Zucchini-Blackberry Pancakes

Didn't I say I had zucchini coming out of my ears the other day?  Yes.  So today I thought I'd make a zucchini breakfast option.  With a grated yellow zucchini (although green would be fine, too) and some blackberries, and a modified whole grain pancake recipe from my own arsenal of recipes, I came up with a fairly quick and delicious morning meal.  Bonus for the fiber, vitamins and garden-freshness!





INGREDIENTS:

1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup white flour
1/3 cup ground flax seeds

1/2  tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp cloves
1 pinch nutmeg

1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

3 eggs
1/2 -3/4 cup milk (depending on the amount of zucchini)
About 1 lb of zucchini, grated, (about 2 loosely packed cups) and squeezed free of as much water as possible

1 tbsp honey

2 tsp apple cider vinegar

1 cup blackberries (fresh or frozen -- although blueberries, huckleberries, or raspberries would also be good)

DIRECTIONS:

Grate the zucchini and squeeze out as much water as possible if it's very wet.  You can also give the grated zucchini a quick saute in a hot skillet if you want to caramelize it and evaporate some of the water first, but that does add an extra few minutes of work.

Mix together dry ingredients in a large bowl, add in grated zucchini, and stir to coat with dry ingredients.

 




In a smaller bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, honey, apple cider vinegar.








 

Fold egg and milk mixture into the dry ingredients until well mixed.



Preheat skillets or griddle to about 325 F, a medium temperature, and coat well with coconut oil or butter, until it sizzles.




Pour batter into 4" diameter pancakes, and gently drop blackberries on top, evenly spread out.  Maintain a medium temperature to keep browning the bottom without scorching and helping to cook off excess moisture.  The pancakes are heavier so a tad harder to flip, but keep them sized according to your spatula and it should be easy enough.



Once flipped, let them brown and fry on the other side for a minute or two, and then lower heat to allow the pancakes to finish cooking.  They will be more moist than a traditional pancake, but the taste is good. You can also adjust the flour or flax seed a bit to keep the texture to your liking.