Trick or Treat?

On Tuesday night, I looked at a Sherman Terrace condo. It was cute, but a bit small and rough around the edges. And I need to assess if I can afford it and if I want to own something right now.

When I got home, I watched Glee and made braised bok choy with glazed tofu. It turned out very well, although I had to employ the fan to dispel the greasy scent filling my abode after the glazing. Here's the recipe:

Glazed Tofu over Braised Bok Choy
1 14-oz. package firm tofu (cut into 1/2-inch slices)
spray of olive oil
2 heads bok choy (~ 6 c. cut into 1-inch pieces)
3 garlic cloves (1 thinly sliced, 2 minced)
1 14-oz. can vegetable broth
1 1-inch piece ginger, peeled and grated
2 tsp. fish sauce or tamari
1/4 c. soy sauce
4 tsp. dark brown sugar
2 tsp. toasted sesame oil
2 Tbsp. cornstarch

Dry tofu with towels. (Wrap the tofu with the towels and press it with some heavy cans to extract a bit more moisture.) Heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Saute bok choy and garlic in oil for about 4 mins. Add 1 1/2 c. of broth and simmer until reduced by half. Meanwhile, combine minced garlic, ginger, fish and soy sauces, brown sugar, and sesame oil. Heat oil in another skillet over high heat. Add tofu and brown, ~ 3 mins. per side. Add the soy mixture to coat the tofu. Simmer, uncovered, until the sauce is syrupy, ~ 4 mins. Stir the cornstarch into the reserved broth; add to the bok choy. Stir gently until thickened, ~ 2 mins. Divide the bok choy onto 4 plates and top with glazed tofu.

On Glee, they featured Rocky Horror Picture Show, which made me want to be one of the characters from it for Halloween. (It's now recorded on my list of potential costumes.)

My favorite article on NPR this week noted that Tom DeLay's trial starts in Austin on Monday. I hope they nail the bugger for illegally financing Texas state legislature races.

On Friday night, I hauled my exhausted bum to a Halloween costume party on the west side. I went as Mia Wallace (Uma Thurman's character from Pulp Fiction), and my accomplice played a garden gnome. It was a fun evening filled with tons of creative costumes. In attendance were bumblebees; several Pirates of the Caribbean-inspired pirates; Willy Wonka--the new Johnny Depp interpretation, not Gene Wilder's original version; Princess Leia; Snooky; The Situation; Cat Woman; Batman; crazy clowns; Go-Go girls; witches; and a simply marvelous man posed as a female sailor. Honestly, he nailed female mannerisms--casually brushing his blond locks away from his face, the coquettish side stance, and the entire party envied his up-to-there legs. The evening also included fun Halloween-themed food and drinks, a bonfire, and a few new acquaintances.

Prairie Home

Fall has arrived, and it's marvelous. I love the smell of decay in the air--the fallen leaves breaking down, the grass turning brown, the flowers dying back. When I walk by the small patch of prairie by the First Street railroad tracks, the smell of the prairie transitioning into winter mode reminds me of home. Rain has stripped some of the trees bare, but others still have leaves, often in more muted or wine-colored shades. (The notable exception being the bright yellow gingko outside of my office window, valiantly clinging to its leaves against wind and rain.) Drab skies have descended over the past few days, but I don't mind...yet. (Talk to me in February when it's been cold for ages and the landscape is nothing but endless brown and gray.)

We went hiking at Indian Lake a few weeks ago on a gorgeous, bright day. After tromping around for a few hours, we ate apples and granola bars and drank leftover coffee on the back bumper before heading back to the city. I'd definitely like to make a return trip.

And today was a lovely little Saturday. It included a little paper-reading, coffee, and a bacon biscuit from Batch Bakery, and then picking up a few more items for my Halloween costume (Mia Wallace, Uma Thurman's character in Pulp Fiction) from Mallat's Pharmacy.

In the evening, I cleaned my house, did laundry, and fell in love with Two Fat Ladies...and Bitchin' Kitchen... and Nigella Lawson and those crazy guys from Food Jammers. The Cooking Channel kicks ass! I may never leave my house again.

A couch! A couch! My kingdom for a couch!

