The public has spoken!

It is nice to know what different type of food aromas people enjoy smelling when it comes to food cooking or baking.

Here is the total tally from last week's poll, from most to the least popular:

Cookies / brownies, baking or right out of oven: 6 people

Fresh bread baking: 4 people

Cinnamon rolls: 3 people

Bacon: 3 people
Coffee: 3 people
Garlic / onions sauteed in olive oil: 3 people
Herbs: 2 people
Wassail: 1 person
Ground beef , browning: 1 person
Homemade tomato sauce: 1 person
Seafood: 1 person

It is very obvious that baking is one of people's favorite things to either make or smell!

I will be tagging all my friends that responded to my status last week and continue to extend this exciting question as a contest.

Here are the rules to the contest. Those of you who listed a certain food listed as their favorite smell coming from the kitchen MUST link or email me the following:

1. Their favorite recipe with that food item (Original or other)
2. A recent picture of the completed recipe (You must have made it yourself!)
3. The brand used for making the product (ie: if it is coffee: used Starbucks Verona)
4. Why you chose the particular food item.

The first 3 to answer out of the 22 that responded, will be entered into the next section of the contest.

I will then make the recipe and decide who wins the SMELLS contest!

There will be a prize for winner. Looking forward seeing who responds first.

Facebook friends only......

Peanut butter-chocolate chip banana bread

Today was a particular LONG day starting out with the internet not working really well! My hunny and I planned on having company tonight so I thought I would plan something nice and quick. Mid week dinner for company gets hard, especially if one has a day job, so it was ideal for me not to make a big deal about it. I tend to obsess about the fact whether my meal is gourmet or not. I mean it always needs to be, at least for me. It is not a pressure for me but it is something I guess I have made it a goal for myself.

Along with these thoughts, I added and spoke to the Lord that I needed to do a seasonal "whole body" cleanse, getting rid of toxins and well, 1 year married-bad-eating-habit errors! I will be doing this for 2 weeks so i have set a goal to makes healthier, but gourmet meals, that do not involve so much "bad" foods or at least too much of it. White rice, butter, too many carbs, etc. I am really, through God's strength, going to need more balance in te meal planning this school year. This saying, even though my hunny got the stomach virus, I decided O would still make the meal I had planned. It was a brand new recipe and since we rescheduled with our company, I thought I might as well try it out.

I made Panko-crusted Dijon Chicken with wild rice and home-grown cherry tomato salad with red onions and yellow peppers with a balsamic vinagrette. Unfortunately I do not have a picture for that!

My company was going to bring dessert so I did not worry about that, but since we cancelled due to my hunny's stomach virus, I decided to try a NEW recipe. I had some bananas that I needed to use. In the past I would make a banana bread or banana chocolate chip cookies, but I felt inspired to make something TOTALLY different.

The recipe comes from "Visions of Sugar plums" blog. It is the Peanut butter-chocolate chip banana bread. It came out so well and look forward to trying it tonight with an espresso con panna!

Back from the dead

So it looks like after 15 months of being married that I can continue with projects that I had ONCE started! LOL. I look forward updating this new blog within this new time that God has given me with my husband. I found a funky new template with one of my favorite colors!

My intentions are the following:

• To post pictures of my creations, whether it deals with food or decor.
• To try to sell any of my creations.
• To be more open concerning life changes. We are God's creation so whether whimsical deals with things or with people around me, so be it!

I miss being back in this side of the world. Facebook has taken way too much of my time. It is time to continue journaling my experiences.