Mindful Monday: Restless for patience

Mindful Monday: On Monday's I'm going to share what's been on my mind. I by no means have any of this figured out, I'm just thinking out loud here. 

Note/edit: I wrote the first part of this post in a pretty bad mood.  When I came back an re-read it I almost deleted it and started over.  But as the song at the end of the post mentions I figured you might as well see some of the real me. My attitude is back in perspective,well, at least for the moment.

Restless.  That's the best way to describe how I've been feeling. And it's not just a "I need to keep busy and do something restless".  It's more of an internal restlessness.  I feel like a crabby little kid or a moody teenager who just wants it their way and keeps complaining and asking questions.  I want to know the who, what, where, when, why and how of my life and I'm having a hard time being patient about it.  I'm being selfish thinking about what I want instead of being thankful for what I have.  I'm focusing on my life and what's next for me instead of using my time to help others.  I see this in myself and I hate it.  I'm frustrated that I keep repeating this pattern and I'm restless for change.  Dwelling on this only keeps me stuck here.

Fermented Friday: Pizza Crust

Fermented Friday: recipes featuring yeast, wine, beer or some form of fermentation


These pictures do not do justice to this pizza crust.  Nope, not even close.  But since you're on the other side of the screen and the pizzas have already been eaten, they'll have to do.

Pizza making is a longstanding tradition at our house.  Traditionally we've made personal pizzas in pie tins so each person can customize a pizza to their liking.  After using the same crust recipe for quite a while I've realized it just doesn't cut it anymore.  The flour and liquid ratios were way off in the recipe I was using and I always ended up just dumping in more flour until it felt right.  So I'm on a hunt for the perfect pizza crust recipe. One that turns out just right every time.  You wouldn't think there would be that much variability in pizza crust.  Flour, water, yeast, salt, mix, knead , let rise, etc.  Guess again, there are tons of recipes claiming to be the last crust recipe you'll ever need. Some have only flour, water, yeast and salt and others add in sugar, oil or herbs.  The baking technique also seems to be key.  You could go for a pizza pan, pizza stone, bake it right on the rack, grill it, broil it, there's even a way to do it on the stove.  Which recipe and method is best? Only one way to find out, try it!

Thursday's Thoughts: A Random List

Thursday's Thoughts: a taste of what I'm thinking


I don't really feel like writing paragraphs and my thoughts are pretty scattered today.  It's a list kind of day.  I like making lists and I like crossing things off even better.  This isn't a to-do list that needs crossing off, but a random collection of thoughts I don't know what to do with or feel like expanding on at the moment.  

1. I bought new shampoo the other day that's rosemary and mint scented, ahhhh! Yum! Now if I can just find that in a lotion, basil (or maybe even caraway?) would be nice too. Hmmm, what about gum in those flavors? Yeah, maybe not, never mind. Rosemary or basil chap stick?

2. I ran across this recipe for lilac jelly.  While I love the smell of lilacs and unique recipes I'm not sure I'd actually eat lilac jelly.

3. I just found a tick crawling on me and now I feel like they're everywhere, eeek.  Don't you hate that feeling!?

4. Sunburn is closer to the color of pink watermelon than cherry red.  I think I put aloe on three times already today.  It was so worth it to be in the sunshine though.

Weird Recipe Wednesday: Savory Granola and Sriracha Bean Dip

Weird Recipe Wednesday: Because some recipes are so weird I just HAVE to try them.  My curiosity always gets the better of me.

Two recipes again this week, one that was okay but not really my thing and one I would make again.  I'm fooling around with the formatting on these posts so you will need to click "Wait, there's more! Click to keep reading..." at the bottom to see the rest.

I've always wanted to try making savory granola, but never got around to coming up with a recipe.  I was thinking more along the lines of tomato basil or lemon rosemary but then I saw this recipe for Thai Peanut Granola.  I made of few substitutions (of course) so I wouldn't exactly call it Thai but it was definitely savory as opposed to sweet.  The end result had more of an Asian flavor profile.

Tofu Tuesday: Say Goodbye to Soggy

Tofu Tuesday: a quest for tasty tofu recipes


Just a warning, this one's kind of long.  But stick with me there's a lot to learn and it actually is interesting despite the fact that it's tofu.  Prepare to discover something new.  If nothing else take a look at the pictures and see if you can guess what's going on.


I think what gets me about tofu is the texture.  I'm a texture person and tofu is just so, I don't know, soggy?  It could be I'm buying the wrong kind, not pressing it long enough, or haven't found the right way to prepare it.  While it's not difficult to change the outside texture of the tofu, the center is often still "raw" so to speak.  I don't want to eat a nicely crusted piece of tofu that is still soggy and tofu tasting in the center. I don't want to take a forkful and think, "oh this is just a slab of tofu trying to be something else." No, I want to take a bite and think about the flavors in the dish without even noticing that I'm eating tofu.  This will take some trial and error.  I'm looking for a fail-proof method but also want to try out recipes for different marinades, sauces, coatings etc. As of now, I'm going to try both at once to speed up the process.  I can only take so much tofu.  (Who knows, maybe all these tofu experiments will bring me full circle back to meat.)  I'm also cutting recipes in half so I don't have as many leftovers.  Feel free to double the recipe if you're using the whole block of tofu,  plan to feed a few people or want leftovers.