Marlene

I really really want that fryer. My god. I did buffalo wings for the first time the other night and mostly followed this. (of course I made them before I saw this). Thanks for the walk through!

We're having crusty French bread!

At least it won't require a lot of last minute preparations! ← yeah, that's what I keep telling myself (as I run the dishwasher for the third time this morning.)

I'll check Whole Foods when I go there tomorrow. I was out of time and I used some of the anise seed that I had and crushed it. I must say my kitchen smells wonderful! The dough is resting and almost ready to shape into a french loaf. The soup is chilling. (peach that is) I've got coffee. I'm exhuasted.

I've discovered why peaches don't make it into my repetroire much. Ok, they're halved. Not pretty but they are. I figure since they are going to be pureed, they didn't need to be pretty. (I'll take note of that blanching thing for peeling next time) The French Onion soup is simmering. The peaches are roasting and the peach syrup is infusing. The dough is being made in my bread machine. (don't even start with me about the wonders of making your own bread from scratch). Susan and I were talking about what to make for dinner tonight and we agreed that soups and bread was the way to go on a night when I needed something fast and quick since Ryan and I need to be out the door for music lessons at 6:30. Fast and easy? What on earth was I thinking?! I need coffee.

Ryan loves cold soups regardless of the weather. Now here's another really dumb question. I'm supposed to halve the peaches. In case anyone hasn't noticed, it's impossible to do this with the pit in. So how do I get the pit out so I can have peach halves?

I'm going to start on the French Onion soup. Somebody help me with the peach soup and anise thing. My oven is so clean I'm afraid to use it! Of course it's also shamed me into cleaning my fridge, but that will have to be tomorrow's project, for today we cook!

Good morning all. It is sunny but rather cold today. The thermometer on my deck currently reads -9C (someone else do the conversion). I am about to make soups. I found a really nice roasted peach soup that I think Ryan will like. I do have a question though. What the heck is Star Ainse and can I use anise seed instead? I couldn't find star anise anywhere for love nor money. The recipe calls for 1 star ainse, cracked. Help! (oh and we've heard from Dave. I can't speak to his smoking or not, but he is having major connection problems.)

So, soups and bread for Susan and I tomorow at least. French Onion for Don and I. Ryan loves chilled soups so even though it's winter, any ideas?

Let's not go there. They don't make them anymore.

First, a little history. (Oh come on, bear with me). We started talking about quitting a couple of months ago. Apparently for some reason (which I'm having trouble remembering) we all thought this would be a really cool idea for a blog. Such was our innocence, our smugness. After all, how hard could this be? Hundreds of people watching us, how could we fail or at least admit that we failed? We'd be able to document our newly found sense of taste and smell. We'd be heros. Or heroines. While recently buying a car, the dealer and I got talking about smoking. I recalled that he was a heavy smoker. Imagine my surprise when he told me he'd quit a year ago, and that he had absolutely no trouble. And then he handed me a book. Allan Carr's Easy Way to Quit Smoking. He swore by it and said I would too. I took the book home and started to read. I made Dave and Susan get the book. I was excited because instinctively I understood everything this guy was trying to say. By the time it came for that last cigarette, I really truly felt I was ready. I put out my final cigarette and went to bed. That feeling of euphoria lasted about 6 hours the next day before my mind started to do battle with the rest of me. Maggie has it absolutely right. This is a mind game. And if Maggie's been smoke free for more than 5 days, she'll know exactly what I mean, because technically, her body is completely nicotine free now and there are no physical withdrawals. But that doesn't seem to matter when your mind has decided you really haven't quit after all. If you let it, it can become all consuming, so you can't think of anything else. I reveled in the fact that I could smell things, that my car smelled so fresh and clean. But all the while my mind screamed for a cigarette. You all know I've slipped some during this blog. And I continue to slip. One of the worst parts of doing this so publically, is to know you are letting people down who are rooting for you. The other worst part is how badly you can make yourself feel about that. I could lie of course. I mean, how would you know? You can't see me. And you have faith in me. Which is truly why I can't lie to you. Because you do, and your cheers and encouragement have meant far more to me than you'll ever know. But it does put an additional layer of pressure on you which can just about do you in. (and believe me, there's nothing worse than the look of (imagined) disappointment on a loved one's face when you light up). My husband is my biggest non smoking cheerleader, and I've let him down too. And then there's just trying to deal with everyday life. Homework, work, volunteering, eGullet. (the staff have been really smart and have stayed away from me recently. ) So I fall, and I get up. Each day I fall a little less, but I still fall. I was a two pack a day smoker. I've averaged three cigarettes per day since this blog started. It has made a difference, but I'm not clean. Jason asked me a while ago whether I'd had any cancer sticks. While the sentiment wasn't exactly helpful, the fact is he's right. And I know intellectually how bad this is. And everything in that book makes perfect sense to me. The problem is, my need is still overpowering my intellect. So I'll continue to cook for you and to try for you. I'll keep trying for me. We've got 5 days left. I'll be happy if I can get one of those to be completely smoke free. And the trying doesn't stop when we stop blogging. But I'm no heroine. Just so you know. (Maggie, a group hug would be just fine right about now.)

