On this rainy Saturday morning in the midst of the Rhode Island “pause” where everything but essential things like work and school are on hold, we had nothing to do but make and eat a most indulgent breakfast, and cuddle up with our kids and our coffee on the couch.
When making breakfast this morning, I channeled my love for Maine and all of the great products coming out of that state: Crooked Face Creamery Ricotta and Wyman’s Wild Blueberries (frozen foods) are my favorite. Amy Rowbottom’s ricotta cheese is made at Crooked Face Creamery in Skowhegan, ME. If you live in Maine, you can buy it just about anywhere, even the local Whole Foods. And if you don’t, you are in luck. It can be purchased along with many other cheeses and meats at upnorthricotta.com and shipped to you.
My cheese shipment came in a well-packed cooler and arrived still cold. I suggest buying in bulk as the ricotta freezes well. The most popular ricotta is the applewood smoked ricotta and make sure you try the chocolate mousse ricotta too!
Amy grew up on her family’s farm, where my husband’s uncle worked and lived. As kids, Adam (my husband) and his brothers would go up to Skowhegan to visit Uncle Will and, in turn, the Rowbottom kids. They have some fond memories of the Rowbottom farm trips.
Flash forward 25 years later, Adam’s childhood friend and neighbor, Jeff Mercer, meets Anna Malek from Skowhegan, ME. The Malek’s and the Rowbottom’s grew up together. Anna and Jeff settled in South County R.I. very close to where we live, and whenever we visit their home we feel like we are in rural Maine. From the chicken coop in the backyard, to the log house, the zip line (made by Jeff), to the nature trails that surround their home, kids who will swim in the Narragansett bay in November because “they have Maine blood”, to the appreciation and love for Crooked Face Creamery. All these elements that come along with visiting The Mercer Family, makes us feel like Skowhegan is in Rhode Island, and I love it. Anna and Amy are similar in that they feel a pull to Skowhegan. To meet Amy and hear her story you can watch this video produced by my husband Adam: “The Pull: A Story about Home”
Blueberry Ricotta Pancakes
Ingredients
- 2 egg whites (separated from the yolks)
- 3/4 cup milk (whole or skim)
- 3 Tablespoons softened butter
- 1 cup of whole milk ricotta cheese
- 2 cups of store-bought pancake mix
- 1 Tablespoon of brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons of pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup of frozen wild blueberries and maple syrup for serving
Directions
- Step 1 Whisk all the ingredients up to blueberries together in a large mixing bowl. Heat a skillet over medium heat or griddle to 350 degrees. Melt some butter in the pan.
- Step 2 Scoop the batter onto the hot pan using an ice cream scoop and use a spoon to spread each scoop into a pancake. After about 3 minutes, sprinkle the wild blueberries onto each pancake and let them settle in for a minute, then when pancakes are ready, flip them. Let cook another 2-3 minutes on the other side, or until cooked through.
- Step 3 Serve with butter and maple syrup.