Just a quick note before I go to bed. I need to get back into the groove of writing regularly here. This week has been a bit of a whirlwind. Last Saturday morning, Mike was nice enough to help me pick up and move a Crate and Barrel couch that I was purchasing from a couple through Craigslist. When we tried to move it into the apartment, we discovered that my stature put us at a unique disadvantage for maneuvering the piece into the house (it entailed either lifting the whole thing about a foot over my head to hoist it over a balcony or creative twisting and turning to accommodate narrow doorways). Luckily for me, other tallish friends left the football game early because they were broiling in the hot sun, so they finished the job. So now when y'all come over, you won't have to feel like you're perching on uncomfortable parlor chairs circa 1902.

Work is v. busy as we prepare for an upcoming conference. And I subbed for three different yoga classes this past week, so on Monday and Tuesday, I didn't get home until 8pm. Dexter says he's beginning to forget what I look like. (He's sitting next to me, silently pleading for a lick from my ramekin of java chip ice cream.)

However, I did manage to go to dinner with Jim and Jason at the Weary on Wednesday. As usual, I had the west of the Andes sandwich on tuna (http://bit.ly/9bbmpD). Mmm. Pico de gallo and chipotle mayonnaise on a marvelous tuna steak with a generous swathe of avocado: It just doesn't get any better than that. Jim and Jason both had the Hungarian goulash

Last month, a bunch of us saw Wicked at the Overture. I enjoyed it, although the experience was somewhat tempered by a major case of vertigo. Also, I wish I could've been closer to really see the costumes and appreciate the choreography.

Beforehand, we went to Fresco, the rooftop restaurant about the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art, for dinner. And that was phenomenal. I had the chicken Fresco, which was yummy. But I think my favorite part of the meal was dessert. Abby B. suggested (well, it was more of a directive ;)) we order the buttermilk beignets. Masquerading as simple round donuts, they are equipped with a milk chocolate center and vanilla creme anglaise. Thanks, Ms. A., for introducing me to the beignet!  

Last month was also my birthday, and my favorite birthday wish came from Ms. Lisa. With music from Bizet's Carmen playing in the background, her electronic card read: "Celebrate like a gypsy slut." Hilarious. Cracked me up. (Yeah, yeah. I know: The correct term is Roma, but it was still pretty damn funny.)

Valley of the Sun

Hola! I am not dead! Sorry for the gap in writing, dear readers. It's been a whirlwind lately. In this post, I'll detail the highlights of my last trip to Phoenix (in late August and early September), and I've got a few other posts up my sleeve.

So: Phoenix. This trip centered largely on shoving food in my face, which suits me. We hit Tortas el Rey. We meant to go to Los Reyes de la Torta because it was featured on Man vs. Food, but our sub-par Spanish tripped us up. Anyway, it doesn't matter because we got essentially the same thing: a big-ass sandwich. The king version contains: breaded beef, pork, ham, chorizo, cheese, avocado, beans, tomatoes, onions, jalapeno, and an omelet--all on a telera (a Mexican type of bread) bun. We each ate half and probably consumed more calories than we normally eat in about three days.

We also had burgers at 25 Degrees. This joint's hilarious tagline is "bordello meets burger bar," so I guess their decor is supposed to remind you of your favorite brothel. I had the number 2, which was topped with prosciutto, roasted tomato, burrata (a fresh Italian cheese, made from mozzarella and cream...had to look that one up), and pesto. Matt chose the number 3 with mezzo secco jack, green chili, chipotle, and avocado. Here's the menu if you ever happen to find yourself in the Valley of the Sun with a hankering for a delicious slab of beef.

After eating gigantor tortas, we ventured over to the swanky Phoenician for a farewell party of one of Matt's friends. I hung out in one of the pools for a bit, but then I took refuge from the sun in the shaded outdoor bar.

And we returned to Postino for their unusual bruschetta and wine. This time, we chose the warm artichoke spread, the albacore tuna with gaeta olives,smoked salmon with capers and pesto, and prosciutto with figs and marscapone. Amazing!

For the Labor Day holiday, we had a few people over to grill out and hang by the pool. All in all, it was a brief visit, but a good one.