Report Card Time

It's that time again.  Julia told Ian on Thursday that our report cards were due this week.  Ian's are staggered, but mine are due as each day comes.  Since I procrastinated yesterday and continued to put it off for large parts of today, I've got to get down to business tonight.

I don't really mind doing the report cards.  It's an important part of my job.  However, I wish they were taken more seriously.  Julia imagines reports cards as an advertisement to send home to parents: "Your kid is doing very well!  Your money is well spent!  Please continue their enrollment at Yoon's English Forest!"  While I see them as a tool to let parents know if their student is actually succeeding and give them tools to help their kid if they aren't.  We've been told not to lie, but to make sure we give the parents "hope."  It's yet another exercise in working hard at accomplishing nothing.

We went to see Iron Man 2 again today.  Ian and I both were feeling pretty low energy and a bit down today, so we needed an escape.  We briefly entertained the idea of heading to Wonju to see something we hadn't yet, but we simply didn't have time.  The bus ride is 40 minutes each way.  I'm really liking the Iron Man movies. I think that's largely due to Robert Downey Jr.'s Tony Stark character.  The casting there is spot on.

Here is the recipe for last night's "General Tso's Tofu:"

(adapted from vegweb.com)

1 package of firm tofu (freeze it overnight for the best texture)

2 heads steamed broccoli

rice for two people (1/2 c. is a serving)

1 egg

3/4 cup cornstarch

oil for frying (use sesame oil if you want it to have a good Asian flavor)

a couple chopped green onions

1 tbs. minced fresh ginger

1tbs. minced fresh garlic

2/3 c. vegetable stock

2-3 tbs. soy sauce (depends on your sodium tastes)
2-4 tbs. sugar (again, to your tastes)

dry red pepper to taste (we used Korean gochu powder)

1 tbs. vinegar

Thaw and drain the tofu.  Cut it into chunks (about 1 inch).  Mix the egg with 3 tbs. water.  Dunk each piece of tofu in the egg wash and coat thoroughly.  Lay the tofu on a sheet or in a bowl and sprinkle the cornstarch over it, coating it well, but watching for clumps.  Stir fry the tofu until it's golden.  Set aside, drain oil.  Heat 1-3 tbs. of vegetable oil (depending on your taste and calorie needs) in the pan.  Add the green onions, ginger and garlic and cook for 2 minutes.  Then add the stock, soy sauce, sugar, pepper and vinegar.  Mix 2 tbs. water with 1 tbs. cornstarch and incorporate it well.  Toss in the fried tofu and stir until well coated.  Serve over rice and broccoli.

1 serving (1/2 c. rice, 1 c. broccoli and 1/2 the sauced tofu) is roughly 555 calories.  We made it with the lowest levels of oil and sugar.

Now it's time for report cards.  We have a meeting with Julia tomorrow at 11am.  I'll be sure to report.

Good night!

Getting Back to Normal

Today was a very lazy day.  We went to the gym and struggled through our workouts.  It seems two weeks is longer than you might think.  I'm hoping Monday is a little easier.

Then we went to E-Mart and got all our weekly groceries.  Other than that, we accomplished nothing (though our sheets did make it into the wash).  So, tomorrow we'll have to clean the apartment and work on report cards.  When we're finished with that, we'll go to the park and play in the sun.

Tonight's dinner is General Tso's Tofu served over steamed broccoli and brown rice.  I've never had General Tso's Chicken (or tofu), so this will be my first experience with the saucey faux-Chinese dish.  My brother loved Chinese food when I was a kid, and he ordered it often.  For some reason I had an aversion to it, so I would whine and cry.  Now I really like it, but there's not much that a vegetarian can eat.  The sauce packs on some calories, but it doesn't have to be an unhealthy meal.  We indulged a lot when Mom was here, so it feels good to get my eating back on track.

Yum!

Good night!