lemon ricotta pancakes

I made lemon ricotta pancakes with fresh blueberry sauce for our anniversary breakfast several weeks ago. The pancakes were very fluffy and light, but also quite rich and sweet...not too sweet if you have a sweet tooth, but definitely something to consider if you don't. In hindsight, maybe I covered my cakes with too much syrup... :)

I followed the original recipe found at two peas and their pod, a blog full of amazing recipes and cooking inspiration!

Ingredients:

For the blueberry sauce:

1 1/2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 tsp cornstarch
2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries
2-3 tbsp granulated sugar
2 tbsp water

In a small bowl, combine the lemon juice and cornstarch and set aside. In a medium sauce pan, combine blueberries, sugar, and water. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce to simmer and stir in lemon juice and cornstarch. Stir until sauce begins to thicken. Cover to keep warm and set aside.

For the pancakes:

1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
3 tbsp granulated sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup ricotta cheese
1 large egg
2 egg whites
1/2 cup lemon juice
2 tsp grated lemon zest
1 tbsp canola oil

In a large bowl, mix together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

In a medium bowl, mix together ricotta cheese, egg, egg whites, lemon juice, lemon zest, and canola oil. Add dry ingredients and gently mix until combined. Be careful not to over mix. The batter will be thick.

Heat a griddle over medium heat and coat with non-stick spray. Drop about 1/3 cup batter onto the hot griddle. Cook pancakes about 2 minutes, or until browned and beginning to set. Flip and cook 2 minutes on the other side.

Stack cooked pancakes on a plate and spoon on the fresh blueberry sauce/syrup. Enjoy!

gone to carolina

Last weekend we hopped a plane and headed down to North Carolina to see my sister and her husband, my parents, and my uncle, aunt, and cousins. My uncle David was generous enough to take us to two football games over the weekend -- UNC Tarheels vs. Wake Forest and the Vikings/Panthers game. It was a winning weekend -- both the Heels and the Vikes (surprise!) won. We tailgated before and after the UNC game and enjoyed delicious fried chicken, hot dogs, pitas, brats, chips, dips, and even blue Krispy Kreme doughnuts.  The weekend was jam packed full of football, family, and fun. Here are a few photos:

* On a very sad note, my uncle's dear friend and law school roommate, Chuck, who we had the privilege to meet and tailgate with at the UNC game, passed away suddenly this week. Our hearts are heavy as we think of Chuck, his wife Donna, and his family and friends. We're sending many prayers their way and are thankful we had a chance to meet him.

banana chocolate chip muffins

I rarely make muffins from scratch. I'm sure homemade muffins would and do taste substantially better than the "just add water" mixes I toss in my cart at Target, but the ease factor is usually more appealing. The time I save using a pre-sifted pouch usually makes up for whatever the dehydrated berries lack in taste.

However, after trying a new muffin recipe ripped from the pages of a recent Lunds/Byerly's magazine (does anyone else grab these on the way out of the store?) I might just become a homemade muffin baker. These banana chocolate chip muffins are high on the deliciousness scale, fairly legit in terms of nutrition, and easier than anything in the Staples "easy button" commercial. (I never thought I'd reference that annoying commercial in my life.) If you like banana and chocolate, give these a try.

Here's the recipe, modified slightly based on the ingredients we had on hand. I think the original recipe can be found in the book Muffin Magic.

Yield: 8-9, depending on how full you fill your muffin cups

1 2/3 cup whole wheat flour (I used regular white flour)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 bittersweet or milk chocolate chips
2 eggs, beaten
6 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 bananas

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Line a muffin pan with paper muffin cups.
3. Put the flour, baking powder, sugar, and chocolate chips in a bowl and mix well. In a separate bowl, beat together the eggs and oil. Pour into the dry ingredients. Mash the bananas with the back of a fork and add to the bowl. Mix together quickly, do not beat or over mix, otherwise the muffins will be tough and dry.
4. Spoon the mixture into the muffin cups and bake for 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Enjoy!