I love my morning oatmeal, but sometimes I just get into a routine.
Have you ever sprinkled panko breadcrumbs on your oatmeal, thinking it was shredded coconut? I have.
For someone who preaches mindfulness, I could use a little help in the breakfast topper department :) (Don’t worry, I scraped off all the panko prior to first chomp.) Tomorrow I’m going to top my oatmeal with whole peppercorns instead of blueberries.
This afternoon, I prepared my lunches for the week by making baked tofu bites, adapted from this recipe.
Sweet and Spicy Baked Tofu Bites
Adapted from Baked Tofu Bites, Allrecipes
Ingredients:
1 14 oz. container extra firm tofu, cut into tiny cubes
1/4 cup ketchup
1/2 tsp hot sauce
1 Tbsp rice wine vinegar
2 Tbsp low sodium soy sauce
1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tsp Chinese five spice powder
This recipe is super easy! First, preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Mix all ingredients together except tofu. How did I cube the tofu. Well! Let me tell YOU!
Lay the tofu with its largest side down and cut thin slices, first perpendicular to one side, then perpendicular to the other side. Don’t let the tofu pillars collapse! Carefully tip the first set of pillars over to the side and slice to make cubes.
Mix tofu with other ingredients and spread in a single layer on a baking sheet. Don’t forget to use a Silpat or parchment paper or spray on the baking sheet. Bake for 30 minutes, stirring bites every 5 minutes or so.
I’ve made this recipe many MANY times and I love it every time. Sometimes I’ll change up the marinade ingredients, such as adding herbs or other spices, or maple syrup or honey. Good stuff :) I’m planning on topping spinach or brown rice with the tofu bites and bringing it for lunch during the week.
***
I had the fortune of receiving not one, but TWO awards over the past week! I have some wonderful bloggie friends out there :)
First up is the lovely LeQuan, who gave me the Sunshine Award! The Sunshine Award is given to bloggers who are deemed warm, inspirational, and positive, symbolized by the gorgeous sunflower. LeQuan certainly embodies all these qualities: sweet and kind to everyone she meets, and always sending out a friendly email to brighten my day! Thanks, LeQuan! :)
To the award winners, here are the rules:
1. Put the logo on your blog or within your post.
2. Pass the award on to 8 bloggers!
3. Link the nominees within your post.
4. Let the nominees know they have received this award by commenting on their blog.
5. Share the love and link to the person from whom you received this award.
Here are the wonderful bloggers to whom I want to pass this award:
Em @ HomecookedEm
Katie @ Faith Food & Fitness
Mae @ Ohh May!
Lucy @ Sweet Spirit Shine
Caitlin @ The Twenty-Fifth Year
Meghan @ Travel Eat Love
Kelsey @ Snacking Squirrel
Ashley @ Food Fotos and Fun
Please don’t feel like you have to participate if you prefer not. I just wanted to recognize some wonderful bloggers :)
The next award from the superb Lazaro of Lazaro Cooks!, who nominated me for the “I Love Your Blog” award. I’ve just recently discovered Lazaro’s blog and I love it! He has the most delicious recipes – you simply MUST check out his blog :) Thanks, Lazaro!
Here are some of the blogs that I luuuuurve :D
LeQuan @ luvtoeat
Sophia @ Burp and Slurp
Joanne @ Eats Well With Others
Andrea @ Can You Stay For Dinner?
Ameena @ Fancy That … Fancy This
Katie @ Health for the Whole Self
Christie @ Honoring Health
Tou Tou @ Light Delight with TouTou
Aletheia @ La Fille Naturelle
Melinda @ Nutrition Food Travel and More
Kristen @ The Swanky Dietitian
Lynn & Christy @ The Actor’s Diet
Christina @ Dinner at Christina’s
Gina @ The Candid RD
Super Gal @ The Empty Nut Jar
Samantha @ Bikini Birthday
Emma @ Midget Keeper Daily
Lauren @ Health on the Run
Nicole @ PreventionRD
Once again, don’t feel the need to participate if you don’t want to :)
Have a wonderful beginning of your week, everyone!
Q: Do you like tofu? What is your favorite way to cook it?
Doesn’t that sounds like the name of a rock band? You’d better snag it now, because apparently all the good names are taken.
Why unintentionally eggy? I experimented with a new pancake this morning, and I would DEFINITELY make an alteration next time. I’ll share it with you anyway, so you can decide if you like eggy pancakes or not.
