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My friend Jamie first introduced homemade crepes to me when we used to do Thanksgiving together in Boston. Oh, those were fun times! We’d make crepes in the morning and just cook, cook, cook all day and listen to “Alice’s Restaurant,” that classic Thanksgiving tale.

Before that crepes had seemed so mysterious and fancy, but really, once you do them a couple of times, they’re no more difficult than pancakes. You just have to get the knack of how thick the batter should be (not very) and when to flip them (when the first inch or two of the edges are dry). Turns out it’s super easy to make gluten-free crepes, and they’re quite a bit faster than waffles.

Once again I used Artisanal Gluten-Free Cooking with great results. A similar recipe is here on their blog (I didn’t use cinnamon). The one thing I would say is that the batter was a little bit thick, so I had to add a little more milk (I think I used almond milk). You want the batter to be just a bit thinner than regular pancake batter. The photo above is of the very first crepe, before I thinned the batter, so the shape is kinda crazy. But normally the crepes look and taste the same as regular ones. They were a big hit with the family.

Lately I’ve been making blueberry syrup with a big handful of frozen berries and just a tablespoon or so of maple syrup. I put them together in a microwaveable container, heat for a little bit (30 seconds?) and voila!

I’ve been slogging away at my novel, revising and adding new material. Also reading One Summer by Bill Bryson, a history of the summer of 1927. Very interesting. Crazy times!

Also, Wes Anderson’s new movie, The Grand Budapest Hotel, is now on my must-see list. Not sure if it’s related, but I’ve been dreaming about weird European hotels lately. Hmmmm…

Coming soon: pics of a recently finished sewing project. Hope you’re having a good week!

These are another new favorite at our house.

They’re “Ben’s Friday Pancakes” from Feeding the Whole Family by Cynthia Lair. Recipe here. Great book, by the way.

I’ve been doing the (mostly) wheat-free thing for a couple of months now (long story, mostly related to my energy levels).

Three things that are great about these pancakes:

1) They’re full of flavor, with a great nuttiness from the whole grains and an almost lemony zing from the fresh nutmeg.

2) After eating them, I actually stay full, and I don’t get the awful sugar rush/ crash like with regular pancakes. Even though I still eat them with syrup.

3) The kids truly love them.

You do have to plan a bit ahead for these, because the grains require overnight soaking. For the milk, I use a combo of plain yogurt and water. You can also make them dairy-free by using a non-dairy milk. I think they’re gluten-free if you use gluten-free oats. Buckwheat is not actually wheat or even a true grain.

You’d think the whole grains would make the pancakes heavy as hockey pucks, but although they’re substantial, they’re surprisingly fluffy.

Be sure to mix up the liquid and grains before setting them in the fridge overnight. Sometimes our blender struggles a bit with the mixture. It helps if you let the mixture come to room temp (at least somewhat), and stir the mixture again before blending.

The batter cooks a little more slowly than traditional pancake batter, so we turn the temp down a little so they don’t burn.

Also, I always double the recipe. The leftover pancakes heat up nicely the next day in the toaster oven, for breakfast or for a nice snack with jam and butter. Yum!