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!!!!

Grilling shrimp with the Foreman Grill and cooling down with a cucumber/jicama snack

A long time ago (when I was still in Denver), I was contemplating how I would be able to creatively cook in the RV. Creative meaning that I would try to expand my normal repertoire in a limited capacity and space. I decided to leave the crock-pot at home (since my only use including heating up nacho cheese); fortunately, I brought along the Foreman grill. I am using it for chicken so far, but hoping that shrimp would work okay. Has anyone grilled shrimp with the Foreman grill? So far, I saute the shrimp over the propane gas powered stove top. I have to find a recipe in my cookbooks to "blacken" the shrimp, but I don't think a Foreman grill will be in the instructions. I will probably experiment with this. I will keep you posted.
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As a tribute to my trip to Mexico in March with Heidi, I have been making my cucumber/jicama snacks. I bought a little bag daily from the lady across from her house on my vacation. I am mimicking the concoction as I just observed what she was putting in that magic bag. I think she used chili powder, salt and lime. I don't have chili powder, so I am using cayenne and this is how it goes:
a cucumber, cut in half and each half is cut lengthwise to create sticks
jicama, peeled and cut lengthwise to create sticks
cayenne pepper powder to taste
sea salt (it seems more flavorful for some reason rather than regular table salt) to taste
one lime squeezed (for 'juice' only)

I mix it in a ziplock bag and coat the jicama & cucumber with lime juice and spices. Tasty snack for late at night or at the beach.

ENJOY and please let me know if shrimp is feasible on the Foreman!