Monday, May 17, 2010

New Recipes I've worked on while NOT smoking

So, I've decided that smoking was the same experience it was on December 31 and thus, my 25 day smoking habit in April came to an abrupt halt on April 30. I am happy that the 25 day blip on the radar was just that, a blip. I am so happy to be a non-smoker again. I have been baking cheap desserts for the whole month of May to obtain and justify very refined sugars (like eating  Betty Crocker cream cheese and classic chocolate frosting on cupcakes or right out of the tubs).  Fun-dip and Haribo gummy bears are part of my smoking cessation diet, but Jeff has been cutting me off from sugar around 11pm. 

Other than Betty Crocker invading my kitchen weekly, I am actually keeping true to my resolution to try a new recipe every week. I have made Shepard's Pie (using ground beef and a DIFFERENT recipe that I used for book club years ago), a BBQ sauce and ribs,  a new Alyssa-made concoction to marinade my stir fry (absolutely a zen creation, but tasty nonetheless). The stir fry marinade ingredients were not original by any means, but the quantities were invented on the spot using ginger (fresh off the root), soy sauce, and garlic and a dash of olive oil (I don't know, but EVOO invades most of my recipes somehow).  This cooking horizon is broad and open. I have a year to see how far I can push myself and test my creative juices. I also made a sesame noodle salad with my mother's recipe which turned out well and Jeff liked it as well.

It is fun to cook when you are not smoking for so many reasons:
1.The wonderful aromas are more enticing when you can actually smell them
2. and appreciate the taste!
3.You can actually get cooking and cleaning done faster when you don't have to take frequent smoke breaks.
4. It seems a bit cleaner to cook when you are not dealing with nasty butts (even if you are constantly cleaning your hands before and after smoking which brings me back to #3 with a vengeance!).
5. At least for me, I have an enhanced appetite when I am not smoking and the rewards are actually reaped!

Friends don't let friends cook and smoke!!! COOK, don't SMOKE!!!!

1 comment:

  1. Yeah, I've started again. It's a terrible habit! I need to do more cooking and less smoking!

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