Come and eat me you will!

I think I may have started a Star Wars collection. I have always been a fan of the movies and have enjoyed them with my family. Several of our children know the movies line by line and not long ago I received a Star Wars PEZ dispenser set. I have never been a big PEZ eater so it was not difficult for me to maintain it in mint condition so that I can sell it for $50 less $10 shipping and $15 EBay fees in twenty years or so. However, this Christmas Kacie gave me a set of Star Wars pancake molds and a pancake batter dispenser made for neatly filling the molds and writing in script. When the kids were young I liked to cook pancakes or waffles and the pancakes usually included an apple shape or Mickey Mouse shape pancake or two. So it makes me happy that they have made the connection from those early days.

It is important to seize the opportunity to use a Christmas gift soon after it is received so everyone knows you truly appreciate it. I have never been good about that and have sometimes been asked how I like the wireless camera card that I received for a birthday at which time I would try to remember where I left it. (I did install that card after only a month of shelf time and it is pretty cool.) This morning I was determined to use my pancake molds and my Breville hot chocolate maker.


Krusteaz has a recipe for 6 to 7 pancakes and I thought that would make two sets of my Yoda, Darth Vader, and Storm Trooper set. I made the batter a little thick and ended up with only four pancakes including the Yoda I saved for Kacie and transmitted her breakfast invitation with a picture and Yoda's words "Come and eat me you will!" Kacie showed up around noon and I had already poured Irish butter over Yoda so she needed only to remove it from the refrigerator and microwave Yoda to the proper temperature.


I had finished off the other pancakes dressed in Irish butter and Log Cabin maple syrup with three strips of crispy bacon. Then I test drove the Breville. It is useful for frothing milk and making double espresso macchiato drinks. I am not a coffee drinker but I do enjoy my hot chocolate on a cold morning. I still had a bag of hot chocolate chips from O'Conaill's Chocolate Shop in Cork so I added half a cup of chips to one and one half cups of milk and made a silky smooth cup of chocolate. It worked quite well with marshmallows on top. It is important to have a good breakfast to start the day and I think I had made good progress toward balancing Buddy the Elf's four main food groups: candy, candy cane, candy corn, and syrup. At least that is true if you count a candy or two from the Christmas stocking.