Summer has been so much fun in the garden! We start each class learning about vegetables and then harvesting what we are going to cook with. In August we made pico de gallo in our salsa class, ginger pickled beets in our pickles class, and these green pancakes in our garden scavenger hunt class. Pancakes are almost universally loved, and this savory green pancake packs in vegetables and is as easy as putting everything in a blender. We used soy milk in the class to make them dairy free, and you could certainly use different flours as well. Flipping pancakes is the most difficult part of this recipe, so we practiced! Each kid got a piece of paper with a circle on it, a cardboard coaster, and a spatula. They practiced flipping the coasters over in the circle before they did the real thing.
The garden still has plenty to harvest through September. At the end of this month we’ll focus on whole grains, then have our apple classes, and end October with our classes featuring orange foods while we learn about beta carotene! All classes are open enrollment, and proceeds support our hunger relief efforts.
Broccoli Head Chefs (9-12 year olds)
Apples Apples Apples! – Tuesday, October 16th, 2018, 3:30-5:30pm
The Beta Carotene Monster – Tuesday, October 30th, 2018, 3:30-5:30pm
Celery Sous Chefs (5-8 year olds)
Apples Apples Apples! – Tuesday, October 9th, 2018, 4-5pm
The Beta Carotene Monster – Tuesday, October 23rd, 4-5pm
The full schedule is available on our website and Facebook events page.
Green Pancakes
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen
- 2 cups (475 ml) whole milk or soy milk
- 2 1/2 cups (325 grams) all-purpose flour
- 3 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon coarse salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1 small onion, coarsely chopped
- 10 fresh chives, snipped
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- Leaves from 10 parsley sprigs
- 5 large or 10 small Swiss chard leaves, center ribs removed, roughly chopped or ripped
- Neutral oil for the pan
To serve: Plain, thick yogurt mixed with a little lemon zest, lemon juice and salt, to taste
If you’d like to keep your finished pancakes warm while you cook them: Heat oven to 250 degrees F and line a baking sheet with foil.
Make the batter: Put everything except the Swiss chard and oil in a blender or food processor and whirl until the batter is smooth. Scrape down sides. Add chard leaves and pulse machine until they’re chopped to your desired consistency.
Cook the pancakes: Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and pour in a a bit of oil. Spoon in about 3 tablespoons batter in per pancake. Cook until browned underneath then flip, cooking on the other side until browned again. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate, and then, if you’d like to keep them warm, to the foil-lined tray in the oven.
Repeat with remaining batter. Serve with lemony yogurt or another sauce of your choice.
Do ahead: Unused batter keeps in fridge for 3 days. Finished pancakes keep in fridge for a couple days, and will freeze much longer. Separate pancakes with pieces of waxed or parchment paper so they don’t stick together.