I took what I learned from creating the Cinnamon Roll Pancakes and Baked Cinnamon Roll Pancakes to create this recipe. Lemon Ricotta Pancakes can be pretty dense and heavy, but using the little trick of separating the eggs and whipping the whites, the pancakes remained light and tasty.

To make the classic swirl, I used Lemon Curd purchased from Trader Joe’s. I am sure your local market carries lemon curd. Place a pastry or plastic bag down into a glass or cup and fold the edges over the lip of the glass, like the photo. Fill the bag with the Lemon Curd then cut the tip no bigger than 1/2 inch across.  It is best if you have the Lemon Curd chilled. Trust me, it will fly out of the bag if it is at room temp. My poor shoes.

Using gentle pressure and starting on the outer edge at “12 o’clock”, squeeze a swirl of Lemon Curd on your pancake batter.  You can see in the photo I have lined a big jellyroll pan with parchment paper.

The pancakes will spread a bit, but no big deal, you have a butter knife right? And you are pretty strong, right? Simply cut them apart. Never cry over touching food.  Plate the hot pancakes with that lava lemon swirl and quickly drizzle with the lemon glaze that you had placed in a bag just as you had done the Lemon Curd, but make its snip in the tip a bit smaller.

*Note- Why baked? I tried these on the griddle. For #1 you can’t flip them. For #2, see #1. The counter, floor, and walls can attest.  Oy vey.

This recipe makes 6 pancakes, enough to feed 3 Moms.

Happy Mother’s Day to all you Hot Mammas!

Let’s drink our strawberries, shall we?  With this second Frozen Cocktail Mixer I am sharing with you today, you will see once again that this recipe is all natural made solely from strawberries, limes, apple juice, sugar, and rum. Yes, while I am Paleo, I do like to enjoy a drink while hosting parties, and after reading the label on the back of popular frozen drink mixers, which are filled with HFCS and artificial ingredients, I decided to make my own.  And you know what, it’s really easy.

RU Packing Eat? Fill you freezer this summer with these Frozen Cocktail Mixers for instant entertaining. No rules about the glasses here, use what you have. Remember, keep it glassy!

Blend’in, the party’s started!
Piña Colada Frozen Cocktail Mixer

Here we go! Let’s get ready for Summer entertaining by filling our freezer with a bunch of Frozen Mixers ready to blend up and get your party started. It’s easier than you think, and so much better for you too. These homemade mixes contain fresh ingredients, no preservatives or artificial flavors and colorings, and much less sugar, in fact, no high fructose corn syrup like the popular frozen brands. Whoop!  Another very cool thing about these mixers is that they can be blended with alcohol or without for kids, pregnant ladies, and Baptists.  See? Everyone may partake.

Let’s get going with the Piña Colada, a tropical blend of coconut milk and fresh pineapple, and a bit of organic cane sugar for a tad of sweetness.  These are very refreshing and so clean tasting. None of that syrupy sweetness you will find in the purchased kind, but distinct flavors equally vying for your affections.  You can use white rum, but I find the spiced rum is nice too. For those who are drinking sans alcohol, replace the rum with your favorite fruit juice such as cranberry juice for a Cran-Colada, Ginger Beer for a Ginger-Colada,  or mango for a Mango-Colada. You get the idea.

I also made these with honey, but found that honey took over. The sugar amount depends on you. I felt that 1/3 cup made it sweet but not over the top. Try it out with 1/4 cup, then you can always blend in a bit more when you are blending up the mixer. Capiche? Bravo.

Bottoms up!

I use 12 ounce regular mouth Mason Jars for this recipe. You will need three. You may also use a zip-top bag, or any other container you prefer. But the jars are savvy. Aye?

Coming Soon: Strawberry Daiquiri Frozen Mixer

TIPS:

1.  Remove any leaves at the bottom of the stems. You do not want the leaves in the water- an old flower arranging tip. So go through each sprig, pick the best ones, and trim the lower leaves. Use those trimmed leaves right away.

2. Trim a small bit off the ends of the stems.

3.  Wash and shake the herbs dry. I even pat them with a towel. Get them dry as possible.

4.  Place herbs in a tall narrow jar. I use 12 ounce regular mouth mason jars.  Fill with water, but not to the top so they don’t spill all over.

5. Holding the herbs upright, place a plastic bag over the herbs and secure loosely with a rubber band.  I have been using Forever bags with success.

6. Store in the refrigerator and harvest as needed. Herbs should last 4 weeks or more. Unless you use them all of course.

On the left is the new jar of cilantro all ready for storage and on the right is the jar that I have been harvesting from for the last 3 weeks. You can tell I picked off as much as I could!

I am also going to try this with parsley and see if it works out the same. Here is the cilantro and parsley camped out on my fridge door. Once my young herb plants in the garden are bigger then I can use them, but for now this system seems to work fine. Good to know for winter!

I am going to try this with hydroponic basil as well. I have never been able to keep it fresh more than 3 days and it goes to waste before I can use it all. I do my best to chop the leaves up and freeze in ice cube trays with olive oil, but there are times I can’t get to them fast enough.  Hopefully this will buy me some more time! I will leave these on my counter since the leaves get black in the fridge. I’ll let you know if I have any success.

If you have tips on how to keep herbs fresh longer, please share.

Why So Big?
1.  I like cookies but I dislike spooning them out, then tray after tray baking them.  If you have a favorite cookie recipe, but are short on time, make bars or giant cookies with the recipe. Cooking times may be a bit longer, so keep an eye on them.

2.  Another reason I like the giants is because they become communal.  It’s an intimate way to share, to break “bread” together.

These 2 giant crispy, chewy, chocolaty, fudgy cookies are decadent and are perfect with a bowl of fresh berries from the farmer’s market. Set them out on your coffee table and watch your guests shyly at first, then robustly take their unfair share.

Another bonus, they’re gluten-free. Yay!

These also make incredible gifts!