Super duper homestead pancakes (with squash!)

I made these once for a surprise gluten-free guest, and they've become our go-to Saturday morning pancake. I feel like they're more nutritious than your average pancake, with the squash and oats and relatively heavy volume of eggs, and they're a tasty way to put a dent in the winter squash harvest.

Whenever we roast a squash, we freeze whatever we're not eating right away in one cup portions, so we always have a pile of roast squash puree ready to go.

Squash Pancakes (serves about 4)

2 cups rolled oats
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon clove
4 eggs
2 cups soft cooked winter squash
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 teaspoons maple syrup
2 tablespoons oil

-Put the oats in the blender and process into flour.
-Combine the oat flour with the other dry ingredients in a mixing bowl.
-Put the wet ingredients in the blender and blend to combine and smooth out any strings or chunks in the squash. If you're using commercial canned squash, you can probably skip the blender.
-Mix the wet ingredients into the dry and let stand 10 minutes.
-Preheat a griddle or frying pan to about 250 degrees while the batter sits.
-Scoop a scant quarter cup of batter onto the griddle. It will be thick, so use a finger to spread the batter out into a 4" circle, 1/4"-1/2" thick.
-Let the pancakes cook for about 3 minutes on one side, then flip and give them another minute and a half on the other side. Since the batter is so thick, the usual pancake tricks of watching for the bubbles to come through don't work, so go by time.
-Serve with butter and maple syrup, or apple butter, and enjoy. Leftovers reheat well, even from frozen.

They sound delicious Roberta, makes my McD's Southwest salad pale by comparison.
Back in college I did buckwheat pancakes. I sure would like to try yours.

I love this! I have tons of winter squash I've been trying to think of things to do with! I think I'll have to try this.

We've got some Theron squash out in the field that look like they're approaching 40 lbs, so we've got some squash to eat too.

Squash lasagna is another yummy way to use up a bunch. I mix up mashed squash with some garlic and herbs and egg and ricotta and use a creamy garlic sauce. Layers go sauce, noodle, squash, caramelized onions, walnuts, then a splash of sauce and repeat. Douse the whole thing in more sauce and some grated cheese over the top, then bake until it's hot and bubbly.

Woah! Those look really delicious. Thank you for the recipe, I will need to try them. I've never had squash pancakes before... With what do they pair well?

We usually eat them as a meal unto themselves, with butter and syrup. They're pretty egg-rich and filling with all the oats and squash. That said, I don't think a little bacon or sausage on the side would go amiss.

do you think the oat flour is vital? or could i use regular flour?

Hard to say. I've never tried it that way. The texture would be different, since there's no gluten in oats, but not necessarily bad. You might have to play with the measurements - I'm not sure wheat flour will absorb the same amount of liquid as oat.

Roberta Wilkinson wrote:I'm not sure wheat flour will absorb the same amount of liquid as oat.

do ya think it would absorb more or less?

My gut says the wheat flour would absorb less moisture, but I can't put my finger on why I think that.

I guess maybe just try it with measurements as written, and change it up next time if the batter seems too thin?

And of course, report back!

i think i'm gonna give it a go tomorrow morning!!

Our family has a Thanksgiving morning tradition of pumpkin "cloudcakes" made with pumpkin, regular flour and yogurt.
We got the recipe originally from the Chicago Tribune - see the clipping on my blog http://1500cal.com/?p=478
It probably works well with just about any shredded/pureed fruit or vegetable that will cook soft in place of the pumpkin.
Now I will have an excuse to try it with leftover squash

I just researched yesterday what to do with pumpkins, here are some links to some wonderful ideas. From fermented to pumpkin powder, to roll ups and more! I tried to post this by pasting on my android, but the form won't allow it...had to do it on my computer.


http://www.backpackingchef.com/pumpkin-pie-bark.html

http://commonsensehome.com/portable-pumpkin-pie-aka-pumpkin-leather/

http://nchfp.uga.edu/how/dry/pumpkin_seeds.html

http://prizedpetsparade.blogspot.com/2010/02/homemade-dehydrated-dog-treats.html

http://www.culturesforhealth.com/lacto-fermented-pumpkin-winter-squash-pickles-recipe

http://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=285276

http://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=335682

http://www.picklemetoo.com/2012/10/25/pumpkin-pie-kombucha/

http://www.frugalupstate.com/crafts-diy/diy-how-to-dehydrate-pumpkin/

http://ahippiewithaminivan.com/blog/dehydrated-pumpki/

http://countrytart.blogspot.com/2011/09/dried-pumpkin-chips.html

The 2 articles on dehydrating pumpkin cook it first which is not necessary. I am able to skip a lot of the steps by removing the rind from the chunks with a small cleaver and running the chunks through a potato frie slicer. Then I put the raw slices in the dehydrator. they dry to the size of a matchstick. When I want flour I put some in a blender or coffee mill and wiz it up.
I started out doing them in slices but wanted to do the flour so I changed the blade to the potato fry slicer and it made it much easier. The squash/pumpkin flower can then be added with the dry ingredients in most recipes. Bread, muffins, pancakes, soups.... I ad it to my porridge which is a mixture of seeds prepared in the coffee mill and mixed with water and cooked in a double boiler..

Roberta Wilkinson wrote:We've got some Theron squash out in the field that look like they're approaching 40 lbs, so we've got some squash to eat too.

Squash lasagna is another yummy way to use up a bunch. I mix up mashed squash with some garlic and herbs and egg and ricotta and use a creamy garlic sauce. Layers go sauce, noodle, squash, caramelized onions, walnuts, then a splash of sauce and repeat. Douse the whole thing in more sauce and some grated cheese over the top, then bake until it's hot and bubbly.

WoW!

We tried making this last fall.  We are on a primal diet so we substituted the oats with coconut flour and almond flour.  It did not work at all.  Since trying that, we learned the adjustments that need to be made using coconut flour.  I think cassava might be the way to go though for primal/paleo folks.