Wild Rice Crepes

It seemed like such a good idea when I planned this week's meal. I was flipping through Vegetarian Times Complete Cookbook looking for good recipes for my newly revived flexitarianism (translation: no chicken, pork, beef, etc. Just fish, seafood and lots and lots of veggies) and found Wild Rice Crepes.

What's not to like?

Wild Rice = Yum.

Crepes = Yum.

Wild Rice Crepes = Total Win, right?

So I gathered up the ingredients (after trips to WalMart and Publix and WholeFoods).

No-Cholesterol Dinner Crepes
(makes 12 to 16)

• 2 tablespoons egg substitute
• 1.5 cups water
• 1 cup soymilk
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons oil
• 2 cups whole-wheat pastry flour or unbleached white flour
• 1/2 cup chickpea flour (aka garbanzo bean flour)

Combine the egg substitute with 1/2 cup water in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth. Add remaining ingredients and blend 1 minute at high speed. Note: make sure your food processor/blender is big enough or you'll end up with this...

To cook crepes, use either a well-seasoned omelet or crepe pan or a non-stick 8-inch skillet. Brush the pan lightly with oil and place over low heat for a few minutes. Remove from heat, pour in 3 or 4 tablespoons of batter, and tilt the pan so the batter coats the bottom of the pan lightly. Return pan to medium-low heat and cook for a few minutes until the crepe is lightly browned or begins to bubble. Gently remove from pan and place on plate. Repeat process with remaining batter, stacking crepes as you go.


Wild Rice Crepes
(serves 4)

• 3/4 cup uncooked wild rice
• 2 3/4 cups vegetable stock
• 1/4 onion, chopped finely
• 2 stalks celery, sliced thinly
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 3/4 onion, chopped coarsely
• 1 1/4 cups sliced white button mushrooms
• 1/2 cup oyster mushrooms, separated into small clumps (or an additional 1/2 cup white button mushrooms)
• 5 or 6 shiitake mushrooms (or dried shiitakes reconstituted in warm water), cut into quarters or eighths
• 1 large tomato, chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon dried sage
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• salt & pepper to taste

Place the rice, stock and finely chopped onion in a saucepan; bring to a boil over high heat. Lower the heat, cover and cook until the rice is tender and all liquid is absorbed (about an hour).

Meanwhile, cook the celery in the oil, stirring, until tender. Add the coarsely chopped onions and mushrooms, cooking until soft. Stir in cooked rice, tomato, sage, soy sauce, S&P, and cook 10 to 15 minutes more.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Fill the crepes with the rice mixture. Roll up and place in a single layer in a baking dish. Heat for 10 minutes.

Sounds simple, right? Juggling LOTS of ingredients... lots of pots ... lots of stuff.

Wait -- don't forget the "favorite sauce" to drizzle on the crepes.

Almond Sauce
(makes 2 1/2 cups)

• 1/2 cup whole almonds with skins
• 3 tablespoons margarine or corn oil
• 4 tablespoons unbleached white flour
• 2 1/2 cups soymilk, heated
• 1 teaspoon soy sauce (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place the almonds on a baking sheet and roast them to a golden brown, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a food processor or nut grinder and grind finely. Set aside.

Heat the margarine or oil in a saucepan. Add the flour and cook 2 or 3 minutes over low heat, stirring so that the flour doesn't burn. Slowly add the hot milk, whisking until thickened (I had to add more flour to thicken it up). Add the ground almonds and cook for 4 to 5 minutes. Stir in the soy sauce.

Lots of time. Lots of work. Lots of ingredients. For this...

Totally not worth it. Total. Epic. Fail.

Times Two ...

Pretty much everyone agreed... it wasn't very good. You win some. You lose some.

"Observation is a passive science, experimentation an active science." ~ Claude Bernard