Pancakes for Dinner

Last week we had pie for dinner - this week its pancakes! First, let me recap the rest of yesterday. I finally have made the switch to loose tea at work! I found a tea ball in my drawer of random utensils, so I brought that to work with a tin of Harney & Sons Earl Grey Supreme. This is my favorite tea and I buy it by the pound - it has extra Bergamot in it, which gives earl grey its slight citrusy flavor. I scooped the tea up in my tea ball and added it to my favorite mug.

With hot water and a splash of skim milk, I can now have a perfect cup of tea at work.

No more disposable paper tea bags for me!

My lunch made my friend Liz jealous :)

She just had to have a bite of my half bagel with low fat cream cheese and smoked salmon (all leftover from Easter brunch). I also made a small salad with mixed greens, grape tomatoes, sliced almonds, wasabi goat cheese, and balsamic and EVOO. After lunch, a little chocolate was in order.

A piece of Dove dark chocolate with almonds and a Butterfingers egg. I know I said these were gross - that hasn't stopped me from eating them. Later in the afternoon I had a sliced apple with brazil nut butter. I'm almost out of this! I need to make a new batch of nut butter.


I also happened to come across a box of cookies from Flour Bakery. I just had to have half of my favorite double chocolate cookie.

So, now on to the pancakes for dinner. This was one of those meals thrown together from whatever I could find in the fridge. Last night it was ricotta cheese, egg whites, Italian eggplant, and a little bit of tomato sauce. Out of this I invnted...

Savory Ricotta Pancakes with Roasted Eggplant and Tomato Sauce

2 servings - makes about 6 pancakes

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 cup ricotta cheese

1/2 cup skim milk

1 egg yolk

3 egg whites

6 Italian eggplant

1 cup marinara sauce

1 can sardines (optional!)

EVOO for brushing griddle and eggplant

Grated parmesan cheese

• Preheat oven to 400º
• Slice eggplant lengthwise  - about 4 or 5 slices per eggplant
• Brush eggplant slices with EVOO and sprinkle with salt and pepper
• Roast eggplant for about 20 minutes, turning half way through cooking
• Meanwhile, heat a griddle on stove top over medium heat
• In a medium bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, and baking soda
• fold in egg yolk, ricotta cheese, and milk.  Add more milk as needed if batter is very thick.
• Beat egg whites in a large bowl with an electric mixer until soft peaks form
• Gradually fold egg whites into batter, 1/2 cup at a time, mixing until egg whites just disappear.
• Pour batter on griddle in 3/4 cup scoops.  Cook until bubble on surface start to burst, about 4 minutes, then flip and cook about 2 more minutes.
• Meanwhile, heat tomato sauce over low heat.  Add chopped sardines if desired.
• Layer pancakes with eggplant slices and top with tomato sauce.

This was certainly an odd meal, but came out pretty good. I will definitely use this ricotta pancake recipe for breakfast pancakes too! The only thing I would leave out next time is the sardines. I added these in for a little protein and omega-3 kick, but realized that I'm not really a big fan of sardines. They're super good for you - but not the tastiest of seafood.

After dinner I had a piece of amazing ginger-orange carrot cake that my mom made.

She got this recipe from Cook's Illustrated - my parent's are very into Cook's. They doing a ton of experimenting in their test kitchens and the recipes always walk you through how things work and why. Their recipes are usually a little fussy for me - but they're also no fail!

I was supposed to Shred yesterday, but never got around to it. So this morning I got up and did Level 1. I boosted it up a bit and used 5 lbs weights instead of 3 lbs. Except for on the shoulder raises - I had to stick with the 3s on those! I had a meeting as soon as I got to work this morning, so I knew I wouldn't have time to eat breakfast beforehand. So I had a piece of whole wheat toast with peanut butter while I prepared my food for the day.

And didn't get out of the meeting until almost 11, so I never had my oatmeal! Instead I just ate my banana.

Lunch to be eaten soon!