Pumpkin pancakes
Last Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, I looked around and noticed that the landscape has lost most of its vibrancy, the leaves were all missing from the trees and that the air smelled like snow. Autumn was out and winter was in. Of course, the season change did not happen in one day but in the same way that the first day of school used to initiate autumn, Thanksgiving seems to be the starting gunshot into the long, cold marathon of winter.
It is odd how our brains pick up certain patterns and ideas about the change of seasons. During Thanksgiving, I gobble up turkey, sweet potatoes and pumpkin pie as if those flavors are only available just once a year. What if you made a traditional Thanksgiving dinner the Thursday AFTER Thanksgiving. Would it taste as good? You know, I am not so sure.
Though I plan to keep traditional Thanksgiving dinner on the 4th Thursday of November, I am going to bring pumpkin a bit further into the winter with me. I roasted a bunch of fresh pumpkin and stashed some puree in the freezer that I plan to turn into soups, ravioli and MORE of these pancakes!
When first flipping through my new Quinoa 365 cookbook, I marked the pumpkin pancake recipe immediately. I tried to find Quinoa flour and have yet to succeed so I forged ahead with regular white flour. The cakes were amazing! Don’t be shy with the maple syrup and consider a side of salty, thick cut bacon to cut the sweetness and pair those warm pumpkin spices with the smokey meat.
Pumpkin Pancakes
from Quinoa 365 – the Everyday Superfood, by Patricia Green and Carolyn Hemming
1-1/2 cups quinoa flour OR white flour
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
1-3/4 cups buttermilk or sour milk
1 cup pumpkin purée
2 large eggs
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
Maple syrup
1/2 cup toasted pecans
Whipped cream (optional)
Measure the flour, sugar, baking powder, soda, allspice, cinnamon, ginger and salt into a large bowl. Mix well. Whisk together the milk, pumpkin, eggs and oil in a medium bowl. Add to the flour mixture and stir until just blended.
Spray with cooking oil or grease a large nonstick frying pan and place on medium heat. When hot, pour 1/4-cup portions of batter into the pan. Pancakes will be ready to flip when you begin to observe bubbles and the underside is brown. Flip and cook the pancake for another 20 to 25 seconds until the center springs back when pressed. If the pancakes buckle when sliding the spatula under the pancake, lightly oil the pan again for the next pancakes. Serve with maple syrup, pecans and whipped cream (if using). Makes about 17 pancakes.
Caroline Lubbers blogs at Whipped.
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