Cake for Breakfast

Today (February 28, 2025) is National Pancake Day.  Who doesn't like pancakes?  Pancakes, like muffins, are an excuse to eat cake for breakfast.  And with pancakes it is acceptable to cover your cake in even more sugar, not to mention butter.  What's not to love?  

I wanted pancakes one day and decided to make them from scratch.  I found this recipe for Best Fluffy Pancakes from  Cafe Delites.  It sounded perfect.  I wanted fluffy pancakes, and nothing against buttermilk pancakes, but I didn't want buttermilk pancakes because every time I buy buttermilk I can only use about a forth of the bottle before I have to throw it out.  (Why can't I get small amounts of buttermilk?). So I don't like to buy buttermilk.

So I made them.  Several times in fact.  Now it is not a secret that I have little patience.  So although I knew (and the recipe said) that I should let the batter rest before I used it I didn't wait long enough the first few times.  The pancakes were still delicious, but when you have the patience to wait as long as you should they are better.  So I finally waited until I could see all the bubbles raised up and the batter
thick with them.  It will become so think that it will not be pourable.  The recipe says you can add milk but my pancakes are never round anyway so I left it thick plopped it in the pan and just spread it a little.

They are thick.  So once again my lack of patience is an issue.  You can not just crank the heat because they will start to burn before they are cooked through.  And once again waiting is a good thing.  Because if you can wait for the batter to rise correctly and for the thick pancake to cook though it is one of the fluffiest pancakes I have ever had.  (4 teaspoons of baking powder will do that.)

To finish them off you can do whatever.  Go traditional and use butter and maple syrup, or change it up with blueberry syrup (yum), jams and jellies, hazelnut chocolate spread, or anything else you like.  I'm sure it will all be good on this wonderful pancake base.

I love this recipe.  It is easy to make and delicious.  You can dress it up however you like to fit your tastes. And most of the ingredients are things you will probably have on hand.  I have made it a bunch of times and will continue to go back to it again and again.  I think you will too if you try it. 

Happy National Pancake day!!

The Ice Is Melting!!

 Today (February 27th 2025) is International Polar Bear Day! I hope that we will be able to celebrate next year as well.  And many years to come.  But the poor polar bears might not last that long. 

I did not want to go see a polar bear in person.  (They are awesome but they are also scary.)  So I read a book to celebrate instead.

A Blizzard of Polar Bears by Alice Henderson

Alex Carter has been offered a chance to study polar bears in the Canadian Arctic.  Of course, she has to go.  She loves the research and the potential to help polar bears survive.  But she quickly realizes that not everyone feels the same.  Someone is out to sabotage her research.  And then things get worse.  Will she be able to finish her study?  Will she even survive?

I really liked the way this book started out.  I was learning about polar bears and about what researchers did when they went out to study polar bears.  And there was the promise of a mystery.  I liked the descriptions of the location.  Then things started to happen and things got suspenseful.  And then things never stopped happening.  It was one thing on top of another and it went a little too far for me.  There were so many things happening to this one person in this one place and I felt like I needed a break to let one story develop before another took over, a moment when the life and death struggle stops so I can take a breath.  Then the action stops and there is a wrap up at the end that was all talking about what had already happened.  Being told about action we didn't see was a bit of a let down.  It went from nonstop action to no action within a page.  If you like animals A Blizzard of Polar Bears is fun to read.  It was not my favorite mystery novel I have ever read but I like the inclusion of wildlife and the mystery was good, so it grabbed my interest enough that I will read another in the series.

My Latest App Obsession

 

I tend to get obsessed with things.  I download something on my phone and it is everything for a while.  My latest obsession is Treat.  It is all about sending food to dogs in shelters.  Being an animal lover, I downloaded it right away.

When you first log on you are given a list of shelters across the country.  When you pick your shelter, you are given a list of a few dogs at that shelter and you get to pick again.  Then the virtual version of your dog is sent around a track.  You roll a die and he runs.  If he lands on the treat spot several times he earns a treat.  If he lands on the bowls of food or the game spots he earns kibbles toward meals.

The games can earn you kibbles faster.  You can pick your dog's picture out of a pack, teach your dog a trick or pick the healthiest snack (hint: it is not the avocado) among other things.

Is it free? Yes.  Do they try to get you to spend money? Of course.  The only thing you can do for free is send the treats you earn.  If you want to send the meals it will cost you $5.96 a month.  But that is for all the meals you can earn for as many dogs as you want to help.  I did that one.  That may make me a sucker but I couldn't look at the cute little faces of the dogs and not want to help.  You can also remote foster a dog and buy more rolls of the die.  

My favorite part is when I open the app and they tell me dogs have been adopted.  Then they show me pictures of all the adopted dogs.  it warms my heart to see the dogs who have found homes, even if they are not dogs I have been sending food.  

I feel a sense of satisfaction every time I earn food for a dog.  I makes me happy.

If you like animals, give it a try.  But be warned, it can become an addiction.