Susanne Wilder's pumpkin latkes

October 7, 1:28 PMPortland Food ExaminerMichelle Winner

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My friend Susanne  is one of those rare individuals that puts her own spin on everything she does. Originally  from the  Pacific Northwest , this  Cordon Bleu  "reformed"  chef (as she tells it ) styles food for print and film, and writes columns and cookbooks. As you'll see in her recipe  below she also turns a slick phrase!

" Sus" explores her passion for fresh food through organic gardening and  creating  recipes. An avid traveler she often consults for healthy food clients and eco-resorts as a guest chef on the road. 

Ms. Wilder  volunteers for the  global writers group , the International Food Wine and Travel Writers Association as  the Regional Membership Director for  Bali and Western Australia where she is based. 

Interested writers or food and travel professional associates, CVBs, hotels etc. in her region should contact Susanne for more info on joining this prestigious  collaborative  of journalists, authors and associates. She also has  Fast and Fresh Cuisine  .Click to visit for more on Sus and her recipes.

Sus says of her new gardening avocation; "I've long wanted to grow organic produce  for myself. . . to  walk outside  and . . see what's been  growing is a relishing pleasure . Then I rock back into the kitchen  to turn live foods into delightful  and delicious dishes. I've created  versions of favorite recipes with organic potatoes, parsnips, zucchini and crookneck, but as a new Aussie citizen, I am having a go with the popular pumpkin."

For our  local Portland pumpkin pickers visit any of the local farms for u-pick this season or markets  listed in the side bar for Portland food.  Many Sauvie Island and  Hillsboro farms, Olsen's in Damascus, Thompson's in  Boring, Leipold's in Boring, Baumans in Molalla/Woodburn,Bishue Family Farm in Boring  all have pumpkins and  produce available right now.

Sus's potato pumpkin Parmesan latkes

• 1 cup potatoes any variety, grated sweet potato & pumpkin, grated
• boiling water as needed
•  1/2 cup each  zucchini  & yellow squash, grated
•  1 large red onion, grated
• 2 eggs, large
• 2 tsp.  each  baking powder & salt
• 1 to 2 TBSP. all purpose flour
• 1 to 2 TBSP. parsley, minced
• grated Parmesan over each  as needed

Garnishes: sliced tomato, shaved red onion, roasted red capsicum, watercress sprigs, avocado slices

To prep: Preheat oven to 200C .( I checked with Wikipedia and this Celsius temp translates in 392F for the US- I'd go 375F-400F - you are approximating frying the latkes so oven should be hot) Grate pumpkins, squashes and potato into colander and pour boiling water over stirring gently. Alternately that may be soaked in cold water and lemon for 30 minutes to prevent browning. Drain and squeeze with hands until mostly dry. Transfer to a large bowl with remaining ingredients. Stir until smooth.

To cook: Place baking paper on cookie sheets and  spray  with PAM or use butter wrappers  to coat ( Sus save these to use this way). Shape latkes to pan in size desired( patty size as if making a hamburger is good). Bake in oven for approximately 15-20 minutes and flip over for another 5-10 minutes until golden brown. Serve nice side or first side up.

 To serve: present with garnishes of desire.

 serves:4 ( makes approx. 18 generous latkes)