Tofu Veggie Burgers

My only day off until next Wednesday and Thursday, darnit! Tomorrow, Friday, I don't have to go in until 10am, instead of 7am, but still, that's not the same as a full day off, now is it? My schedule has changed, because one of our first shift associates has left, after working a two week notice, and I'm moving into his schedule at the manager's request. Fine by me, as it gives me Fridays now, which are usually busier than M-T-W, which is what I've been working.

Got up late this morning, around 8, which was ok, because I had actually slept for about nine hours without waking up one single time...that I can remember, anyway. I did that Wednesday night, too, I think. Highly unusual, but I'd like to do it more often. Anyway, I got started late, and then had company: Old Man, who had to move out in January of '08 because of a major stroke, came by. He drove to Florida and back about a month ago(and has recovered really well from that stroke, thank God, or he wouldn't have been able to drive, by himself, all that way!)and had brought me back some rusty stuff. I LOVE RUSTY STUFF! Don't know why, but I do. He brought me an old cowbell, which is already hanging on my front door, and an old, old meat grinder. It's not like the meat grinder my grandmother used, but I'm not even going to try to describe it, lol. I also have an old plowshare he brought back a few years ago, and I need to try and figure out a way to display them together, and where.

The other day, I cashed my income tax refund check, and bought(and have sent)the money orders for ALL my utilities, the old bills that have been hanging over my head for months, and subscriptions for six of my favorite magazines: "Martha Stewart's Living," "Family Circle," "Woman's Day," "House Beautiful," "Real Simple," and "Vegetarian Times." All this came to...ready for this?!?!?...$835.81~!~!! That included the $16 for the money order fees and ten postage stamps. I'm delighted to have been able to do this, believe me, and am sooooo looking forward to having the magazines delivered to me instead of having to buy them every month!!

I've managed to swish and swipe the bathroom, make the bed, get most of the dishes washed, water my plants, and do laundry, in spite of my late start. The white load is in the dryer now, and the dark load is about to finish washing, and I will probably hang the dark load here in the house to dry. I don't like to hang them outside any more, because there are too many flying things that have settled in them while they're drying, there's too much traffic in front of my house, and in the spring, they turn green from all the pollen around here. Yuck!

Yesterday after work, my friend Pam and I went to Kroger, and I bought a few groceries, but first, we went to a man's house so she could buy a couple bar stools she'd seen on craigslist.com. The man sells all kinds of neat stuff out of his basement, and of course I made the mistake of getting out of the car and going in to look around. Sigh. Wouldn't you think I'd have known better, eh? LOL! Anyway, I did really well for $6! I now have a beautiful, large, glass, burgundy coloured Pyrex Dutch oven and lid...$3.00!!!...a tall glass canister w/a canning jar type lid to store my spaghetti in, a bottle of Murphy's Oil Soap(wonderful stuff, and for only $1.75), and a four-tier stacking clear plastic tray w/attachable bowl for dip and crackers, etc. I'm going to use that for all the little things I pick up and save for doing craft/altered art type stuff. Anyway, I feel like I did really well with my six bucks. And none of this has anything to do with cooking, I know, lol.

This recipe comes from about.com, http://vegetarian.about.com/od/tofurecipes/
and I have no idea if that link will work or not. If not, copy and paste into your address bar. There's a whole really wonderful section at about.com for vegetarian cooking, as well as videos and a forum to post on. Really great website, all in all.

TOFU VEGGIE BURGERS

1/2lb. firm tofu, drained an mashed
1 onion, diced
2Tbs. each wheat germ and flour
2Tbs. soy sauce
Salt and pepper to taste
Oil for frying

Mix all except the oil in a bowl. Form into patties. Fry in oil over medium high heat until patties are brown and crisp.

Ok, here's my take on these. First of all, the only change I made was that I didn't use soy sauce, because I don't care for the taste of it except in fried rice or in other Chinese foods. So, I used a tablespoon each of Teriyaki sauce and water. Other than that I didn't change a thing. This made four medium sized patties, and I ate two of them, and shamefully, didn't keep the other two, as I didn't think they'd be very good cold. Anyway, I liked these quite a bit, they were easy and fairly quick to make, and I'll make them again. The next time, tho, I think I'll try to season them, like maybe some oregano, thyme, tarragon, and maybe either red wine vinegar or Balsamic vinegar. And instead of putting the onions in the patties themselves, make some caramelized onions, which I love, and make pattymelts with non-dairy smoked provolone cheese, the onions, and sourdough bread. That just sounds really, really good.

So until next time, Happy Eating.