The Unintentional Pancake
Ingredients:
1 egg (please, try it with just an egg white first, or else you’ll come back to haunt me)
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cornstarch (makes pancake crispy!)
1 Tbsp brown rice flour
1/4 cup rolled oats
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
Pinch salt
Mix all ingredients together and pour into a skillet over medium heat.
After bottom cooks, flip and let cook through. Turn onto plate and top with your favorite toppings. I topped mine with strawberries (of course) and a “frosting” of Greek yogurt mixed with Chillin’ Chocolate. Plus a little more Chillin’ Chocolate (I’m going to be so sad when it’s gone :( ).
Verdict? Deliciously filling, but waaaaay too eggy! Please, do yourself a favor and make this pancake with egg whites. I used a whole egg because egg yolks have some wonderful healthy fats and other nutrients in them. But, they don’t taste good in these pancakes. With egg whites – voila! Perfection!
Lunch included a lovely strawberry and greens salad with crumbled blue cheese and the best balsamic vinegar we had – thick and syrupy and sweet.
… What’s that? You say you want to see the long-awaited salmon recipe? Well, if you insist …
Leeky Salmon with Sweet Grapefruit Sauce
Ingredients:
1 pound salmon
1 leek, thoroughly cleaned and sliced thin
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 tsp grapefruit zest
1 Tbsp grapefruit juice
Just keep the rest of the grapefruit, too
2 tsp honey
Salt and pepper
Cook the salmon by your favorite method. Peter cooked our salmon in his homemade sous-vide setup.
For the non-Peter cook, I recommend broiling the salmon with a little olive oil and thyme on top, or using this little salmon trick.
While the salmon is cooking, prepare the leeks by placing them into a saucepan of boiling water for 2 minutes, then draining them and plunging them into an ice bath (or cold water like I did, if you don’t have ice).
Whisk together the olive oil, zest, juice, honey, and salt and pepper. Arrange a few leeks on the salmon and pour the sauce over all. Place a grapefruit slice or two next to the fish (in place of the typical lemon wedge) and serve with a snooty upturned nose and a French accent.
Who knew that grapefruit and leeks went so well together?? I originally came up with this recipe to enter into last week’s Cook’s Mission competition, but with my hemming and hawing last week, I never got around to making it until today. I’m sorry, Mae! And, I chose the secret ingredients, too! For those of you who want to enter this week, the secret ingredient is rutabaga. So, get cooking!
I just wanted to thank you all again for your sleeping suggestions! For the last two nights, I’ve been sleeping like a baby – sleeping until 7 am with no major interruptions other than a bouncing Maddies. No caffeine and unplugging for at least half and hour before bed really seems to help. I’ll see how it goes during the week, but for now, I feel WELL. RESTED. :D For those of you who want to see a summary of everyone’s sleeping tips, look under the “Reader Tips” tab at the top of the page.
On a final note: LeQuan of luvtoeat was so sweet as to give me this Happy 101 award! There are few people who bring a smile to my face as much as LeQuan. Everyone should check out her blog to see her mouth-watering dishes and adorable kiddies! :)
Here are the rules:
1. Copy and paste the award on your blog.
2. List who gave the award to you and use a link to her blog (or hyperlink).
3. List 10 things that make you happy.
4. Pass the award on to other bloggers and visit their blog to let them know about the award.
Of course, don’t feel obligated to participate if you don’t want to. I know we’re all busy!
Ten things that make me happy (in no particular order):
* My husb and his crazy hobbies that always remind me what a unique man he is
* My dad and sisters and my family in Canada and in Missouri and scattered all around
* Colored pencils
* A quiet morning, a light breeze, and a pair of sneakers
* Talking to my lovely friends :)
* Creating a new recipe and having it WORK
* Our doggles, Maddies and Bon
* Things that grow, be it person or plant
* Finishing something and finishing it well
* A good night’s sleep
I’m going to pass the award onto these lovely ladies:
Samantha @ Bikini Birthday
Darryn @ brio.gusto (whenever you get back from India!!)
Andrea @ Can You Stay For Dinner?
Christina @ Dinner at Christina’s
Katie @ Health for the Whole Self
Em @ HomecookedEm
Christie @ Honoring Health
Emma @ Midget Keeper Daily
Kristen @ Simply Savor
Lucy @ Sweet Spirit Shine
Feel free to participate if you’d like!
I’m off to do a little more work before unplugging for the night! Have a wonderful evening! :)
Q: Have you ever made a dish or recipe that did not turn out as you expected?
