So our toaster oven broke a few years ago and we never replaced it. Not for any particular reason, we just never got around to it. Neither did we own a regular pop-up toaster, as we had used the toaster oven for this purpose up until its untimely demise. This put us in the amusing situation of going for years without eating a slice of toast at home – only plain bread. For my wife and I, it was something we occasionally missed, usually at breakfast time, but nothing that caused us much concern.
Our kids, however, are young enough that they have never eaten a slice of toast, bagel, or English muffin in their lives. Fast forward to the present time and we now find ourselves on vacation in beautiful Sunriver, Oregon, renting a house that has, as many American households have, a toaster. Needless to say, on our first trip to the grocery store, we purchase some of which has been denied to us for so long – English muffins. For my kids, this magical treat was something they’d never had eaten before and they couldn’t get enough. It looks like a slice of bread and yet it pops up hot and crunchy – what magic is this! They were so excited that not only did they finish the entire pack of muffins, they didn’t even think to ask for dessert as they were so enthralled with the English muffins.
Being the Dad that I am, I’m currently trying to think of what other delectable treats I can whip up for them now. Maybe I can make some exciting pastries, the like of which they’ve never experienced before. I can just hear the excitement in their voices as they cry out, “Oh, Father, do makes us another one of your magical ‘popped tarts’ again !!”