Fluffy Meyer Lemon Yogurt Pancakes

Happy Sunday morning everyone!  I hope you’re enjoying wonderful springtime weather wherever you are.  It’s going to be a great day here – up near 80 – so I’ve been squeezing a bag of Melissa’s Meyer lemons to make lemonade, and in the process decided to make a batch of Meyer lemon pancakes.  People have a lot of different ideas as to the perfect pancake.  I’m a light and fluffy gal myself, but Mr. O-P (from NJ) likes them thinner and with more body, but the cook gets her way and this morning these delicious pancakes graced the breakfast table.  As if they weren’t delicious enough on their own, I warmed up some of the Meyer Lemon Vanilla Bean Marmalade that I made a while ago as a topping.  Oh, my!  Heaven on a plate!

Fluffy Meyer Lemon Yogurt Pancakes

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tbsp. sugar
1 large egg
1 6-ounce container Yoplait® plain Greek-style yogurt
1/3 cup whole milk

¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tbsp. Meyer lemon juice
1 tbsp. Meyer lemon zest
1 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted and cooled

Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar in a medium bowl; set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together egg, yogurt, milk, vanilla, lemon juice and zest, and melted butter until smooth. Pour dry ingredients into wet ingredients and stir batter until combined. Batter will be thick.

Preheat a nonstick griddle or large skillet over medium-high heat, until a drop of water will skitter around the surface of the pan.  Lightly grease and then, using a ¼ cup measuring cup, spoon batter onto hot surface. Cook until golden, then flip the pancakes and cook until golden on the other side.  Makes 6-8 pancakes.

Top with warmed Meyer Lemon Vanilla Bean Marmalade.

This post is linked to:

Sweets for a Saturday

Sugar and Spice

Sunday Sweeties

Seasonal Sundays

Banana, Coconut and Ricotta Pancakes with Ginger Syrup

I teased you yesterday with the recipe for ginger syrup, telling you that one of its delicious uses would be posted today.  Now, remember the luscious cocktail that was served in the coconut half that I showed you here?  Obviously, there was another half to that coconut, one with three holes in it for draining the water, but one that also had wonderfully fresh, moist coconut meat.  It was that meat, freshly grated in the food processor, that sent me on my quest for a breakfast recipe in which I could put it to good use.  Thanks to Epicurious.com, I found a decadently delicious recipe that is full of complex tastes and will make you feel that you’re breakfasting on a tropical isle.  The beauty of this recipe is that it, like the ginger syrup, can be made ahead, so you won’t have to labor in the morning to put a fantastic meal on the table.  I used a Cuisinart Griddler to make my pancakes, so there was no need for the butter as mentioned in the recipe.  Also, as I'm not keen on pineapple other than eaten alone, I eliminated it as a topping ingredient.  Personally, I don’t think the pineapple has a place here at all as it would have clashed rather badly, I think, with the ginger.

Banana, Coconut and Ricotta Pancakes with Ginger Syrup

4 large eggs, separated

3/4 cup whole milk

2/3 cup whole-milk ricotta cheese (about 6 ounces)

2/3 cup all purpose flour

2 tablespoons sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon (generous) salt

1 1/3 cups finely grated fresh coconut (about 4 ounces)

6 teaspoons (or more) butter

3 bananas, peeled, sliced on diagonal

1/2 pineapple, peeled, cored, thinly sliced, cut into triangles

 Whisk egg yolks, milk, ricotta, flour, sugar, baking powder, vanilla, and salt in large bowl. Stir in coconut. DO AHEAD Can be made 12 hours ahead. Cover and chill.

Beat egg whites in another large bowl until stiff. Gently fold into ricotta mixture.

Melt 1 teaspoon butter on griddle or in large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Working in batches, drop batter onto griddle by 1/4 cupfuls. Cook until bubbles form on pancakes, about 2 minutes. Flip pancakes; cook 2 minutes longer, adding butter to griddle by teaspoonfuls between batches. Arrange 3 to 4 pancakes on each plate. garnish with sliced fruit; pour warm ginger syrup over.

This post is linked to:

Sweets for a Saturday

Seasonal Sunday

Sunday's Best Party

Sunday Morning Blueberry Pancakes

I must have over a hundred blueberries on my potted plant.  It has produced all four years I've had it, but this year will be the best.  It's the 'Elliot' variety, supposedly the best for container gardening.

