Friday, June 15, 2007

Snippets

* We want to add a dinner to our repertoire that centers on Tofu. The only non-meat/chicken/pork/fish dinner we make is soup. We'll be needing a super easy yet highly delicious recipe to get our toes wet.

* I was so clipped during The Goblet of Fire when one of the foreign kids mispronounced Hermione's name. "It's Her-my-own-ee, not Her-mee-own," she corrected. It had always been Her-mee-own in my head until that point. In the movies, it sounds to me like Her-my-knee, but I figured that was a British pronunciation.

* Yesterday, Lyvvie talked freely about Dumbledore's upcoming death in the 6th book. Dangit! I'm not done with the 5th book.

* The cruise director of the ship we're sailing next year has a blog. I discovered this yesterday. Every post is a teaser. After a couple months, the blog has skyrocketed in popularity.

* Chicken nuggets always make me think of rabbit pellets. Sometimes it reminds me of Rebekah's long ago dog "Nugget".

* Why has "avoiding conflict" become a negative trait. "Pacifist!" Somehow, the far right, who so successfully made "liberal" a nasty word, has now made pacifist (literally someone seeking peace) a bad word too. I don't know, if we were all a bit more pacifist than antagonist, the world might simmer down.

* The word "rump" has always tickled me. Started as a kid when we would snicker about "rump roast". The other day, my student detailed a fall he had had, "I fell down on my rump." So much funnier than butt.

* Purchases we are delaying to take a cruise: automobile, flat-screen tv, laptop, summer road-trip.
* Our orchid bloomed!

24 comments:

Anonymous said...

- At the 'Strom it's definitely thumbs down on tofu. Sorry.
- Hmmm, I grew up with "Her-my-own-ee". Never heard the other.
- If someone calls me "liberal" or "pacifist", I respond, "Yeah? So what? I am a liberal and I am a pacifist. Wanna make something of it?" ;)
(It's time we reclaimed words in our language and refuse to allow or to buy into the negative connotations.)

Doug said...

The far right has a knack for rallying their troops with the lowest of human emotions.

dpaste said...

If someone has a problem with me being a pacifist, I will kick their f-ing ass.

I don't have any formal tofu recipes, but a stir fry is always a great way to incorporate it. I'd recommend you buy the firmest type of tofu you can find if you are unaccustomed to cooking with it or eating it. Softer kinds might be off-putting. Cube the tofu, add your favorite vegetables, cook everything in a little sesame oil and use a black bean sauce to flavor it.

Doesn't sound like any of the purchases you are deferring for the cruise are that important. You'll be fine.

bardelf said...

David and I are on the same wave length today. LOL I was also going to suggest a stir fry with tofu. It's an easy way to enjoy it. Ditto to everything David says about preparing it.

Beautiful orchid.

Okay, better get my rump in gear and get busy here.
Enjoy your weekend!

Anonymous said...

I've never had Tofu so can't help there. The Moth Orchid is B -Yoot EE -full! Just paint a few more Meters and you can have it all. Have a great weekend guys.

vuboq said...

I made this recipe for a non-vegetarian once, and he really liked it: Vegetarian Fried Tofu with Garlic and Black Pepper (Dofu Gratium Prik Thai).

Let me know if you need any more tofu cooking idea. I have loads.

Chunks said...

Sorry to hear about your Harry Potter disappointments! :)

I love the ceiling fan you have! It's wild!

No summer road trip? I still laugh every time I think of Serge talking about the fucking tidal bore. HAH!

Lacey said...

Tofu NO-EGG Salad:
Drain firm tofu on a plate, with other plate on top of it, for about 15 min. Chop it up, just like you would eggs if you were making egg salad. A little minced celery, a touch of minced onion, some mayo, and 1/2 tsp turmeric, and Voilla (that's VO, ILLA). Maybe a bit of salt and pepper. Some nice Sunflower bread, or whole wheat slices,,,yummy sandwiches. I've actually served this and passed it off as egg salad. Love me some tofu. You can also, again, drain it, and cut in long strips like french fries, and then saute in a touch of butter and a splash of soy sauce, preferably in a non stick fry pan...tofu french fries. YUM. Then there's Tofu chili...well, the list goes on and on. Do you have any of the Moosewood Cookbooks? you can usually find them for cheap on EBAY. blah blah blah.

Lovely orchid.

Well, I best get moving here. My boss is a total rumphole.

Limecrete said...

The orchid is beautiful, but it looks like the one towards the bottom of the picture is about to attack us.

Take cover!

Anonymous said...

I mispronounced her name too.

I have a good tofu shepard's pie recipe. It's a tiny bit fussy though. But really, really good.

It's sort of a miracle you made it this far without hearing about Dumbledore's death. Now you know why I despise the author.

Anonymous said...

