Escaping the Heat by Pretending It's Fall- Whole Wheat Pumpkin Pancakes

I had been craving pancakes for weeks. For me, pancakes always seem like such a hassle. Probably because my electric griddle just doesn't seem to have the staying power it once did, so I end up cooking pancakes in a skillet. Two at a time, which ends up taking me awhile. I'd also, for some reason, been craving pumpkin. I think at the time it had something to do with my desperate yearning for autumn. Not only was it hot, making it natural to look forward to the next, cooler season, but it was also rainy and gray for almost two weeks. This is not common during the summer months in Texas, and it made it look like fall every time I glanced out my window. You knew it wasn't as soon as you stepped outside, and unfortunately I decided to take a walk before I made these pancakes on the most humid day of my life, but I forged ahead with my breakfast of denial anyhow. I just googled up "whole wheat pumpkin pancakes" and went with the recipe that I seemed to have most of the ingredients for, which was Pinch My Salt's recipe from 2007. I made a couple of small adjustments for what I had on hand and went forward into my fake fall meal.

Whole Wheat Pumpkin Pancakes
Recipe from Pinch My Salt; Makes appx. 16

1 C. whole wheat flour
1/2 C. cake flour
1 t. baking soda
2 t. baking powder
1/4 t. salt
1 t. ground cinnamon
1/2 t. ground ginger
1/2 t. ground nutmeg
1 C. buttermilk
1 C. canned pumpkin puree
2 eggs
2 T. oil
1 t. vanilla
2 T. dark brown sugar

• In a large bowl, whisk together the first eight ingredients (whole wheat flour through nutmeg). In a separate bowl, whisk together the last six ingredients (buttermilk through brown sugar).
• Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and blend together with a wooden spoon until just combined. Lumps are ok, just make sure all the flour on the bottom of the bowl is mixed in. If batter seems too thick to pour, you can gently stir in a little more buttermilk.
• Drop pancakes by ladleful onto a medium-hot griddle. Pancakes are ready to turn when the edges start to look a little dry and you can see small bubbles forming on the surface.

My notes: I used all white whole wheat flour, soy milk, and light brown sugar. I had to add some extra milk to thin the batter a little, just adding little by little until it seemed easier to work with. Since I used soy milk, a switch to an egg substitute would make this recipe vegan. I used a 1/4 cup to ladle the batter for each pancake.

Roasted Fall Vegetables

While I seem to have a lot of irons in the fire lately- photography class, learning to Charleston, all those holiday activities- I've been feeling more and more like cooking new things. My cooking mojo, while laying dormant for some time, seems to have returned. Last week I decided I wanted to try cooking with another new-to-me food and I chose butternut squash. But since I am so busy lately I needed it to be a fairly easy recipe. We've got a freezer full of fish we received from Josh's dad, so I decided a side dish to go with some quickly grilled trout would be perfect. I went way back to an October 2006 issue of Everyday Food for this recipe. It was so, so good. Really, I don't know how you could expect some veggies you just stick in the oven and practically ignore to come out so good, but I guess that's the miracle of fresh produce. Along with the grilled trout I made some whole wheat couscous. This meal was so filling, but so good and I was more than glad to eat a lunch of leftovers the next day.

Roasted Fall Vegetables
Recipes from Everyday Food; Serves 8


2 pounds (about 1 medium) butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
2 pounds red new potatoes (12 to 14), well scrubbed and quartered
1 pound medium red onions (about 2 to 3), peeled and quartered
1 pound carrots (6 to 8 medium), halved lengthwise, if thick, and cut into 1 1/2-inch lengths
4 to 6 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
3 tablespoons olive oil
Coarse salt and ground pepper

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Divide vegetables and garlic between two rimmed baking sheets (or line with parchment paper, if desired, for easy cleanup); dividing evenly, toss with oil, 2 teaspoons coarse salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.
• Roast until vegetables are tender and beginning to brown, 40 to 50 minutes, tossing them and rotating sheets from top to bottom halfway through. Serve hot or at room temperature.

My notes: I halved this recipe, so I didn't have to bother with rotating sheets. And I had some mushrooms leftover from a recipe earlier in the week so halfway through, when I tossed the vegetables, I added them in too. The butternut squash was a pain to peel with my crappy peeler, but all was (almost) forgotten when I tasted the roasty golden chunks. This recipe used only half of the small butternut squash I bought, and I used the rest in a recipe last night that I'll be sharing soon.