Saturday Mornings

Is there anything like Saturday mornings to make you feel happy? I sleep in, enjoy breakfast with Blake,  shop at the Farmer's Market (between April-November), and look forward to the weekend ahead. It is a time for renewal for me when I take a day off from grueling workouts, take a nap, and reflect on the joy in my life.

At least once a month, we meet Andy for breakfast at Blue Grass Grill, another Charlottesville institution, that serves amazing breakfast at a very reasonable price (and we love the ambiance and blue grass music in the background). They serve delicious honey wheat pancakes, breakfast burritos, and french toast but I almost always order two eggs, grits, and a whole wheat biscuit with blueberry compote (yes I look like I ate a smurf afterwards but it is amazing!) and Blake gets the Black Bean Breakfast Burrito with home fries (another one of their delicious staples). I look forward our ritual and always leave very happy.

Andy is at Auburn with the baseball team today so Blake and I will be making whole wheat pancakes at home. In the summer, I make a sweet strawberry syrup to serve on them but it's February so real maple syrup for Blake and bananas and peanut butter for me will have to work. Then we are off to the Virginia Tech basketball game and spending time with our friends Pepin and Sean at Continental Divide. What a wonderful day ahead!

In our lives it is important to set aside at least one day a week for renewal. We live in an overly scheduled society with many demands for our time and attention but we must focus on ourselves and our wellbeing. I encourage you to spend today making breakfast with loved ones,  reading a good book, hitting the links (it was 75 degrees in C-ville yesterday), or even taking a nap. If you take this time, you will have the energy to face another week ahead and truly be your best self.

Recipe for Whole Wheat Pancakes (Adapted from Ellie Krieger Recipe)

1/2 c flour
1 c whole wheat flour
1 1/2 t baking powder
1/2 t baking soda
1/4 t salt
2 eggs
1 c buttermilk (if you do not have buttermilk add 1 t vinegar or lemon juice to non-fat milk and let sit for 5 mins)
3/4 c milk
1 T honey
1/4 t vanilla

Mix together the dry ingredients in one bowl and the wet ingredients in another. Mix the wet into the dry ingredients just enough to combine them (it's okay if the batter is lumpy). Use 1/4 cup of mixture to make each pancake.

Strawberry Sauce
16 oz fresh strawberries
1 t fresh lemon juice
2 T pure maple syrup

Process strawberries and put in small saucepan over low heat. Stir in lemon juice and maple syrup