Ricotta, Ricotta, what to do with all this Ricotta

So last night after making the mozzarella and ending up with a bunch of ricotta I started thinking to myself.  What am I going to do with all this Ricotta, if every time I have whey I can make ricotta.  We used in it salad, and put it on crackers, but after a while that could get old.  So it a cheese making book I have there was a recipe for Ricotta Pancakes with Banana Pecan Syrup.  The recipe is from Paula Lambert's "the Cheese Lover's Cookbook and Guide".  The only change I made was that I also used walnuts since I did not have enough pecans.  They were good.  The girls and I liked them.  They were moist and the syrup was really good.  It also filled our Sunday morning with the smell of bananas, nuts, and the all important butter.

2 Cups flour

1 tablespoon sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

2 eggs, separated

2 cups milk

1/4 cup homemade ricotta

For the syrup

2 tablespoons butter

1/2 cup chopped pecans

2 bananas

1 cup maple syrup

• Mix dry ingredients
• In separate bowl beat egg whites until stiff but not dry
• In large bowl beat egg yolks, milk and ricotta until smooth and then add dry ingredients gently with a large spoon.
• Fold in the egg whites.

For syrup

• Melt butter in a skillet over medium heat
• Add nuts and saute for about 1 minute until fragrant
• Add bananas that have been thinly sliced, stirring for about 2 minutes
• Add the syrup and cook for 2 minutes longer, until the syrup is hot and slightly thickened.

The pancakes were good, but Daisy was a little concerned before she ate when I told her I had made cheese pancakes.  She told me she did not think that sounded good and wanted her cheese to be on the side.

Keep tuned for tomorrow's post where I will post about my 3rd attempt at making mozzarella that I tried this evening.