I have organic seeds sprouting indoors, to be planted tomorrow- radish, tomato, carrot, onion, beets, and squash. Can't forget the squash. Due to soil made of granite and clay, unlike in say the Midwest I either must use brute force, hours and hours, to dig a garden spot and then add purchased soil or....make a raised garden with purchased soil. Over $100 later...I've got what I need.
Our family is trying to go more vegetarian which I'm cool with as I LOOOVE vegetables. So I had veggie sausage for breakfast but alas only ate one patty,,,bleck...but I bet into a chilequiles, burrito, or sandwich with egg, salsa, etc it would taste just fine.
For lunch, a better success and even my son likes it...TJ's kimchee rice (I hate kimchee but in rice? brilliant and delicious. More on my kimchee aversion later.) and some fried tofu. I hadn't made fried tofu in over a decade, back in my college vegetarian days. Which remind me...I got invited to my college 10 year reunion (OMG I'm old) and declined. The only grads I talk to are my hubby and our mutual BFF.
Fried Tofu:
Anyways, fried tofu is easy and versatile. It's basically..
tofu, form/extra firm, diced in kinda large, well, bite sized chunks,
and some flour
and oil.
and sauce....teriyaki, sweet chili, fish sauce-soy-lime-cilantro-chili, whatever.
Lightly coat tofu, fry in oil (not deep fry just...fry fry....) toss as cooking to golden brown on all sides, serve w/sacue of choice.
How to "fluff it up"???
Today I was going to put togarashi, that spice mix you get at some sushi places, but couldn't find it. My oil was heating so in haste, instead of making my own, I added a bit of that Emeril's bam stuff to the flour. very lightly flour your tofu chunks, and fry till golden, turning them of course. I served it with teriyaki.
And onto kimchee aversion. Think college, trip to Mexico, and dystentery aka Montezuma's Revenge. Most cases are a few days of puking your guts out, done. But rarely, you get a harsher case, worse parasites living inside you, where post-3-days of puking, you are queasy, pukey, tired. For months. For probably two months all I could keep down was water, sprite, rice porridge, rice porridge with a bit of egg (think egg drop soup with rice) and eventually, watered down ramen noodles. Everything else made me vomit. I slept from midnight to noon, then a nap from 4-6. Yay.
I had a Japanese room mate and our mutual friend, from her home-town. Either she or he, the friend, worked in the school cafeteria. On a limited budget as I was, cafeteria workers rock....you get leftovers often, for free. So here I am, trudging into my kitchenette to get some rice gruel and sprite and I open the fridge and...ack! gag! barf! I upchuck all over. Why? A 5-gallon bucket of kimchee, fermenting, uncovered, in my fridge. Ever since, kimchee and I just do not get along. But, somehow, kimchee rice works for me.
