.exciting news.

Let me start out by saying Hello! To all the readers who popped over here from *Bitch Cakes*! Glad to see you guys. And for those of you who don't know, I just won a giveaway that Sheryl was doing for an incredible heart rate monitor! Very exciting stuff. I can't wait to start using it! It will be awesome for the next few months before the baby comes, and then once she's here and I get the go ahead to work out it will definitely help me keep track of getting my butt in gear!

Now, on to the really good stuff: What I ate for dinner. Okay, maybe I just think that's the good stuff. Ha. Regardless, I made a most delicious meal tonight. I think it's pretty funny that I have apparently got my kitchen legs back while the man is gone. He is missing out!! Sorry babe.

Tonight I made marinated grilled tofu with roasted vegetables and green beans. So good. As far as the marinade goes, it's really a personal taste sort of thing. I never measure when I put a marinade together, and as a result I don't think I ever make the same once twice. For my Asian inspired marinades I use the normal cast of characters.

Then I just kind of add a little of this, a little of that, until it tastes like it would be delicious covering a piece of tofu, chicken, steak, whatever. And yes, for those of you who don't like tofu this marinade would go awesome on pretty much any other type of protein. If you have never tried tofu though, try it first! In fact, try it multiple times before deciding you don't like it. I got some really nasty tasting tofu once in a restaurant and if I had based my entire opinion on that one piece.... well, me and tofu would not be pals.

I let the tofu marinate for a little over an hour, then simply put it on the grill pan. I let each side cook for roughly 4 minutes, or until there are grill marks. If you were cooking meat though you would want to make sure it cooked all the way through.

While the tofu was marinating I started on the veggies. Baby potatoes and carrots... and I threw in the last few mushrooms I had as well, because they were lonely and wanted to join the party. Can you blame them? After scrubbing and chopping the veggies into bite sized pieces I tossed them with some olive oil, salt and pepper, and garlic then placed them on a baking sheet and into a 400 degree oven for about 45 minutes. I timed it so these would be coming out right as the tofu was getting done.


And then after dinner I of course ate more blondies. Ha. Luckily I had some visitors yesterday that ate more than half the pan for me, which I greatly appreciated! Now, with the man not here, I get to go do really exciting things like watch ridiculous chick flicks from Netflix. 5 points if you can guess the movie! I'm telling you, it's ridiculous and a little bit embarrassing. Ha.

XO

.tofu, say what.

Dinner tonight is one of my favorite meals to prepare, crispy tofu with broccoli, raisins and peanuts in a peanut sauce. It also involves many of my the man's favorite things. Then I add tofu. I know some people are scared of tofu, but you shouldn't be. It's an incredibly versatile product, and creates a super delicious meal.

You could really add all sorts of things to this recipe but I like to keep it simple. I also like to keep the sauce as simple as possible, and don't have a true recipe for it. It's a homemade peanut sauce made with 3 ingredients. Peanut butter, soy sauce, and citrus. Tonight I used the juice of one orange, because the lonely little guy was almost going over to the dark side and I needed to use him. I generally use roughly 1/4 cup of smooth peanut butter, maybe 1-2 tablespoons of soy sauce, and a few tablespoons of citrus. You can use any citrus you want, orange juice from a carton, lemon or lime juice, etc. The measurements will change depending on your own taste. I also sometimes add 1-2 tablespoons of water if I want the sauce a little runnier. Depending on the peanut butter you use, you may also want to add a little bit of salt. I take the 3 ingredients and simply stir them up together in a bowl. At first, you will think "there is no way in hell the peanut butter and the liquids are going to come together, Sara you're crazy." Then you will start to think "Way gross, it looks like the peanut butter is curdling." Keep stirring though! After a few minutes of rigorous stirring it will all come together and be nice and creamy. At this point, taste it and see if anything else needs to be added. Put this aside until the end.

While making the peanut sauce your tofu should be between two towels, with something heavy on top to try to get some of the moisture out. After about 10 minutes it will be ready to slice. You can slice it however you want but I like thin, bite-sized pieces. Heat a small amount of oil in a large skillet, then when it's hot put the tofu in a single layer. Mine usually takes about 5 minutes to brown. Flip the tofu and cook the other side. When both sides are crispy and golden brown remove from the pan and place on a paper towel covered plate. Put your broccoli directly into the hot pan, with about 2 tablespoons of water. Sprinkle generously with raisins and peanuts. Let the broccoli cook for a few minutes (you can also steam it ahead of time, I just like to only use one pan) then add the cooked tofu back to the pan and pour the peanut sauce over everything. Mix until combined and you're ready to go!

This is a quick, easy, week night meal that is actually completely vegan. Even my steak and potatoes man liked it.

XO