I made this for my lunch twice last week. Not only because I had a whole block of tofu to use up, but because it was so good I couldn’t wait to have it again.
It started with a craving for something spicy with ginger, tofu, and soy sauce. I figured a marinade would fit the bill, so I looked around and found this recipe for “ginger sweet tofu with pak choi.” (In case you weren’t sure, pak choi is the same as bok choy). The only think I did differently was add a splash of sesame oil to the marinade and sprinkle green onions, dried chilli peppers and sesame seeds over the whole thing at the end. I made this twice, and I found powdered ginger in the marinade to work a little better than the grated stuff (which had a tendency to stick to the tofu cubes and burn).
It had a great flavour, and by cutting the tofu into smaller pieces it takes on the marinade better, and in a shorter amount of time. A keeper recipe for sure!
For the past few years I’ve been trying to challenge myself on my birthday in some way: via terrifying roller coasters and arduous hikes. In my book, there is no better way to celebrate another year of living than by pushing one’s boundaries. This is why I decided that I wanted to bike to Carleton Place with Mark this summer. Why Carleton Place? Good question. I needed to have a destination and I was researching ideas for routes when I found this information. (This part made me laugh: “We can only assume that the firing range is set up in such a way so that no one is shooting in the direction of the trail.” Great!)
The trip from Ottawa to Carleton Place is approximately 50K (that’s only ONE kilometre, fifty times!). We’d stay somewhere overnight and complete the return trip to Ottawa the next day. (Or call my inlaws to pick us up, depending on how I’m feeling.)
I put the question to my Facebook friends awhile ago and basically everyone told me to start training NOW. Alrighty then! I began with a short run to Farm Boy to pick up a few groceries earlier this week. It’s a 5km ride along the river, which is manageable, right? Ha. My ride there was 10x harder than the return trip because of headwinds, and I found myself shifting gears like a mad woman and praying to god that the trip to Carleton Place isn’t (a) windy or (b) hilly.
I obviously need to spend more time on my bike, but I’ve since realized that my bike is in sad shape and I think I might need a new one. I need a helmet too. My current one is missing a buckle and was bought in 1999, in other words, IN THE LAST MILLENNIUM. And I’ll need a new pair of paniers to carry my stuff. Gah. I hate spending this kind of money on myself, but I have to face facts. I can’t realistically make that kind of trip on an old mountain bike with a bent pedal and clunky gears, can I?
I’ve been on the bike a few times after that eye-opening ride to Farm Boy and it’s all got me thinking about comfort. My bike isn’t comfortable, but I’m not really sure what that means any more. I know that bike comfort isn’t the same as couch comfort, but it shouldn’t be uncomfortable, right?
I have a feeling I am more suited to upright riding than being hunched over, but can I do 100K in two days on something like this? I’d secretly like a purple bike with a banana seat, streamers, and a sissy bar but THAT is not going to happen any time soon. Sigh.
Any advice you’d care to share? I’m all ears.
