Trust me when I say this: There really is nothing I’d rather do than write. If I have a day off, I want to spend it creatively. That being said – I am starting to tire of spending all my life lately with fictional characters. The good news is that they do what I want, say the right things and can change in an instant. The bad news? My head is going to explode.

My master’s thesis/creative project/novella is due tomorrow night. Therefore, I spent my day off (and the past two weeks, for that matter) at a makeshift desk on the dining room table. A multi-tasker at heart, you can see a book project in the background (in which, yes, I had to use a lid for circle shapes).

So, this is what’s been consuming me. And it’s a good thing, really. I do believe this collection is the best thing I’ve produced. I’m proud of it, and I can’t wait to see where it comes from here. I love my characters (all 7 of them) even if I hate what they’re doing to my head right now.

I did squeeze in a good dinner tonight. You know my love for stovetop time -along with tofu and vegetables!

This is the ultimate lazy-woman’s dinner. I grilled tofu in a balsamic vinaigrette (Annie’s variety) and then mixed in a bag of frozen vegetables and couscous. I worked on my book in between flipping the tofu to a crispy perfection. No time for special sauces tonight.

Now I hope to catch up on Lost in anticipation for next week. And mix some blog reading into there. I haven’t read blogs in forever. I have no idea what’s going on.

Oh, and a sneak preview for a special post tomorrow… this is a book I’ve been working on for a client:

Expect the big reveal tomorrow!

What has been consuming you lately?

Oh, Mondays. I used to hate you and sometimes I still do. But today, you were good to me. Especially in terms of food and fun. And lovely little people.

Lunch

There was a balanced meal at noon. Salad + Amy’s Indian burrito.

My salad had a secret ingredient – some roasted chickpeas! I made these last week using only olive oil, salt, pepper and garlic salt. My newest love? Just maybe.

I still love me these burritos. Have been hooked ever since I had one at a friend’s house.

After work, there was step class at a new place – my work gym! I’m debating if I should cancel my Washington Sports Club membership. I rarely use the gym anymore, and it’s costing me each month. The classes at work are 1) free 2) offered at better times. The downside? Step class was great but not as complex of a class as WSC. It was a little basic and not that advanced. But I think I’m going to stick with it and see how it goes. Basic moves at high intensity works for me – so I might try it.

When I came home, someone lovely was waiting for me.

Oh, and another lovely someone. Who was cooking. For me. Yes, I am lucky.

Unfortunately, the first lovely someone went crazy on cat nip and ignored me while I lounged on the couch.

The second lovely made us this. Teriyaki Tofu + Kale + Chickpeas.

It looked so pretty on the table.

But I couldn’t get a great shot of it up close. This will have to do.

Bill used the teriyaki recipe from The Vegan Planet – one of my cookbook bibles.

Who’s the lovely someone or something in your life today?

I don’t know if I’ve mentioned it before, but Tuesday nights are my solo date nights. Bill has class until 8:30 p.m., so it’s my night to mess around with whatever ingredients I want in the kitchen. The problem with solo date night is that, even though I get to cook something tasty, I almost always spend the rest of my time doing homework.

But who said reading poetry can’t be a solo date, right?

I got into the kitchen right away tonight and decided to go with ingredients I had on hand. There was one lowly sweet potato and a ton of tofu. I basically just started frying things in two separate pans to see what would happen.

Something like this was born:

Which, I am going to name this:

Barbeque Tofu with Spiced Sweet Potatoes and Mushrooms

Ingredients

• sweet potato
• mushrooms
• 1/2 onion
• 1 container tofu (extra firm and pressed)
• barbeque sauce
• sesame seeds
• ginger
• olive oil

Directions

1. Cut and press the tofu into eight strips.

2. While that’s pressing, chop your onion and sautee in about two tablespoons of olive oil.

3. Chop sweet potato thinly.

4. Add sweet potato to the onion and mushroom mix, cover and let simmer for about 15-20 minutes or until potatoes are tender.

5. While that’s cooking, add the barbeque sauce to both sides of the tofu and cover with sesame seeds (optional).

6. Grill in a pan until it’s almost blackened. This takes a long time.

7. Add a touch of parsley for color and serve on a lobster placemat.

I loved this dish. Perfect for me. And I made a foodie discovery! I actually like the taste of onions. For years, I’ve hated raw onions. But there’s something about the flavor and sweetness of them. Gets me every time.

Back to the grind! 100 more pages to read and then some research! Why do I wait until the last minute always?!