I know a couple of people have already suggested tofu, but if you're worried about the texture, get the extra firm kind and freeze and thaw it, then put it between a few paper towels and put something heavy on top to drain it. You end up with a reasonably chewy texture.
Our favorite stir fry:
Cube tofu. Mix into a sauce of black bean hot sauce, hoisin sauce, plum sauce, and chili oil. Fry tofu until the sauce is sticking to the tofu. Add mushrooms, bamboo shoots, baby corn, broccoli, and whatever other veggies sound good. Cook until heated through (or until veggies are done to your taste) and serve over cooked rice.
You end up with the taste of the sauce on the tofu, but you also get the flavors and textures of the veggies.

Patricia said...

i make this cheesy tofu dip:

8 oz soft tofu, mashed
3 T crumbled gorganzola
3 T finely chopped walnuts
1 thinly sliced green onion (use only the top, not the white)
1/4 c sour cream
salt to taste
pepper sauce or cayenne to taste

stir together and serve with apple wedges, pretzels, sesame flatbread

your orchid is beautiful. i've never had the courage to try. have a lovely, meter painting weekend.

GayProf said...

Your orchid impresses me.

I enjoy eating tofu dishes, but have no recipes to share.

Mark in DE said...

Torn, torn, torn... there are FAR better meatless dishes you can serve than Tofu. Try www.foodTV.com and then search 'vegetarian'. I've seen lots of meatless recipes that looks super-tasty.

I have always heard Hermione pronounced Her-my-knee. When I was in Wal-Mart last evening I saw an ad for the 6th Harry Potter book, which is due to come out next month I believe, and I thought of you. I've never had an interest in any of the HP books or films.

mainja said...

If you want to have meat substitute meals I highly reccomend Yves Veggie just like ground.

http://www.yvesveggie.ca/index.php

They're 'italian' makes AMAZING spaghetti sauce. I also often make tacos out of this, which is great, it doesn't leave that greasy lump.

Basically anything you make with ground beef you can use this for a higher fiber lower fat version. I do shepherd's pie, spaghetti, chili (although, this is easy to do sans meat too), tacos etc. I bet it would make good hamburger helper too, if you were okay with the salt in the hamburger helper.

Snooze said...

So much for me wanting to start the Harry Potter series...

I agree with starting with firm tofu and I like tofu in a miso soup. That's pretty easy to start with.

bardelf said...

Oh, don't fret, my dear, about hearing of Dumbledore's upcoming demise. Not everything is as it appears. : )

Scottsdale Girl said...

*Gasp* that orchid is GAWGEOUS!

Sh@ney said...

Nice Bloom!
Bet ya rump it's her-my-own-ee!
I wont eat Chicken Nuggets again!
Your a bad boy - I like it!

A Bear in the Woods said...

The right has completely co-opted the language of public discourse. In education, the talk is all about narrowing the achievement gap, whereas once we spoke about ensuring that minorities and the poor had equal educational opportunity.
It's all code talk for helping people less and demanding more from them.
Your orchid is breathtaking.

r said...

This is one of my signature dishes. I got it from a box of Couscous:

Casablanca Couscous

1 c. couscous
1 c. sliced carrots
1.5 c. water
1 c. sliced celery
1.5 lb. tofu, cubed
1 can chickpeas
1 can tomato sauce
1/2 c. raisins
1 onion, chopped
2 tsp. curry powder
1 c. sliced mushrooms
1/4 tsp.cayenne
1/2 c. chopped walnut (I use almonds)
1 tsp. ea. paprika, salt

Vegetable mixture:
In large pan, brown tofu, onion, carrots, celery, mushrooms, nuts in 3 T. oil.
Add remaining ingredients, bring to boil, cover and simmer for 40 minutes.
Couscous:
Boil 1.5 c. water with 2 T. oil.
Pour over couscous, stir, cover, let stand for 5 min. or until water is absorbed.

Serve vegetables over steaming couscous.



Easy, and yummy.

Anonymous said...

I'm sorry to hear you found out about Dumbledore's death before you actually had a chance to read the sixth Harry Potter book for yourself. If it's any consolation, I had that same plot point ruined for me, too: I was about to start reading the sixth book myself when an episode of 'The Simpsons' I happened to watch one night lampooned some of its major plot points. D'oh!

Oh well...there's always book seven, eh torn? :)

bob said...

Darlings, Dumbledore is so not dead. He and Snape have a craftily concocted plan.

Now then, where's my "I STILL BELIEVE IN SNAPE" t-shirt.

You should hurry and catch up ... it'll be impossible not to hear the ending of the series come next month.

A shame Harry snuffs it in the last book though. ;-)

(actually I have a theory ...)

mainja said...

bob - Harry has to die in the last book. That's the only way it will actually be the last book. Otherwise somehow, somewhere, someone will manage to overtake the series and start writing post-hogwarts Harry Potter books.