First, let's deal with the food. Since I had a mess of wings, I decided that I'd do half the batch "naked" and half the batch "floured". (what is it with me and blogs where I feel the need to experiment with fried chicken?) Neither batch was soaked. The naked wings were tossed in butter and hot sauce, while the floured wings got their spice from the spiced flour. But first, I must share with you the results of my cleaning project (have I mentioned how much I hate cleaning oven racks?) The Dacor is an awesome range, but you'd think for the price of it, they could have figured out racks that you could leave in the oven while cleaning. So we have ourselves some naked and some floured wings. (Susan, you'd be proud. I actually had to separate the wings myself. . Of course, nothing quite works for a grumpy person trying to quit smoking like that satifying whack of a cleaver) We have hot sauce: We have Sandy's famous bleu cheese dip: And we've got onions for rings. (more on these in a minute) Oh, and we have my handy new thermapen to test chicky temps with: First I did the naked wings and tossed them in the butter/hot sauce mix. And into a (clean) 300 degree oven. Then the floured wings: Now I was ready to do onion rings. I took my cue from Mr. Bittman's "How to Cook Everything. He suggests flour, cornmeal and oil. Something seemed a bit amiss to me, but what do I know about onion rings. Dutifully I tossed the rings in the flour/cornmeal mixture and fried. This produced an onion ring that was pretty much reminicent of those crispy onion strings you get in some steakhouses on top of your steak: Good, but not my idea of an onion ring. I didn't want a battered onion ring which is why I stayed away from the various beer batter recipes I came across, but something was not quite right with this picture. Quickly, I tossed together and egg/milk mixture, tossed the remaining rings in and then re floured. This produced a much better result. Where Mr. Bittman and I agree, is on the addition of some cornmeal to the flour mix. It just adds a nice bit of crunchy texture. I forgot to take a pic of the revised rings on their own, but you can see them here. Naked wings to your viewing left, floured wings to your viewing right. The verdict? Both were good, but I like "naked" wings best for that wingfest we drool for sometimes. The floured wings were like, well, fried chicken. Oh and Sandy's dip? Awesome (even if I did add a little lemon juice and white wine vinegar). The cream cheese adds a wonderful layer of richness that is normally missing from regular bleu cheese dips. Next.....confessions of a quitter.

Congrats and good luck. That broccoli gratin thing was mine and it was awesome, for something I'd never tried before. This may just be the understatement of the year. More on smoking trials and tribulations a little later. Dave is either currently buried under several cartons of cigarettes or is having computer trouble. I really need to clean up my kitchen there is grease and flour everywhere. But I did a couple of interesting experiments tonight and I'll be back to tell you about them in a bit.

I wish could say it's getting easier, it's not. You'll have to ask Daniel about those wings but I agree, they looked amazing. And doughnuts. Sigh. I never eat doughnuts, but I've had two of them so far.