… make that four miles of some running! I am living on an adrenaline rush for the night. I must admit that the run wasn’t all I had hoped – it was raining, so I had to hit the treadmill. And my sore throat/cough affected me more than I had liked, but I did it. I am back on track and in full-on half marathon training!

I couldn’t decide what to make for dinner – either a fritatta or some tofu. It’s been much too long since Tofu Tuesdays were in full swing in this place, so that’s what I went for.

Teriyaki Tofu with Peas and Pasta

I can’t tell if this is pretty or not. Either way, it was a pretty dinner for my stomach. I ended up not pressing the tofu because I was too hungry to wait, and it ended up working out. Success!

My oh my. It’s like reconnecting with an old friend. Me + Tofu + a Movie = a good dinner indeed.

Now I’m off to stop procrastinating and read the rest of my (depressing) book for school tomorrow night. With a name like Disgrace, it’s a little hard to get going. But it’s a good read so far, despite the (very) sad overtones.

Are you reading anything at the moment?

So, I’m pretty sure I sweated out a lot of wine at the gym tonight. And thank goodness. Sometimes, it’s the little things.

Tonight was Day 1 of me getting back into running. With another half marathon on the immediate horizon, I gotta get the mileage going. I ran 3 miles on the treadmill and then lifted for about 15 minutes. I felt really, really good.

Tonight reminded me of how much I love running. I love zoning out, not thinking. Or letting my thoughts come in and out, addressing them – but not focusing long. It’s better than meditation for me because I’m slightly more engaged.

When I got home, I was so excited to see a package from Shannon over at the Daily Balance! I won her Fashion Friday a few weeks back!

I love the little Luna! How cute.

Bill made dinner while I was at the gym. I know he’s a gem – trust me. Few men like cooking as much as he does, and I’m a lucky girl. Especially during training season.

We had tofu and broccoli in a teriyaki soy sauce.

I could have eaten two bowls. I was really hungry today.

Gracias, Bill. You = the best!

On Being Yourself

How much of yourself do you put on your blog? This has been something I’ve been wondering about myself, especially in recent months.

Is it only about food? Or do you add in personal elements?

Is it a daily journal? Or a recipe keeper?

A friend recently said to me that I wasn’t “myself” on my blog, and the comment really got to me. The friend mentioned how emotional I can be – and that those emotions aren’t necessarily represented on the blog.

It’s definitely true. I don’t necessarily spew my emotions all over the internet world, and with good reason.

Blogging is an outlet for me. It’s a way for me to always stay positive, no matter what’s going on. When all else fails in life, there is always good food and exercise. There is always a healthy balance. There is always all of you reading, right now, who keep me going.

At the same time, I try to stay true to who I really am – and I’m always honest about what I write.

How much of yourself do you share on your blog?

Today was the day for packages! More on that later, but first some dinner. Now, this meal is in direct violation with the Cleaner Life Month, and I am completely okay with that. And please note that when I say direct violation, I am being silly After getting home from Step Class, I walked in to the apartment to see Bill cooking up a storm… of tofu! I immediately said, “But I can’t eat tofu this month!” and his face turned into a sad one. He had completely forgotten, and it turns out we have no protein in the house and the tofu was about to expire. I thought about eating a salad but then decided that was just ridiculous. I have been reading labels and avoiding hidden soy for weeks. And gosh darnit, it’s okay if I eat some tofu now. To be honest, I’m not sure if I agree with the bad talk on soy. And this meal was totally worth it tonight.

Tell me. How can you refuse when a man cooks for you? Bill cooks for us often – I will admit. And for that I am thankful.

The perfect meal for a lobster placemat. This dish included tofu, peas, mushrooms and Israeli couscous. Bill used a sauce from our Vegan Planet cookbook.

Now on to some PACKAGES!
I was honestly shocked to see the amount of random goods in the mail today. The best and most important came by way of my good friend Leanna. She’s able to get special discounts on running shoes (like, half off!) and last time I saw her she offered to buy me a pair of shoes. I was more than excited to get this new pair of running shoes for about 5o bucks!

How exciting to be able to say… out with the old (and we’re talking January 2008 old!):

And in with the beautiful new!

The difference is more than noticeable.

And as if running shoes weren’t enough, the good people at Klean Kanteen were nice enough to send me a new sports cap for my water bottle. I wrote them an email, explaining that I loved my new bottle but kept spilling water all over myself! Honestly, I had never spilled so much water. They wrote back immediately, saying they had sports caps and they’d love to ship me one. Talk about good customer service. Thanks, Klean Kanteen!

