new shoes!

I am unusually excited about my new shoes. They are orangey-pink, pointy-toed, slightly-shimmery, and suprisingly comfortable. A worthy addition to my ever-more-colorful shoe collection!

Lucky Day

I rarely win things. When I do, it is usually because everybody wins something...and then it is just something like movie tickets that I still haven't used a year later.

But today... I was surprised at work by a bunch of department directors with balloons and large laminated money, there to inform me that I had just won the drawing for $1000!!! We have an employee survey each year and when we reach a certain participation rate, they give away prizes...like the one I just won.

It totally made my day! There are oh, so many things I could do with it, too...

Kitchen Experiment-Tofu

So, I had to at least try it...

I consider myself a "substitution queen" when it comes to cooking. I developed this talent out of necessity: I know many individuals with food intolerances or allergies, and I rarely have every ingredient necessary for recipes. Having a basic knowledge of Food Science (thank you Charlotte Brennan) is very helpful in this arena, as well as my No-Fear attitude about experimenting. I once created pancakes out of the only 2 things in my apartment...a layered cookie mix and a container of yogurt. They weren't bad either :)

I have long heard and even taught that tofu can be used as a substitute for egg. But, I admit, I had never actually tried it. Probably because I don't really keep tofu just lying around. (I would never ever make it as a vegan...I love my dairy foods and other protein sources way too much. I've eaten tofu before and it's not bad (when cooked by people that know what they are doing) but only when it was used as a meat substitute.

So, I ventured this morning to try German pancakes and use tofu instead. This was a daring endeavor because egg is the main ingredient. But, like any substitution-ist knows, unless you HAVE to trade out an ingredient completely for a baked product (for an allergy or you really don't have ANY in your house), it's best to keep about 1/2 of the original ingredient or the texture/chemistry won't turn out quite right (remind me to tell you about my Ultimate brownie substitution experiment sometime). So, I did 1/2 cup silken tofu and 2 eggs.

Result? well. Let's just say I was not impressed. I'm positive that tofu works great in cookies and cakes where egg is a very small part of the recipe. As a main ingredient...it's not even close to an egg. The German pancake turned out spongy and difficult to taste. Pouring my warm fruit compote all over it made it barely tolerable to eat.

I still have half a box of tofu left over...anyone have a good suggestion on how to use it?

My Mother

I love my beautiful mother. I am amazed at how she cooked for, cleaned, organized, taught, supported, and raised 7 children (as well as starting a piano teaching studio and fulfilling many large church callings). Her faith and love have been a comfort and an encouragement to me. She always tried so hard to do it all and succeeded most of the time. You are a Super woman, indeed. I love you Mom! (Yes, I know I'm a spitten image of her...and her mom....and her mom. It's genetic.)

And a shout out to some of my other favorite mothers (sisters). Happy Mother's Day.

What dietitians deal with on a daily basis

1. People you've just met will have an overwhelming desire to tell you everything they just ate

2. Whenever eating a meal, someone will ask how nutritious it is

3. Apologies by anyone serving bringing or serving any dish they feel is even slightly "unhealthy"

4. Being asked for "the list" of things you shouldn't eat or to "write them a diet"

5. Doing damage control for some misleading ad on TV

6. Gullible people that believe something they once read has more merit than your credentials/education

7. Automatically carb counting what you are eating

8. Wondering how one is supposed to wash/clean her rubber food models that everyone has handled.

9. Having the contents of your grocery cart scrutinized by people you see at the store

10. The urge to disguise oneself when going through the drive thru at fast food joints

11. Making other people feel good when they announce that they caught you eating Ben & Jerry's or girl scout cookies.

12. Suppressing laughter as you listen to conversations in the grocery store