Pumpkin Pancakes

Eating seasonal food, fresh seasonal foods, is one of my favorite things about Fall. I have yet to find a squash I didn't like or a way to fix it.....ok, I'm not terribly fond of overcooked, watery squash. But then again, I'm not fond of anything overcooked. Winter squashes come in a variety of colors and color is good for you when it comes to food...and in my case, sanity. Gotta have color in my world.

Squash's cousin, pumpkin, is another fav. I saw on the news where the pumpkin crop is not going to be as good this year, consequently, less available and more pricey. They suggested you buy canned pumpkin while you can find it because it might get harder to find closer to the holidays. I did just that, bought two can of plain pumpkin puree for the pantry. I'll get more when I go next because my mind keeps thinking of new ways to use it. I wanted to make pumpkin pancakes this morning. SO... I did. I figured there was a recipe out there somewhere for it and sure enough, you can find several. I was on Everyday Foods website to get a turkey meatloaf recipe I saw made on the PBS show, so I just looked to see what Ole' Martha Stewart had to offer.

Pumpkin Pancakes

For a spiced breakfast treat, whisk 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour; 2 tablespoons sugar; 2 teaspoons baking powder; 1/2 teaspoon each cinnamon, ground ginger, and salt; 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg; and a pinch of ground cloves. In a separate bowl, stir together 1 cup milk, 6 tablespoons canned pumpkin puree, 2 tablespoons melted butter, and 1 egg; fold mixture into dry ingredients. Melt some butter in a skillet over medium heat; pour in 1/4 cup batter for each pancake. Cook pancakes about 3 minutes per side; serve with butter and syrup. Makes 8 to10

I tweaked it a bit....I used a 1/3 measure cup instead of the 1/4. I prefer larger pancakes than the 1/4 make. I thought 6 tablespoons was not going to be enough pumpkin but it was. A little more couldn't hurt, just add a bit more milk to get the consistency you prefer for your batter. These were high rising, fluffy pancakes tho the pumpkin makes them a little dense. My Honey had butter and molasses on his, I used Agave Nectar. It's better for diabetics. I must say, these pancakes were a treat! They will be a weekend favorite. But, it does leave you with a large can of pumpkin to use up. Music to my ears!

Next time I'll share the Turkey meatloaf recipe. I made that for dinner last night and it was awesome. Eat well, be happy.

Portabella Ravioli with Spicy Garlic Sauce

Hey there....no, I didn't fall off the earth, just cocooned till Book 1 was finished and...Ta-Da...it's finished! It is with the first read editors. This is a big step, it was like turning over my newborn. Thankfully, I have faith and trust in both, so I know they will do their job of editing and still take care of my baby!! Tomorrow, I start writing Book 2 in the series. I have my outline in place, some research done and I'm eager to start.

So, I've got a new Tweaked Recipe for you. This is a take on a recipe I saw on Lidia's Italy...tweaked, of course! My Go-To staple, Portabella Mushroom Ravioli, makes the base of this simple mouth tingling delight.

I used a heavy cast iron skillet for the sauce and a tall pot of boiling water to start the ravioli.

Portabella Ravioli with Spicy Garlic Sauce
1 bag HEB brand of Portabella Mushroom Ravioli (can use ravioli or pasta of choice) $2.50
4 healthy sized cloves of garlic sliced, not too thin, not too fat
ground hot peppers - I used 1 hot, 1 med & 1 kind of sweet pepper, all dried, ground in coffee grinder
salt & pepper to taste
1 to 1-1/2 Tablespoons olive oil

Bring water almost to boil meanwhile warm a dry skillet over flame. Once water is boiling, drop ravioli in. Immediately put oil in skillet, when shimmering, add sliced garlic to toast over medium low heat. Watch garlic carefully, it gets bitter if burned and it burns easily. It only takes a few minutes, it's worth standing over. When garlic is starting to turn golden, add ground hot peppers - 1 1/2 to 2 teaspoons, and toast together with garlic gently for a minute. Add salted pasta water, 1 ladle full at a time for a total of 3 or 4, depending on size of ladle. Turn heat to medium. This cooks down to make sauce. When Ravioli is about 1/2 done, transfer with slotted spoon into simmering sauce, it finishes cooking in sauce as it reduces. Salt & pepper to taste.

This is simple, easy, quick, cheap and makes your mouth do the happy dance. I will add a bit more ground hot peppers next time, and there WILL be a next time, because we like spicy hot stuff. It was satisfying on it's own, so I didn't add a side dish. Dried peppers in the market are cheap, so do not go with the bottled stuff if you can get around it. A pepper plant in a pot will give you a lot of peppers to dry and use throughout the year. The three peppers I used made enough ground leftovers I could make the dish 2-3 more times without needing to grind more. It's in a ziplock bag in the spice drawer, will keep nicely.

P.S. You can clean your coffee grinder after chilis by grinding up a piece of bread, works like a charm! I didn't have bread, so I put in  handful of flour, whirled it around a bit and then wiped it out. That worked well, too.

Let me know if you try it. Seriously, this was incredibly easy & fast. Budget friendly, too!