Tasty Thursday Treats

Last night.... I made Bacon-Wrapped Tofu for dinner!!  Haha, it was muy impresivo!  Matt & I gobbled it up pretty quickly, and it was really easy to make.  I do want to try making it again and changing up a couple things, but all in all it went really well.  I used a turkey bacon instead of the regular stuff, and I didn't have much so we only got like 6 pieces total.

Recipe:

•  1 block firm tofu

•  Several strips of bacon, depending on the size. A leaner type bacon is preferred. You can even use proscuitto.

•  Optional: brown sugar, soy sauce

Drain the tofu, and wrap in several layers of paper towels. Place on a plate and put a board or another plate on top. Leave for a few minutes to drain some water out of the tofu. Unwrap and cut into bite sized pieces that are about the width of your bacon.

Wrap each piece in bacon, going around at least once so the ends overlap. You may need to cut the bacon.

Heat up a non-stick frying pan over medium-high heat. Put the bacon wrapped tofu pieces with the overlapping edges side down. Cook until crisp, then turn. Keep cooking and turning until done on all sides.

A sweet-salty variation is to add a little bit of soy sauce to the pan, and a sprinkle (maybe about 2 tsp.) of brown sugar; stir rapidly to melt the sugar, then turn the bacon-tofu in the sauce until the moisture has largely evaporated.

Eat hot or at room temperature, preferably with plain rice as part of a Japanese meal. Also a nice appetizer or sake drinking accompaniment. 

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Today I'm at work until 4:30 as usual, then Matt & I are going to play tennis.  He's been teaching me to play because it's been forever since I've had a lesson (no, for reals, literally), and I'm not very good.  Other than that we'll just be getting ready for my sister to come stay the night with us on Friday.  Happy Thursday!!

love.nu

Your Adventure Begins Here

Just got done doing pilates, and I feel great!  I really feel more a lot more energized afterwards.  Today was a pretty typical day at work, but it was good nonetheless.  I finished putting together the bulletin board that I bought for the office.  I put photos in it and hammered hooks into the wall to hang it.  Perfectly level on my first attempt.  Go me!!  Here's what it looks like:

I've been having a great time coming up with ideas for decorating the office a bit.  I'm so over staring at blank white walls all day.  The marketing director ordered a bunch of Firefly/Serenity retro propaganda posters to put up in his office.  I was SUPER jealous until he offered me the ones that he didn't use.  Holyyy..... I bought frames for them, and they're ready to go up in my office.  They look SO AMAZINGLY AWESOME.  Plus, he also let me bring home the leftover Star Trek and Avatar: The Last Airbender posters that he didn't use.  Score!!  The Star Trek ones are a similar style to the Firefly ones.  You probably know what I'm talking about.... If not click here.  I'll try to remember to take some more photos when they get put up.

Ok, so I was wrong in my first post here.  I have been blogging on and off in different ways for the past 4 or 5 years... it's just that the last "off" trend has lasted for almost 2 years.  Haha... I totally forgot about my other blogs!!  Well, there's proof of how poor my memory is.  My last blog was in 2009, and it was all about wedding plans.  The funny thing is... my last post was only about a week after I got engaged.  I guess wedding planning just took up too much time to write!  Makes sense...... I did only have 4.5 months to plan.  I started a blog a year ago to write down all of the details of our proposal, wedding, etc, but I never even finished the first post.  I suck.  I know.  Worst.  Blogger.  Ever.

Well, take your last good look at my dark hair while you still can because next Tuesday it's going away!  I am going to go back to my natural color.  Do we remember what that is anymore?  I feel kind of torn about whether or not I should do it, but I just can't keep this up anymore.  It's a lot of work & money to keep my hair this color, and as much as I love it... it's just not worth it right now.  I'm kind of excited though.  My hair has been dark for almost 2 years now, and I'm starting to miss my dirty-blondness.

I am making dinner tonight since Matt is at class.  I'm antsy to go get started because I'm trying something new, that could be amazing.  I will share it tomorrow if it's nom-worthy, but until then I'll just keep you wondering.

End of line.

love.nu

Three Things Tuesday

I was inspired by Christin Joy to kick off "Three Things Tuesday"!!  I'm not sure why she started it or where she got the idea from, but it sounds like fun to me.  :)

01:  I'm all about the edamame.

It's so delicious!!  Matt & I have been eating edamame like crazy lately, and we don't feel bad about it at all!  It's a super healthy veggie packed with protein, fiber, iron, isoflavones & other good stuff.  Apparently, it's considered a fat-burning food because of its protein content.  Your body uses more energy to digest protein that it does to digest fat.

02:  Kristen Bell's Fundraiser for Invisible Children.

When you donate $45 dollars to Invisible Children through the site, you receive this necklace.  Beautiful necklace.  Great cause.  Now if we could only motivate people to give more without bribing them.... Still, I wish I could afford to donate at all.  We recently finished the series Veronica Mars, and we were happily surprised when they promoted Invisible Children in one of the episodes in the 3rd season.

03:  Dr Horrible's Sing-Along Blog Book.

This was released today!!  So excite!  (Side-note: Joss Whedon is my hero!)

Annnnndddd........ that concludes our Three Things Tuesday.

love.nu

Something To Consider

"I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel." -Maya Angelou

Ok, Go...

Let's try this again, shall we?  It's been, oh, 4 or 5 years since I think I last attempted a journal.  I think it's a healthy activity, especially considering that as time passes memories grow exceptionally fuzzy for me, and I end up with a distorted view of reality.  And let's face it.... that has proven to be negative in the past.

I have been reading back through my high school/early college blogs lately, and I discovered something that surprised me.  All this time, I was living under the impression that my teen years were an incredibly miserable time during my life.  Come to find out, it seems the day-to-day "me" was actually quite optimistic, made the most of the mundane, and had some intriguing things to say.  That amongst, of course, all of the immature/naive blabber and the inside jokes that I don't seem to recall the "inside" of.  I found the part of me that has stood the trial of time, and I saw the brokenness that has grown into the strength I have today.  I am no longer that girl, but at my core I share so much with her.

I love that I can look back and see who I was then, and even remember things a little more clearly.  I have carried a lot of disgust and resentment of my past, that I am now finding I can just let go of.  Part of becoming and adult is acknowledging your past, and obtaining the ability to appreciate it for the happiness and love that it brought rather than harboring so many negative feelings for it.  It's acceptance.  It's grace.  Learn from the mistakes, learn from the love, and use that for the future.

I hope that I can look back on this in 8 or 9 years and learn more about myself... or at least laugh at myself.  And I hope that this helps me to remember what I consider the best part of my life thus far.  Not every post may be this reflective, but it will all be true to me.

love.nu