Griffin James Cook

Well once again, the world just got a little cuter. On March 26, 2009 Griffin James joined the Cook family and I was so happy I got a chance to meet him this weekend. Congratulations to Alison, Jim and big brother Riley!!

Yes, I realize this is post #2 without actual updates on Gibson. It's coming...I promise. It's almost overwhelming all that's happened in just the past month.

And to explain the Tofu recipe below..well, actually, I don't feel like it. But its a good recipe. Go ahead, try it.

Tofu Pot Pie

Combine in a small bowl: 1/4 cup flour, 1 TBSP nutritional yeast flakes (yes, these are important. They are a huge part of the gravy. You can buy these in bulk at most health food stores) , 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp garlic powder. Add 2 cups tofu (firm) cut into cubes. Stir to coat. Sautee in 2 Tbsp oil until lightly browned.
Pre-browned tofu

Lightly browned tofu

Add: 1 small onion, a couple of chopped celery...

Once onions start to soften add carrots:

Then add corn and peas:

Add salt and pepper to taste. You can add any other veggie as you see fit.

Now it's time to make the gravy...ready?

Take 1/3 cup flour and toast it over medium low heat until you can just start to smell it:

Stir in 1/3 cup nutritional yeast flakes:

Add 1/4 cup oil (hey - just cause its called tofu pot pie doesn't mean its entirely healthy):

Add 2 cups water:

Whisk as it thickens and add soy sauce and salt and pepper to taste. The recipe calls for 1 Tbsp of soy sauce but I double that and maybe even a little more. Taste it...it will go from floury-ish to more like an actual savory turkey gravy.

Finished gravy.

You can use any pastry crust recipe you feel comfortable with (if you need one I can provide one) or you can totally save time and just buy frozen or refrigerated pre-made crusts. Lets pretend I made my own.

Put a little gravy on the bottom of the pie crust:

Fill pie pan with vegetables and tofu:

Top with remaining gravy:Put second pie crust on top:

Bake at 375 for 30 - 40 minutes, until top is lightly browned:

I wish I could take credit, but alas...I thank the The New Farm Vegetarian Cookbook for the deliciousness.

Just to be clear.... I made two and doubled the above recipe. Enjoy!

Musical Genius

No pressure or anything...


Not much to report. We have been keeping super busy lately. Playdates, new baby (Welcome to the world Cami!!) birthday parties (Happy first Abram!!), weddings (Congratulations Naumanns!) snowstorms. I am waiting for Spring and I am sure Gibson will be relieved to not have to wear long underwear every day. He is such a super duper smart little dude. He loves to sing, dance and play all musical instruments and often the first thing he wants to do in the morning is go downstairs to play the drums. He has a mouthful of teeth, he is calling me mommy now (as opposed to just mama) and his vocabulary grows weekly. Tons more pictures on the flickr site. Enjoy!