*sniffle* *cough, cough*

Yes, 'tis the season for respiratory distress and the winter doldrums. We got a succession of snow dustings earlier this month, and much of it has hardened into ice, making it someone tricky to get around. But that is not why I did not leave my home for two days last week or cook. I caught a nasty cold. Some sort of virus or what-have-you is always going around, but there was a nasty bug going around my office, and I caught it last week. I don't know if many of my coworkers were out last week because of the snow or because they were sick or a combination of the two. Most of the sniffling and sneezing have gone, to be replaced by coughing. Ick. My boyfriend tries to shove all sorts of nasty zinc drops and medications at me, which I hate. Even before I was vegan, I HATED taking medicine. I did buy some Ricola drops, though, to try to soothe my cough.

I have gotten out. Last night, I met my boyfriend at the local Border's before we went to dinner. I found a cookbook called Enemy of the Steak by Nikki and David Goldbeck. Based on that name alone, I figured I had to have it. Most of the recipes are vegan or could probably be easily veganized(wonder if you can make yogurt cheese with soy yogurt) and appear fairly simple--one recipe for mushroom barley soup calls for dumping the ingredients in a pot and cooking it. So I made an easy Savory Baked Tofu and served it with leftover quinoa and the last of sauteed veggies:




Because it calls for more soy sauce than any other ingredient, it was a tad salty. I think I need to start getting the low-sodium tamari. Still, the crispy tofu made a nice textural counterpoint to the soft veggies and quinoa. I think it would be a really nice taste contrast paired with yams, which I still have left over from the last time I cooked. My appetite gets weird when I'm sick and I either have no desire to eat or want food that is not the healthiest. Like veggie chili fries. I'll eat really healthy and lots of green leafies when the weather gets warmer and they get back in season. Or at least I will try.