Honey-Curry Tofu

Last week, I was super pumped when I found a whole package of organic tofu for less than nz$4!!! If that ain’t a steal, then I don’t know what is   I was more than pleased!

Since Alex is arriving the day after tomorrow, I figured that tonight would be a good night to have it for dinner  Better hid the evidence…

Seriously I just want to bite into it!  I try and stay away form soy products, but I just think that tofu tastes…..so…..GOOD!!

I would indeed get immense joy from just chomping at that chunk, but I decided to make it taste even better by marinading it.

To make the Honey-Curry Marinade, I mixed together:

• 1 tsp honey
• 1/8 cup soymilk
• 1/8 cup oil
• 2 tsp shredded coconut
• 1 heaping tsp of curry powder

I sliced the block, dipped the pieces in the marinade, placed them in a pan, and poured the remaining juices on top.

I let it marinade in the fridge allllll afternoon.

Meanwhile, I had a fairly productive day, doing lots of work for teaching and Skyping with Dominique (the genius behind my “how to resist sweets” tips).  She was even there to witness my afternoon snack.  An apple and p’nut butt-!

I also did my dorm room strength training routine since I realized I hadn’t done anything active yet today!  Oy.

Dinner time rolled around, I pan-fried the tofu until it crispified on the edges.

Then I took the leftover marinade and sauteed the veggies in it:  1 small onion, some broccoli, and a carrot.  I microwaved the carrot and broccoli before so that they were already softened a bit.  It saves a lot of time!

Hannah was the Brown Rice Boss.

Dinner is served!

Food-tastic meal!

Do you have a good tofu-marinade?

Namaste.

Hungry Hungry Yogi

Again, HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY to all the mothers of the world!  As a teacher and a daughter, I think I know better than anyone how wonderful you all are.  Read about my mommy here!

After a classic bowl of oatmeal (coconut-almond-cinnamon-p’nut butt’) I went to a 90 minute long beginner’s Ashtanga class at Auckland Yoga Academy.  I was really looking forward to a good stretch because of the knee pain I was dealing with yesterday.

It was a really wonderful class that got my heart pumping and my sweat flowing.  Since it’s a longer class, I had to pay 2 freaking extra dollars! we did 5 full sets of Sun Salutation/Suryanamaskara A & B (we usually do 5 of A then 3 or 4 of B) and I was happy to be feeling the burn, baby!

I was sort of expecting to be really stiff or creaky in my knees, but it was actually the opposite!  In fact, for the first time EVER I felt like I was actually doing Marichyasana B

source (that’s not me)

and D!

source (that’s not me, either)

WTF, knees?  I thought you were upset about something?  Admittedly, I could not do it as perfectly as these women, but for the first time, I could actually get into the posture and it didn’t feel like I was faking it!  Marichyasana D is supposed to be “the most challenging posture” in all of Ashtanga (the response in my head to that is usually, according to who?) but either way, it is certainly one of the most challenging ones for me, especially on my knees, ankles, and hips.

I can only take that as a message that yoga is the best thing for my body. It’s just what my body loves most.  Period.

When I got home, I was starving after working so hard for 90 minutes, so I put together a robust sandwich for myself.

On two quite toasty slices of Wholemeal Multigrain bread, I put three warm falafel balls, a hardboiled egg, and a handful of salad greens.  It was a bit dry (it would have been good with pasta sauce or tzatziki!) but it was still soooooo satisfying!

Though, surprisingly, my tummy was grumbling a short while later!  Probs because I hit the mat so hard today

So I reheated 1/8th of the leftover pizza and also ate two mandarin oranges from the farmer’s market.  They are so sour!  And many of them in the bag are mushy?  Not pleased.  Must chat with fruit farmer next week.

I spent the afternoon lesson planning.  I’m pretty excited for my maths measurement lesson this week!

For dinner: Curry Shrimp with Broccoli and Lentils  While boiling some brown rice, microwave chopped broccoli for 2 minutes (this “steams” them), then saute said broccoli with shrimp, pre-cooked lentils, 2 tsps curry powder, and some soy sauce!

yumyumyumyumyum  If you don’t microwave the broccoli, it won’t soften very easily while sauteing them; mine usually browns without getting soft at all.  Not what we’re going for!  But this, on the other hand, was perfect

For dessert:

2 small slices of ginger crunch.  Perfect way to end the night

What type of exercise is your body’s favorite?

