Happy Valentine’s Day!

Hope everyone’s spending it with the one(s) they love!

Heart-Shaped Fruit Salad
– fruit
– mint

1. Get a bunch of pretty-colored fruits
2. Cut them into heart shapes
3. Toss with freshly-torn mint and keep covered in the fridge until ready to serve.

Whole-Grain Sour Cream Pancakes with Caramelized Peaches

I like to say that I’m not much of a “traditional” Valentine’s Day kind of girl. But between the delicious breakfast this morning (the first one I’ve made all year), the beautiful flowers, Veuve Clicquot & a ridiculous bottle of Pinot Noir from B, 2 very sweet cards and a fantastic steak dinner at home planned for tonight, I might have to rethink that.

I got the gorgeous Smitten Kitchen cookbook for Christmas this year, and the recipe for sour cream pancakes with peaches almost leapt off the page and bit me. They seemed so rich but so light, sweet but not overly so, and with the option of making them from scratch instead of a mix, I was able to edit them to incorporate whole-grain flour and make them a little healthier (ha).

By the way, I also like to say I’m not much of a breakfast person.  So after making these for our Valentine’s Day breakfast, I’m rethinking two things about myself today. These were amazing.

WHOLE-GRAIN SOUR CREAM PANCAKES WITH CARAMELIZED PEACHES (makes approx. 7 medium size, but completely filling, pancakes) – recipe taken almost exactly from Smitten Kitchen Cookbook
– 1 tsp. baking powder
– 1/2 tsp. baking soda
– 1/4 tsp. cinnamon
– pinch nutmeg
– 1/4 tsp. table salt
– 2 tbsp. sugar (organic, preferably)
– 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
– 1 large egg
– 1 cup (8 oz.) sour cream
– 2 peaches, pitted and thinly sliced 
– Butter

1. Whisk together the sugar, vanilla, egg, & sour cream in a large bowl.  
pre-whisked
2. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, & salt. 

My Mom got me these awesome “odd-measure” cups for Christmas this year
pre-whisked
3. Gently fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until just incorporated (don’t over-mix this, or the pancakes will be tough).

4. Melt 1.5 tbsp butter in a heavy skillet over medium heat.  When sizzling, add batter – enough to fill a large skillet with 4 pancakes with enough room between each.  Top the batter with peach slices.


5. Let pancakes cook until the edges start to brown, then flip the pancake/peach slice like a pro. Let the pancake & peach slices cook & caramelize for approx. 3-4 minutes on the other side.

6. Keep pancakes warm in the oven (low heat – approx. 250) while you make the second batch.  For the second batch, add another pat of butter, the pancake mixture & peach slices, & cook exactly as the first batch.  For the second batch, I also added a couple of slices of peaches to the pan & topped them with a tiny bit of sugar, then flipped them when I flipped the pancakes. The peach slices were so delicious I wish I made even more of them.  Serve with syrup & butter, & wish your tastebuds a happy Valentine’s Day!
Valentine’s Day breakfast table
Lilies, Hydrangea, Orchids, & Twisted Willow…gorgeous flowers from a man who knows me well!
Happy Valentine’s Day to you all.  <3

I generally think Valentine’s Day is totally overdone, but I’ve had two that were really terrific. One was when I was a little girl, and it was just me and my mom at the house – I’m not sure where my dad and Colly were. There was a huge snowstorm, and my mom and I bundled up and walked over to Januzzi’s, because I’d heard on the radio that they were making heart shaped pizzas for Valentine’s Day. We got our pizza and our rose and I had a nice snowy Valentine’s Day with my mom. So this year, I was telling her that story about a week before Valentine’s Day, and she tracked down a heart shaped pizza for me. Sweetest. Mom. Ever.