Zucchini Pancakes

I believe there should be something green at every meal. Breakfast can be an exception, but lunch and dinner better feature some green on the plate or I feel imbalanced and like I'm missing out on nutrition. But when I can make a breakfast that is delicious and exciting for my almost six-year-old daughter AND has something green, well, I will.

Let me introduce you to zucchini pancakes.

A short stack with a lot of yum. Quick, too!

Basically, I take pancakes, and add zucchini. It's not really rocket science, though it did make me sing a song this morning about how I feel so smart that I should work at NASA...I digress... but, good, fluffy pancakes made at home can be hard to come by....they are often thin and not quite done in the middle, and why does the first one not work as well as the rest?  All that really bums me out. Plus, when you add something that has moisture to pancakes, like zucchini,  you need to get your moisture ratio right. The last thing you want is to not love your pancakes!
To insure pancake love, you must:
1. NEVER over-mix your batter. You've met over-mixed pancakes. They are thin, difficult to flip and too wet in the middle. You know yourself if you are an over-mixer. Admit it. Move on. See step two.
2. If you are guilty of overmixing (and it's okay if you are) please leave your batter alone for a bit. Set it aside for 10 minutes, go wake up the kids, load the dishwasher, get dressed... just wait until a few bubbles begin to form on the top before you begin pancaking.
3. Properly pre-heat your skillet. If you use cast iron, this means it must be good and hot before you spoon batter into it, then spray it lightly with canola oil. If you use non-stick (which I do for pancakes) then you must pre-heat it with a very light spray of canola oil applied for a minute or two.

You will be rewarded with fluffy and tasty pancakes soon, promise!

I love when these babies are all fluffy but slightly crispy on the outside.

I never re-spray oil between pancakes. For some reason, it just works out better not to.

My little lady will eat 2 - 4 of these little ones, depending how hungry she is!

Sweetish Zucchini Pancakes
2 cups white whole wheat flour (or 1 cup WW & 1 cup AP)
3 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 cups milk of choice (rice, soy, oat, hemp) or water, or a combination you like
3 tablespoons canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups shredded zucchini

Wisk the dry ingredients in a bowl. In a measuring cup, combine the the milk, oil and vanilla. At this point, pre-heat your skillet. Add the wet to the dry ingredients, mixing a few times, then add in the zucchini. DON'T OVERMIX. See above instructions if you do.
When your skillet is hot, spoon batter onto hot skillet, taking a moment to spread it out. We use the 1/4 cup to make pancakes b/c we like little ones. Use what you like!
cook until bubbles are forming on top and the pancakes are looking dryish on the sides. Flip, cook for another minute or two. Keep in a 170º pre-heated oven until the gang is ready to chow.