Easter Treats: Pancakes and Scones

Happy Easter Monday! Despite temperatures in the 30s and 40s (yes, I saw snow flurries Easter morning), warmer weather was definitely on everyone's mind as evidenced by some of the dishes we had over the weekend. Yes, there was lamb. Yes, there was ham. But we also enjoyed zucchini pancakes, as published in The New York Times Temporary Vegetarian column. I prepped everything ahead of time -- dry ingredients in one bowl, wet ingredients in another, shredded zucchini draining in a colander -- and mixed the batter right before frying. A double batch easily made 30 smallish pancakes with batter remaining (which I used the next day with fine results). Served with a dollop of garlicky cucumber yogurt salad (subbing dill for the cilantro and Penzey's Greek seasoning for Penzey's Turkish seasoning), it was a perfect appetizer: flavorful, light and something you could eat with your hands! A visit home also meant a visit to the local warehouse club store, and the opportunity to score fresh berries at reasonable prices, albeit a heavy carbon footprint. However, thrown into a scone mix from Orangette, by way of Everybody Likes Sandwiches, the results were worth it: barely sweet, the dense, biscuit-like dough was a great vehicle for the juicy blackberries and strawberries. Sprinkled with some cinnamon sugar, these scones and a cup of tea made a great pre-Easter mass breakfast...and post-mass breakfast II...and afternoon snack. Note to self: when berries are back in season at the Green Market, double the recipe!