Just a memory?

[Daniela2016]

After 552 days one is not supposed to taste smoke in their mouth, right?  Wrong, this has just happened to me.

I am drinking coffee in the living room, while mom is cleaning some Chinese Eggplant in the kitchen, around the corner from me.  I grilled the eggplant early this morning, and while drinking my coffee I feel like cigarette smoke in my mouth.

And I realized it is just a memory, the fainted smell of the grill from the kitchen combined with the coffee taste in my mouth, and puff, I think I am smoking again!

How powerful our memories still are after over one year of not smoking...

I know, I learned it here, it takes at least 2 season changes...

So for all you newbies out there, you are not alone! 

It just takes NOPE, I DON'T DO THAT ANYMORE, or whatever other mantra is your favorite to get us over the hump, the bump, whatever, over the craving...or nasty memory...or romanticizing the act of smoking...NOPE, SINAO, and I definitely DON'T DO THAT ANYMORE.

My triggers today...

[YoungAtHeart]

Recipe for Chinese Eggplant, please?

Just FYI - the change in seasons got to me the other day - even after FIVE years of being smoke free.  I actually had the "gee, a cigarette would be nice right now" thought.  Shake of the head because I know better - but there it was.

Amazing what an addiction this STILL is, isn't it?

Nancy

[JonesCarpeDiem]

"Eggplantus Remindus"

[MarilynH]

I had a thought earlier today of just one, I actually was offered a smoke and my first thought was hummmmm before saying no I quit smoking over 3 yrs ago, whew this is why vigilance is key to a lifetime of Freedom.

[Daniela2016]

Nancy YoungAtHeart‌, I am in trouble here, mom (and she taught me the same way), we pretty much cook with no recipes...

Now we are going to can a mix that can be used as a spread, a dip, side dish and we are using about:

10 pounds Chinese eggplant (you can use the normal, but we found the Chinese is more tender and sweeter than the regular eggplant) grilled, cleaned, drained in the strainer

10 pounds red Bell pepper, grilled, cleaned, drained in the strainer

5 pounds sweet onions, sauteed in about 500 mg olive oil

We grind everything (using the grinder attached to the Kitchen aid, you can also use a Food processor)

We use a large pan, and cook slowly, adding salt, pepper, 3-4 bay leaves, adding tomato sauce little by little, for about 11/2 h. 

You get to the consistency of fruit preserve.

We then can them (I just purchased 12 jars with lids from Amazon), and cover them in pillows till the next day.  We use Aspirin as preservative agent, deeming it the safest , one per jar.

I'll take a picture once we are done, sometimes tomorrow.  We have not made it in AZ, this is a first, but hubby will help make sure they are not going to last too long, so they turn bad (just because it is so warm here, but they will stay in the house, in the pantry, I don't think we are taking any risk).

If you want to make a healthy Baba Ganush, here it is, and you can replace the regular eggplant with the Chinese:

1 (1 1/2 pound) eggplant

2 cloves garlic, chopped

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 tablespoon tahini or unhulled sesame seeds (I used tahini)

1 tablespoon chopped flat leaf parsley

Serve it with raw vegetables or spread it on a veggie wrap.

Preheat oven to 400F.  Prick eggplant with a fork and place on a cookie sheet.  Bake 50 minutes, or until soft, turning occasionally.

Let eggplant cool to touch.  Peel. Put all ingredients in the food processor and puree until smooth.  Chill before serving. Enjoy!

[elvan]

I haven't had that taste but I do sometimes smell phantom cigarette smoke when there is no one around who is smoking and all of the windows are closed.  It can be so realistic.  I DO have memories of smoking, sometimes they catch me completely off guard, like when I am getting in the car to go someplace...I have turned around more than once to make sure I have "everything" but these days, "everything" is my inhaler and not cigarettes and a lighter.  Sad, huh?

[Daniela2016]

You funny Dale, do you make eggplants, if you do, do you care to share JonesCarpeDiem‌?

I just did, but we can all learn more ways of making them.

And I am sure Giulia‌ can also teach us about eggplant!

