FLOUR

     I remember eating pancakes more for our evening meal when I was little, especially in the cooler months of the year.  I realized later that they were quicker to prepare and pleasing to everyone.  My mom probably liked them for being able to fill our stomachs and shorten her time in the kitchen after working all day.  After all, they do not take long to prepare.  Mix your batter.  Pour your designated amount in a hot greased skillet or on a griddle.  Wait for the bubbles to appear on the surface, then flip.  In winter they were filling and the richness from the butter and the sweet taste from the syrup made them almost sinful - like eating dessert for dinner. Yes, they are accompanied many times with bacon and I do love the combination, but I could eat just the pancakes by themselves.

Waiting for bubbles to appear

     We did not always make pancakes from scratch, however.  Let's face it, pancake mixes have been around for a good while and today they abound.  I sincerely would be hard pressed to decide on a favorite.  One has their choice of regular pancake, pancake/waffle, buttermilk, protein packed, alternative flour, whole grain, sugar free, gluten free,  and for those following a Paleo diet.
     I decided to make homemade pancakes recently.  I chose a simple recipe that included flour, salt, baking powder, egg, milk, sugar, and butter.  When baking I always try to make careful measurements, but I was a little lax when measuring out the cup and a half of flour at this time...just to see if I could tell a difference, and I couldn't.  I was accurate with the baking powder, salt, egg, and butter (I used margarine.) and was close on the sugar and milk.  Maybe pancake recipes allow for some
                                             flexibility? 

Puffy and almost ready

      I decided not to use any add-ins, despite the fact that my husband enjoys chocolate and I would lean more towards incorporating fruit or nuts.  I'm sure one could mix in both, like chocolate chips with chopped pecans.  Who am I kidding?  Of course you can!  I'm sure there are numerable combinations of ingredients for your pancake batters.  The choices of what could be introduced into the batter probably run from really sweet to extremely savory.  Sweet add-ins could be chocolate, caramel, and peanut butter.  Fruits might be strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, bananas, citrus fruit, and coconut.  Then there are pecans, walnuts, peanuts, almonds, etc.  Savory ingredients could be sweet potato, zucchini, carrot, cheese, avocado, and corn. And that's probably just for starters.
     These plain pancakes were just right for my husband and me and we had more than enough.  When they were ready, all we needed was our spread of choice and the syrup bottle.
    

& FLOWER

     I have seen photos of how some people have rooted fruits and vegetables from scraps that they did not use in their cooking.  Recently I decided to try this with two pineapple tops.  As you can see, the one in the background did not fare too well and I eventually had to toss it in my garden area, hoping it will turn into fertilizer.  The one in the foreground is still alive however, and very green on the inside of the stalk.  Who knows?  I might be able to actually start a pineapple plant!


     There are few things in this world that delight me more than seeing my bulbs re-emerge after the winter cold.  We have had a much colder winter this year, but in-between bouts of cold, there have been some mild days.  Could that be why these jonquils seemingly can't wait to show themselves?  Yes, I have seen this before.  I used to worry about the cold maybe ruining the beautiful blooms, but not anymore.  There have been a few years when some of the stems came up and blooms actually began to open way too early.  I admit I have even taken empty flower pots out to turn upside down over as many rising stems as possible.  I know...I can be goofy.  I have also covered what was already up with leaves and a light coating of mulch from the bed they were in.  The latter seems more sensible for me and basically about all I can do.  Some years I have had intermittent blooms, but the next year or so there have been no problems.  It seems that the blooms are as anxious to show themselves as we are to see them again.

Jonquil bulbs emerging

     My mom used to say that she liked pansies because of their pretty faces.  They do seem to stand up and look out as if they do indeed have faces.  Pansies are a favorite of mine, not only for this uniqueness, but also because they can be planted in early spring or late fall to provide color in your garden during the changing seasons.

Pansies