Thursday, June 9, 2011

Delicious Dinner Tonight!





 This was our delicious dinner tonight! I had bought some Chinese broccoli at Minh's last week and so far had only had some myself for lunch one day. But tonight I thought I'd create something that I knew Kieran and Matt would love. I had the image of how I wanted it to look in my head and the taste I wanted it to have so away I went! The best part (to me anyway) was dunking the tofu chunks into some nice, hot Sriracha chili sauce! God,I'm addicted, I know....


Anyway, here's the recipe:

* Cut up a block of gluten free tofu into nice size chunks (what would fit nicely between some chop sticks is how I measure it.)

* Marinate the tofu in some Tamari or just gluten free soy sauce if you can find it. You can do this for 5 minutes or 5 hours.


* Heat 1"of canola oil in a deep pan and quickly fry the tofu pieces till a bit crispy. (Some times i coat it with corn starch and sometimes not, it's not much different.)
Take it out and set it aside.


* In a wok, or other deep pan, put 2 Tbsp. canola oil, 2 sliced green chilis, some crushed ginger ( 1good tsp.) and 2 cloves of minced garlic.... once it starts to smell good, (about 15 seconds) add the Chinese broccoli. This needs to cook for a good 15 mins as it's very crunchy stuff! Add some water, about a cup, and let it simmer for a while. I added some more tamari and a bit of sesame oil at this point.


* In the mean time I had put some nice pad thai rice noodles in to soak.


* When the broccoli is cooked, re - add the tofu and briefly stir together. Set aside.

* Drain the noodles and stir them around in the sauce that's left in the wok from the veggies and tofu. Place noodles on a big serving dish, top with the veggie mixture and sprinkle with sesame seeds! 

VOILA! Heaven on  a plate! Don't forget the hot sauce if you like to dip your tofu!



Friday, June 3, 2011

An Intro...


When I was younger, I wanted to be many things. Since I've grown up, I've become many things, but few of them are what I thought I would be. 

For instance, I thought for sure I'd be a child psychologist. Well, I'm not. At least  not professionally. But I do have 3 children, each with their own brilliant personalities and each with their own struggles and triumphs. 

Kieran, my Sonshine!

My youngest suffers from severe anxiety and at 7 years old, he's taught me so much about patience, love, advocation and determination. 











Olivia-Bolivia
My eldest is a girl, and has shown me that it doesn't matter what I think, it's gonna be wrong. LOL But again, it's nothing that a little patience and love can't handle. I learned from her that times change, attitudes change and that I have to change along with them. 















Ha-Ha-Haydn!
My middle child is a young man with the strongest personality you've ever come across. He knows who he is and he doesn't hesitate to show the world that person. He's taught me acceptance and he's taught me that I have to be strong in order to keep a balance between himself and me. 

So, no, I'm not a child psychologist, but I know there's a piece or two of advice that I could impart to one!




I also thought I'd be a professional photographer. Well, that didn't happen either. However, I do have a passion for photography that gets me through my days. There are sooooo many beautiful things in life that I feel I have to capture on "film" to share with the world. Images that move me, excite me. And I will endeavour to share them with you here from time to time. 

Veggie Pad Thai with Samosas

I never thought I'd be a cook as a young person. I mean, I loved to watch my parents and grandmother cook delicious and soul enriching meals, but I thought it was just work. I never realised then how much joy I'd get out of it as an adult. I am so grateful to all of them for showing me how much love actually went into those dishes. As I grew, I began to talk to them as they cooked and really realised that it was the details they paid attention to and the reasons they cooked they foods they cooked that made them so delicious. Most of the foods I grew up on were very simple, Eastern European and Scandinavian dishes. Peasant food, if you will. But God, could they make you feel good! The next big food oriented thing that happened to me was very odd indeed. There was a vegetarian restaurant in town run by a guy we called "Hippie Michael" and on Monday nights he'd have the Hare Krishna's come from Toronto to cook and share a big feast with who ever would come and offer a small donation for the food. One night I got called into the kitchen to help make chapati and it was that night that sparked my love for Indian cooking! And the rest is history.... my true love and main source of creativity is cooking.


Which leads me to my next "almost never was." As a child I prayed because I was told to. I was dutiful in my bedtime prayers but never made any real connection. It was the Krishna's that (although I didn't quite align myself with them) showed me that there was a whole other world out there for spirituality. I don't align myself with any religion still now, but I draw my faith from a mixture of Hinduism, Zen Buddhism, Christianity, and the Ba'hai faith. I feel good , I'm happy, I'm the kindest person I believe I can be and that's good. My journey has been long and it continues but I do believe that it's the best way to be , as opposed to being complacent, inflexible and judgemental.


Gardening. Ahhhh, gardening. "Gross!" is what I would have called it as a child. I hated getting dirty. But now, I... well, I put up with it! LOL  Gardening is just another way of nurturing. It's rewarding to work hard at making sure these beautiful living things grow and yes, thrive. And it just plain makes me happy. The smells, the colours... Ahhhh gardening. 




That's Me!
And finally, writing. I was sure I would become a world famous poet. But when in grade 13 my favourite English teacher offered to send Mr. Leonard Cohen a poem I had written about him and I chickened out.... I figured that maybe I didn't have what it took to be rejected. So, I still write, and obviously will continue since I just started up a blog, but I'm not looking for publication neccessarily. Just to share what I know and what I've learned in the hopes that someone else will be able to relate and gain some joy from my words.


So yeah, that's me. All the things I never thought I'd be. And all the things I'd hoped I'd be.