Monday Madness...

Today I feel like I'm on the fast track to drowning...

• I have reading to do for my Gender and Comm class that is tomorrow afternoon
• I have three prelims questions to write this week, and though some of each of them is written none of them is complete
• I have a major writing assignment to prepare, but thankfully it's not due until next week (and I'm feeling fairly together about it)
• I'm trying to hunt down a slew of books before the December break arrives

However, it's the Monday after Thanksgiving week--a week that we get the entirety off to celebrate here at SIUC. This means that last week when I should have been working, I was spending time with my sweetie, holiday shopping, cooking delicious food, and being generally relaxation focused (before the madness hit!).

Well, guess what!? The madness is here, and it's taking over the next three weeks of my life (and probably yours).

So, today I'm feeling the Monday Madness like never before, and well, I simply wanted to pause to share! For lunch, I had leftover pizza from Quattro's and the final slice of my chocolate pie. What's for dinner tonight? Lemon-pepper tofu with rice pilaf. My tofu has been marinating since yesterday, so I'll post info and directions tomorrow (hopefully!).

C

Southern Fried Tofu

Ok, so it's not the healthiest of meals since it's deep fried, but it enabled Dr.Vegan and I to finish off our leftovers today...

So, since we don't eat meat (i.e. fried chicken), we make fried tofu instead. This is not the asian variety that you might get at your local chinese restaurant....this is breaded and deep fried and delicious (in a different kind of way)!

How do ya make it vegan, southern fried style? Simple.
Something you should know about tofu:
Tofu naturally has water both in the container that holds it and in the tofu--for instance, sometimes I press tofu to get the water out and then marinate it in other things (i.e. soy sauce or lemon juice) to soak up the marinade (not this time, though). As an example, I'll soon post a lemon-pepper tofu recipe!
For Southern Fried:
When you open the container, drain the water out of the container, slice the tofu into squares (size varies, depending on your tastes, but I like them a little smaller than a 1x1 cube so that they get a little crispier), toss them in a flour, salt, pepper (or whatever other dry seasonings you might ordinarily use in a "breading") mixture, and then drop them into your deep fryer (hot grease, of course).
Depending on the age of your grease (that is, how long you've been using it), the breading will be either a light or dark golden brown, but it only takes about 5-7 minutes for this stuff to cook up if your grease is hot before you put it in.
The breading will get crispy and perhaps golden brown, and the tofu inside will be nicely cooked (don't worry, it really doesn't take long for it to cook!)

Serve with your favorite southern style sides (green bean casserole, mashed taters/gravy, etc.), a roll, and some (sweet?) tea, and you've got yourself a meal. This simple recipe is one of the reasons I believe people say "Tofu tastes like chicken." Though I don't agree with the statement, I appreciate the sentiment: tofu can easily replace chicken in one's diet.

"gal"

PS I don't drink sweet tea, but some southerners consider this a staple in their diet!

YAY!

As of last Sunday evening, I have finally completed a draft of the Instructor's Resource Manual I've been writing. I suspect there will be edits to complete, but at least I can effectively move onto the next major task: prelims. Since Sunday, though, I have simply basked in the glory of completion....it feels so good!

In honor of my basking, here're a few pictures from or vegan (except for that Chocolate Pie) Thanksgiving...

Thankful

I realized recently how lucky I am that my mother took the time to teach me to bake my favorite pie: chocolate. So, I'm thinking that today--in honor of a day of thanks-I'll share that recipe...

Pie Filling

Ingredients:

• 2 c sugar
• 12 T flour (these can be a little bit on the "heaping" side)
• 3 egg yolks, separated so that each has its own small bowl for meringue making 
• (or 2 eggs, if not making meringue)
• 3 c (whole) milk
• 3 T cocoa (for chocolate pie, but I also use this recipe to make banana pudding and lemon pie, so I'll note the differences after I wrap this up)
• 1 T vanilla
• 1 T butter

Directions:

• using a copper bottom or stainless steel pan,
• mix dry ingredients
• add one cup of milk and one egg at a time, mixing well for each
• cook on low at first, slowly working your way up to medium-ish heat (you don't want to scorch the milk), stirring constantly (and I do mean constantly)
• mixture is done when you can run your spoon through and the mixture holds its form (i.e. the groove from the spoon stays rather than refills with mixture)
• after it's cooked and ready, add butter and vanilla and mix well
• let cool and then top with meringue (or cool whip or nothing, lol)
• let cool, then eat!

And, it should look something like this!

If making lemon pie: no cocoa; substitute 1/2 c lemon juice and 1 1/2 c water for milk
If making banana pudding: add 6 or 7 bananas (one or two while it's cooking, and the rest for right at the end, with some wafers!); no cocoa