Happy Anniversary to us... and Sunday morning Blueberry Pancakes

Bryan and I celebrated 2 years of dating on August 17th! Our first date was coffee and conversation at Starbuck's. We celebrated with dinner at home and watching one of our favorite shows. Bryan surprised me with a dozen beautiful red roses, too

The rest of our week was uneventful. Bryan actually got off work at 2:30pm on Friday! I had a better week on orientation. I watched a robotic mitral valve replacement on Friday. It was unbelievably cool. Click HERE to read a little more on St. Joseph's Hospital and the cutting-edge surgery using the da Vinci robot. The surgeon sits (NOT scrubbed in) in a little "bat cave" in the corner of the room and operates remotely, sending commands to the four or five robotic arms placed in the chest through small incisions. I was impressed with the anesthesia, which was delivered by a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist. I got to recover the patient, a young woman, up in the CVICU after the surgery. She did very well and was up sitting in a chair within 4 hours of returning to the ICU! Rumor has it that I will be off orientation in another two weeks. Hooray! We have a new Sunday morning tradition around here... Blueberry Pancakes! I feel compelled to share some tips to make the best blueberry pancakes EVER. 1. DON'T add the blueberries to the pancake batter. Pour the batter onto the griddle, which you've preheated to 375 degrees, and place the fresh blueberries directly onto the pancake, like in the above picture. 2. The pancakes are best if you only flip once. So, wait until they are well-bubbled, and take a peek under the edge. The result is a plump, fluffy pancake!

3. You simply haven't had the best blueberry pancake unless you've topped it with MAPLE BUTTER! To make maple butter, heat EQUAL parts real butter and real maple syrup over low heat, stirring frequently. (This is Bryan's job.)

Bryan says, "The tart blueberries pair perfectly with the sweet maple butter."

I couldn't agree more!

We hope you had a great weekend.