Happy Day!

I was away for about 10 days this month, and when I got back, there were two letters waiting for me.




Let me make it clear: The. Two. Best. Letters. Ever.



Making May 23, 2011, despite being the day I returned to Ottawa from a wonderful vacation out west, The. Best. Day. Ever.

pixxiefish in the sea: The Food Network Edition*

About once a month, I blog ...er, cook.



Since it was May Day, I figured I should get the monthly cooking duty over with.**

When we were at Costco the weekend before last, we bought a 3-pack of tofu. Now, we like tofu. But I think the amount of times we have cooked with tofu at home is also in the neighbourhood of 3. But! Between last night's dinner and tonight's, we are now down to only ONE block of tofu remaining :)

I found a recipe online for tofu with peanut-ginger sauce. Now I have a distinct memory of us having bought a peanut sauce a while back, but my pantry is apparently so well-organized that I couldn't find it. However, this recipe was so easy, it didn't matter.

Here's how I made it:

Sauce



I ended up making 1.5 times the amount of sauce the recipe called for, since I threw in so many more vegetables than it called for (see below). I eyeballed the .5 ...and I should have just doubled it, in retrospect (though it was still dee-lish).

• 7.5 tablespoons water
  
• 6 tablespoons natural peanut butter (recipe called for smooth but I only had chunky)
  
• 1.5 tablespoons white vinegar
  
• 3 teaspoons soy sauce (due to eyeballing, I put in almost 4)
  
• 3 teaspoons honey
  
• 3 teaspoons minced ginger
  
• 3 cloves garlic, minced

Mix all sauce ingredients in a small bowl, and set aside.


Tofu and vegetables

• 4 cups baby spinach (I used the more accurate measurement called "5 handfuls")
  
• random veggies in the fridge: sugar snap peas; baby carrots, chopped; broccoli; tomatoes;*** 1 white onion.

• 15 ounces extra-firm tofu (I used one 10.5 pack plus the remaining half of another, leftover from dinner the night before)
  
• olive oil

Drain and rinse tofu; pat dry. (I put it on paper towel on a plate and squished it under another plate. I also realize, as I look at this again, that I totally skipped the "rinse" step. Meh.) Cut into approximately 1/2-inch thick cubes.

Heat oil in wok over high heat. Add tofu and cook in a single layer, without stirring, until the pieces begin to turn golden brown on the bottom, about 5 minutes. Then stir and continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until all sides are golden brown, 5 to 7 minutes more.

Add onions and carrots. Then add green beans, spinach, and peanut sauce. Then panic that green beans were added too early, and pick them out one at a time. Once green beans completely removed, realize it is time to put them back in. Put them back in. At least the in-and-out kept you busy for 90 seconds.**** Add the other veggies.



Oh, yes - very important: Use the lid that is still too small for the wok to help steam the veggies.

Make quinoa***** to accompany on the side.




Eat, enjoy, and learn to take better photographs of food.




Makes 4 servings - yay for leftovers!

* aka "Pigs Are Flying! Julie Is Cooking!"
** This photograph is also an excuse to show off (albeit poorly) the new haircut. So! Short!
*** Yes! Me! I know! I hate tomatoes! And you know what? I didn't die!
**** And this, ladies and gentlemen, is why I don't cook on a regular basis.
***** Quinoa = my new favourite thing.

A whole lot of...

I can't tell you what this is yet. But I should be able to by Saturday. Y'know, the day this knitting project needs to be done by.

"Good evening, shoppers. There is a seniors' special in Aisle 7."

When I bought this a few weeks ago, Randal said out loud what I had been secretly fearing in my heart - that a day-of-the-week pill dispenser is what old people buy. Yup, this is now the only way I can keep track of what day it is - Tuesday: have I had my pills yet today? (Don't worry; I took this photo yesterday - yes, I know today is Wednesday.)

sigh - I'm sure Depends, dinner at 4 p.m., and people ceding their seat to me on the bus is not far behind.*


Something else to which I have resorted in my old age: liquid diets:


Yeah, OK, maybe not.

Jerome and Nadia came over the weekend before last with a bunch of things they had brought back for us from my parents' house in Toronto, and to thank them, we made cream soda ice cream floats. They were so pretty! And tasty, too. As if that needs to be pointed out.


Finally, I am now going to post what is hopefully the last photo with snow in it for this winter.**

Compare last week Tuesday with this week Tuesday:



There's hope yet, no?


* Seriously, though, I am currently on anti-coagulants for a blood clot I suffered on the flight home from Egypt (yeah, as if going to Egypt in January wasn't exciting enough on its own), and I have to take a different amount of pills most days, so in my defence, this really is the only way I can keep track. At least, that's what I will tell the social services people when they try to cart me away to a long-term care home.

** Dang. I just jinxed myself real good, didn't I?

"ALL SHALL LOVE ME AND DESPAIR---!"

Darth Vader discovers what the Emperor does all day long, sitting alone in the Death Star.

I'm sure if the Emperor had any real colour left in his skin, he'd be blushing right now.

It's beginning to look a lot like...

At least I didn't wait till Saint Paddy's Day to take the tree down this year.

No, sirree! It came down on March 13, a full 4 days earlier! (This picture, and others from the night before.)

For those of you who care to track these things, that's a full 8 days earlier than last year.

Yay me!

Oh, and you know what my reward for taking the tree down was? THIS:



Yeah, more snow. That was last Tuesday, AFTER a period of melting. This past weekend, more melting,* but then, what did today give us? You got it: MORE SNOW.

*sigh*

I hear they are looking for a law librarian in the Bahamas. ...À propos of completely nothing.

* or so I hear. I was in Toronto. It was lovely, shirt-sleeves weather there. Hey, Mom and Dad! You sure you want to move to this frozen outpost???

Be careful what you wish for...

OK, the extreme snow has sucked. But on the other hand, the extreme rain that we got overnight last night plus some heavy-duty melting today...has not led to green grass but rather, extreme wet socks and doggy paws.



Another week of Yuck, and we might be good. However, I hear it's supposed to snow again on Sunday.

After today's squooshing walk through the snow*, I'm not sure if that's actually a bad thing anymore. We could use some snow to fill in those horrid wet spots. *sigh*


* Or rather, the white substance bearing a passing resemblance to snow which actually is a front for a peculiarly Canadian springtime torture device called the Footwear Ultra-Soaker.