another hot cake

what's a ho-cake anyway? (that's what i almost typed. .i think i like this as a nickname..) i think it is a corn hotcake of olden days.

because, you know, i love pancakes. i might even call myself a *connoisseur* of pancakes. i love me some breakfast, and i love me some pancakes. they need to be crispy around the edge, and not too cakey and dense in the center.

my favorite pancakes ever at a restaurant are: Alfalfa's Blueberry Buckwheat (more than a meal ~ in lovely downtown Lexington, KY), and
Cafe Bernardo's Cornmeal Pancakes (in tree-lined Midtown Sac). with their seasonal menu variations, i've not had these in awhile. they *rule*. they have inspired my personal quest to make the perfect pancake (as with the previous entry).
my mama when i was a kid would manage to magically fry smiley-faces or heartshapes into my pancakes. that always made me happy.
and Brooke makes a killer pancake with whatever happens to be in the kitchen, including bananas.
which reminds me that i have a third pancake to add to the Top list: banana pancakes from latin american countries. yum.

so here's my latest:

Winter Squash Cakes.
this was created to use up leftover or extra squash (or sweet potatoes), and eaten with a Greek Egg-Kale Scramble
(also stellar), for a dinner-time breakfast to honor our nightshift boy, mr. Sealion.

4 freerange eggs
about 1/3 cup buttermilk (from my recent butter session), or yogurt-and-water will do
the flesh of 1 (or so) roasted winter squash, very soft. (or one large roasted sweet potato; you get the idea. )
1/3 cup organic cornmeal ( i would have used polenta if i'd had it.. for that perfect texture.. ) ~ just a third-cup!
about 1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda

beat plenty of air into the eggs ~ separate out the whites and fluff 'em up if you have the time/inclination.
add the buttermilk/yogurt and squash.
stir till well combined, and large lumps are smooshed.
stir together the dry ingredients and add them to the wet.
combine till all lumps of flour are incorporated, but not much more.

fry on a medium-hot skillet in butter.
serve with cottage cheese, yogurt, or applesauce. but i venture you'll eat a few just plain!!
my family of taste-testers voted this a winner, for sure. and i have to agree.
great for any time of day. with so many eggs and so little flour, these cakes are filling and marvelous. with two bottomless-hungry boys, and me, at the table, we had only a couple leftover. i think they were just being polite..

yum!!