squash pancakes and pumpkin waffles

i've done the pumpkin pancake thing before. but for some reason, taking my fresh csa squash and mixing it into a pancake recipe seemed fresher, healthier and more innovative. especially considering it was a winter squash--something that in my mind doesn't automatically belong in a pancake. and i had a squash i need to use. a scenario that tends to be my motivating factor.

thanks to a squash site, i identified my winter squash as a delicata squash. it resulted in a wonderfully moist pancake with a great texture. the squash was not overwhelming in flavor and provided much more of a desirable consistency than anything else. and it was easy too. i just took my normal pancake recipe, added a freshly roasted and pureed winter squash to the batter and threw in some chopped walnuts for good measure.

you want another breakfast squash recipe? and what's that? you don't want healthy-feeling pancakes?


pumpkin waffles (aka pumpkin pancakes meet waffles)

i am confident in saying that the best way to serve these is layered with cheddar cheese (so that it melts) and topped with maple yogurt. yes, you heard me right. now go forth and conquer the cheddar-maple-waffle world that lays before you! or throw that squash you've been saving into your sunday pancake batter.

squash pancakes or pumpkin waffles

because of the similar consistency of squash and pancake or waffle batter, i merely added a cup of squash to a batch of batter. depending on the type of squash you use, you may have to thicken (add more flour) or thin (add more liquids) out the batters. in my case, i used canned pumpkin with the waffles, which left no adjustments. in fact, i added some extra pumpkin without having to adjust anything else. for the pancakes, i added some liquid to the squash to get it to more of a puree, since it was rather thick after roasting.

summer waffles

i would argue that there aren't many better ways to start a morning than waffles with frozen yogurt and peaches. especially farm fresh peaches. and so, with a little help from some friends (bittman and how to cook everything included), i whipped up a batch of waffles and threw on the best things i could find in my fridge/freezer.

it was a joint effort and i can't take credit for the whole idea but i do maintain that if it weren't for my awesomely stocked kitchen (aka endless supply of froyo and stone fruit), this meal never would have come to fruition.

summer WAFFLES! (adapted from mark bittman's everyday buttermilk waffles) makes 4-6 servings

• 2 cups flour (spelt here)
  
• 1/2 tspn salt
• 2 tblspn sugar
• 3 tspns baking powder
• 1 1/2 cups milk (i used soy)
  
• 2 eggs
• 4 tablespoons butter melted and cooled
• 1/2 tspn vanilla extract

• if you're being proper, you might mix all of the dry ingredients together, than all of the wet separately, and combine the two. i tend to mix all of the dry and then just throw the rest right on top and whisk until everything is just combined.
• heat up your waffle maker, give it a little lubrication and let it rip.
• top your golden waffles with frozen yogurt, sliced peaches and just a bit of maple syrup.
  

practically healthy banana oat waffles

not only is this the first time i have lived with a waffle maker but my apartment currently houses two of them. until now, i was a pancake person. but when you know that there are waffle makers (plural!) just itching to be used, it tends to shift the focus. now i will admit that sometimes i experience a certain pang of guilt when consuming mass quantities of baked carby goodness as my first meal of the day, although you probably wouldn't have guessed that from reading the blog.

conversations of waffles over the weekend provided a) oat waffles and b) hey, let's use this mushy banana i have, or i'm going to throw it out. how did this decrease my guilt? practically healthy banana oat waffles! the banana subbed in for any fat that i would have added to the batter and a combination of flour and oats was way better (think whole grain) than flour alone. and since we didn't have any syrup, my holy trinity of toppings for the day was homemade raspberry jam, peanut butter (crunchy, of course) and honey. yummmmmmm.

practically healthy banana oat waffles

bear with me here. this is one of those not so exact recipes. once you know the kind of consistency you're looking for (a relatively thick but no too thick batter) i don't think accurate measurements are necessary.

• one mashed banana (it needs to be ripe! the mushier, the better)
  
• 2 eggs
• about 1 cup soy milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 cup quick cook oats
• 1 cup spelt flour
• some brown sugar (a few tablespoons)
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• pinch of salt
  
• cinnamon

• mash banana in the bottom of a bowl
• add remaining wet ingredients (soy milk, eggs, vanilla) and mix
  
• this is where i really break the rules: dump in the dry ingredients (flour, oats, sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon) and sort of mix them together on top of the wet ingredients with a fork, before blending everything together. really, i see no need to dirty 2 bowls when 1 gets the job done. don't overmix.
• waffleize!