Dream ideas, and the zucchini pancake experiments
Today the hindbrain is working on a story idea I woke up with from a dream: the 'gotcha' part of the plot twist that launches towards the climax came to me full blown - from my POV I inhabited the characters (so to speak) as the key dialog exchange played out, and it was very emotionally fraught and charged, in a way I think I could convey aptly in a story. Now I am trying to tune in to the rest of the characters, setting, necessary plot developments, etc. Not sure if this is a short, or the denouement of a novel. In either case, I may actually write this one - a lot of my idea bubbles I don't develop, because they don't grab me enough or I am not engaged enough with the setting, but this one feels important, if not compelling. Although in this instance, to develop this will be a distraction from other things I need/want to do right now. We'll see. Don't need to make decisions on that front, yet - first I need to let the rest of that story come to me.
Therefore, I've been in the kitchen again to give my hindbrain time to nibble away at that and also get something useful done in the cookery zone. It's zucchini, crookneck and pickling cucumber time in our garden, and now I have another glut of green things staring at me every time I enter the kitchen. Must Deal With Them (in between the cracks of writing and doing other work). So on this last stint through, I got creative with zucchini and made a pancake thing out of them.
If you want to see what's been inspiring the Muse - and the author - this afternoon, peer behind the cut.
I posted this over in the Cooking community, but am putting it here too as part of my ongoing writing/cooking therapy experience.
~~
I'm dealing with a glut of zucchini from our garden. Here's what I'm doing with one batch of same. (See below). It's not rendered as proper recipe because I'm improvising on this one. I expect to end up with a pancake that is mostly vegetables bound with sufficient batter to give them a pancake-like shape (maybe 4-5" across).
My question: this just calls out for a topping of some sort. I'd try a fruit salsa, however, all I have are canned pears and peaches to work with (I'm on a farm with no car, so no quick trips to the store for me.) I'd like to have some toppings that are sweet, some savory. A red pepper/garlic (basically aioli) mayonnaise side comes to mind, but a little of that can go a long way. I'd prefer something one can drop in large dollops right on the pancakes themselves, with less of a fatgram burden than a mostly mayo topping. Alternatively, I'm going to experiment with a thinner batter as well, see if I can make something nearly crepe-thin that allows for becoming a roll-up. Those I'd like to dip in something like satay (which I can and probably will whip up - but what else might suit for dipping this particular flavor combo?
Ideas and suggestions about what to top these with (or dip rollups in) are very welcome. Am working on this in the kitchen right now.
By the way, if you happen to try this recipe and refine it, I'd appreciate hearing about your final results and what recipe you wound up with. thanks!
**
proto-recipe, zucchini cakes:
1 c flour, 1/4 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp salt - mix dry ingreds
+ 1/4 c oil (maybe olive oil; the flavor might complement this if savory toppings are used) + 1 egg
milk or water to make batter
stir in 1 to 2 c shredded zucchini for a sweet batch. For savory, add 1/2 c chopped green onions
Balance vegies & liquid so a thin pourable batter results
Cook in pan in light oil
UPDATE:
final proportions: 1 c zucchini, 1/4 c onion to 1 of flour/dry ingred base, mix with water for thinner rather than thicker batter. Fry til on the slightly darker side of golden brown.
The batch with the green onions in it is most flavorful - they add a wonderful complement to the zucchini taste. Flavor comes through best in the pancakes made with thinner batter. They also have the better texture - a little more crisp, offsetting the big moisture burden all that shredded zucchini has. They taste *great* with just a sprinkling of salt on top, but something like the yogurt/tzatziki sauce suggested in this thread would also work really well with these flavors and texture, I think. I have a batch of cucumbers staring at me as well. Maybe I'll give that a try on my next round through the kitchen.
Therefore, I've been in the kitchen again to give my hindbrain time to nibble away at that and also get something useful done in the cookery zone. It's zucchini, crookneck and pickling cucumber time in our garden, and now I have another glut of green things staring at me every time I enter the kitchen. Must Deal With Them (in between the cracks of writing and doing other work). So on this last stint through, I got creative with zucchini and made a pancake thing out of them.
If you want to see what's been inspiring the Muse - and the author - this afternoon, peer behind the cut.
I posted this over in the Cooking community, but am putting it here too as part of my ongoing writing/cooking therapy experience.
~~
I'm dealing with a glut of zucchini from our garden. Here's what I'm doing with one batch of same. (See below). It's not rendered as proper recipe because I'm improvising on this one. I expect to end up with a pancake that is mostly vegetables bound with sufficient batter to give them a pancake-like shape (maybe 4-5" across).
My question: this just calls out for a topping of some sort. I'd try a fruit salsa, however, all I have are canned pears and peaches to work with (I'm on a farm with no car, so no quick trips to the store for me.) I'd like to have some toppings that are sweet, some savory. A red pepper/garlic (basically aioli) mayonnaise side comes to mind, but a little of that can go a long way. I'd prefer something one can drop in large dollops right on the pancakes themselves, with less of a fatgram burden than a mostly mayo topping. Alternatively, I'm going to experiment with a thinner batter as well, see if I can make something nearly crepe-thin that allows for becoming a roll-up. Those I'd like to dip in something like satay (which I can and probably will whip up - but what else might suit for dipping this particular flavor combo?
Ideas and suggestions about what to top these with (or dip rollups in) are very welcome. Am working on this in the kitchen right now.
By the way, if you happen to try this recipe and refine it, I'd appreciate hearing about your final results and what recipe you wound up with. thanks!
**
proto-recipe, zucchini cakes:
1 c flour, 1/4 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp salt - mix dry ingreds
+ 1/4 c oil (maybe olive oil; the flavor might complement this if savory toppings are used) + 1 egg
milk or water to make batter
stir in 1 to 2 c shredded zucchini for a sweet batch. For savory, add 1/2 c chopped green onions
Balance vegies & liquid so a thin pourable batter results
Cook in pan in light oil
UPDATE:
final proportions: 1 c zucchini, 1/4 c onion to 1 of flour/dry ingred base, mix with water for thinner rather than thicker batter. Fry til on the slightly darker side of golden brown.
The batch with the green onions in it is most flavorful - they add a wonderful complement to the zucchini taste. Flavor comes through best in the pancakes made with thinner batter. They also have the better texture - a little more crisp, offsetting the big moisture burden all that shredded zucchini has. They taste *great* with just a sprinkling of salt on top, but something like the yogurt/tzatziki sauce suggested in this thread would also work really well with these flavors and texture, I think. I have a batch of cucumbers staring at me as well. Maybe I'll give that a try on my next round through the kitchen.