French Toast & Szechuan Tofu

I exist! A belated Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. Hopefully your new year is full a joy and love and all the good stuff. So far, I have yet to make my resolution. I just want to continue to be healthy and happy.

I'm sorry I didnt really update, if anyone missed me. At home, I really don't go on the computer. Either I am with friends or spending time with the family...oh and don't forget dumb 'ol work. I feel like I spent my winter holiday in a clothing store. I really wonder how many pieces of clothes I rang up. Im not doubting 2,000 or more.

I did have a great Christmas. It was the first year EVER that we stayed at home with just my parents and sister. It was really nice and relaxing. I hope we do it more often. I got a lot of great gifts, including the cookbook Sinful Vegan. Yum! Everything looks so good. My sister also donated a BedKit in my name. It is an organization by the name of "Sleeping Children Around the World" (scaw) which goes to countries in need, buys the supplies for the kits in that nation, and give them to children who are in need of common necessities. Each kit is a 35 dollar donation, which constists of: a mat or mattress, pillow, sheet, blanket, mosquito net (if applicable), clothes outfit, towel and school supplies. All of the money reaches the kids, as the volunteers pay for their own travel expenses. My entire family was really excited about it. We are now planning on holding back on gifts and donating to a cause in each of our names. My big gift of the year was a good chunk of change. I ended up buying a Wii and games with the money. Now all I can say is my search was HORRIBLE. It took 2 weeks of me calling 20-30 stores each morning after their shipments. By the end of the journey, I knew some of the employees just by their voice, some knew me, and I had all the shipments down by heart. I freaked out when one store finally said "We have one left." I rushed out the door and was giggling the entire way to the store. I absolutely love it. I have wanted one for awhile. I got 4 games (Animal Crossing, Harvest Moon, Super Mario Galaxy, and Cooking Mama) and so far I love them all.

I also had a great New Years Eve. I spent it with some friends downtown at a comedy show. It was a bunch of comedians and also a comedy sketch group. It was great fun, though some of the comedians were a bit too rounchy for my taste. The sketch group was really great. They are called Big Dog Eat Child. If you are ever in the Chicagoland area, you should check these guys out. At midnight they had a complementary champagne toast. And what was even greater was public transportation was free all night.

So here I am, back at school. Hoping that all of my books arrive in time. I ordered only a week ago, so Im guessing they will be a bit late. I start school on Monday. Genetics and lab, Physics and lab, Criminology, and Forensic Science. Im quite excited about the last two. I hate Physics. And am nervous about the workload of genetics. It's going to be tough, but atleast I am doing what I am passionate about.

Long update, I mean I was gone for a full month! So on to the goods.

First up is mouth-watering french toast. This was a really late dinner. I think I started cooking around 11pm? I used Vegan for the People's recipe. I looked at Isa's, but it was just too many ingredients and a few I didnt have. So this one was quite simple with spices, flour, nooch, and soy milk. I used an older loaf of french bread that needed to be eaten quickly. I got a bit impatient with the soaking process, so a few of the pieces didnt get the 'full drench' effect. It was amazingly delicious and the whole apartment was full of the aroma. My roommate came in wondering what smelled so good, she always gets so surprised when vegan food tastes good. I was really excited to pair this feast with tons and tons of fruit that I just bought the day before. I had bought fresh strawberries, kiwi, plums, raspberries, AND nectarine. Yeah I went crazy. So I cut up most of the other fruits. I got to the strawberries...they were all horribly moldy. I bought them the day before. I was so frustrated, but it is such a hassel to go to the market that I wasn't about to turn around and return them. So I haven't bought any berries since. But Im always stocked with kiwi, pears, and apples. yum!

And what do we have here, Szechuan Tofu, and why yes? Another Vegan Dad recipe. Added to his recipe, I added celery, onion, and bean sprouts. It was sooo damn delicious. I roasted the peanuts first, so the flavor from the peanuts were so fulfilling. Im also glad I added the celery as the crunch from the nut and celery was the perfect combination with the softness of the pepper and tofu. The szechuan sauce I bought was absolutely hot! I really wasn't expecting it so I piled on my normal amount of asian chili sauce. Word of advice to myself, only a tbsp next time...please? I ate every bite and more, but I also had to nurse my mouth every few bites. I paired it with some cous cous. This was definitely a great dish that I will be making sometime in the future. Yum.

Enjoy your week. I will be back, much sooner than the last.