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September 23, 2021
The Vanishing Pancake
by Joey Bokor
by Joey Bokor
My girls say I'm a little strange because I like to toast leftover pancakes and waffles. I don't see what the problem is. Pop them in the toaster, and you get a crispy, golden-brown result. Nuke them for 30 seconds in the microwave and they're just steamy and soggy. Strange as they think that it is, it's always how I've warmed up my breakfast leftovers.
And I've never had a problem before. The little, upright 2-slice toaster that we have is probably 20 plus years old, hailing from our college days. It's a workhorse and has always done its job well . . . until a morning last week.
Admittedly, pancakes are a little thin and can sometimes fall off of the basket that cradles your breakfast morsels in the toaster. On this morning, a pancake did slip through the cracks. No problem, unplug the toaster and carefully retrieve with a plastic utensil.
But as I reached in to retrieve my delectably crisped pancake, it slips even further down. Like down beneath the toasting chamber. Hmmm. Then, I think, wait, there's a crumb tray, it's somehow slipped into that. Easy fix. Pull out the crumb tray and retrieve. Nope. Thwarted again. The pancake was under the crumb tray. I still figured I could shake it loose and get breakfast going.
As I tip the toaster this way and that, I can see the pancake. It's on the verge of emerging, when suddenly, taunting me in all its crispy goodness, it gracefully slides around a 90-degree angle into the sidewall of the toaster. Gone forever. Short of fully disassembling the toaster, there was no way of retrieving breakfast.
The silver lining is that now we have a fancy 4-slice toaster, perfect for our family and free of hidden pancakes. The girls looked askance at me when one of the first things I put in the new toaster was a leftover pancake. I like my breakfast the way I like it, what can I say.
Thanks to everyone who came out this past weekend and made our first in-person seminar in far too long a success. I think we got a lot of great veggie gardens up and running for the fall season. This Saturday, we'll turn our attention to that little miracle of nature that everyone loves. One of the only bugs that we willingly let into our yard: The Butterfly. We'll talk all about Butterfly Gardening in Florida and make sure that your garden is the hangout for all the neighborhood butterflies. We can't wait to see you.
And I've never had a problem before. The little, upright 2-slice toaster that we have is probably 20 plus years old, hailing from our college days. It's a workhorse and has always done its job well . . . until a morning last week.
Admittedly, pancakes are a little thin and can sometimes fall off of the basket that cradles your breakfast morsels in the toaster. On this morning, a pancake did slip through the cracks. No problem, unplug the toaster and carefully retrieve with a plastic utensil.
But as I reached in to retrieve my delectably crisped pancake, it slips even further down. Like down beneath the toasting chamber. Hmmm. Then, I think, wait, there's a crumb tray, it's somehow slipped into that. Easy fix. Pull out the crumb tray and retrieve. Nope. Thwarted again. The pancake was under the crumb tray. I still figured I could shake it loose and get breakfast going.
As I tip the toaster this way and that, I can see the pancake. It's on the verge of emerging, when suddenly, taunting me in all its crispy goodness, it gracefully slides around a 90-degree angle into the sidewall of the toaster. Gone forever. Short of fully disassembling the toaster, there was no way of retrieving breakfast.
The silver lining is that now we have a fancy 4-slice toaster, perfect for our family and free of hidden pancakes. The girls looked askance at me when one of the first things I put in the new toaster was a leftover pancake. I like my breakfast the way I like it, what can I say.
Thanks to everyone who came out this past weekend and made our first in-person seminar in far too long a success. I think we got a lot of great veggie gardens up and running for the fall season. This Saturday, we'll turn our attention to that little miracle of nature that everyone loves. One of the only bugs that we willingly let into our yard: The Butterfly. We'll talk all about Butterfly Gardening in Florida and make sure that your garden is the hangout for all the neighborhood butterflies. We can't wait to see you.
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Happy Gardening, The Kerby's Nursery Family 
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There is nothing like seeing the first butterfly of the season in your garden.
If you are new to butterfly gardening, or just want to attract as many as possible, check out the tips below and
don't forget to join us this Saturday at 10am for the Butterfly Gardening
Seminar. 1. Start with Nectar Plants - Nectar plants are food for the adult butterflies. Pentas, salvia, firecracker, firebush . . . there are so many to choose from. Before you head on to host plants like milkweed, make sure you've got plenty of flowers for the butterflies to feed on.
2. Hide Host Plants - Host plants are food for the caterpillars. Design your garden so that host plants like milkweed are hidden by other prettier plants. When caterpillars start eating, they can be voracious and you may not have much of the host plants left.
3. Don't use pesticides - on or near your butterfly garden. Even organic insecticides are intended to kill insects and, as pretty as they are, butterflies are still bugs. We often get asked about aphids and milkweed bugs. Control aphids by pruning and disposing of affected branches and leaves, or by introducing ladybugs into your butterfly garden. For milkweed bugs, it's the old flick and squish that tends to work the best.
4. Plant a variety - To attract butterflies of all shapes and sizes, plant flowers of different shapes, colors and sizes. A butterfly's feeding appendage is called a proboscis and each species has one of a slightly different size, so a variety of flowers creates the best opportunity for all types of butterflies to find food.
5. Be a little wild - Your HOA may not approve, but leaving some of your yard wild and overgrown provides shelter, wild food sources and puddling opportunities for butterflies. You'll have the most consistent butterfly populations if there are wild areas near or in your yard.
Now get out and enjoy!
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New Arrivals |
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Crotons Fall the Florida Way 10" Pot - $19.99 |
Ornamental Peppers Bright Fall Color 6" Pot - $7.99 |
Dwarf Yellow Mussaenda Color for Shade 10" Pot - $19.99 |
