Arbitrary Zucchini Pancakes
Ferdinand de Saussure, the founding father of linguistics, might ask “What could be more arbitrary than adding zucchini to pancakes?” The arbitrariness of the sign was foundational for Saussure’s ideas of linguistic structure. Arbitrariness means that a sound such as z is free to occur in a word such as ‘zucchini’ to communicate about this delicate, under-appreciated vegetable.
Since there is nothing inherently zucchini-ish about the letter z, it is free to roam the English language and inhabit words such as zonk, zebra, and zipper. Zucchini has a similar kind of freedom, as it has been added to cookies, ratatouille, and even used for “boats”. Its mild, backstage flavor is now available for pancake-lovers.
Ingredients
| 1 cup | Flour (wheat or gluten free) |
| 1/2 cup | Quick oats |
| 1/8 cup | Sugar |
| 1 1/4 teaspoons | Baking soda |
| 1/4 teaspoon | Baking powder |
| 1/4 teaspoon | Salt |
| 1 1/4 cups | Vanilla yogurt |
| 4 tablespoons | Melted butter |
| 1 cup | Finely grated zucchini |
| 2 | Large eggs |
Steps
Toss together the dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, beat the wet ingredients until well mixed.
Gently add the dry to the wet ingredients, taking care that you don’t overmix the batter.
Generously grease a sauté
pan or nonstick skillet with butter. Drop small ladles full of batter into pan and flip when side edges look a bit dry. The underside should be golden brown.
Enjoy with maple syrup or any other topping you prefer!