House update: the stove and pancakes

Our last house was fully equipped with gas when we moved in so when we bought appliances we decided we'd get a gas stove, even though I was a bit nervous about the idea. Turned out I would love it so much I wouldn't be able to handle the idea of ever going back to an electric stove.

So when we had to buy all new appliances again this time I knew I wanted a gas stove, even though this house didn't have a gas line in the kitchen (cost a pretty penny to bring it in - WORTH EVERY PENNY!) We ended up buying a pretty basic Kenmore because my needs aren't very complex - I just want to be able to cook with gas! But it turns out this stove has a few nice features that I'm really pleased with.

1) The grills are cast iron instead of the porcelain coated kind that we had on our last stove. Porcelain is prettier... until you accidentally chip it. Then it looks like crap!! Know how I know this? Oh ya, cuz I chipped it tons of times. I can't chip these. They may scratch the bottom of my pots and pans a bit... so... don't examine the bottom of my pots and pans next time you're over, k?

2) The last stove had this little simmer burner in the middle. I didn't use it once. This stove has this long and narrow burner down the center. I wasn't sure I would use that either. Until I opened up the box that I thought had the broiling pan in it only to find a skillet thing. I take off the middle rack on the top of my store and place this baby on it and I can cook straight on the stove!!



Know what this is perfect for???
Pancakes!




This was my first time out so obviously I need to learn the intricacies of the thing... the back apparently doesn't heat quite as hot as the middle.



Tada!!! Pancakes made right on the stovetop. I love it!!



Wow. I need to work on my food presentation skills before breaking out as a star food blogger. Note to self, clean stove better, remove cutlery and extra crappy bits of pancake from the plate before taking a photo.

But they were yummy!! And in case you're ever wondering, vanilla flavoured almond milk in my favourite non-dairy replacement when baking and making pancakes.