Once July hits, it's harvest time around here.  Every day there is something new to bring in from the garden and it is just so exciting!  This morning the blueberries that I have been watching all week (as have the robins!), turned blue and were ready for harvesting.  A couple of bowls later I had blueberry pancakes on the griddle topped with pure maple syrup and, you guess it, more blueberries!

Sunday Morning Blueberry Pancakes

2 eggs, separated

1 1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour

2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder

3 tablespoons sugar

3/4 teaspoon salt

Few gratings of nutmeg

1 cup whole milk

3 tablespoons butter, melted

1 cup fresh blueberries

In a small bowl, beat egg whites until stiff; set aside.  In a separate bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, sugar, salt and nutmeg; set aside. Beat egg yolks in a medium mixing bowl; whisk in milk and melted butter. Stir egg mixture into dry ingredients; mix until batter is smooth; stir in blueberries. Fold in beaten egg whites. Makes 10-12 pancakes.

For more information on growing blueberries in containers, I recommend this book:

This post is linked to: 

Seasonal Sunday, 

Metamorphosis Monday, 

Made by You Monday, 

On the Menu Monday, 

This Week in My Garden, 

Bizzy Bakes, 

Garden Tuesdays, 

Outdoor Wednesdays 

and

Orange-Poppy Scones

It is always a good day when the new issue of Everyday Food arrives.  I thumb through it carefully, jotting notes and dog-earing pages, planning for the week ahead.  There are so many things in this issue that I want to try, but considering it's a Sunday and Sunday mornings call for something special, I chose to make the Orange-Poppy Scones.  (Yes, my obsession with scones continues).

These are delicious!  They are easy to make, bake up light and fluffy, and are full of orange-tasting goodness. 

 

One caveat, however: in the recipe in the magazine (above) you are instructed to "Form the dough into a 7-inch square" and "cut into 9 squares."  I would advise against this, if you can even manage, with your sharpest of knives, to cut the dough into such tiny pieces.  Doing this, and then cutting them into diagonals will yield a very small scone.  Instead, do what I did, make one slice across the middle horizontally, and then two vertical slices yielding 6 squares, and cut those into diagonals.  You'll have a perfectly sized scone, and a delicious one too.  

Just look at all of the delicious bits of orange zest spread evenly throughout the scone.

Happy Sunday!

TABLESCAPE THURSDAY - Sunday Brunch

I've set the counter in the kitchen for Sunday brunch.  No, I'm not going to leave it like this until Sunday, but I wanted to show you just how royally I plan on treating my husband come Sunday as he is the one who provided the placemats and napkins for this table setting.  After our joint trip to the dentist on Tuesday (no cavities!) we popped into Tuesday Morning to give it our monthly once over and replenish our supply of Sarabeth Preserves.  While he was wandering in the gourmet food aisle he spotted this set and scooped it up for me.  I loved it!  The placemats are nice and thick and reverse to a wonderful, casual burgundy and cream checked pattern.  I like them so much that I'm considering sending him back for another set of four of each (the price was amazingly low) so we can use them when we host a larger crowd.

 I had fun putting this table setting together.  The color on the placemats goes with so many things that I have.  The Fiestaware, in turn, goes with many things as well.  I've paired it with Incaware restaurant ware cups and saucers.  The crimson band around the cups and saucers match the plates perfectly.

 The "napkin rings" are remnants of the greenery and flowers I had left from the tablesetting here which just goes to show that you should never throw any floral pieces or greenery away, you can always find a use for them.

Even the little antique sugar and creamer set work well here with the cranberry-colored raised cherry design (not to mention our port wine countertop!).

The water glasses are actually wine glasses (again the color is perfect).  I love these so much that I like to use them for beverages other than just wine.

I like the pale green accent plate.  I think it works well with the napkin greenery and softens the solid color of the Fiestaware plate.

The juice glasses are very special, but I know nothing about the maker or design.  They belonged to my mother's best childhood friend who later gave them to my her, who in turn, gave them to me.  What a treasure!

Placemats and napkins by Waverly - Tuesday Morning
Plates and flatware - Fiestaware
Green wavy plates - Metlox Lotus
Cups and saucers - Shenango Incaware
Fruit Bowls - World Market/Cost Plus
Crimson stem glasses - Crate & Barrel
Sugar & Creamer - from an antique shop in Oxford
Juice glasses - gift

This post is linked to: 

Tablescape Thursday 

Open House Party
The Charm of Home
At The Picket Fence
Feather Your Nest Friday
Show and Tell Friday