My Pancake-Maker

Today I will tell a story about my pancake-maker (I should name it). My pancake maker has heated up a lot of food for me over the past two months, and I honestly don't know what I'd do without it (perhaps use TJ's microwave? You can't toast bread in a microwave, though. Nor can you make tofu with grilled cheese. Or cheese crisps to garnish the cheesy-tofu, as pictured).

My pancake-maker is by Toastmaster, and it's white and has four mini-pancake compartments. There is no on/off switch; literally 15 seconds after I plug it in, the surface is piping hot. I can plop whatever I want onto the pan, lower the lid, and let it sit there for a few minutes (or until stuff starts smoking). Sometimes, I unplug the pancake maker and leave the food there for 10 minutes, because my pancake maker cools down really slowly, so food continues to cook even though there is no electricity powering it anymore.

In the mornings, I slice bagels and let the pancake maker toast them. Other times, I sandwich in tofu meatballs, sandwiches, cookies, eggs, frozen pizza, and pancake batter (obviously). The more adventurous things I've thrown onto my pancake maker include pears, rice (tedious, unless you're cracking an egg onto it. Otherwise, it's a pain scooping the rice out),  spaghetti (bad idea -- maybe farfalle would be better, but thin spaghetti is really irksome to pick up), and collard greens.

I think this is the best thing I've bought for $1. It cranks up the heat, is easy, is fast. It was inexpensive, does everything I want, and is willing to try everything too, and it doesn't matter if it gets dirty or if pancake batter  gets plastered onto the edges. It's is reliable, loyal, and serves me well. It makes me happy. I think that out of context, I could be describing either a significant other or a prostitute.