Ricotta Pancakes

I never knew that I could possibly experience nausea that would result in me not eating anything for more than eighteen hours. I literally did not eat anything from 4-ish yesterday afternoon till 11am this morning. And even then, when I was chomping on a piece of bread, I was eating for the sake of eating, and not because I was hungry. Me, not eating. I never imagined the day I would see those words in a sentence together. I was never the kind who who have no appetite. Like say if I'm stressed, instead of having no appetite like some people do, I just carry eating as usual without a care. Oh well, that just goes to show the wide range of side effects that period pains can bring about. The woes of being a woman.

Ricotta Pancakes

I spent the day just resting at home, and taking naps. Still feeling a lil queasy, but I hope I'll be fine tomorrow. I hate not being able to be normal, to be able to head out for a jog or whatever. I've read somewhere that exercising apparently helps to ease period pains, but every female I've spoken to have pooh-poohed the notion with me. I mean, who wants to exercise when you're having your period? It's seriously a no-brainer kinda question. I would rather just flop about in a semi-dying state, grouching about everything and anything possible, then work up a sweat. Okay, TMI. But yeah you get the drift.

Okay, before I really end up grouching more, let's move on to talk about a more interesting topic - Brunch. Food is always a happy topic. I've always been a huge advocate for brunch, be it heading out with friends for good coffee and food, or just staying home to cook. When the adults were not in town one weekend, I decided to cook pancakes for brunch one weekend.

It was my first time using ricotta cheese for pancakes. I had always read about recipes that used it for pancakes, that proclaimed how light and fluffy the pancakes turned out to be. So I decided to try it out for myself.

Grilled cheese sammies; Scrambled eggs and avocado

The pancakes did indeed turned out soft and fluffy, but there is just a lil something missing that I can't put my finger to it. Or maybe it's because there wasn't any protein in the meal so I felt something was missing on the plate haha. Guess it's back to the working table to find a recipe for pancakes that will blow my socks away or something.

Gonna try to crash early cos there's work tomorrow. Hope tomorrow's gonna be a better day...Ciao~

Ricotta Pancakes (adapted from Tieghan at Half Baked Harvest)
(makes about two dozen fist sized pancakes)

2 eggs, whites separated from the yolks
3/4 cup buttermilk (I used milk + lemon juice)
1 cup ricotta cheese
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
110g all-purpose flour
1 tbsp brown sugar
1/2 tsp baking soda
pinch of salt

Separate the egg yolks from the whites. Beat the egg whites with a handheld electric mixer or stand mixer until stiff peaks form, about 5 minutes.
Combine the ricotta, buttermilk, egg yolks, and vanilla in a separate mixing bowl, whisking lightly to mix.
Add the flour, baking soda, brown sugar, and salt to the ricotta and buttermilk milk mixture, stirring gently until just combined.
Fold a small scoop of the whipped egg whites into the pancake batter to lighten the batter, then fold in the remaining whites.
Heat a skillet on medium heat. Grease with butter. Pour some pancake batter on the center of the hot pan. Cook until small bubbles appear on the surface (about a few minutes). Using a spatula, gently flip the pancake over and cook the other side for a minute, or until golden. Repeat with the remaining batter.
Keep the cooked pancakes warm in a oven set on low heat while you finish making all the pancakes.
Serve with butter and maple syrup.