Moonflowers, finally!
I get one every three days or so, but they open in the afternoon, not at night.
What’s worse than 5am yoga? 5am yoga after eating yourself into a carb coma the night before, of course.
The other morning I woke with an urge for corn chowder. First day of a heat wave, why wouldn’t I want soup? I went to the grocery store, and bought the ingredients. Not as easy as it sounds, because I wasn’t thinking about the fact that it was Saturday. In the grocery store. By the time I got home, I needed to rest my back for a while before getting started. Just as well, because lifehappened and I never got to start the soup.
Yesterday, day 2 of the heat wave. I love summer, nothing makes me happier than not needing more than flip flops and shades to walk outside, but nothing holds the heat like the city. The thought of soup was now as appealing as diving into the Hudson River. But…I already dropped $50 in the grocery store the day before, and had told Art Child she could help me. Just in case making soup when it’s 93° with 69% humidity outside wasn’t enough, in between chopping and sautéing, I was back and forth at the laptop, had a thought provoking email conversation with a writing friend about writing and not. This, naturally, is a conversation I feel compelled to keep having, but it’s upsetting too, leaving me to feel generally useless. What to do when I’m stressing myself out? I added biscuits, chicken (for the flesh eaters), and tofu (for the non flesh-eaters) to the menu.
cheddar scallion biscuits
Gin & Lemonade
Maybe an extra jalapeño next time.
Marinated chicken
Tofu in the same marinade.
I’m a pretty good cook, and sometimes everything works out just the way I want it to, and last night’s dinner was one of those meals. Husband went into work early yesterday, so he was actually home at dinnertime, and the four of us sat together. At my table, everyone sitting together means political discussions. Last night’s topic segued from the need for campaign contribution reforms, to general American consumerism and excess. Did it occur to me that in that moment, sucking down my organic, non-GMO corn, jalapeño, and yukon gold potato soup that I was the very picture of American excess? Yes, yes it did. But I enjoyed it anyway. Did the conversation stop me from thinking I had absolutely nailed those biscuits? (If, like me, you’re too heavy handed with a rolling pin, drop biscuits are the way to go.) Nope. When I was already full from the soup and biscuit, did it prevent me from taking a big slice of tofu? Well, you see, I made the whole brick, and it’s only Art Child and I who eat the tofu, so it would be wasteful to not even eat one slice….
What a surprise that I woke up before the sun, feeling like an overstuffed sausage. These political conversations are deadly, I tellya.
mrsfringe 
I don’t think there are many carbs in tofu …
That tofu pic came up on WP Reader, and I thought mmmm that looks like tasty tofu. And indeed it was. Just as delicious looking on the blog. We had some last night, I used an Indonesian marinade and paste which I must post up if I ever get round to taking pix before it all gets eaten.
Anyway, so what’s the marinade, which aside from my preamble, is what I really want to know.
And the biscuits look more like cheese scones.
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haha, my daughter thought the biscuits looked like scones, too. Lighter than scones generally are–but other than that, I’m not sure of the difference. 😉 I’d love to see your Indo tofu marinade! The one I used last night was pretty basic, ginger, garlic, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, and a bit of dark sesame oil 🙂
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The marinade was crushed garlic, coriander, salt, pepper, water and lemon juice (which I didn’t have). No need to leave for long. Fry tofu and tempeh in olive oil (it’s actually a tempeh recipe) and put aside.
Paste is garlic, hot chilli, onion and water.
So I used the marinade plus chilli and onion for the paste. Waste not want not.
Fry paste in pan (in oil) then add tofu and tempeh to finish off. I forgot there wasn’t any ginger in the paste but who cares? It was added by then and I like it anyway.
Serve with dipping sauce of choice, mine is a combination of any or all of shoyu, olive oil, Tabasco or chilli, ginger, garlic, lemon, vinegar, shallots/green onions etc.
The whole meal should be hot but not too hot and piquant. I served it with rice for me, noodles for him, and some pickle (courgette and onion that I made a while back).
Each time I do it, there is never enough.
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That sounds delicious–I will definitely be trying this one soon, thank you!
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in my world carbs plus yoga equals heartburn – me, I’d forego the yoga for the yum!
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I’m happy to say the combo doesn’t cause heartburn for me–not sure how much good my light yoga does me vs such a carb heavy load, but sometimes… 😉
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First of all, I am so effing hungry for some reason.
🙂
That bit about the city holding heat, I can just imagine. Even so, you shouldered on and that meal looks absolutely delish. Politics and oppressive summer heat aside, you can’t beat a great bowl of soup with a side of drop biscuits.
As for your writing and all that, speaking as a friend, sorry you were feeling useless there. Useless, you ain’t. But sometimes, doesn’t matter how much you hear things to the contrary. You just have to believe in yourself and your abilities; have to hang on to hope of better things. All things considered, we’re pretty damn lucky. Telling myself that today.
Btw, I am seriously drooling on my keyboard right now.
🙂
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lol, eat something, you’ll feel better. Until you eat too much, and then you won’t. All fodder for the blog mill. Or the fiction, either way. 😉
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YEAH MOONFLOWERS. I love moonflowers. How they look, daylight and after. How they smell. Just lovely.
Your biscuits ‘n’ chicken ‘n’ chowder also look lovely! I agree, drop biscuits are the way to go! I’ve also typically muffin tinned my biscuits, that way they end up with a reasonable “footprint” and have tremendous craggy tops. I could just eat biscuits for days, I think.
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The moonflowers are larger and softer than I expected. So beautifully, unbelievably soft. 🙂 Muffin tins are also a good plan for this type of biscuit, I like it. Can’t believe it, but I’m getting hungry all over again. 😀
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What can I say this morning, really don’t know I am cold and I am getting a cold, Tim is home so no having the heater on he would complain about the cost and say it isn’t that cold at the moment
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Oh, I’m sorry to hear you aren’t feeling well, Joanne. Cybering you a cozy blanket and a hot cup of tea! ❤
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