Pumpkin Pancakes

For Columbus Day, here is a yummy [sort-of-healthy] Autumn recipe for orange-pumpkin pancakes.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1/4 C brown sugar
• 1 C pumpkin 
• 1 orange (both zest and juice)
• 1 egg
• ½ C yoghurt
• 1 C whole milk
• ----- 
• 3/4 C whole wheat flour
• 2 Tbs wheat germ
• 1/2 C oats (I used old fashioned, but I think steel cut may work, too)
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4-1/2 tsp nutmeg (to taste)
• dash of cloves

Mix wet ingredients well and let sit. Sift dry in ingredients (except wheat germ and oats, just add those in by themselves), fold into wet. Stir until just moist, you may need to add more milk for the correct consistency. Do not overmix. For a fun zing, add 1/2 C coarsely chopped cranberries.

Put a little butter or oil in your skillet and cook over low/medium heat. I make them by 1/4 cup-fulls  (each one is about 100 calories) and then toast a pancake or two (or three) as desired all week. They are quite tasty with yoghurt and a sprinkle of brown sugar, or syrup and butter, of course. 

In spite of the length of the ingredient list, these were very easy to make. It took less than 30 minutes for slow-poke me to put them together. It does take about an hour to cook the whole batch, but you can just make as many as you need and refrigerate the rest for the next day. If you do not have wheat germ on hand, just add more oats and call it good.

Final step: Go hiking in the Autumn sun to burn off some of the good carbs and hearty pumpkin you consumed. Perfect combination.  :) 

*Sorry for the photo qualities - since my camera took a kamikaze dive on the floor, I have to exclusively use my webcam for photos around the house.

~ Johanna