Mom’s Stuff:
As I was perusing facebook last night I realized how many of my friends have been going on adventures. I saw pictures of Australia and Lebanon. I communicated with a friend who has gone to live abroad for a year and I read posts written by a co-worker who is going to venture to South America in September. And all the while I thought about how we stayed in the house all day today, because tomorrow we were going to venture out to music class and the farmer’s market. Yeah, compared to my globe-trotting peers my life looks pretty boring. On the other hand, life with a toddler has it’s own little adventures. For example, a trip to the park is full of excellent side trips to pet dogs, visit other yards and follow trucks down the street. Even in the house we discover new ways to use kitchen tools as toys, and make music with various plastic and paper bags. A simple dinner of BLTs turns into a backyard adventure where we investigate the path of ladybugs and the “forest” of basil. These little adventures will tide me over until we save up for our next epic adventure as a family.
LP’s Stuff:
LP has developed a new love for kitchen “toys.” Today he found some muffin cups and pointed to the drawer with the muffin pans until I gave it to him. He then took the cups and pan into the living room and entertained himself for a while putting the cups in and out of the pan. He also has a fondness for our salad spinner, and if it is out on the counter he asks for it! LP is also getting more interested in books, both his own and ours. Today I had some cookbooks out and, when I got up from my desk, LP hopped into my chair and started flipping through “Vegan on the Cheap.” Hopefully soon he will be that enthralled with Dr. Suess!
Food:
As mentioned above we enjoyed BLTs this week with lettuce and tomatoes from our CSA box, bread from our bread machine and TOFU bacon! I have made tempeh bacon for a long time, but the G-man found a recipe for tofu bacon, so we gave it a try. It was amazing! I love me some tempeh, but I don’t think I can ever go back. The tofu got nice and crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside – perfect for BLTs with a bit of avocado added in. I used up the leftover marinade tonight with some tempeh to top our wheatberry salad. That is one of my favorite things about being vegan – marinades never go to waste!
Ingredients: Canola oil for frying Directions: 1. Pat the tofu with a clean cloth and shave it into long, thin slices with a cheese slicer or knife 2. Mix together the marinade ingredients in a shallow container. Carefully add the tofu slices to the Marinade, making sure that they are covered by the Marinade. Cover the container and refrigerate it. Let the tofu marinate for at least 8 hours, or for a few days. 3. When you are ready to cook the “Bacon”, heat a large, sturdy nonstick skillet over high heat. We used our cast iron skilled. Spray with canola oil. When the pan is hot, add some of the slices. 4. Fry the slices on both sides until golden-brown and a little crispy. Turn the slices several times as the cook. If you cool the slices in the pan, they crisp up more that way, but I just cool them on a plate and cook the next batch.Tofu Bacon
Makes about about 24 thin slices
16 ounces extra-firm tofu
Marinade:
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup tamari (soy sauce)
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons ketchup
1 tablespoon liquid smoke
1/2 tsp of sesame oil
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