good morning! i hope your candy hangover finds you well. 

now, most of the time for breakfast i am a standard eggs and bacon girl. sure, it could be some
combo of sandwich, or scramble, or poached eggs with candied bacon. you get it. but every once in a while, i get a real serious craving for pancakes. it always hits me out of nowhere. and they can't be any pancakes. i'm looking for a fluffy, flavorful cake. bonus points for some sort of delicious creamy cheese or fruit preserves. hell, even throw some berries in there. 

and the other day i got a MAJOR pancake craving. it was perfectly timed with a morning wes had off and my brother just happened to stop by. 

next thing i knew, this craving crushing beauty was born. 

blood orange + ricotta pancakes
serves: 4
prep time: 5 minutes
active time: 20 minutes
total time: 25 minutes

ingredients: 1 cup ricotta cheese. 1 cup all purpose flour. .5 tsp baking powder. 1.5 tbs sugar. .25 tsp fine salt. .75 c whole milk. 2 eggs, separated. zest of 1 blood orange. juice of .5 blood orange. .5 blood orange roughly chopped. extra sliced blood orange for serving. .5 vanilla extract. 2 tablespoons butter for cooking. maple syrup for serving. 

start by whipping your egg white in with a hand beater or in a stand mixer till they have stiff peaks. 

in a large bowl combine the milk, egg yolks, vanilla and ricotta. whisk together till smooth. add in your blood orange zest, juice and segments and mix to combine. 

mix your dry ingredients into the ricotta and milk mixture. 

add a large spoon full of your eggs and mix till combined.

add in the remaining eggs. fold them into the batter till completely combined. 

heat your pan to a medium high heat or heat your electric skillet to 350 f. 

when hot, add in your butter and lightly push it around to cover your cooking surface. 

use a 1/3 measuring cup to pour equal serving of batter onto the skillet or pan. 

cook until bubbles form and start to pop. 

when many of the bubbles have popped, flip your cake. about 3 to 5 minutes. flip and continue to cook till cooked through. and additional 3-5 minutes. 

stack, top with blood orange slices, drizzle with syrup and serve. 

xo, a

blood orange + ricotta pancakes
serves: 4
prep time: 5 minutes
active time: 20 minutes
total time: 25 minutes
ingredients: 1 cup ricotta cheese. 1 cup all purpose flour. .5 tsp baking powder. 1.5 tbs sugar. .25 tsp fine salt. .75 c whole milk. 2 eggs, separated. zest of 1 blood orange. juice of .5 blood orange. .5 blood orange roughly chopped. extra sliced blood orange for serving. .5 vanilla extract. 2 tablespoons butter for cooking. maple syrup for serving.
start by whipping your egg white in with a hand beater or in a stand mixer till they have stiff peaks.
in a large bowl combine the milk, egg yolks, vanilla and ricotta. whisk together till smooth.
add in your blood orange zest, juice and segments and mix to combine. in a smaller bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar.
mix your dry ingredients into the ricotta and milk mixture.
add a large spoon full of your eggs and mix till combined.
add in the remaining eggs. fold them into the batter till combined.
heat your pan to a medium high heat or heat your electric skillet to 350 f.
when hot, add in your butter and lightly push it around to cover your cooking surface.
use a 1/3 measuring cup to pour equal serving of batter onto the skillet or pan. cook until bubbles form and start to pop.
when many of the bubbles have popped, flip your cake. about 3 to 5 minutes. flip and continue to cook till cooked through. and additional 3-5 minutes.
stack, top with blood orange slices, drizzle with syrup and serve. 

the older i get, the clearer it becomes to me that life just keeps getting crazier. the older i get, the more FULL life seems to become. but all i want to do is sit on my couch and eat delicious food.
my brother albert (the same brother that officiated our wedding) was in town from vancouver over the weekend and it was nearly impossible to get my immediate family all together in one place for even two hours. the only thing we could manage was brunch on saturday morning. after perusing many tasty looking brunch menus of restaurants in la i noticed a common theme. almost every menu featured a dutch baby. ironically, we chose the only restaurant that did not have one. sunday, i woke up feeling remorse over not getting to sample a dutch baby. so after teaching my morning yoga class i whipped up my own version of the breakfast dish. i would call it a cross between a pancake, crepe and popover. it's like nothing i've ever had really, but it is scrumptious. and even better, you can put anything on it to make it your own. 

whole wheat dutch baby
serves: 2-6 (you can serve it for 2 or slice it into wedges and served to many)
prep time: 25 minutes
cook time: 20 minutes
total time: 55 minutes
ingredients: .5 cup whole wheat flour. .5 cup whole milk. 2 eggs. 1 tsp orange zest. 2 tbs sugar. 1 tsp vanilla extract. .5 tsp salt. 1 tbs butter. .25 cup powdered sugar. assorted toppings of your choice (i had blackberries, maple syrup, nutella and coconut). 8-9 inch oven safe round pan. 

start by preheating your oven to 425 d F.
in the bowl of a food processor, or large bowl using a hand blender, blend together all of the ingredients except the butter, powdered sugar and toppings. 

blend until smooth. allow the batter to rest for 20-25 minutes. 

when you are ready to bake, place your butter in the pan and melt the butter in the oven.
after the butter has melted (should only take a minute or two), remove the pan, fill it with the batter and pop it back in the oven. bake for 16-20 minutes. 

the dutch baby will have puffed up. when you remove it from the oven the cool air will cause it to fall slightly. allow it to cool slightly. top with powdered sugar, your favorite toppings and serve. 

xo, a

whole wheat dutch baby
serves: 2-6 (you can serve it for 2 or slice it into wedges and served to many)
prep time: 25 minutes
cook time: 20 minutes
total time: 55 minutes
ingredients: .5 cup whole wheat flour. .5 cup whole milk. 2 eggs. 1 tsp orange zest. 2 tbs sugar. 1 tsp vanilla extract. .5 tsp salt. 1 tbs butter. .25 cup powdered sugar. assorted toppings of your choice (i had blackberries, maple syrup, nutella and coconut). 8-9 inch oven safe round pan. 
start by preheating your oven to 425 d F. 
in the bowl of a food processor, or large bowl using a hand blender, blend together all of the ingredients except the butter, powdered sugar and toppings. blend until smooth. allow the batter to rest for 20-25 minutes. 
when you are ready to bake, place your butter in the pan and melt the butter in the oven. 
after the butter has melted (should only take a minute or two), remove the pan, fill it with the batter and pop it back in the oven. bake for 16-20 minutes. the dutch baby will have puffed up. when you remove it from the oven the cool air will cause it to fall slightly. allow it to cool slightly. top with powdered sugar, your favorite toppings and serve.