Great Gift!

Yesterday at work we had our secret santa and potluck lunch. Everyone seemed to have a good time except Pete who had something up his ass. Scrooge in a santa hat. Whatever.
Anyhow, every dish was meat free! I don't think it was intentional, but it's nice be able to try everything. There's a pretty high ratio of vegetarians to meat-eaters at my workplace. Out of 26 employees 4 of us are vegetarian.
Dana was my secret santa and she got me an awesome gift. Wrapped in two Toronto Maple Leafs towels was Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover's Soul . I love it! I was up until late last night reading. No more work at my full time job until December 29. Woo-hoo! I've got a short stint at the wine store on Boxing Day, but other than that, I'M FREE!

Can't Wait For Dinner

I'm making a yummy dinner tonight and wanted to share. It's from the cookbook Eat, Shrink and Be Merry which is the third written by 2 Canadian sisters Janet & Greta Podleski. This one is called Parma Chameleon. Tonight I'm using Pete's Tofu which I've always had good luck with. I like to use fresh herbs and grate my own Parmesan rather than using the stuff in a can. It makes a huge difference in taste. And it's easy to make this vegan buy using rice Parmesan cheese and a mozzarella-type "cheese" equivalent. I will sometimes use water or soy milk instead of the egg anyway. It's just used to get the crumbs to stick to the tofu.

PARMA CHAMELEON

Olive oil cooking spray
1 lb. Firm tofu
1 cup fresh whole wheat bread crumbs*
¼ cup + 2 tbsp. grated Parmesan cheese, divided
½ tsp. each dried basil and dried oregano
¼ tsp. each salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 egg
1 ½ cups your favorite tomato pasta sauce, divided
½ cup packed shredded light mozzarella cheese (2 oz)
1 tbsp. chopped fresh parsley

Preheat oven to 400F. Spray a non-stick baking sheet with olilve oil spray and set aside.
Drain liquid from tofu and blot dry with paper towels. Slice block into 6 to 8 equal slices, about ½-inch thick. Lay slices on paper towels and blot again.
Combine bread crumbs, ¼ cup Parmesan cheese, basil, oregano, salt and pepper in a shallow bowl. Place egg in another shallow bowl and beat lightly with a fork.
Working one piece at a time, dip tofu in egg and then in crumb mixture. Make sure both sides are well coated with crumb mixture. Place on cookie sheet. Repeat with remaining tofu pieces. (Don’t worry if you have some crumbs left over – you’ll use them later). Spray tops of tofu with olive oil spray. Bake for 8 minutes. Using a spatula, gently turn pieces over. Bake an additional 8 minutes. Remove tofu from oven, but leave oven on
Spray a medium casserole dish with cooking spray. Spread ½ cup pasta sauce over bottom of dish. Lay browned tofu pieces in dish close together and in a single layer if possible. Top with remaining pasta sauce, followed by mozzarella, remaining Parmesan cheese and parsley. If you have any crumbs left over, sprinkle them over the entire dish. Bake, uncovered for 15 minutes. Turn broiler on and broil about 4 inches from heat source for 2 minutes, or until cheese is golden brown. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Calories 247, fat 9.8g, protein 22g, fiber 4.5g

*To make fresh bread crumbs, place a couple of slices of whole wheat bread in a food processor or mini chopper and pulse on and off until soft crumbs are formed.

Big Head

After I posted the last message, I went to bed. I woke around 6am with a pretty bad sinus headache. I popped a couple of Tylenol Sinus and went back to sleep. I really, really, REALLY hate anything wrong with my head. Headaches are the worst. Any other sort of body pain or ache is manageable. Even my back pains are not as debilitating as a headache. Anyway, I woke up again around 9am with a doozey! I was in such agony. J brought me in a couple of more Tylenol Sinus and I sort of fell asleep again. When I woke up at 11am, he suggested that maybe if I got up, it would help to drain out my sinuses. I sat on the couch for about 10 minutes and couldn't take it anymore. I really thought I was going to throw up. Yet, I was really hungry. Through all of this, Simon seemed quite concerned. He stayed in bed with me most of the morning and anytime I got up for a bathroom trip or a drink of water, he was right behind me. He's such a sweetheart. J offered to make me a grilled cheese sandwich. At that moment, it sounded like the best friggin' thing I could ever eat. I layed back down and he came in some time later (I don't remember how long. I think I was getting delirious at this point) with a plate holding the most magnificent grilled cheese sandwich I have ever seen. He even put a pickle on the side, but I had to send that back. My stomach sort of flip-flopped at the thought of it . Simon and I shared the sandwich and I popped a Tylenol 3 this time. I was ready for something more serious than over the counter meds. I passed out again until 3:30! When I woke up this time, I felt a little groggy but refreshed as well. My headache was almost all gone. What a waste of a day. I had so much planned and so much to do and did absolutely nothing. I was really pissed off. But very appreciative and grateful for the two main guys in my life. J and Simon. They really took good care of me. They rock!

Back In Sympatico World

My computer is now up and running! J reformatted and did some updating for me. I've graduated to XP and am finding it a little strange. I was so used to the 98 and 2000. This one is different and I'm playing around trying to get things set up the way I like them. I haven't got any of my programs put in yet or my CSI game. Who has time? We're still living out of boxes and trying to get things into ship-shape. Don't even mention Christmas to me! I might just skip it this year. Now that we're in a big apartment building I'm being denied a real tree. I'm so stubborn and spoiled that if I can't have a real Christmas tree then I don't want one at all.


I noticed at the grocery store they had some potted Norfolk pines deocrated with little bows and things. That may be a possible sustitute. I wonder if they are difficult to look after and how big they grow? Something I'll have to look into with all the free time I have.

I Got Keys!

Diane came into my work this morning and told me that the new place is at last ready and on my way home, I picked up the keys! Everything looks nice and new and clean. Now the fun begins - actually moving.
I don't know when we'll be settled in and wired for internet. Until then....

I Can't Breed

My nose is so stuffed up, I can't breed (breathe). I've been sick for a few days now and getting really tired of feeling shitty. All I want to do is sleep. J's birthday was yesterday and it took all the energy I had to make up a special dinner and sit with him to eat it. I wasn't so far gone that I couldn't enjoy some good food and a nice bottle of Stratus 2002 Cabernet Franc which had been bought for the occasion. Afterwards we had cake and I went to bed at 8:30. Happy Birthday honey. So sorry.