(no subject)
okay. so i messed up my back a little bit.
i'm not sure exactly what i did, but it's rather painful. maybe i strained it while weightlifting, maybe i bumped into something and shrugged it off only to suffer after effects (i'm always discovering wounds/injuries the origin of which is usually beyond me). i've been using this sports creme that sarah's dad uses. it works okay. without it, i can't lean back a certain way, or i can't go from laying to sitting or sitting to standing without pain.
on a lighter note, i made lasagna today.
i spend quite a bit of time on preparation, but it was worth it. i browned seasoned (lean, non-growth hormone injected, non-animal byproducts [i.e. possible animal shelter casualties, other disgusting animal parts] fed) ground round and put it, chopped sweet vidalia onions, sliced organic (and 1-2 non-organic) mushrooms into containers off to the side. i made the pasta, oiled the pan, pre-heated the oven to 350, and made i believe, 3 layers. pasta sauce (not just ANY pasta sauce---Bertolli's brand olive oil & garlic tomato sauce. delicious) topped with noodles topped with sauce/onions/seasoned beef. then, more noodles topped with a tofu-mozzarella combination. it was topped with another layer of noodle, then sauce/beef/onions/ another noodle and light spreading of sauce. baked for maybe 50 minutes on 350. uncovered, sprinkled with mozzarella and baked for 5 more minutes. it was worth the work, i suppose. i needed to add an egg to the tofu/cheese mix for it to firm as it cooked, but we had no eggs and i won't go near anything labeled "egg product." i also believe that i should've stirred some garlic powder to the tofu/cheese mix as it really possessed little flavor. anyway, it was a good meal for a boring saturday. rather healthy, too.
i'm learning bit by bit the best ways to prepare tofu. they've got both, the silken Japanese tofu and the harder Chinese tofu at Kroger and both have been pretty easy to prepare. I made a pretty large stir-fry meal last week with tofu, bamboo shoots, water chestnuts, sugar snap peas, carrots, onions, bell peppers, and slivers of chicken (marinated in Drew's Natural Sesame Orange dressing & 10-minute marinade). we surprisingly had no fried rice on hand, but sarah made brown rice instead and it was awesome. tofu, being high in omega-3 oils and protein, is one of the greatest foods ever created. for those of you who don't know, it's made from curdled soybean curd. usually by straining soymilk repeatedly. i don't really know. but coagulate the bean curd and put it in a cube--bingo! you've got tofu. naturally bland in flavor, tofu is great to cook with because it's like a little edible sponge that soaks up the flavor of the food with which you cook it. this made the stir-fry tofu rather tasty. tofu comes in a variety of consistencies and can be a substitute for everything from cheese, cream cheese, eggs, and meats. also, can be stirred into sauces, deserts, soups, anything. either way, i'm gonna keep messing with it and eventually figure it out.
i'm not sure exactly what i did, but it's rather painful. maybe i strained it while weightlifting, maybe i bumped into something and shrugged it off only to suffer after effects (i'm always discovering wounds/injuries the origin of which is usually beyond me). i've been using this sports creme that sarah's dad uses. it works okay. without it, i can't lean back a certain way, or i can't go from laying to sitting or sitting to standing without pain.
on a lighter note, i made lasagna today.
i spend quite a bit of time on preparation, but it was worth it. i browned seasoned (lean, non-growth hormone injected, non-animal byproducts [i.e. possible animal shelter casualties, other disgusting animal parts] fed) ground round and put it, chopped sweet vidalia onions, sliced organic (and 1-2 non-organic) mushrooms into containers off to the side. i made the pasta, oiled the pan, pre-heated the oven to 350, and made i believe, 3 layers. pasta sauce (not just ANY pasta sauce---Bertolli's brand olive oil & garlic tomato sauce. delicious) topped with noodles topped with sauce/onions/seasoned beef. then, more noodles topped with a tofu-mozzarella combination. it was topped with another layer of noodle, then sauce/beef/onions/ another noodle and light spreading of sauce. baked for maybe 50 minutes on 350. uncovered, sprinkled with mozzarella and baked for 5 more minutes. it was worth the work, i suppose. i needed to add an egg to the tofu/cheese mix for it to firm as it cooked, but we had no eggs and i won't go near anything labeled "egg product." i also believe that i should've stirred some garlic powder to the tofu/cheese mix as it really possessed little flavor. anyway, it was a good meal for a boring saturday. rather healthy, too.
i'm learning bit by bit the best ways to prepare tofu. they've got both, the silken Japanese tofu and the harder Chinese tofu at Kroger and both have been pretty easy to prepare. I made a pretty large stir-fry meal last week with tofu, bamboo shoots, water chestnuts, sugar snap peas, carrots, onions, bell peppers, and slivers of chicken (marinated in Drew's Natural Sesame Orange dressing & 10-minute marinade). we surprisingly had no fried rice on hand, but sarah made brown rice instead and it was awesome. tofu, being high in omega-3 oils and protein, is one of the greatest foods ever created. for those of you who don't know, it's made from curdled soybean curd. usually by straining soymilk repeatedly. i don't really know. but coagulate the bean curd and put it in a cube--bingo! you've got tofu. naturally bland in flavor, tofu is great to cook with because it's like a little edible sponge that soaks up the flavor of the food with which you cook it. this made the stir-fry tofu rather tasty. tofu comes in a variety of consistencies and can be a substitute for everything from cheese, cream cheese, eggs, and meats. also, can be stirred into sauces, deserts, soups, anything. either way, i'm gonna keep messing with it and eventually figure it out.