The Earl of Sandwich might not approve...

But I do!

Thai inspired, western adaptation of a classic Japanese ingredient. You guessed it, Tofu!

Makes 1 sandwich, multiply by the number of guests

-A nice hearty multi grain bread.
-Some extra firm tofu drained, cut into slabs 1/4 inch thick, and soaking in soy sauce. 2 slabs per sandwich.
-Some lettuce or sprouts
-A few nice basil leaves
-Peanut butter, all natural is best
-Olive or Sesame oil

In a non stick skillet heat a thin layer of the oil, and place the tofu in a single layer, no stacking!
Let that side cook and firm up nicely.
Meanwhile, stack your sandwich. I just included basic ingredients. I like chili sauce, and thinly sliced onion on mine as well, just play around and add whatever you wish.


Flip tofu and let it get nice a brown on the other side. Place directly onto sandwich and serve with Asian Slaw or baby carrots. Healthy as can be!

I know, peanut butter and all this other weird stuff, how can that be anything but gross. Well it's great. You get nice warm tofu, crisp greens, pungent basil and to top it all off, a savory and rich surprise, peanut butter.

Drawing strength from Ing

Yesterday I finally put my tomato plants in the ground. Seventeen all told of the various kinds listed below. I hope that my gardens are set up properly and my plants do well. I didn't just plow up the dirt and begin planting. The two beds are both raised, but the soil of each is quite different. The large bed was there when we moved in. The soil here was black, and sandy, extremely sandy I thought. It was soft, and very loose. I added a bit of organic matter in the form of about 20 gallons of horse manure. Not enough, but it should help. There was evidence of the previous year's crops. Tomatoes...

This was both encouraging and discouraging. Obviously they grew in the garden. That means the soil would support them. The bad news is that since last year tomatoes were grown, likely disease resistant hybrids bought at the local mega-mart garden center, there was a greater chance for contamination of the soil, and then my plants. I'm crossing my fingers. I planted seventeen plants, so hopefully even if some of them succumb to the elements, I should have plenty of hardy plants remaining to supply a bountiful harvest.

That is partially where the second, exclusive tomato bed comes in. My dad and I built and put these in at the end of March. In a patch of the yard that was overgrown with a gardener's worse nightmare: Bermuda grass. Still, not to be dismayed, I shaved this layer of grass off the soil, and worked the soil over to a depth of the shovel blade, about eight inches. There was once a tree here. I found a nice large rotten root system in the ground. It was almost 100% composted. This was a nice surprise since the rest of the soil was clay. It was blackish-gray clay and full of worms, but clay nonetheless. So, 9x9 cubic feet of sphagnum peat moss, cow manure, and top soil from a cattle feed lot was added, and mixed thoroughly, multiple times. I gave it a nice watering, and like my main bed, covered the entire thing with black plastic. There it sat for nearly six weeks as I grew my seedlings, and worried and fretted over them being large and tough enough to plant upon the arrival of May.

My main concern with this bed is that some of the organic matter might be too 'hot' for the plants. I suppose it's a little late to worry about it now, but since this second bed contains my main crop of never before planted , all heirloom, varieties I can't help myself. One thing that I am not worried about as much with this bed is contamination from years past. No tomatoes grew among the Bermuda as far as I could tell, so this should be the first time for this stretch of land. I will post the outcome.

For clarity, I should talk a little about first the soil, and second the varieties of tomatoes there in. Now, a note on soil. Soil rich in organic matter like manure, plant debris, etc, is good stuff. That has been my goal in building, and rebuilding the composition of these beds. However, I noticed that the base each of these beds lye on is clay. The dreaded clay of the South! Well not the red stuff from Georgia, or Alabama, as mentioned previously this stuff is black. To me, that sounds good. Also, it is full of earth worms, always a good sign of fertility. Clay is not altogether bad as some may lead us to believe. Now soil composed of nothing but clay is worthless. It is messy, cold, damp, and hard. Then again, soil with an abundance of sand is dry, hot, and so loose it blows away. So if you turn your bed, and run into some clay, don't freak out, just work in organic matter, like peat moss, and break that clay up. It will hold water where sand will dry out, kind of like a camel's hump does. Think moderation people, too much of anything generally turns out to be no good, tomatoes excluded of course.

