10/6/12 - I can't ignore it anymore. Summer is over and we're in to fall. I always have trouble letting go of those long summer days and nights. Everything about summer makes me happy, I'll even take the heat and humidity, as long as I'm near a body o water to jump in to. I love summer, spring, and winter, but ever since I was a kid, I hated, and I really mean HATED fall. I never thought the turning of the leaves looked pretty, and I didn't care much for the cold, crisp air that came with autumn. However, as an adult I am starting to gain a greater appreciation for fall, particularly the food that comes with it; apples, pumpkins, squash, hot apple cider, yummy pies, and hearty, stick-to-your-ribs meals. So this weekend I decided to embrace the arrival of fall with a pancake appropriate for the season. I couldn't decide between apples or pumpkins, until I started digging through my freezer earlier in the week and discovered frozen pumpkin puree.
Lately I have been on a kick of cleaning out our freezers. That's right, I said freezers. We have 3 total, although in my defense our 3rd freezer is a tiny little freezer that is part of my old dorm-room fridge/freezer. It now serves as our bar's fridge for drinks, and as an emergency backup freezer. Earlier in the summer the freezer in our garage broke and forced us to rearrange our kitchen freezer to make room for our stock of frozen foods that was in the garage. We ended up using the bar fridge and renting some freezer space from my parents until we could fix the problem. From this little disaster came a realization that we have a TON of frozen food I completely forgot about. Ever since then I have been on a mission to use up food in the freezer, or in some cases, identify what the heck I froze in the first place! It took me about 2 weeks to figure out that the two small containers of an orange puree was pumpkin. So what a better way to use it than in a pancake! I found this delicious recipe from The Better Baker. I loved the aroma that filled my kitchen as I made these pancakes. It definitely drew my husband in to the kitchen. It was hard not to snack on a pancake or two while I waited for the rest to cook, but I held out so I could enjoy the first bite while sitting down at the table with my family. Sitting there are the kitchen table, watching him enjoy the pancakes and my daughter intently watching him eat (she's 4 months old and on the verge of beginning solids) was just a perfect way to start the weekend. I cannot wait until she can start eating pancakes too! Jó étvágyat!
Ingredients:
1-1/4 c. all purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp. nutmeg, freshly grated
pinch of ground cloves (I skipped this since I couldn't find cloves in my spice cabinet)
1 c. buttermilk
1/2 c. pumpkin puree
1 large egg
3 Tb. canola oil
Butter for the griddle
Directions:
In medium mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spiced; whisk to combine. (It already smells like pumpkin pie - oh my!)
In liquid measuring cup, whisk buttermilk, pumpkin puree, egg and oil. Add wet ingredients to dry and stir just until combined.
Preheat griddle or electric skillet at 300*. Using a 1/3 c. measure, pour the batter onto hot griddle. Cook first side until bubbles begin to break on top and edge starts to look cooked, about 3 minutes. Flip and cook the second side until golden brown, a couple more minutes.
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