Cookin’ lasts

“Cookin’ lasts, kissin’ don’t,” so the old saying goes. I’m not sure that is all correct. My husband, Leonard, and I have been married going on 57 years. I think the old saying doesn’t give kissin’ enough credit.
    Be that as it may, this article is about my hobby, cooking. It wasn’t always a hobby. Like my mother before me, I cooked for years because my family needed good, nutritious, low cost food.
When our children grew up and moved on, Leonard and I tried TV dinners and other modern fare. We thought it was pretty awful. Besides, I missed my cooking. So I went back to cooking as a hobby.
In due time, most anything – even a hobby – needs variety to defeat boredom. I looked for new recipes to try. There are bazillions of new recipes. They are everywhere … in new cookbooks, on food packages, in newspapers and magazines, and on TV. Many of them are good, they certainly provide variety, but I can’t begin to try them all.
Someone else’s new recipes aren’t the only variety available. Once in a while, I get an idea new to me. Usually I wonder why I didn’t think of it years ago. I also wonder how many others have thought of it.
One of my ideas was hatched from necessity. Kids can eat most anything, and they still function well. We seniors need fiber to function well. I reasoned that if I cooked with half whole-wheat flour and half white flour, I would keep the flavor and get more fiber. I did, and I function better (if you need to know that).
We also like the taste of things cooked with half and half flour. It works well with yeast for bread and pizza dough. It makes good waffles, pancakes, and muffins.
Another idea was hatched who knows how. Everyone knows that peanut butter and chocolate go together. I decided to melt chocolate in a double boiler, dip my peanut butter cookies half way or so, and let them cool. They are good and popular with my kids and friends. I would eat more, but I have diabetes.
For my dip, I use the usual half semi-sweet chocolate chips and half butterscotch chips melted together in a double boiler. Go for it.
For information on issues related to aging, contact the Aroostook Agency on Aging at 764-3396 or 1-800-439-1789, or e-mail Info@aroostookaging.org or visit www.aroostookaging.org.