Next are the varieties of the tomato plants. I do not mean the specific varieties named after the fruit they produce, like German Queen, or The Big Russian Romas. I am talking about heirloom vs hybrid. There is one main difference I am concerned with. Hybrids are plants that have been crossed and bred to be resistant to diseases. These plants stand up better to diseases than other, non resistant types. Those for the most part are the heirlooms. This group contains vast different varieties that have been bred for their differences as opposed to their resistances. If they have a resistance, that's a bonus, but don't count on it. Since most of the plants I put in are heirlooms, I have to be extra careful and attentive to them should they show signs of any disease.

Why go to the trouble? Well, what's the fun of everything being the same? That's why I would make a poor communist, I like diversity. So, for some extra work and trouble, I planted all these neat-o types in hopes they won't contract some epic plague like disease and rot before my very eyes. Since I hope to grow them as organically as possible, I am making it extra difficult since I will be keeping away from chemicals to control such diseases. Wish me luck. I will need it, but since the tomato only bed is new, it should remain relatively disease free, barring insect carriers infesting it.

***Breaking News*** The two early ones I put in have multiple blooms and are nearing stake size!!! ***Breaking News***

Also, I found a few small pink aphids hanging around. I then went to the most lethal pesticides I could find: my hands! A quick, ginger rubbing of the stalk ground these little botanical vampires to a fine paste.

Oh and in case you were wondering about the title, Ing is the Norse god of the Earth. No, I'm not a worshiper of Thor or Odin, though that would be cool, I am just a geek.

Tis the Season I guess

Just thought I would share...

2 cans refried black beans, fat free if you like.
3 or 4 cloves of fresh garlic finely diced into a paste
1 lime zested and juiced
1 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp jalapeño powder
1 tsp Spanish paprika
salt to taste.

Combine ingredients and eat with chips and beverage..

If you want it hot, and are not making it for a party as I have here... add a fresh serrano or jalapeno dices fine with seeds. MMMmmmm

Fresh Cilantro and raw onion, diced, make a nice garnish.

Lessons learned

Well, I made my stir fry last night. It was a typical stir fry with a twist of Thai, and I was able to accomplish part of what I set out to do.

First, the rice was just right for frying, so the 1 to 1 H2O ratio is the way to go! However, I didn't get my wok as hot as it needed to be until after I put the rice in. I know this because at first, there was some build up in the bottom of the wok. This build up was ricey-residue I suppose, that was easily removed when the heat was increased and I stirred some more.

I think one has to use a no fear approach to wok cooking. Get the damn thing hot, white hot! Yeah, it seems dangerous, and really it is, but if it's not hot enough, you might as well use a non-stick skillet.

I also did the opposite of what I said to do. I did it in one big batch. Too much rice! My veggies were a problem as well, too many, crowded the wok, cooled it down, etc... Next time, one batch per person! I still made a mess and didn't save any real time this way. Now, I will say this, the flavor was pretty good, and it wasn't until after I got high praise from my too-kind wife, that I told her the dreaded fish sauce was used. She was not amused with my ploy.

Ah well, the ingredients listed still can turn a regular generic stir fry into a Thai inspired one with little fuss. As with all cooking from that part of the world, and really I guess any you aren't accustom to, it's all about technique.

I did find one true winner in this endeavor. Tofu. Instead of throwing it in with the veggies, I decided I would make it its own dish. I cut it into thin slivers, and fried them in a little olive oil. Meanwhile I mixed up lime juice, soy sauce and some peanut butter. Once the slivers' texture was improved I added the sauce. This was a hit! I'm not a big fan of the tofus' soft, gooey texture, and my wife hates it, but this was pleasing to tooth and taste.