They look really funny sometimes..

[JonesCarpeDiem]

My second wife used to make eggplant parmigiana.

She would slice the eggplant 1/2" thick and then she would salt them and pack them in between paper towels to draw out the excess moisture, then dip in egg, then bread crumbs, and fry them gently until golden brown.

She would take the excess oil off with paper towels.

They were then topped with a marinara sauce and a thick slice of mozzarella and put into an oven until the cheese melted.

(removing the excess water took a considerable amount of time.)

[Daniela2016]

Yum, thank you Dale, I had it at the restaurant but never made it at home. Sounds really good!

[YoungAtHeart]

I have actually made this recipe and it is delicious and pretty easy!

[Daniela2016]

Which one Nancy, Dale's or mine?

[Giulia]

Wrong, Daniela.  I do minor plumbing, chain sawing, weed wacking, leaf blowing, mowing, minor electric but a COOK I am NOT!  I have 12 things I cook.  My husband cooks 95% of the time.  When my husband does eggplant he does it similarly to Dale's wife #2, sans the marinara sauce & mozzarella.  Just sprinkles a little grated parmesan on top. Yum!  That Baba Ganush sounds really good, as does your eggplant recipe that must feed a thousand.  lol

[elvan]

Giulia‌ I thought of you when I was watching the news this morning and they showed a clip from Trevor Noah's show...it is available on abc.com, The Daily Show 

The White House's Third Communications Director & A Chainsaw-Wielding Nun - The Daily Show with Trev... 

[Jennifer-Quit]

Sounds good - I have never cooked eggplant but may try these recipes.  I do cook Giulia‌ but I am helpless with a chainsaw -   I do not taste cigarettes Daniela2016‌ but I do smell them faintly at times when there isn't even a remote chance of one being anywhere around.  It just goes to show how powerful this addiction can be - we should all be proud that we have this whipped!

[Showiestodin]

Wow, yes 2 seasons...we CAN do this.

[Daniela2016]

Giulia, Giulia  the first recipe is for canning, it is supposed to last through the winter

[MarilynH]

Yes you can and you will.

[YoungAtHeart]

Dales'!

[Giulia]

I saw that yesterday or the day before!  Hilarious.  But pretty dumb in that outfit with the wind blowing.  Not a good 'habit' to get into.  Bad things can happen with loose flowing garments and chain saws!

[Giulia]

I thought maybe you just had a REALLY BIG FAMILY!  lol  You say you can them with "pillows" on top.  What does that mean?  And, I didn't know you needed a preservative when you canned.  I thought the canning WAS preserving them.

[shashort]

Yep I got caught off gaurd rocking on my balcony.  The cool breeze and rocking is and has been my biggest trigger. Glad we don't do that anymore Daniela.

[Daniela2016]

Well Giulia‌, please remember I was already 33 when I left the country; growing up we did not have the steamers used here to sterilize the content of cans; so we were burning our hands filling the cans with the hot content, and then we were covering them with double cellophane and instead of steaming we were keeping them at high temperatures for a while to kill the germs (it is where the pillows come in).  But just to be on the safe side we also used salicylic acid (aspirin) to prevent any bacterial growth. And it worked, no one ever got sick, and please believe me, canning was big back then (we could not get any fresh fruit or veggies other than when they were in season, and we had small freezers). And home made...everything, was way better than what we could get at the store.  Still is...

[Giulia]

So you put two layers of cellophane on the cans (glass jars?)  and then put a real "sleeping" pillow over them?  I thought maybe the pillow you were talking about was a canning 'pillow' of some kind that I've near heard of.  Believe me, I know NOTHING about canning.  I helped a friend once, many years ago, 'put up' some chutney.  I couldn't BELIEVE the amount of time it  took.  ALL DAY.  And she didn't have a pressure cooker, this was just boiling all the utensils and making sure no hands, NOTHING touched anything to keep everything sterile.  Time and time again with each new batch.  My sister (half sister - same father different mother) used to can and she used the wax seals.  I know many people probably still do that.  It never ceases to amaze me the amount of work and time it takes.  I have the utmost admiration for people who 'can'.  In whatever form.  It's a true labor of love.  I've just learned that we can freeze the string beans from our garden.  Had no idea.  Just par boil them first.  This is our first attempt, so I can't tell you how good or awful they'll taste months from now, but it sure works with the pesto I've made.  And how wonderful is it, in the middle of winter, to have a bit of summer!  It's utterly fascinating to me that you use aspirin as a preservative.  And  salicylic acid  came first from the bark of the willow tree.  What we forget is that all drugs, when you take them back to their original source, come from nature.  And who created Nature - but God.  

