Shack-Whacky Pumpkin Pancakes

by Sharon Ledwith

Have you ever been shack-whacky? You may be familiar with other terms for this word—cabin fever or stir crazy? All of which mean the state of being restless or irritable from staying indoors or in one location for a long period. Yup, I’m sure we’ve all been there. Sometimes it happens when you’re on vacation at the cottage, and all it does is rain. Or those pesky mosquitoes or blackflies manage to keep you in your tent or trailer for hours on end. Grrr… And don't forget snowstorms when all you want to do is dream of a Caribbean vacation.

So to make a bad situation into a good one, why not indulge yourself and your crew with a hearty meal? These stick-to-your-ribs pancakes are good any season but taste best when there's a nip in the air.

Shack-Whacky Pumpkin Pancakes

Photo by Editor Bob Pixabay

1½ cups milk
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 egg
2 tbsp. vegetable oil
2 tbsp. vinegar
2 cups all-purpose flour
3 tbsp. brown sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. ground allspice
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
½ tsp. ground ginger
½ tsp .salt

Mix together milk, pumpkin, egg, oil, and vinegar in a large bowl.

Combine the remaining ingredients in a separate bowl. Gradually stir this blend into pumpkin mixture, but just enough to combine.

Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium heat. Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately ¼ cup for each pancake. Brown on both sides and serve hot, topped with your favorite brand of maple syrup.

After you’ve had your fill of pancakes and maple syrup, relax in your favorite chair, or lie back on your bed and crack open the first book in my teen psychic mystery series, Lost and Found. You may just find yourself wanting to visit Fairy Falls.

Fairy Falls was bores-ville from the get-go. Then the animals started talking...

The Fairy Falls Animal Shelter is in trouble. Money trouble. It’s up to an old calico cat named Whiskey—a shelter cat who has mastered the skill of observation—to find a new human pack leader so that their home will be saved. With the help of Nobel, the leader of the shelter dogs, the animals set out to use the ancient skill of telepathy to contact any human who bothers to listen to them. Unfortunately for fifteen-year-old Meagan Walsh, she hears them, loud and clear.

Forced to live with her Aunt Izzy in the safe and quiet town of Fairy Falls, Meagan is caught stealing and is sentenced to do community hours at the animal shelter where her aunt works. Realizing Meagan can hear her, Whiskey realizes that Meagan just might have the pack leader qualities necessary to save the animals. Avoiding Whiskey and the rest of shelter animals becomes impossible for Meagan, so she finally gives in and promises to help them. Meagan, along with her newfound friends, Reid Robertson and Natalie Knight, discover that someone in Fairy Falls is not only out to destroy the shelter, but the animals as well. Can Meagan convince her aunt and co-workers that the animals are in danger? If she fails, then all the animals’ voices will be silenced forever.

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Sharon Ledwith is the author of the middle-grade/YA time travel series, THE LAST TIMEKEEPERS, and the teen psychic mystery series, MYSTERIOUS TALES FROM FAIRY FALLS. When not writing, researching, or revising, she enjoys reading, exercising, anything arcane, and an occasional dram of scotch. Sharon lives a serene, yet busy life in a southern tourist region of Ontario, Canada, with her hubby, one spoiled yellow Labrador and a moody calico cat.

Learn more about Sharon Ledwith on her website and blog. Stay connected on Facebook and Twitter, Google+, Goodreads, and Smashwords. Look up her Amazon Author page for a list of current books. Be sure to check out THE LAST TIMEKEEPERS TIME TRAVEL SERIES Facebook page.