Namaste.

Green Food

For lunch today I wanted something green, my favorite food color (it means there are lots of nutrients!) I started by making a Green Curry Rice Salad

I started by sauteing onions and garlic (what else is new? lol) with some curry powder.

Broccoli and shredded zucchini were added for more green power.

Next, I put in about 1/3c green lentils I had cooked up.

Plus I seasoned it with half of a lime. More green!

I added in some cooked brown rice and lunch was served!

It was light and fresh, but also spicy and filling. Perfection!

I whipped up another fun treat with my leftover zucchini: Zuke Chips! I put slices of zucchini on a piece of foil and drizzled them with about 1/8c of herb oil (olive oil mixed with Italian herb paste)

After dusting them with salt and pepper, I baked them in my microwave/oven on 230*C for about 25 minutes, flipping them a couple times.

They came out a bit uneven (I blame this on the “confection” setting of my microwave), but still beautiful if you ask me!

They were super delicious, I might add.

Today was uuber stressful because I wanted to turn in the hard copy of my literacy paper today after class, but the printers on campus were down. Of course the one day I need to print something, the printers are out of order. I ended up paying almost NZ$4 to print it at the public library. AND now tomorrow I have to make the trip all the way to the North Shore campus (a 20 minute bus ride each way) just to drop it into the education mailbox to submit it on time. As if this paper wasn’t giving me enough stress! Trying not to dwell. The end is almost near!

Luckily Math class wasn’t too bad today, we had a guest speaker about the Pasifika (Polynesian) view of mathematics, which generally is very non-specific. For example, they traditionally measure distance in “strides” and quantify things without numbers, just generalizing terms. I learned a fun activity about incorporating Pasifika quilt patterns into symmetry, fractions, …anything maths! Plus we got all of our materials together for an assessment project we have coming up after break. Love ittt.

What’s your favorite food color?

Namaste.

Dreaming of Kitchen-Ware

Here are the answers to the trivia questions from last post:

• The celebrities pictured all had roles in Scream movies.
• Pinenuts are used to make pesto.
• Grease is the musical with “Pink Ladies” and “T-Birds”.
• The Declaration of Independence was signed in Philadelphia!
• Natalie Portman won Best Actress at the Oscar’s this year.

If you guessed them all right, then you are as smart as I am!  (Actually you are smarter because I did not make the Scream connection.)

I had a fantastic lunch today!  Leftover Energizing Salad with two falafel balls, spinach, and carrot sticks.  I picked up a trick from the blog Une Vie Saine and nuked my carrots in the microwave for a minute.  They got deliciously soft, warm, and sweet!

This lunch was SO filling and satisfying, which is good because I had a long afternoon of class ahead of me.

Class wasn’t too bad today.  After learning about Maori language during Maori Culture & Society, I had a one-hour break before learning about “planning with the end in mind” in my leadership class. It was a really interesting topic, and I’d like to share my thoughts on it after I write the accompanying assignment

After class on Wednesdays, I barely put my backpack down before starting on dinner.  Tonight was no different!

I sliced some sweet potatoes kumara and sauteed them with onion and shrimp, flavoring it all with curry powder.  I ate it with quinoa and some shredded coconut on top.  It was super tasty, but my crummy pan heats up too fast, so the potatoes and onions were crunchier than I would have liked.

*sighs, looks into distance, dreams of future sophisticated kitchen-ware*

All I want to do is hit the sack since I barely slept last night.  But I need to prep for student teaching tomorrow and try and stay awake until 11pm (7am EST) to register for classes next semester.    Course registration is always super stressful for me because I have such a rigid schedule.  In order to graduate in four years with my certification in both elementary and special education, with this semester abroad, I need to get into each class exactly where I have plotted them for the next two years.  There is no room for flexibility.  Anxiety and exhaustion are running high, but I’m trying to remain calm yet alert.

What’s your dream piece of kitchen ware?

Namaste.