I Miss Cooking

I've been so busy lately, I haven't had the opportunity and the energy to spend on my cooking the way I'd like. Susan's visit this weekend was cooking "lite" but it still afforded me the focus that I had lacked to bend my energy and time to cooking something tasty. I wanted Susan to see how I made marshmallows, so we started a batch of the yummolicious chocolate marshmallows.



A secret: I almost decided to quit making marshmallows. My sweet tooth, never very large, has been getting smaller and smaller as the years march on. Marshmallows are not difficult to make, and certainly not difficult to give away, but I had been getting a bit tired of the sugar. However, I decided to give it one more go, since I hadn't yet made chocolate marshmallows. They were so different and so challenging in different ways, I have felt a renaissance of interest. The chocolate marshmallows (recipe here, same fabulous website) have been turning out more moist than the previous flavors. That has made them less marshmallow-like and more like solid chocolate mousse. NOT a problem per se, but when you aim at something and you get something else, you'd like to know why.

After we made those, Susan and I made pasta. Another fun activity. I've had a craving for soup lately and had some defrosted chicken I needed to use. What should we make? How about chicken soup? MMMmmm! Here's what we made with: chicken stock, leftover mushrooms and cabbage, celery, carrots, and thick egg noodles.



I really would like to do this more often. I plan to find a way.