BlissFullU

This morning I had one of those simple but great human experiences. After doing my morning routine upstairs in my bedroom, I came downstairs and went into the kitchen to feed and water the cats. I was immediately struck by the wonderful smells of the delicious meal I had made last night. Not to brag, but I thought my Dr. Martin Luther King meal that I described in yesterday’s blog turned out really well. I don’t think I have ever made Southern Smothered Chicken before, because I rarely make gravy or heavier sauces like that, but I really liked it. I served it over mashed potatoes, which I realized I hadn’t made in a long time…I guess I associate it more with meat, and since we’ve been having more plant-based meals lately, mashed potatoes had kind of fallen off my meal rotation. Accompanied with sauteed kale and bell peppers served with balsamic vinegar, it all added up to a lovely dinner to celebrate the memory of Dr. King.

So I thought that was such a great gift–to be brought back immediately this morning to the pleasures of last night’s dinner. That is such a specific experience that I thought there should be a word to describe it. However, I didn’t find one, either in English or any other language.

Therefore, I decided to make one up.

The first one I came up with was Reminicescents (pronounched Rem-in-NICE-scents). A play on the word “reminiscence,” it refers to pleasants smells that cause one to recall last night’s meal in a favorable way (NICE).

Then I came to wonder…why could I still smell last night’s meal? I had put the leftover food away and washed the dishes. I used skinless, boneless chick thighs, so there were no bones or skin in the trash or the the composting container. Nor had I thrown out any scraps or left them for the cats to enjoy, because I ate up everything on my plate.

Going to the sink, I realized I had left the main cooking dish, in which I had cooked the chicken, then the onions, then the gravy, then everything together, to soak as some food items had stuck to the bottom or sides of the dish. That, evidentally, was what was perfuming the room with the remnants of last night’s food.

Eventually, that led me to my second word: Resoakroma (as in Re, then Soak, then the last two syllables of (a)-ROMA). This is the more specific case of a pan being left to soak that gives off smells redolent of the food that had last been cooked.

So what say you? Which do you like better? Reminicescents or Resoakroma? Have you had that experience? Did you bring you the joy that it did to me today? Please share in the comments.

PS–As delicious as the smells are, I will not be having leftovers today since I need to make up for missing my Meatless Monday. Fortunately, this weekend I had a friend over for dinner and made rigatoni with homemade Vodka sauce that was also quite tasty–and vegetarian. So I have that for my Meatless Tuesday and I can save my Smothered Chicken leftovers for Wednesday.