Sandy, I did indeed have your bleu cheese dip in mind so I'll let you know. My oven is now sparkling including the racks and the door (have I mentioned how much I hate cleaning oven racks?). Then of course I had to have the obligatory nap. Now I'm ready to go get the lad from school and start on the wing thing. I've changed my mind and am going to wings and rings. I've never made onion rings before, and since I'll have the oil going, why not!

Ok, and we're off to another good start. I've got my oven cleaning at the moment ( I really hate cleaning the racks and oven door) and I've got coffee and a doughnut for breakfast. (No, I still haven't cleaned out my pantry. I'm avoiding it) I'm contemplating my wings for dinner. I may even get up the energy to try making potato chips. Otherwise, there's always frozen french fries. So, now I need everyone's help. I've fried chicken. But I've never really fried up a mess of chicken wings. To soak or not to soak? To flour or not to flour? I'm looking for a nice crisp wing with a bit of bite to it. In fact, I'd like them to look something like This without the bleu cheese stuffing. Tips? Suggestions? If I don't toss them in sauce, should I spice the wings before frying? I will make a blue cheese dip but also want to make a garlic dip for Ryan.

I tackled the exhaust hood the other day. I did like the fact that the covers and traps could be cleaned in the dishwasher, but I swear the previous owners never cleaned the inside of that thing once. Grease for days. Today it's the oven. Yes, self clean but of course I have to scrub the oven door because that never comes clean. I don't even want to think about my fridge.

Those were actually the Whole Foods house brand tots I believe. And yes, I could have left them in longer but again, I was in a hurry! Early band practice this morning for the lad, then I'll think about breakfast and further cooking projects.

Well since there were actually 2 boxes of those, there are 9 left. Each of us had one.

Council meeting is over which was full of fascinating discussion on next year's school calendar ( I serve on the committee for formulating it) and updates on our D.A.R.E program which is our drug awareness resistance program, (which I serve on the advisory board for). It was good to come home and indulge in a little sugar.

I had neither breakfast nor lunch today, but when I was looking for something else I spied these: I'd forgotten how greasy Munchos make your tongue feel. That didn't quite do the salty crunchy thing for me so I quickly moved on to these: These were much better at getting to want I wanted and held me till dinner. As I said, dinner was early and simple. Not being an expert in the leftover field, I winged this one. I wanted a version of an open face hot beef sandwhich that you get in restaurants sometimes. So I got the bread out: And meat: I heated up the gravy and added a little beef stock plus a cube of concentrated stock for extra flavour: Melted some butter in a skillet until it was sizzling: And added the beef and fried rapidly. (I figured how bad could anything cooked in butter be?) Layered the beef over the slice of bread and scooped gravy over top of that: Served with what else but Tater tots! (I was going to make fries, but since I've got fires planned to go with the wings tomorrow, I decided tots were a good substitute) And now to Council. I've been on this council for 10 years, and for the last 5 years, I've chaired it. I like to say that Ryan and I are both graduating this year. I always stop and pick up coffee and donuts for the group, so if I remember, I'll snag a picture of some. (well actually, I'll pick up extra for home, since Ryan sulks if Council gets donuts and he doesn't.)

I think it's a control thing for me. It's the one thing I do over which NO ONE has control! I remember a movie in which a sailor or maybe a soldier expressed this same sentiment. I don't like it but I find it fits as an explanation of why I want to stop but keep smoking - DUH! ← Anna, I think you're absolutely right. It's part of what I'm having trouble getting my head around in fact. It's a you can't tell me what to do thing, (even when they're not), my brain translates a well meaning question into an accusation.

I wish I hadn't. The constant pressure and questions of "how are you doing" (from friends and family, not you guys) drive me nuts and in fact just make me want to smoke. I told you it has a perverse reaction on me. On the other hand, reading everyone else's stories and inspirational messages here have had a good effect. So maybe it balances out.

Sorry folks. Today is catch up on housework (so my husband doesn't fire me) and catch up on eG work (so Steven doesn't fire me). I've a meeting tonight but will try to get dinner pics up before I go, which will be very simple tonight as I'm in a hurry. Oh and the hypnotist no longer practices, so I'm searching for another one.

Daniel those wings look amazing. Soaked in milk or buttermilk?