Posts in month: July, 2005

Well the first three reviews for the Tantalus Theatre Group’s new musical Slide have hit the web-o-sphere and the papers and they are pretty good. You can read them yourself if you want. With some luck the upcoming ones will be positive as well.

Slide is the first thing that the TTG has done that I have not been involved with at all. I realized after watching it three times that A: it’s very good and B: I’m proud of it. Why am I proud of something I’m not involved with you might ask?

Family.

It’s really strange but all of the members of TTG have really become family to me and by extension of that familial connection I have the emotion of pride for something we (the family) have accomplished.

Speaking of family my brother, who I don’t get to see often enough, was in town last weekend and we had a blast despite my nasty bought of what we believe to be food poisoning.

Here’s he and I at the ballpark.

Sadly, this was the one event I had to forgo due to being sick, I left about 1/2 way through batting practice. Luckily I did make it to the Vans Warped Tour the following day and rocked out with the Offspring, MxPx, No Use For a Name, The Dropkick Murphys, Mest, Motion City Soundtrack and the like. I’ll post a few pictures of that when my bro gets them developed.

I guess I’ll have to catch the RedSox next time.

I was having a few drinks with friends a few weeks ago whilst awaiting the Harry Potter book release (well, they were awaiting… I was adrinking). And the topic of hair coloring came up.

Me: I’ve always wanted to dye my hair but I’ve always been in a show or just not thinking about it.

Friend of mine: Well… you’re not in a show now….

Me: This is true…

The next afternoon:

Personally I like it! It’s tre Billy Joe.

So in an effort to fight the battle of the bulge (which I am currently winning) I’m trying to eat healthy. One of the health foods I’ve always enjoyed but never really cooked myself is tofu.

My problem with tofu (which I think is everyone’s problem with tofu) is that without proper preparation it tastes extremely bland. Even in dishes that are otherwise flavorful the tofu can sometimes be bland and unresponsive to the other flavors of the dish. The obvious way to combat this is by preparing tofu with “strong” flavors that infuse easily (such as in a lot of Thai food) or by marinading the tofu for long periods of time, often overnight. So over the last week or two I’ve been experimenting with other flavors trying to make a tofu entree that’s not super spicy and doesn’t require an overnight marinade– I think I’ve hit on something I like:

Lemon Tofu with Kefir Sauce

Ingredients:

• 1/3 lb firm tofu, cut into squares about an inch square and 1/8 of an inch high
• 1 medium yellow onion, peeled, halved, and sliced thinly
• 1 tbs juice from of fresh lemon (about 1/3 of the lemon)
• 1/2 cup fat free kefir
• 2 fresh basil leaves, chopped
• 1tsp vegetable oil
• fresh ground black pepper to taste

Put tofu, onions, lemon juice, pepper, and oil in non stick pan and cook at medium-high (turning when necessary) until edges of tofu are nice and crispy and the onions become translucent.

Turn heat to low and add kefir heat for another 3-4 mins.

Plate and sprinkle with basil leaves.

Serves one.

Notes:
In case you’ve never had kefir it’s a similar thing to yogurt but it’s more liquid and has a slightly different bite to it. It’s flavor combined with the onion and the lemon makes a really nice combination.