The Little Gym and Tofu = Great Day!

Today I got to keep both boys with me all day - and not because one of them had a doctor's appointment or was sick. This is doesn't ever happen, so it was a pretty cool day for me. We started the day with our first ever attempt at a class at the Little Gym. All in all it went well. I will say, however, that despite them assuring me on the phone that they would have a helper for me so my boys would get to do everything everyone else got to do, that didn't happen. I felt very out of the loop when they did things that required spotters because only one of my kids would get to do it, which sucked. It is pretty pricey for twins, so I am torn about signing up for the rest of the summer given that they didn't help accommodate the boys. I'm still trying to figure it out. I have until next Wednesday, so I have some time.


Now, for the tofu part...I know it may seem like I am a bit obsessed with food these days, but you have to understand that Doug and I have eaten more gross frozen pizzas in the last 10 months than we had eaten in the previous 15 years. We have missed real food. We have missed cooking. We have missed eating like grownups. We are not the take-out type, we make most everything from scratch (hello -- cheaper and healthier!) including all our baby food, we compost, we recycle (even the toilet paper tubes), and yes, we use cloth diapers. We have missed being who we are!!! So yes, the fact that I had the time and energy to make one of our old 30 minutes or less standby dinners that required chopping and fed out compost pile makes me really, really, really happy.


Like I said, a great day :)

For those that care to try it:

For the sweet and sour sauce:

• 1/2 c. catsup
• 3 Tbs. cider vinegar
• 2 Tbs. cornstarch
• 2 Tbs. brown sugar
• juice from 1 20 oz can of pineapple chunks (in natural juice, not syrup)
• 1 1/2 Tbs. soy sauce

Just mix it all together. Stir fry your favorite veggies and protein. (Tonight we used a zucchini, a red onion, two carrots, a head of broccoli, and a block of pressed tofu - because that was what was in our fridge.) Do the protein first, take it out of the pan - then do the veggies. When the veggies are ALMOST cooked like you want them, give the sauce a stir and pour it in along with the pineapple chunks. It will thicken pretty fast. Be warned - the sugar in the sauce and the pineapple almost always get screaming hot.


TIPS to make it all happen in <30 minutes:

Start a pot of rice before you do anything else.

While your protein sautes, chop your veggies. Separate your veggies into two piles, those that cook fast, and those that take longer.

For the veggies that take longer (like carrots and broccoli), put them in a microwave proof bowl with a little water and cover and cook for about 90 seconds to get them partially steamed. Then add them to the skillet.