Is it just me, or are there butterflies everywhere?
Maybe it’s butterfly hatching season…. that’s a technical term: butterfly hatching. Obviously.
Exhibit A: On a particularly rough day at work, a butterfly just about the size of my hand fluttered around me showing off its black, yellow and red wings. Absolutely gorgeous.
Exhibit B: Just this morning a butterfly whizzed past my nose as I rode a bike through the Oakland hills. High speed butterflying.
I don’t even need an Exhibit C, I’m tellin’ you… there’s something in the air: butterflies.
So, all of this beautiful fluttering action has lead me to, well… look for a little meaning in all of it.
I know… totally cheese ball, right? It’s just that I feel something in the air. Maybe it’s the change of season, or maybe it’s my sun sign doing God knows what to my moon sign. Who knows? I just feel a flood of change coming my way. I think that’s what all these butterflies are trying to tell me. Change is a’comin’, in more ways than I might already think. That… or it’s just butterfly hatching season. I don’t know.
In other news: I have a fridge full of zucchini and I made zucchini pancakes.
You probably know me well enough by now to understand my lengthy and well documented affection for pancakes.
That being said… these pancakes aren’t the sweet breakfast treat that you might expect from me. Think of them more like a potato pancake… the kind you might top with sour cream or apple sauce. These are the zucchini version of potato pancakes. They’re super easy to throw together and all sorts of fun to eat. I topped mine with a bit of sour cream and sweet paprika. Dinner, made so easy.
Zucchini Pancakes
makes about 18- 20 2-inch pancakes
adapted from Stephanie Gallagher
- 4 cups shredded zucchini (or a combination of shredded zucchini and shredded yellow squash)
- 1 tsp. kosher salt, divided
- 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
- 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp. baking powder
- 1 or 2 cloves garlic, minced
- a few dashes of Tabasco
- 1/4 cup onions, finely diced and grilled
- 2 Tbsp. plus 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
Grill diced onions in 2 teaspoons of olive oil until they are slightly browned and set aside.
Place zucchini and 1/2 tsp. kosher salt in a colander. Drain for ten minutes, pressing down with paper towels to push out all the excess water. You can also place shredded zucchini in a very clean dish towel to squeeze out excess water after it has sit with the salt for 10 minutes.
Whisk the remaining 1/2 tsp. salt, Tabasco, and eggs together in a large mixing bowl. Add the flour, baking powder, garlic, grilled onions and zucchini. Mix until all the ingredients are well-combined.
Place the olive oil in a large nonstick frying pan and heat over medium-high heat. When the pan is hot, drop the zucchini mixture by rounded tablespoons. Flatten gently with a fork. Cook 2 minutes or until golden brown around the edges. Flip and cook another two minutes. Remove to a plate and cover with foil to keep warm. Serve immediately.
[…] That was until I remembered that she does have some non dessert recipes in her book. I cooked her potato zucchini pancakes and I got a little creative with it and added some salmon to them for a delicious savory entree. I […]