Per Request...Veggie Cakes!

Today, I made one of our favorite family recipes for the MOPS Steering Team meeting. It's a super healthy way of making vegetables taste amazing! Matt even liked these "Garden Pancakes" that contain a hated veggie, asparagus. I altered the recipe a tad from "The Petit Appetit Cookbook" by Lisa Barnes. If you end up trying this one out, please let me know what you think! :)

Garden Cakes

Makes about 10 (4 inch) pancakes

1 cup broccoli (it can be a mix of stems/florets)
12 asparagus spears*
1 cup (6 oz.) sliced mushrooms
1 large garlic clove, minced
1/4 cup oil
2/3 cup flour
1 tablespoon fresh dill (or sub 1/8 tsp dried)
1 egg
1/4 cup milk

Garnish: sour cream, cheddar cheese, or hummus (a combo of last 2 is our absolute favorite!)

*Trick for getting the freshest part of the asparagus...hold the base with one hand, and a little farther up stem with the other hand. Bend the asparagus to "snap" it. Where the hard, tough, bottom part meets the softer, fresher center is the natural weak point of the stem and it will break off. Some pieces will have more of the hard part than others.*

Steam the broccoli and asparagus for 4-5 minutes or until tender. Don't let the water touch the veggies!

Chop up all the veggies together well. I use my Pampered Chef Chopper for this! The idea is to get very small pieces, but not end up with mush. Next stir in the oil, flour, & dill. Add the egg and milk and mix with a wooden spoon. (Believe it or not, the wooden spoon actually makes a difference. It has something to do with chemical reactions...uh, yeah, that's it!).

Lightly coat a skillet with oil and drop the batter in 1/4 cup increments. Over medium heat, when the cakes turn light to dark brown they are done!

We LOVE to garnish these with red pepper hummus & cheddar cheese. They are a great side dish, but are definitely filling enough to even be a veggie dinner!

Enjoy! :)