Maple-Ginger Butternut Squash Pancakes

Scott and I have been craving pancakes the last few days, and tonight definitely felt like a breakfast-for-dinner kind of night. Then, when I saw this recipe for maple-ginger butternut squash, inspiration struck!

Maple-Ginger Butternut Squash Pancakes

(butternut squash puree recipe adapted from Epicurious)

• 1 small butternut squash
• 1/4 tsp. ground ginger
• 3-4 tsp. pure maple syrup
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• dash of salt
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar
• 2 cups water
• 1 egg

Preheat a 400-degree oven. Cut the butternut squash in half, remove the seeds, and put in a shallow dish. Bake in the oven for about 45 minutes (it may need more or less time, depending on the size of the squash). Let the squash cool, and then scoop out the flesh. Mash it up with a fork, and stir in the maple syrup, ginger, and cinnamon.

In a separate bowl, mix the flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Then stir in 1 cup of the butternut squash puree, the egg, and the water.

Cook the pancakes as desired (I used an electric griddle at about 350 degrees). Top with some of the maple-ginger butternut squash puree and pure maple syrup.

Yum!

Savoy Cabbage & Stewed Tomatoes

Looking for a quick and easy lunch today, I remembered this recipe that I saw recently for a tomato, shrimp and egg stir-fry. I wanted to make something similar, but I didn’t have any shrimp on hand, so I decided to make a vegetarian version. I chose to substitute savoy cabbage instead of the shrimp, since I love the combination of cabbage with tomatoes. It turned out really well; it was a great lunch for a cold and rainy day!

Savoy Cabbage and Stewed Tomatoes

• about 1/4 of a savoy cabbage, finely chopped
• 1 small leek, finely chopped
• 1 can of Italian herb stewed Roma tomatoes
• olive oil and margarine (or sesame oil, peanut oil, etc.)
• 2 eggs
• rice

Cook rice as desired.

In a cast-iron skillet, heat the oil and margarine. I used olive oil and margarine, but you could really use anything– I think that sesame oil or peanut oil would be delicious (I’ll try that next time). Saute the leeks and cabbage for a few minutes, and then add the undrained can of tomatoes. Let it simmer for a few minutes. Put the cabbage and tomato mixture into a serving bowl, and fry the eggs in the same skillet. Fill a plate with rice, and top with several spoonfuls of the tomato-cabbage mixture and the eggs. Season with salt and pepper, and enjoy!