Holiday baking

[Li H'Sen Chang]

Pumpkin_man,
I weight 190 pounds so I should have to lose my weigh bezause I am smoker, drinker and sometimes heavy eater. I should have to stay back to my normal weigh, like 150 pounds.

[Pumpkin_Man]

Wicher Man, I really hate to tell you this, but I too was a horendous smoker backin 'the day,' and it was when I quite smoking that I gained all the weight. I was chubby in grammer school. Then the Summer after 7th grade I started smoking. It was a supposedly "cool" thing to do. My older brother use to smoke Winston, and my other bro smoked unfiltered Lucy Strikes, so that's what I learned on. Anyway to make a long story short, I lost tons of weight when I started smoking, because smoking apperantly speeds up the matobolism. I was a growing boy at the time, so by the time I entered my Freshman year in high school, I actualy weighed a PUNY 135 pounds. Most of the GIRLS out weight me by the time Ientered high school. All through high school I weighed no more then 150 pounds. Then I slowly began to gain weight when I entered college, but I stabled our at around 198 to 204 pounts.

When I graduated college, I quite smoking. (Well, I was a 3 to 5 pack a DAY smoker of unfiltered Lucky Strikes or Winstons, so the smoking was killing me) I was successful. I quite smoking ll together. I also gained weight faster then ever as my matobolism slowed to a snails pace. By Oct of 2008 I weighed in at 387 pounds, and that's when I decided on G I bypass. The rest, as they say, is "history."

Chang, that's an interesting photo, but it's no where's near as heavy as I was at my heaviest. I would guess the weight of the person in that picture (you?) is around 210 to 215, and that's a WILD GUESS.

Mike

[Wicker Man]

I used to smoke Marlboro, Doral, Harley Davidson, Newport cigs before. Right now I am smoking Camel menthol silver. Sometimes reg Camel menthol. I do drink Heineken beers. Not so much red wine. No more whiskey for me!

[Spookymufu]

I like to cook, but I hate baking

I wish I could cook. I would prefer to be able to that over baking.

I like cooking because I dont need to exactly measure the ingredients (most times), but in Baking a little too much or too little of something can ruin the whole thing

[Murfreesboro]

Mike, it makes sense that losing weight was more difficult than quitting smoking, etc. You can avoid cigarettes, but you have to eat to live. So if you have a food "addiction" you can never get away from it. You just have to re-train yourself about eating. You've done a great job, it seems!

I do enjoy baking from time to time. Yesterday I made cranberry orange bread, but I frustrated my kids when I told them they had to wait until Christmas morning to eat it!

[Pumpkin_Man]

WickerMan, I never even knew there was such a thing as Harley Davidson cigarettes. I ride a Harley Davidson motorcycle.

Murf, I totaly agree about that. A drunk can quite drinking, a drug adict can quite takind drigs, and a cigarette smoker can quite smoking. Even a compulsive gambler can quite gambling, but we all have to eat in order to live. Losing the weight was the hardest fight I ever thought.

As for baking, I tend to try my hand at it during the long cold post Christmas Winter doldrums of Jan and Feb. I don't have any fancy recipes, though. Some times when my photo schedule isn't too busy, and I'm not worn to a frazzle, I might bring home a brownie mix and a can of pre made frosting. For giggles I might even add crushed walnuts. But it's a mix, not Culinary Excelence.

Mike

[Pumpkin56]

Hey no shame in those mixes, Mike. At least it's next to impossible to mess those up. The few times I've tried my hand at honest, made from scratch, it turned out completely disastrous. I feel like I'm pretty good at baking, but some of it has to be pre-made. Like Spooky said--it's a science

[Pumpkin_Man]

My late brother Jack tried to bake a cake from scratch once back in 'the day.' He used granulated sugar instead of powdered sugar. It was like biting into a shingle.

Mike

[Li H'Sen Chang]

I did make the monkey breads on New Year Eve and it was very good food.

[Pumpkin_Man]

I have to try out that Monkey Bread some time.

Mike

[Li H'Sen Chang]

I have to try out that Monkey Bread some time.

Mike

It very good and easy to make for even me who is not a chef at all.

[Murfreesboro]

I'm going to make Gift of the Magi bread this morning for Twelfth Night. It is basically a quick bread with lots of sweets--bananas, dates, mandarin oranges, chocolate chips, maraschino cherries. I am omitting the coconut and almonds because my daughter doesn't like them.

[ancient whitelighter]

Boy Murf, that sounds nice! I would love a slice of that right now with my coffee

[Murfreesboro]

Yes, I have two loaves cooling on wire racks now. They smell good!

[Pumpkin_Man]

Murf, that sounds great, and I would also love a slice. You should post that to the Halloween Recipes message board. I might even try my hand at baking some, all though it would be out of touch with the season. You might want to call it Halloween fruit bread or something.

Mike