Tuesday, January 15, 2013

Iron Chef Slayer

It's getting all Iron Chef up in here, people. Wouldn't that be awesome if my last name was Slayer and I was actually an Iron Chef? Even Bobby Flay would wet himself, I'm sure.

Anyhow, on to business: I cooked up some tofu last night. Yep, that's the extent of my mad skills, but let me tell you what a time I've had trying to get homemade tofu crispy and yummy like how they do at restaurants. No matter what I did, it would just never crisp up and I was always left with floppy white stacks of protein that didn't taste like much.

Enter: the Tofu XPress!!! On a whim I ordered one a week or so ago and it came yesterday--much to my delight. I promptly bought tofu and tried it out. Turns out you have to get all that milky tofu water out of your tofu before it will get firmer and crisper upon cooking. I pressed the tofu twice, actually, once before I marinaded it and once after.

Mid-press:




Mid-cooking:




And no, that is not a hair on the tofu on the far right--it's a ginger "hair" because I used fresh ginger in the marinade. Anyway, who cares! Look! It's crispy tofu!! Way more crispy than my most recent effort, which you can excitedly jump to here.

I also made some noochy kale, as per my blog name.




All together now:




This is David's plate, actually, and sadly he wasn't able to eat it all because he is still down and out with the flu. So far I'm not down or out with anything, and hopefully we can keep it that way, since, come on--I didn't get that flu shot and feel crappy for the whole day just so I could feel crappy now too. Maybe vaccines are a rouse organized by DayQuil? (Geez I hope I don't get hate mail about how I vaccines are really safe and I shouldn't joke about their efficacy. For the record, I'll take any vaccine any time.)

That reminds me, though, that I've been meaning to ask your opinion about medicine for flus and colds. David is anti-meds, which means that instead of taking Ibuprofen when he has a fever he will actually suffer until the fever breaks on its own. He says his body is smarter than Ibuprofen and laughs when I say that I'm going to divorce him if he doesn't either 1) stop moaning or 2) take some Ibuprofen. On these occasions I laugh too, but in a different way.

*What do you guys go when you have a fever?

4 comments:

  1. When I have a fever, I hydrate a lot (tea, gaterade, plain water etc), cool washcloth to the head, and dress in layers (because I normally always have chill/fever). I also take small doses of Ibuprofen when I can't stand the pain anymore. In terms of drugs, Ibuprofen isn't that bad if taken only when you need it. Acetaminophen (Tylenol) on the other had, I would stay away from that. It is the leading cause of acute liver failure in the US and is especially dangerous when taken with alcohol.

    On a happier note, what did you use to make the marinade? That tofu looks delicious.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hmmm...what do pregnant women do then if Tylenol is so bad? Answer carefully; this might change my mind about having kids:-)
      The tofu _was_ delicious--so much so that I'm going to make it again tonight! The marinade was just some reduced sodium tamari with diced garlic and ginger. Tonight I'm going to add rice wine vinegar to the marinade and let it soak for longer. Hopefully that will amp up the Asian flavor even more.

      Delete
  2. Well, nursing a little one means there isn't much you can take when you're sick. I do think Mucinex D is about the greatest thing EVER when you have a cold.

    Tylenol is pretty much the only thing they allow pregnant women to take.

    I try to avoid medications whenever possible, but sometimes it's unavoidable.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I've really come off as a drug-pushing bitch the last few days, haven't I. Maybe I will be sending you some dog artwork; that's sure to improve my image...

    ReplyDelete