Does aroma of cooking food = happiness?

What do you think? Do you feel full before you ever sit down to eat if your home is scented by the smell of food cooking?

It seems to be the case for me. When the house is full of delicious cooking smells, I literally lose my appetite . . . that is, I feel full and happy.

Doe anyone else have experiences like that?

Small unsweetened fruit pies

Fruit pie in the summer is always a big hit around here. Last night's pies were cooked in pot pie foil pans, making individual servings.

First:
I used a boxed pie crust, adding water to the dry ingredients and mixing in a bowl, per the box instructions.

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Then I rolled out two small pie crusts for each pie -- enough to make five little two-crust pies. It turned out that I had enough pie crust mix for one extra round for a crust. That round became our only turnover. (Eleven pie crusts rounds total.)

Meanwhile, Guy sliced:
2 apples
1 peach
15 seedless red grapes (approximately)

He mixed them in a bowl with:
2 or 3 tablespoons tapioca
powdered cinnamon to taste
powdered allspice to taste
a splash of lemon juice

Then he divided the fruit mixture evenly amongst

the 6 small pie pans lined with a bottom crust.

I put on the top crusts, trimming off the excess crust overhanging the edge of the pie pans, and cut two slashes in the top of each pie for steam to escape.

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The sixth pie, with only one crust ,was treated like a turnover. After the fruit was added to the single crust lining the pan,I folded the excess crust back over the top of the filling -- sort of wrapping it up.

We cooked the pies on a cookie sheet in a 350 degree F oven.

When they start smelling great and turning brown, the pies are done -- about 20 -30 minutes, I guess.


Review:

5 forks for delicious taste and creating demand for more fruit pies!

Tortilla pizza burrito

First a disclaimer:

I truly cook to survive. It is not an interest, a passion or even an art for me. But my family must eat, and I am the designated chef (unless others are demanding equal time in the kitchen).

Several times each day I scan the shelves of the pantry and refrigerator, looking for something to serve at the next meal. I greatly appreciate those moments when other members of the household jump into the kitchen and create something new!



Kelly came up with this recipe and shopped for the ingredients for Tortilla pizza burrito. Guy assembled, cooked, and served the finished product.

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Tortilla pizza burritos are extremely versatile. Them can be eaten warm or cold. If they are heated, they can be cooked in the broiler of the oven or heated in the microwave. Guy chose to use the microwave approach to save food preparation time.

For each Tortilla pizza burrito:

• Put 1 large flour tortilla on a glass plate.

• Spread with canned tomato sauce or salsa.

• Sprinkle with plenty of freshly grated mozzarella cheese.

• If you are not a vegetarian, add a few slices of low-fat turkey pepperoni.

• If you are a vegetarian, add your favorite pizza toppings (green pepper, olives, onions, etc.)

• If you like the pizza-style look of the unfolded Tortilla pizza burrito, warm it up in the microwave for 2 and 1/2 minutes.

The tortilla pizza burrito shown above, half-eaten!

• If you prefer a burrito-style dish, fold the stuffed tortilla and heat it in the microwave for 2 and 1/2 minutes

(Special thanks -- to Mrs. K who left a comment on this blog describing how to wrap a wrap . . .!)















Delicious and surprisingly filling!

batter bread 2 and french bread

Guy followed up his amazing batter bread 1 with (what could be better?) more batter bread 2. Then he made two loaves of French bread, too.

The Batter bread 2 used the same recipe as before (from Esther H. Shanks' Mennonite Country-Style Cooking). We still have no bread loaf pans, so he cooked the Batter bread loaf in a stoneware baked-bean casserole pot. The finished shape of the loaf is beautiful, although it occurs to me that the loaf resembles a giant muffin.




Here is a photo of the giant loaf of Batter bread 2 as well as the two loaves of French bread. The French bread recipe was also from Esther H. Shanks' Mennonite Country-Style Cooking.

The French bread is decorated with slashes and poppy seeds sprinkled onto brushed-on egg whites.

The bread tastes every bit as good as it looks!

Batter bread

Guy's cooking is flourishing! He made a batch of batter bread the other day and it didn't last 12 hours in our house before it was devoured. The source of the recipe was Esther H. Shanks' Mennonite Country-Style Cookbook.

We had no loaf pans, so Guy shaped the bread onto a cookie sheet. When it came out of the oven, he made sure to spread the loaf with plenty of butter.


The resultant loaf tasted very good -- both hot and cold. Some of us ate it plain, others spread cream cheese on it.

Review:

5 forks for flavor
5 forks for presentation

Baked plum chicken delicious!

We just had our first meal of Baked plum chicken. It is really good!

I accidentally cooked it longer than I had intended -- about one and a half hours. Tasted great!

Everyone had seconds and there was concern that leftovers be available for snacking later.

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Review:

5 forks for flavor

Baked plum chicken -- In the works*

*"In the works" recipes are dishes I just made up and am cooking right now--

even as I write this blog entry.

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Half the fun of cooking is that delightful feeling of not knowing (yet) if a newly devised dish will work!

I just assembled something that I think will be tasty. It is baking right now, so here is how it is made:

• In a 9 x 13" baking dish, place:

2 pounds chicken breast, boneless and skinless (They were on sale this week!)
1 1/2 cups white rice
3 cups water
1 boy choy stalk, finely sliced
6 or 8 prunes, sliced
1 tablespoon butter or oil (omit if the chicken breast has skin)


My dilemma with this concoction was how to season it. I got out the curry powder and rediscovered the good old poultry seasoning. Opened each container and reminded myself of the flavors. Hmmmmmmmm . . . They both smell good!

I opted for the poultry seasoning this time because I think it will go with the prunes/plums better than curry powder. Maybe I will try this recipe next time with curry powder instead.

• Sprinkle with poultry seasoning.

• Bake at 350 degrees F for about an hour.

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(You can tell it is done when the chicken is not
pink inside and the rice has absorbed all the liquid.)

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I will keep you posted when I find out if the resulting meal is a success or not!