And as for the third package? Well I’m saving that for a special giveaway in the morning. Stay tuned!

What interesting things have you received in the mail lately? Besides these amazing packages, I got a sweet card from my friend Erica on Paper Source paper! She works for a paper, and they sent some products. I was touched by her card

Well, this is the most productive thing that happened today.

Bill and I have had few arguments in four years of dating, but one thing we can never agree upon is a shower curtain. Bill absolutely hated the last curtain that hung in the bathroom for two years, so today I decided to give a little, and we tried to reach an agreement about a new one. It was neither one of our favorites - but I think it’s nicer. Thoughts?

Be honest. Love it or hate? Let me know.

But let’s backtrack through the day, shall we? I took the opportunity to sleep in this morning, and I spent most of the morning lounging around. We decided to go grocery shopping in early afternoon – hoping to go on a picnic later – but it ended up getting rained out. On the way to the store, we were both hungry so we stopped by the Woodside Deli for some grub.

I have written about this place once before, but the last time we were there it was so packed, and I was embarrassed to take photos. Today we were the only people in the restaurant, so I felt a little more comfortable.

I love all the photos in this place. Actually, I like any restaurant like this. I took a tip from my friend Amy and decided to order the Veggie Burger.  

Talk about a lot of fries. I only ate  a few.

After the massive grocery trip, we were hungry and had a late dinner – around 8:30 p.m. Bill decided to prepare Tofu Marsala (he must have marsala on the mind), and I decided to make a fresh salad with homemade dressing. I asked Amy what kind of dressing she used last night, and she listed off the ingredient list. I decided to mimic it tonight with these ingredients:

• olive oil
• red wine vinegar
• lemon juice
• oregano
• rosemary
• basil
• garlic

It turned out pretty well. I think I used too much red wine vinegar though –

Dinner was another wonderful masterpiece by Mr. Bill. He’s such a good cook. I can’t get over it.

So tell me, who else watched Jon and Kate + 8 tonight? I know I’ve been waiting all day! Looks like this will be an interesting season…

I had a gorgeous run at a new park today after work.

Since I work 40 minutes north of where I live, I have been trying to find some running spots that are on the drive home. This was perfectly situated about 1/3 of the way home.

These pictures were taken from parking lot, so I’m afraid you can’t get the full effect of the lake. The trail is a very scenic route. There were so many people out walking and running; it makes me feel much safer to run on a trail like this than an empty one.

I ended up putting in 5 miles + my aerobic intervals (4 at 1:30). My overall time was 51:53, which is roughly a 10:30 pace. Although I feel faster, my legs always feel so stiff when running. I think that means I need some more yoga for runners in my life. I keep hearing about how great Polly’s yoga videos are – so I think I’ll give it a try.

DINNER

After running, I went to Trader Joe’s, picked up some grub and came home to a delicious Tofu Tuesday made my Bill. He used a recipe from the Vegan Planet, and we’ve decided it’s our favorite tofu marinade of all time.

He marinated the tofu in a combination of soy sauce, sesame oil, water, sesame seeds and garlic. Ah! Divine! 

Bill decided to have some whole wheat naan, so he tore off a piece and gave it to me. This stuff is so doughy.  

Dinner was the usual. We talked, ate and had a nice time while Scone meowed at the door. He has this obsession with closed doors. He’s such a curious cat and always wants to know what’s going on in places he can’t see.

In addition to meowing, he also always plops himself on the table we have for keys and mail. I took pictures of Bill while he ate (which I don’t think he liked) and had to post this one because I love the plant in the background

Phew! Somehow it’s already 9:30 p.m., and I still have school work to do. I’ve been trying to get to bed sooner so I can wake up earlier, but it’s just so hard to fit everything in sometimes.

Questions for Runners! 

• I am so sore when I first start running. Is there anyway to prevent soreness while running? Do you think I’m not stretching properly?
• Do you run in the morning or at night? Dark or light? I ask because I’d love to run in the AM, but it’s pitch black outside, and I can’t run any later (need to get in the shower by 7 a.m. to make it to work on time!)

For those Cooking for One

Khara from Cookware.com sent along a nice article for me to post on my blog. I thought this might be pertinent for those of you who are living in dorms and need to cook for one.

• **

Whether you’re a college student living on campus cafeteria meals or a young professional that’s trying to get used to a new apartment, it can be very difficult to maintain a healthy diet on a regular basis. Part of the reason why is because the idea of dragging our cookware sets out just to cook for one person isn’t that satisfying while another reason is that we’re often left with a fridge full of groceries that have gone bad after our last bulk shopping trip. It’s difficult to find a balance between saving money by taking advantage of grocery store sales and not wasting money on buying too many perishable items that we don’t have time to consume in the coming weeks.

