Sweet Potato Apple Spice Pancakes

I know, I know- enough with the apples and spice already! I promise you, dear readers, that next week something different will be in store, but for now I cannot think of anything but my precious Topaz apples. I stopped buying them by the kilo and started buying them by the two-kilos. I think things are getting out of hand.

This fine Sunday I had two remarkable ingredients on hand (aside from the apples, naturally). The first was this humble sweet potato, which i microwaved until it hissed and begged for mercy, and then peeled. If you're feeling classier, you can stick it in the oven the night before with your dinner.

The second was this precious stuff: a bag of whole-wheat flour gleaned from a small mill in a neighboring town. It was cheap, the people I bought it from looked appropriately friendly and agrarian, and it was tied with a piece of rainbow twine. Unless you're grinding your own, flour doesn't get much more exciting than this.

(Vegan) Sweet Potato Apple Spice Pancakes

(yields 10 large pancakes, or 15 stingy ones)

The dry stuff:

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

1/2 cup oats

pinch of salt

1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

1/2 tsp. nutmeg

2 Tbsp. brown sugar

1 tsp. baking powder

The wet stuff:

1 sweet potato, cooked, peeled, and mashed

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/4-1/2 cup non-dairy milk

The goodies:

2 1/2 smallish apples, chopped into small bits

1 1/2 tsp. fresh ginger, finely minced

1/3 -1/2 cup walnuts, chopped (optional)

Same principle as before: Mix up the dry stuff, mix up the wet stuff, then combine and stir in the goodies. Drop a bit of batter in a pan, and start looking out to flip the pancakes when your kitchen begins smelling delicious. Remove from heat when golden. Serve with maple syrup, or, if you're feeling adventurous, the finest coating of acacia honey.