a failure, with compensation

**update: i've managed to make myself look like an even bigger idiot than even i thought possible, having misread that recipe as 2-3 cups of apple cider vinegar when it turns out that the word vinegar was actually nowhere in the recipe at all and it was just supposed to be regular cider. will definitely be trying this again, minus my being an utter moron.

today i wanted to share a recipe for apple-cider braised squash with raisins and caramelized onions, because even typing the name out is making me drool a little. except then i made it, and it was all but inedible--the apple cider vinegar was wholly overpowering and literally burned the tongue to the extent of pain. we threw out a big pot of it, something which i never do since i'm so anal about wasting food, but were so sad because it looked (and sounded!) so delicious. granted, two cups of vinegar is a lot, but we used even less than the recipe suggested and still had disastrous results. i'm posting the link in case anyone else wants to have a whack at it, maybe with a blend of vinegar and wine or stock or water as your braising liquid. once my tongue recovers i'd like to try a similar braise as well.

it was not a totally failed meal, as we ate my old standby, sautéed garlicky kale with poached eggs topped with feta cheese, intended to be a "side" dish, as a main course with slices of wonderful crusty bread. for breakfast this morning, we made martha stewart's pumpkin spice pancakes (ah, she never lets us down) and they were perfect. i feel as if my blog has been carb and sugarpalooza recently, so i feel bad being so redundant, but this is worth sharing.

pumpkin spice pancakes
serves 3-4, depending on how fat you are
adapted from martha stewart
dry:

• 3/4 cup all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour (or use entirely all-purpose if it's what you have)
  
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 tbsps brown sugar
• 2 tsps baking powder
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 1 tsp ground ginger
  
• 1/4 tsp ground cloves
• 1/2 tsp allspice

wet:

• 1 cup milk (soy works fine)
  
• 1/2 cup canned pumpkin
• 1 egg
• 2 melted butter

whisk together dry ingredients in a large bowl. in a separate smaller bowl, whisk together wet ingredients. pour the wet ingredients over the dry ingredients and whisk until just combined--don't overmix as it produces tougher pancakes. a few lumps are fine.

let the batter sit for a few minutes while you heat a pat of butter over medium heat. once the skillet is hot, spoon in batter (i like 1/4 cup of batter per pancake). once they bubble slightly, flip over--these are particularly fragile, so be careful. keep finished pancakes covered with a dishtowel until all of them are fried. serve with butter and maple syrup.

note: i like to keep leftovers in the fridge in a ziplock bag (or frozen) and reheat them in a toaster oven. i've had kind of gross results with attempting to save pancake batter in the fridge for later use.