It's Monday again. Why does that always happen?

I like to cook, I always have. I like to experiment and if there are any god given talents, the kind that you have no idea where they come from, I suspect that any I might have concern cooking.

My mom is a fine cook but it was never something she really cared about. Both of my grandmothers were good cooks but they too had other things to do. I don’t remember any of them spending a whole Saturday in the kitchen trying out new recipes. But that’s what I do. And I enjoy it.

Sometimes I get an idea in my head and I decide that I have to perfect a recipe. I did that with bean soup, with bread, cookies, brownies…right now I am trying to learn how to make the perfect biscuits.

Biscuits are tricky. Unlike bread, they require that you don’t handle them very much. When I was learning how to make bread it took me a while to understand how much kneading it actually needed (a lot! Usually about 10 minutes which is an awful long time to knead bread). So the biscuits are a challenge to not touch the dough.

So far I am not doing very well. I did find a recipe that gives me a little more flexibility (it has an egg white in it) and seemed to work ok. But the traditional biscuit recipes…I have not mastered them yet.

I am also very interested in vegetarian and vegan food. I am not a vegetarian or a vegan, (although I have considered it in the past) but I am interested in making nutritious, healthful food THAT TASTES GOOD! And I emphasize that because my friends and family often tease me for my fondness of vegetarian cooking, saying that it tastes like rabbit food. Puh-leeze, would I seriously eat something that didn’t taste good?

So this morning I was reading about a new vegan cookbook which I am interested in checking out (how could I resist any cookbook that features “Fronch Toast”? I only hope they say to serve it with “Peru”(And if you got that joke you are obviously a friend of mine). So I went to the website to look around a bit. I noticed a recipe for scrambled tofu which is one of my very favorite comfort foods (go figure!) and I was a little shocked to see in the comments that a lot of people had never tried it. People who are, presumably, vegetarians! How is it that I make this all the time and I’m not a vegetarian but people who are have never tried it?

I know, I know…scrambled tofu, right? But I decided to try it because…well, because I had never had it. And now I love it. Very much. I think it’s important to try new foods. I realize that it can be scary and there can be allergy issues involved and everything but heck! It’s worth a try! Especially if you are newly vegetarian and tend to limit your choices.

So here is what I do…heat some olive oil in pan, toss in some cracker crumbs and just sauté until they start to brown, add crumbled, drained tofu (I like it less firm but you can use what ever kind you like), toss in some chopped green onions, salt, garlic and lots of pepper and stir it around until it’s hot. Serve on toast. YUM! No, really, it’s good.

So, there you go. I tried something new, and found a new favorite.


Also, I saw that Harvey Danger was offering downloads of their new album for free. I only know that one kind of obnoxious but certainly catchy song “Flagpole Sitta” from them but I support any band that wants me to listen to their music for free so I downloaded it. I’m not saying it’s genius but hey, they mention drinking wine from boxes! That’s what I do! They must be just like me! And “Wine, Women and Song” has enough Queen influence to make me happy. Also, I gotta admit that I really love the title “Cream and Bastards Rise.” It’s an entertaining listen. Well worth the money I spent on it.

Speaking of music, Jodi-odi-odi and I went to see The New Pornographers the other night. They rocked very nicely, thank you. Happy sort of music. I had a really nice time despite the one crappy band on the line up and the couple that insisted on standing too damn close to me. I tried really hard to cough on his neck enough to gross him out but he would not be moved!

By the way, happy (belated) birthday Jodi-odi-odi! Thanks for being my friend for one more year!