Viva l'été!

Fall came last week to North Liberty. One day, we broke down and turned on the air conditioning because it was too hot to do otherwise, and the next, we barely had the windows open because it was so cool outside. I love fall - my mantra is usually "Celebrate Fall!" And I should be glad that this summer finally came to a merciful end, but I guess I was hoping, for the sake of my belatedly planted garden, that the warmer temps would hold on for a week or two.

These cooler temps are, however, a good motivator for me to write up the end-of-summer recipes I've been wanting to post. Despite the weather, you will probably be able to find these ingredients at your local farmers' market and in your gardens for a couple more weeks (at least in the Midwest) - but act now, time is running out.

Not necessarily on purpose, all these recipes are French. Maybe I'm just becoming that much of a foodie, but French (and especially Provencal) cooking lends itself well to those August days when those of us with gardens and/or CSAs have more vegetables than we know what to do with. And, thus, we have our French title - Long live summer!

This first recipe was recommended to me by my sister Mary (Something along the lines of, "Annie. you. must. try. these.") I love crepes. My favorite meal on my first trip to Europe, if not my favorite meal of all time,was at a small cafe in Paris. It was insufferably hot that day, and maybe it was just exhaustion after walking around the city all day or the hunger of a high school kid who tried to save money by eating McDonalds ice cream cones for most meals during our trip, but I remember that ham and cheese crepe and the ice cream and fudge topped crepe I had for dessert as heavenly. So when Mary told me I had to try these summer vegetable crepes, I did not argue.

Summer Vegetable Crepes (Eating Well, July/August 2008)

1/3 cup reduced-fat sour cream

1/2 cup chopped fresh chives, divided, plus more for garnish

3 tablespoons low-fat milk

2 teaspoons lemon juice

3/4 teaspoon salt, divided1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

2 cups chopped zucchini

1 1/4 cups chopped green beans

1 cup fresh corn kernels (from 1 large ear)

1 cup part-skim ricotta cheese

1/2 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

4 9-inch “ready-to-use” crepes

1. Stir sour cream, 1/4 cup chives, milk, lemon juice and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a small bowl until combined. Set aside.

2. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add zucchini, green beans and corn and cook, stirring, until beginning to brown, 6 to 8 minutes. Reduce heat to low; stir in ricotta, Monterey Jack, the remaining 1/4 cup chives, the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper. Cook, stirring gently, until the cheese is melted, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from the heat.

3. To roll crepes, place one on a piece of parchment or wax paper (or leave it on the piece of plastic separating the crepes in the package). Spoon one-fourth of the vegetable-cheese mixture (about 3/4 cup) down the center of the crepe. Use the paper (or plastic) to help you gently roll the crepe around the filling. Place the crepe seam-side down on a dinner plate. Repeat with the remaining crepes and filling. Serve each crepe topped with 2 tablespoons of the reserved sauce and more chives, if desired.

Now, partly because we live in a one Fareway town that has never heard of such things as pre-made crepes, and partly as a matter of pride, I made my own crepes instead of buying the pre-made ones. We used to make crepes in high school French class and at my friend Lesley's carriage house in Staunton, but in both places we had an electric crepe maker. I always thought you needed one of those gadgets to make the thin pancakes, but I have since been told by a handful of people, "No, no, you can just make them in a pan!" Like my friend Mindy (who is the most positive person I know, who could endure systematic torture, the stomach flu, and a trip to the dentist and still say that her day, "was soooo great!") - she told me on the phone just before I started my first crepe making adventure, "It's really so easy, Ann! Just be careful because I have gotten second degree burns while making them before." So I undertook this recipe with great trepidation, but I succeed in making a batch of yummy (although slightly lopsided) crepes and acquire no burns at all.

So here is the recipe I followed for crepes, which I adapted from one I found on allrecipes.com (posted by JENNYC819).

1 cup all-purpose flour

2 eggs

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup water

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons butter, melted

1. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, and water. Add the salt and butter; beat until smooth. Stir in the flour gradually.

2. Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium-high heat. Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each crepe. Tilt the pan in a circular motion so that the batter coats the surface evenly.

3. Cook the crepe for about 2 minutes, until the bottom is light brown. Loosen with a spatula, turn and cook the other side. Serve hot.

Since I was freezing blueberries that night (blueberries we picked on a farm outside Iowa City), I decide to take the berries that were too bruised to freeze and make a compote out of them. I really followed no recipe for this, I just put the blueberries and a little sugar in a sauce pan until they cooked down a bit (being careful to stir them once in a while so they wouldn't burn). Then I filled the leftover crepes with most of the blueberries, rolled them up, topped the crepes with the remain berries and dusted them with powdered sugar. They certainly were no match to those Paris crepes, but they were close.

Another late summer recipe that's worth a try is grilled ratatouille. Now because of the recent children's film of the same name, most kids under ten know what this dish is, but for those of you unfamiliar, it is a basically a vegetarian stew. I took my recipe for Alice Water's The Art of Simple Food and was attracted by the idea of cooking the veggies on the grill (so was Ben, our master grill chef and dishwasher - cooking outside=less pans to wash). This was a light and simple meal that was also very filling. We had lots and lots of leftovers (see below). I served it with a crusty bread from Panera. (I would sell my soul for a bakery in the N.L., one that makes artisan breads and bagels - anyone? anyone? There are lots of empty strip malls out here! Please fill them with your baked goods!)

Ratatouille of Grilled Vegetables

Prepare all the vegetables, seasoning them with salt as you go.

1 medium eggplant, cut into 1/4 inch slices

2 medium summer squash, cut into 1/4 inch slices

1 large onion, peel and cut crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick slices
2 sweet peppers, cut in half lengthwise and the stem and seeds removed

3 ripe tomatoes, cored and then cut in half crosswise

1. Prepare the a medium-hot grill.

2. Brush all the vegetables with olive oil. Put the tomatoes cut side down on the grill. Leave them for 3-4 minutes, turn them, cook them another 4 minutes , and remove them from the grill. At the same time arrange the other vegetables over the grill and cook them for about 4 minutes on each side. Keep turning as needed to keep them from burning, checking for doneness at the stems ends. Remove when tender and set aside to cool down. When all the vegetables are grilled and cool enough to handle, cut them into 1/2-inch squares. Combine in a bowl with:

2 to 3 garlic cloves, chopped fine

Salt

10 Basil leaves, chopped or cut into thin strips

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Taste and adjust the seasonings as needed with more oil, salt, basil, or garlic. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Although I thought the ratatouille was lovely, I LOVED what I came up with for the leftovers. I put the ratatouille in a pot, added a few extra tomatoes and some olive oil, and let the whole concoction heat through and then cook down a bit. Meanwhile, I heated some frozen cheese ravioli according to the package directions. Then after the ratatouille mixture had simmered for a bit, I dumped it all in the food processor (a blender would also work) and hit pulse a few times. Then I poured the veggie mixture/sauce (depending on how chunky you want it) over the ravioli. I didn't have any on hand, but a garnish of Parmesan cheese would have been lovely. I also served this with the leftover Panera bread. So wonderful! Bon Appetit!