HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY- PANCAKES AND RAVIOLI

  

STRAWBERRY HEART SHAPED PANCAKES (gluten-free)

Nothing fancy but I just made these for myself and think you NEED to try them. They are maybe my favorite pancakes I've ever made. Don't worry, it doesn't have to be this morning. Heart-shaped pancakes are good any day.

(If you're making these for 2+ people, I'd say double my recipe.)

Mix: 
1/2 cup brown rice flour
1 T sugar
1 tsp baking powder
(set aside)

Puree:
About 1- 1 1/2 cups fresh strawberries

Whisk:
Strawberry puree
1/2 cup almond milk
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1 T oil
1 egg

Mix dry ingredients into wet. Put in a ziplock bag, squeezing out excess air and making sure it's sealed. Snip a corner of the bag and use as a pastry bag. (Or just use a pastry bag if you have one. Obviously.) Hopefully your heart-shapes will be better than mine. Send me pictures please!

Preheat a skillet with butter over medium heat. Squeeze out heart shapes into skillet. When bubbles form and the edges have set, flip the pancake.

Put on a plate, drizzle with maple syrup, and decorate with fresh cut strawberries.

Valentine’s Day: With some kind of flu, I refused to stay inside anyway. Made myself these pancakes which I devoured in bed with a cup of hot chai. I walked to Astoria bier and cheese on the most beautiful morning not wearing a coat for the first time in months, taking back-streets littered with heart-shaped confetti and thugs carrying flowers for their girls. I meet Mike at the cheese store, sample lots of cheeses, and talk beer and cider. I leave with black truffle cheese and a new friend. While walking with my eyes up to the sun, I bump into an old man. He hands me an antique playing card with chickens and hearts on it. “Take it all in sweetheart”, he tells me.

With only $3 in my pocket meant for laundry, I instead feel pulled into Queens Kickshaw by an imaginary rope; this happens often, too often. I grab the window seat so I can people watch and continue to get drenched in sunlight. I wrap my big red scarf around my shoulders, drink an Americano, and write a real-life love story in my notebook. The owner Ben and his wife pull up to the sidewalk on a little orange moped, looking cool, as always.

 I decided so what if this day has become a commercialized hallmark holiday. It makes (most) people smile. Shop windows are filled with flowers, balloons are tied to crosswalk poles, and people make bold dinners and desserts for people they love. 

The people outside are staring at me and pointing; I probably look like a Valentine’s window display for the kickshaw…minus the valentine. 

Lemon Roasted Beet and Goat Cheese-Stuffed Ravioli (gf)

At home, Amanda sits at the table and keeps me company while I attempt my first ravioli. Trial and error indeed, it was still pretty and tasted good. If I had rolled the pasta out thinner, it would have been perfect. (Maybe with an actual rolling pin instead of an empty grey goose bottle?)  I know my Dad would appreciate this scene; “Watching you in the kitchen is like going to an amusement park” he told me.

If you want to see how a pro does this recipe, click here.

(If you're using gluten-free flour, you really need to add another egg and 1 T of oil to keep the dough moist. Adding lemon juice also makes a big difference!)