cup of batter onto the pan and immediately swirl the pan around so the batter spreads thinly and evenly over the surface of the pan. If your batter looks thick in the pan or it doesn't spread all the way to the edge, then adjust the amount of batter per crepe accordingly. My pan yields 8" crepes with 1/4 cup of batter.
- When the top of the crepe batter looks nearly dry then flip the crepe quickly. Let it cook on the other side for about 10 seconds and then remove it to a plate. Repeat step 3 and 4 for each crepe. (Make sure you oil the pan well if your pan isn't non-stick)
- Serve immediately topped with whipped cream, chocolate sauce, and fresh or preserved fruit. (See note if making the crepes for later)
- You will get 10-12 crepes, depending on the size of your pan.
Notes
If you are making the crepes for later: once the crepes have cooled, cover the plate with plastic wrap so they don't dry out.
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