Nexus

Yummy Crispy Baked Tofu

This is a version of a dish I had at 'Fresh' vegetarian restaurant in Toronto the other week - it was so delicious. I peeked in the Fresh cookbook in the bookstore and noted how simple the recipe is ... so from memory, this is my version.

Cut the block of extra firm tofu into tiny cubes (about a half inch on all planes) Mix up - 1.5 tbsp of wheat germ and 1.5 tbsp of nuitritional yeast. Add in some sea salt and pepper. Coat the tofu cubes well in this mixture. Spread out on a baking sheet and bake at 350 F for 25 minutes or so. I noticed they tasted nice when they first came out of the oven ... but the real surprise was how they taste when cooled to room temperature. Then they really crisp up and you can taste the nuttiness of the coating .... this is a really wonderful dish that is so easy. A real gem.

I could see serving this as an appetizer with some type of spicy dip - a peanut or plum dip even. This one is a keeper.

My New Walking Buddy

When my new neighbours moved in last year and I noticed two little kids and a dog, I was somewhat alarmed. A year has gone by and I've gotten quite attached to them, the kids and of course the dog. I live alone and sometimes it is fun to come home to this great welcoming committee in the driveway .... kids wrapping themselves around my legs and the dog who can hardly contain her excitement. I've started taking her on my walks with me as often as I can. Being as I am not an experienced dog person (I have cats) learning to walk a dog has been an experience. But she is good and the more I walk her, the easier it is becoming. She is a big dog (lab/rottweiler cross) and of course loves to stop and sniff everything. I try to keep her moving. Sometimes we have a battle of wills ... so we compromise. She gets a few sniffs here and there and mostly keeps moving well for me. I even remember to bring 'poop & scoop' bags with me most days now although she has never actually caused me to use them on a walk yet. I also can't get her to drink on the walk so have to experiement with special bottles - with this heat, I feel too guilty to not have her drink. This is a great way for me to get a dog fix and of course for her - she gets nice long walks in the park and on trails. It's funny the little boy up the street, can't believe I walk the dog 'for free' and thinks they must be paying me - I suppose I am stealing some kids chance to earn a few dollars.

Cooking Beets

Beets are one of my favourite vegetables - I've cooked and devoured them 3 times in the last week. I've always found them a bit of a pain to prepare but recently read a rechnique that I find really easy.

Scrub the beats and cut off the stem leaving one inch. Boil them until a fork is easily inserted into the beet. Then run them under cold water - this allows you to remove the peel without turning your fingers red. The peel slips right off.

Then I cut the beets in half and slice them. I usually dress them one of two different ways -

(1) sesame oil, bragg's seasoning, lemon & pepper    OR

(2) olive oil, white wine vinegar, dijon mustard, sea salt, pepper

They are good either hot or cold as a salad and both dressings work great either way. The challenge is to cook enough to have leftovers.

It's Hot!

It has been a scorcher outside today. I went for a nice long walk on the trails this evening - something I do most evenings. While walking I saw a family out walking their very old dog. Old dogs always make me very sad but I love to see them being cared for by thier owners. Seeing the dog tonight made me remember an old dog I met in Italy last month ... we were visiting a vineyard and were accompanied by a couple of dogs throughout the tour. When we got back for the wine tasting, another dog emerged - he must have been the father of the brood. He really liked attention though and once I started petting him, he stuck pretty close. He walked us back to the car when we left - until he saw a lizard and then you could have sworn he was a young guy again. Here he is.

Asian Dressing

2 tbsp tamari or shoyu (I used Braggs' seasonings)

3 tbsp rice vinegar

1 tsp toasted sesame oil

2 tbsp raw sesame oil (I used olive oil)

1-2 tbsp honey (I used 1 tbsp of maple syrup)

1 tsp grated ginger (I used more)

1 clove garlic minced (I left this out)

 

Mix altogether. Makes 1/2 cup

Lazy Sunday

It has been so gorgeous in this part of the world this weekend .... happily, I did not have anything planned today. For the first time in ages, I could just do whatever. I relaxed, went to the gym, did grocery shopping, cooked and went for a bike ride. I am not so happy with my weight at the moment ..... after losing a few pound earlier in the spring, I gained it all back and then some. No doubt a trip to Italy and a subsequent overwhelming urge to eat Italian food when I came back contributed. Not to mention a lot of ice cream last weekend and the summer fruit is now in full season. I've eaten tons - yes, I know fruit is good for you but it is also very high in sugar.

Anyhow .... my plan this week is to ramp up the cardio and eat lots of veggies and high protein food but fewer starches.  A bit less fruit as well - that means I won't be having a pound or two of cherries for dinner this week!

I got a ton of good food ready today to eat during the week - lots of veggies prepared a/o cooked. Beets, carrots, celery, fennel, cuke, red peppers, lettuce etc. The beets were made into a salad with asian dressing (yummy). I also made a tofu and quinoa salad with an asian dressing which is really good - way better than I thought. This is meant to be a high protein topper for green & veggie salad.

I will weigh myself on Friday and see .... with clean eating and exercize hopefully it will help. This is the time of year to do that type of diet at least.

Recipe for Asian dressing to follow - this one is a keeper.

Canadians VS Americans

I read this interesting article in MacLeans Magazine this weekend ... I subscribe to MacLeans and read it more or less cover to cover every week. I like the magazine a lot.

I took the magazine with me this weekend to the Yoga Retreat - not because of the article. But it was interesting because one of our friends - an American from Seattle - joined us for the weekend. It was interesting to get a discussion going about the article.

Weekend

I am back after a great weekend away ... the July long weekend at Saha Yoga has become a tradition for myself and a few of my friends. Saha is a yoga retreat that I have been going to for several years - this was my fourth July 1 weekend there. The July 1 weekend is a bit unusual in that it has become a friends and family weekend at Saha. We had a small but perfect group of - friends and family!

We had a wonderful weekend of eating lots of great food and touring Prince Edward County. We did the gourmet loop that is so well known in that area, including a - cheese shop, winery, cider shop, raw foods place, organic veg market, jam shop and finally a new goat cheese manufacturer. The goat cheese shop is a green building and operation that had just opened and were giving tours of the premises and operation.

One focus of the weekend was discussions on sustainable housing and intentional communities. We are interested in pursuing ideas for some type of development for ourselves when the time is right. We are just at the idea stage. There is so much to talk about and toss around in this area. Some folks are already doing this and I see it really growing.

Of course the topics of food and nuitrition were also widely talked about as well. We tried some raw food desserts which were unusual and delicious. We all love food and love exploring ideas about food. I acquired a new cookbook - "Enlightened Eating - Nourishment for the Body and Soul". I am sure I will be posting some recipes over the next while.

Oh yes - and a few of decided to get tattoos. I am in the process of designing mine now. Will post details and maybe even a photo once I've gotten further with that.