Quality meals tend to get placed on the backburner, no pun intended, simply because there isn’t anyone else there to enjoy and appreciate all of the hard work you put into the dish. One way to save money and enjoy delicious meals is by using a slow cooker or crockpot for hearty soups, stews, and chicken cacciatore recipes. These small kitchen appliances allow you to combine a number of different meat and vegetable ingredients to cook throughout the day while you’re in the classroom or in the office. The best part about it is that crockpots encourage bulk cooking and provide you with leftovers that you can freeze and use at anytime in the future. Not only will you have delicious cooked meals during the weekday grind but this will certainly eliminate waste in your kitchen.

When it comes to cooking for one, small kitchen appliances and tools are a saving grace as they use less energy for smaller portioned meals. Toaster ovens are a great alternative to firing up an entire oven for reheating leftovers or cooking single portion dishes. One of the biggest problems with cooking on your own is that we often can’t find the energy to whip up a delicious and healthy meal after a long day and we tend to turn to whatever lies in our kitchen pantry. In this case, stock your space with healthy snacks like vegetables and dip or salad fixings to give yourself a healthier option when you get back home after a stressful day. Cooking for one can be a stressful experience but with the right food tips and tools, you can continue to enjoy living on your own in the fullest way possible!

Let’s just face the facts right from the get-go: I’m in a lousy mood. On top of having a stomach ache all day, I just realized that I have a ton of reading to do for my class tomorrow. I don’t know how, but I let a million essays slip by and totally forgot to read. I feel like a bad student today. Sometimes it’s so hard to keep it all straight, you know?

On that upbeat note (I promise more fun throughout this post), today’s eats were just the way I like ‘em: veggiefill and filling.

Lunch

Last night I decided it was time to eat tofu in the raw (if that’s the right expression). I sliced some up and threw into a wrap with spinach and hummus.

At lunch I later realized I put way too much tofu on this wrap – I ended up throwing some of it out. I also ate the rest of my salad from yesterday.

I’ve had these Kashi crackers in my desk for a while and decided to have a little crunch.

Snack Factor

Chobani helped me through the afternoon. My stomach was growling – yet I felt sick at the same time. A terrible predicament.

Dinner

When you have a container of garlic this size, there’s no way you won’t overuse it.

Tonight I made a mix of items I was craving: spinach, asparagus, rice and sweet potato fries. I call it Mix and Chips.

Check out the pecan wonder.

Delightful.

Shredding

I finally tried out Jillian Michael’s 30-Day Shred today. I liked it! Some of the moves were hard for me (the side to side lunges, for some reason), but I liked the quickie workout. It made me feel like less of a sick slob

I wish this post was more inventive and full of better stories, but I need to get back to that reading. Grrrr. These are days I wish I was done with school….

Are you in school? What are things like for you?

Tonight’s dinner was a mouthful (couldn’t resist the pun). I was in the mood for tofu, and we have had leeks in the refrigerator for a while now. No better time than the present! Plus, Bill and I are having bad days (despite my being on Spring Break both from work and school) and we had a feeling some fresh veggies and tofu would cheer us up.

Time: 35 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 bunch fresh kale
• 3 whole carrots
• 1 leek
• 3/4 cup orzo
• 1 package of extra firm tofu
• Sesame oil (to taste)
• Soy sauce (to taste)
• Salt, pepper (to taste)
• 1 teaspoon garlic

Directions:

1) Begin by preparing tofu first. I drained and pressed my tofu for one hour using paper towels, a cutting board and several books.

Grill in a pan using salt, pepper, soy sauce and sesame oil.

2) While that is grilling, de-stem the kale, peel and chop the carrots and leeks.

3) Heat olive oil and garlic in a pan. Add the vegetables and simmer until wilted, tossing often.

4) Cook orzo as directed and add to vegetable mixture. Add soy sauce and toss.

5) Top with tofu and serve on a lobster placemat.

Hands down, this is the best tofu dish I’ve ever made, which is why I wanted to share it in recipe form on the blog. If you don’t like orzo, you could substitute with brown rice or whole wheat pasta. However, I’d highly recommend the orzo. It gives the dish such a nice texture, and I don’t think rice or pasta would have the same effect. Also, FYI: I cook most things to taste. You may want to use less soy sauce, and that’s fine. Or maybe add more pepper. This is a throw-together type of meal, so I say: Trust your gut.