Waking up is hard to do. Really hard. For some, a strong cup of coffee or tea helps. Not for me. I wake up slowly and after being up for at least an hour or two I tackle breakfast. Left to my own devices, I would probably just eat brunch and save the real breakfast food for dinner, but Lee prefers something a bit more traditional.
The big problem with breakfast for me is always--what to have? Savory or sweet? Both are appealing but if I eat something sweet I may not get enough protein and as a result I'm ravenous barely an hour or two later. Nutritionists recommend a "balanced" breakfast meaning both carbohydrates and protein. Easy to do with eggs or cheese but harder to do with sweets like pancakes. Having sausage or bacon on the side is another way to go but probably not the best choice everyday. French toast or crepes are both sweet and have protein but I'm always looking for more protein-rich sweet options.
Ricotta pancakes are a perfect way to go. The ricotta gives you plenty of protein, they only have a couple of tablespoons of flour so you're not filling up on carbohydrates and best of all they are really delicious and cook up in a flash. Of course, serving them with bacon is up to you...
Lemon Ricotta Pancakes
Eight medium pancakes, serves two but recipe can be doubled
Ingredients:
1/3 cup ricotta cheese
1 large egg; separated 2 Tablespoons milk 3 Tablespoons all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon sugar 1/4 teaspoon baking powder pinch salt 1/2 teaspoon finely grated lemon rind (or so)
Instructions:
Blend egg yolk and ricotta cheese then add milk, flour, sugar, baking powder, lemon rind and salt mixing until completely blended. Beat egg white in another mixing bowl until just stiff but still moist. Fold gently into batter. Heat large nonstick skillet or griddle over medium heat and coat with cooking spray. Drop batter by heaping tablespoonful onto skillet, and cook until golden brown on the bottom then gently flip and cook on other side. Serve immediately.
Enjoy!
Amy Sherman is a San Francisco–based writer, recipe developer, restaurant reviewer and all around culinary enthusiast. She blogs for Epicurious , Bay Area Bites and Cooking with Amy .