Fun with Tofu

Yesterday I cooked with tofu for the first time. The whole experience was sort of miraculous, which had very little to do with the tofu, I'm sure. I was in my usual dilemma--it's Sunday evening, almost six o'clock, and I haven't started dinner. My husband mentioned this, and I avoided the question. I didn't want to disappoint him. I just wanted to start cooking without saying anything at all about it, but he cornered me and accused me of pulling a Sarah Palin by deftly changing the subject to avoid giving him a direct answer. Finally I confessed. I was planning to make a stir-fry.
I got started half an hour later. I had chosen a recipe from my new cookbook, Skinny Bitch in the Kitch (more on Skinny Bitch and its hilarious authors in another post). Normal people study a recipe, make sure they have the ingredients and go out and buy what they don't have, then carefully prepare the dish following the instructions, much as a Hogwarts student would do in Snape's Potions class. Me, I look at recipes as sort of general guidelines, which is why my family cringes when I tell them I'm making Special Surprise for dinner.
The recipe was for Tofu and Steamed Veggies with Brown Rice, or something like that. Forget the brown rice. I already had white rice prepare so all I had to do was heat it up. Fresh veggies? Do I look like I have time for fresh veggies? I had a bag of organic Thai vegetables from Whole Foods Market, so I just used that. I sliced up the tofu, tossed it into a colander, and shouted, "Drain!" at it, which meant that it rendered a good deal of water in the cooking. I was smart enough to saute it first before adding the vegetables, and, as an added last minute inspiration, I grabbed a handful of peanut my husband had brought back from his road trip. The sauce was easy enough--tahini, soy sauce, and safflower oil (because we are out of sesame oil). One hour later, bam! Dinner on the table.
My husband liked it well enough to take for lunch--high praise from him. My oldest daughter avoided the sauce and the tofu and grudgingly ate the vegetables, having demolished the rice instantly. My youngest daughter, who I normally count on to eat everything, found the sauce bitter. (So did I, and I plan to add at least a tablespoon of brown sugar to it next time.) She complained and frowned until my husband had me set a timer for her to finish her food or else. She tried eating one grain of rice at a time, and after we put a stop to that, finished by cramming generous forkful into her mouth. She let the sauce dribble down her chin, gagged, and was banished to the bathroom to spit out the offending mouthful. It so nice to have my cooking appreciated.
So the miraculous meal ended with my youngest daughter not throwing up and everyone getting to bed on time.

VP Debate--Does It Make a Difference?

Last night's debate in St. Louis between vice presidential candidates Senator Joe Biden of Delaware and Governor Sarah Palin of Alaska offered some mild surprises, but in the end will not much alter the political landscape of this historic election. Palin did extremely well, bringing to mind the dyanamic speaker who electrified the Republican convention and giving conservatives a vice presidential candidate of which they can be...well, at least not embarrassed. Likely this was largely due to her thorough preparation and the fact that neither moderator Gwen Ifill nor Biden skewered her. Palin did not ramble incoherently through the myriad talking points on which she has been obviously coached. She did not stare blankly into the camera while question after question rolled over like a truck as she did in her diasterous interview with Katie Couric. She did a great deal of sidestepping, dragging many questions back to her topic of comfort--energy. Of course, Ifill gently chastized both candidates early in the debate for neglecting to answer her question. Palin gave a credible performance with her characteristic folksy charm and managed not to do any further damage to herself or John McCain's campaign.
Joe Biden, on the other hand, gave an excellent performance himself. He did not bluster or blunder as he has been known to do, but his skillful answers to many of the questions demonstrated his superior knowledge on both foreign and domestic issues. Biden did not treat his opponent gently as he sought to highlight the differences between the two presidential candidates and link McCain to the "failed policies of the last eight years," but he did not flatten her as he might have. At one point during the exchange he pointed out bluntly that Palin had failed to answer a question, but he kept things friendly as Palin twinkled her way through the evening.
Palin did succeed in her debate where McCain failed--in demonstrating charm and likability while delivering her answers. If McCain, as he claims, is not Mr. Congeniality, then his vice presidential pick is the yang to his yin. Is it enough, however, to win over undecided and independent voters? Sarah Palin might do well to hope that her ticket loses in November. She could use the time to solidify her knowledge base and experience and add those assets to her considerable charsima. In time, she could be a formidable opponent to any Democratic candidate seeking office. However, she becomes vice president, she will have ample opportunity to demonstrate that she is in way over her head.