Dinner Dinner, Baby Dinner: Zucchini Pancakes

my van is a little grubber. as a wee thing, he was sucking down 4 ounces of formula in the time it takes most babies to finish an ounce in a half. he eats and sleeps like a frat boy; always has. lately, however,  he has been a bit more challenging at mealtimes because he wants to feed himself.

i consulted a couple different veggie pancake/fritter type recipes and came up with these zucchini pancakes. "came up with" is kinda silly. i'm not the first person in the word to think of this or anything. it's quite easy, really. nonetheless, it's one of van's favorites and i make a variation of it about once a week. it's quick, dirties few dishes (my favorite), always gets eaten and allows the little punk to feed himself. winner winner, vanny dinner.

Zucchini Pancakes:

2 zucchini, grated
1 shallot, grated (about a tablespoon or so)
2 eggs (i get big, cage free brown eggs. if you don't, you might need 3)
6 tablespoons of flour
1 teaspoon of baking powder
a few dashes of salt and pepper

grate zucchini and shallot over a mixing bowl. add eggs, flour, baking powder, s/p and mix. don't expect batter - it's more like a bunch of goopy grated zucchini. if you end up with a big runny mess, try adding another tablespoon or two of flour. 

heat a pat of butter and a little, tiny bit of of oil in a skillet. once your butter is melted, reduce your heat a couple notches. drop a heaping tablespoon of the "batter" into the skillet. flip with a spatula after 2 minutes or so and cook the other side through.the measurements above should get you 8 - 10 little palm sized pancakes.

variations: i've made zucchini carrot pancakes and zucchini corn - both turned out great. i've also used onion when i didn't have any shallots. you could probably sub leeks too, if that's what you have on hand. adding herbs might be fun too. i bet zucchini cilantro would be good. or chives! yum.