When we moved to the South none of the meat, especially the pork chops, tasted like they did back in our small town 100 miles north of NY City.  Why?  Because here (and probably everywhere now), they add "10% solution."  Whatever the heck that solution may be.  And if you've never tasted fresh meat without the 'solution,' if you've never tasted a string bean out of your garden (or at a farmer's market), or a tomato - you really have no idea how incredibly different and glorious fresh food tastes.  And I don't mean "organic," I simply mean fresh food.   Sorry.  Waxing on.  I wonder how long our supermarkets will offer "fresh" foods.  Guess that's why we'd better "put up" our own.  

[Daniela2016]

Yes Giulia, it is a lot of work for a small quantity we are making tomorrow (first attempt, if we like it we might do it again).

And when you are talking about the pork, I know exactly what you are saying.  I did not want to give any details here, but we "made" our pig every year, around Christmas, made all the smoked meats out of it, there was very little of the animal going to waste, we made sausages, pate, cheese-head, prosciutto (way better than what I can get here), and of course we also froze meat, so our needs were covered for many dishes through spring time.  And get this: I am on the blacklist at the agricultural dept (that his the one checking your luggage, right?), just because I was honest and declared I was bringing back sausage from Romania, as a gift to my husband.  It was not even the home made variety, it was pre-packed by the store and met all the requirements for the European community.  But the mean lady took all away from me, I almost said, go enjoy it with your family, you've never tested something so good 🙂  But I kept my mouth shut, I needed to keep flying to go home!  Every time I visit someone in my family is getting some of the meats they know I like...I always gained weight when I went to visit.  And I know what you mean when you speak about the fresh picked fruit or veggie; my mom's oldest sister had a home in the suburbs of a big city, and I spent all my summer, Christmas, and spring breaks at her home; I helped in the garden, with the chickens, feeding the pigs, tending to the flowers, and home chores.  I know how a fresh picked cherry tastes, or a little strawberry, she even grew melons (they are sold here as "Galia" variety).  Looking forward to retirement, and I'll figure out how to grow stuff in the scorching hot Arizona

[Giulia]

" I'll figure out how to grow stuff in the scorching hot Arizona "  I have NO DOUBT that you WILL!!  Wow, you made your own fresh, smoked meat.... oh my.  My mouth is watering just thinking about it!

[12Finally34]

Enjoyed reading the blogs.  I am with Guilia, I am no cook.  This summer I had every intention of cooking more.  I purchased a veggie bullit, juicer and air fry fryer.  Instead of returning everything, I took everything out of the box and put it on my self for safe keeping.  My intention was to eat healthy and I do I just don't prepare the food.  

I love going down to China town or 14th Street market.  The vegetables are fresher than in my hood.  I stopped buying so much because it would rot and go to waste.  Now, I just go down just to keep up with the routine and to enjoy the shopping better without a cigarette in my hand, ready to light up as I walk to the subway.  Today, I made an appointment with the physical therapist to help with my balance and and walking.  

Today, I celebrate 63 days of freedom

Carolyn

[elvan]

12Finally34‌ CONGRATULATIONS on 63 days of freedom.  I am not a cook either, unless I am in the mood and then I cook enough for an army so I don't have to cook again for days.  I work at my son and daughter in law's vegetarian and vegan cafe and once in a while, I will get something to take home but not often.  I am the ideal employee, I never sit down because it's too hard to get back up, and I don't take breaks.  You are doing GREAT!