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Dressing
3 tbsp rice wine vinegar
2 tsp sugar
2 tbsp sunflower oil
2 tsp toasted sesame oil

Yield: 4 large pancakes or I am really sorry, but I forgot to count--but I'd say at least 12, probably 14, smaller ones.

Pancakes  

1/2 small head cabbage, very thinly sliced (1 pound or 5 to 6 cups shreds) which will be easiest on a mandolin, if you have one
4 medium carrots, peeled into ribbons with a vegetable peeler
5 lacinato kale leaves, ribs removed, leaves cut into thin ribbons
4 scallions, thinly sliced on an angle
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
6 large eggs, lightly beaten
Canola, safflower or peanut oil for frying

Tangy Sauce
1/4 cup ketchup
1 1/2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce (note: this is not vegetarian)
1/4 tsp dijon mustard
1 tbsp rice cooking wine or sake
1 tsp soy sauce
1 tbsp honey (use 2 if you like a sweeter sauce)
1/8 tsp ground ginger

Make the pancakes: Toss cabbage, carrot, kale, scallions and salt together in a large bowl. Toss mixture with flour so it coats all of the vegetables. Stir in the eggs. Heat a large heavy skillet on medium-high heat. Coat the bottom with oil and heat that too.

To make a large pancake, add 1/4 of the vegetable mixture to the skillet, pressing it out into a 1/2- to 3/4-inch pancake. Gently press the pancake down flat. Cook until the edges begin to brown, about 3 minutes. 30 seconds to 1 minute later, flip the pancake with a large spatula. (If this is terrifying, you can first slide the pancake onto a plate, and, using potholders, reverse it back into the hot skillet.) Cook on the other side until the edges brown, and then again up to a minute more (you can peek to make sure the color is right underneath).

To make small pancakes, you can use tongs but I seriously find using my fingers and grabbing little piles, letting a little batter drip back into the bowl, and depositing them in piles on the skillet easier, to form 3 to 4 pancakes. Press down gently with a spatula so they flatten slightly, but no need to spread them much. Cook for 3 minutes, or until the edges brown. Flip the pancakes and cook them again until brown underneath.

Regardless of pancake size, you can keep them warm on a tray in the oven at 200 to 250 degrees until needed.

If desired, make okonomiyaki sauce: Combine all sauce ingredients in a small saucepan and let simmer for 3 to 5 minutes, until smooth and thick.

Serve pancakes with sauce and any of the other fixings listed above, from Japanese mayo to scallions and toasted sesame seeds.

Do ahead: Extra pancakes will keep in the fridge for a couple days, or can be spread on a tray in the freezer until frozen, then combined in a freezer bag to be stored until needed. Reheat on a baking sheet in a hot oven until crisp again.

Apple Zucchini Muffins

From Moosewood Restaurant New Classics

Note: This is one of my favorite cookbooks--every recipe is excellent. If you aren't familiar with the Moosewood series, check them out. The cookbooks come from the cooperatively run Moosewood Restaurant in Ithaca, New York.

1 ½ cups unbleached white flour

½ cup oat bran

1 ½ tsp baking powder

½ tsp baking soda

½ tsp ground cinnamon

¼ tsp salt

2 eggs

¾ cup plain nonfat yogurt

¾ cup brown sugar, packed

½ tsp pure vanilla extract (optional)

1 cup grated zucchini

1 cup peeled, cored, and chopped apples

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly oil the muffin tin. Place a paper liner in each cup.

In a bowl, sift together the flour, oat bran, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Stir to mix evenly.

In a separate bowl, beat the eggs. Add the yogurt, brown sugar, and the vanilla, and beat until thoroughly mixed.

With a rubber spatula, fold in the zucchini and apples. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until just blended.

Spoon about 1/3 cup of batter into each muffin cup. Bake for 15 minutes, rotate the muffin tin in the oven to ensure even baking, and continue to bake for another 10 to 15 minutes. With a paring knife inserted into a muffin comes out clean, the muffins are done.

Remove the muffins from the tin and place on a wire rack. Serve hot, warm, or at room temperature. Allow to cool completely before storing in a sealed container.

Swiss Chard Cakes with Sorrel Sauce

From Plenty by Yotam Ottolenghi

Note: I put this sauce recipe in the newsletter a few weeks ago--it is featured in Plenty with this cake recipe.

Cakes:

1 ¼ pounds Swiss chard

1/3 cup pine nuts (I rarely have pine nuts on hand, so would replace it with walnuts)

1 tbsp olive oil

4 ounces Kashkaval cheese, coarsely grated (this is Middle Eastern sheep cheese. Ottolenghi recommends Pecorino if you can't find Kashkaval.)

1 egg

6 tbsp bread crumbs

¼ tsp salt

Black pepper

Half-and-half vegetable and olive oil for frying

Sauce:

3 cups sorrel leaves

½ cup Greek yogurt

1 garlic glove, crushed

2 tbsp olive oil (or other oil)

½ tsp Dijon mustard

Salt

To make the sauce, put all of the ingredients in a food processor or a blender and blitz to a fine bright-green sauce. Taste and adjust the amount of salt. Keep in the fridge until needed.

Cut the stalks from the chard leaves. Bring a large pan of water to a boil. Add the stalks and simmer for four minutes. Then add the leaves, stir and continue simmering for three minutes. Drain the chard and allow to cool down slightly. Once cool enough to handle, squeeze as much water out of the chard as possible. You need to use both hands and be quite forceful to do this. Next, chop the leaves and stalks roughly and put in a mixing bowl.

In a small pan fry the pine nuts in the tablespoon of olive oil for a minute, or until light brown (watch out; they darken in seconds). Add the nuts and oil to the chard, followed by the cheese, egg, breadcrumbs, salt and some pepper. If the mixture is very soft and sticky you might need to add more crumbs.