Friday 5: She’s going the distance; she’s going for speed

July 7, 2020October 18, 2020 / Brienna / 1 Comment

It’s Tuesday! You know what that means? It’s time for the Friday 5! ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

What’s your favorite cake? A friend once made me a vegan Samoa (girl scout cookie) ice “cream” cake for my birthday. It was ahhhhhh-mazing.
When did you last have pancakes? 2019 for my birthday. At Denny’s, at like 3am? With Sachin, Robin, and Tony. I am not responsible for anything I said that night. Oh, and I still owe Sachin a milkshake.
When did you last bake a cake or a cake-like thing? I have no idea. I am not a cake baker. Oh wait, I made brownie/muffins in November. They were supposed to be sugar free (and gluten-free, corn-free, soy-free, and vegan) and they came out so terrible I threw them all away.
What part of your job is a piece of cake? Finding bugs. They find me.
Where have you had a really good cupcake? at work, I think that’s the last time I had a cupcake.

Bonus question: What are your thoughts on icing? I’m fond of telling people that if it doesn’t have icing, it’s a not a cupcake. It’s a muffin!

Brought you to by Friday 5.

PS. Actually, I had pancakes at IHoP in October. Not as good as the ones from Denny’s.

Quarantine Counting

July 6, 2020October 18, 2020 / Brienna / Leave a comment

Some people miss that I was counting off the days with my quarantine posts.

The count for those started on 3/16/2020, even though that was not the date of the first post. However, I arrived home from my vacation in NZ on 3/15. Life has been different since then.

On the left, you’ll now see a quarantine counter! I put the start date at 3/15. And it puts today at 113, which gives us the same count as starting with 1 on 3/16. To simplify, I formatted it to months, weeks, days. Hopefully this will be over before it gets to years!!!

On Writing, by Stephen King

July 5, 2020May 17, 2021 / Brienna / Leave a comment

When I was younger, I ~~used to write~~ wrote ~~a lot~~ often. Some poetry, an occasional story. I still write, nowadays though, it’s mostly email, and sometimes this blog.

I’d like to jump back into it and to get started, I read On Writing by Stephen King.

Write a lot, and read a lot.
The Prime Rule, Stephen King

There is a lot of great advice in this book, mixed in with a brief memoir. I’m a huge fan, and have been for a long as I can remember. When I was 14, my girlfriends and I went to see the movie Sleepwalkers. Did they enjoy it? Probably not. But I had a love for the King, and for the genre and I started early.

Due to a lack of dedication on my part, I have not grown or improved as a writer. Reading this showed me that there’s always room for improvement and that if I want to be a serious writer, I need to be serious about writing.

Language does not always have to wear a tie and lace-up shoes.
Stephen King

I’m already putting some of King’s advice into practice. Adverbs are the enemy, and the passive voice is timid, boring, and as King says, just plain “awful”. You can see this in action where I’ve revised the first sentence.

Sparingly, sparsely, and stealthily is how I shall use adverbs from now on. And that sentence stinks, alliteration not intentional. On a serious note, I do not think I have a tendency to over use adverbs, but we shall see now that I’m paying attention.

And what is it that draws me to the passive voice? WordPress has this SEO tool, Yoast, and it’s always complaining at me that too many of my sentences are passive voice. It also tends to complain about my sentence length (too long).

King also suggests writing (and reading) daily. I certainly have the reading part down. Of course, he is primarily talking about writing fiction, and I’m not sure (yet) if that’s where my passion as a writer lies. Can I write 1,000 words daily?

The scariest moment is always just before you start. After that, things can only get better.
Stephen King

Spicy peanut tofu with veggies

July 4, 2020October 18, 2020 / Brienna / Leave a comment

Tofu with peanut sauce is one of my all time favorite dishes to make at home. This recipe is based on a lot of other recipes, stealing the bits that I like best from each.

For years, I’ve baked my tofu and I’m happy to say I think this recipe is an improvement, and it’s also faster!

You can substitute pretty much any veggies you want in this recipe, just adjust the cooking times. Broccoli, carrots, bok choy would all work well.

Also, I think this would be delicious with a can of coconut milk and a splash of lime juice. These can be added at the end, and you can simmer a bit to reduce the sauce. If going this route, cook the veggies less, or take them out before putting the tofu back into the pan to avoid overcooking.

Ingredients

Peanut Sauce:
1 1/2 tbsp toasted sesame oil
1/4 cup soy sauce 
1/4 cup light brown sugar 
1 tbsp sriracha (less if you're not a fan of spicy)
2 1/2 tbsp peanut butter (dark roasted, crunchy is my favorite!)

Tofu - firm or extra firm
Peanuts - 1/2 cup or more
1 can water chestnuts
Snap Peas
Oil - I use avocado oil with a dash of toasted sesame oil for the frying in this recipe

Optional:
1 can coconut milk
lime juice
cilantro

Steps:

Press the tofu.

Slice the tofu into slabs.

Add 1-2 tbsp of oil to the pan and heat it up.

Fry tofu 4-6 minutes per side until nicely browned.

While the tofu is cooking, mix all ingredients for the peanut sauce in a shallow dish.

Marinate the tofu 10 minutes (or more) per side.

Heat more oil, and cook your veggies, being careful not to overcook.

Cut or break tofu into bite size pieces. I use pizza scissors for this!

Add the tofu to the hot pan with the veggies, a spoonful of sauce, and the peanuts. 

Add coconut milk now if using (and add ALL the peanut sauce), simmer until sauce is desired consistency.

Add a splash of lime juice to taste.

Serve with rice, quinoa, or additional veggies.