Sick day.

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Today we are having a sick day – Stella and I. Maybe it was the persistent smokers hack she has developed, or the fact that her nose is running like a rocky mountain stream of snot, or the fact that she hasn’t eaten more than three and a half bites of food in the last 36 hours, but my finely tuned maternal instincts honed right in on her needs and here we are.

When she is sick it is a strange juxtaposition of feelings because I don’t ever, Ever, EVER want her to have to suffer like this but oddly, the change in her demeanor – to sweet and helpless – causes me to briefly consider keeping her in this incapacitated state forever. Her ability to be this cuddly and needy is a brief glimpse into how the other people live. This morning she clung to me like a baby koala and it couldn’t have been anymore endearing.

Being that she currently refuses to eat more than 1 bite of anything offered to her, I thought I could sway her into consuming a larger quantity if we made it a project-based event. A quick scan of the kitchen, and I decided we had all the ingredients to make banana-nut muffins. She seemed on board with it, so we hauled her box of Kleenex into the kitchen and managed to make one of the largest messes on record. She repeatedly coughed and sneezed directly into the batter, insisted that she (with the accuracy and precision of, well, a two year old) get to stir the ingredients, and demanded that part of the recipe required that we fill two of the paper muffin cups with chopped pecans. From an outsider’s perspective, it pretty much looked like we had stood across the room and thrown the ingredients at the bowl. We somehow managed to get the batter into the cups and the whole mess went into the oven for 20 minutes – basically, just long enough to lose the momentum of what the whole event was supposed to be about: getting her to eat. By the time the muffins were out of the oven and ready to consume, she feigned interest long enough for me to get her to eat roughly a bite and a half.

Up next, getting her to sleep somewhere besides on my person.

Tofu – the other, other, other white meat.

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We have eaten tofu for dinner three times this week (yes, really). These three recipes take almost no time to prep, are easy, flavorful & healthful, and are each so completely different it makes you forget you are actually eating tofu. (If you just can’t wrap your brain around the idea of eating fermented bean curd, you could very easily substitute chicken, mild-flavored fish, or whatever suits you.)

The recipes are technically, supposed to feed four, but we make it a one-dish meal and split it between two adults.

All adapted from Eating Well

Tofu with Thai Curry Sauce

Each of these three recipes follows the exact same process, you simply use a different sauce and veggie combo.

For the tofu:

  1. Buy extra firm tofu (the standard 14 oz block)
  2. Put tofu in shallow dish and place a couple of plates on top of it. Let it sit this way for at least 15 or 20 minutes (you could go for as long as you want, depending on how much liquid you want to expell). Drain excess liquid.
  3. Slice crosswise into 1/2 inch slabs, then lengthwise into thirds.
  4. Pat dry to remove excess liquid (this helps reduce the splatter and helps it cook faster)
  5. Coat a large NON-STICK skillet with olive oil (approx 2 teaspoons) and heat on high.
  6. Add tofu and cook until golden brown on both sides.

Once the tofu is cooked, add the vegetables and sauce and cook until desired doneness (usually just a couple of minutes longer).

Here are your three options:

Tofu with Thai Curry Sauce

Sauce:
1 cup “lite” coconut milk
2 Tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
1 teaspoon red curry paste
1/2 teaspoon brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt

Veggies:
4 cups baby spinach (6 oz)
1 medium bell pepper, sliced

Good over brown rice.

Tofu with Peanut-Ginger Sauce

Sauce:
5 Tablespoons water
4 Tablespoons smooth natural peanut butter
1 Tablespoon rice vinegar
2 teaspoons reduced-sodium soy sauce
2 teaspoons honey
2 teaspoons fresh minced (or grated) ginger
2 cloves garlic, minced

Veggies:
4 cups baby spinach (6 oz)
1 1/2 cups sliced mushrooms (4 oz)
4 scallions, sliced (1 cup)

Good over brown rice or whole wheat pasta.

Tofu with Tomatos and Pesto

Sauce:
2 Tablespoons prepared pesto

Veggies:
2 medium tomatoes, coarsely chopped
1 1/2 cups sliced mushrooms (4 oz)
2 Tablespoons crumbled feta cheese

Good over polenta (either soft or fried).

Three truths I have heard today

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  1. It is a physiological imperative that pregnant women get larger butts in order to realign their center of gravity and keep them from tipping over forward.
  2. Dubya and Yosemite Sam are one in the same person.
  3. Brown sugar is good for you. It keeps you from getting boo-boos.

Amen!