SUPERBOWL BOUND

I feel like I have a lot to say today and I am not entirely sure why. Maybe I don’t have all that much to say. We’ll see.

Thing number one, the Chicago Bears are going to the Super Bowl. Hooray!!! This is utterly awesome. I really enjoyed watching the game. I was pretty scared in the beginning when it seemed they couldn’t score a touchdown to save their lives but they put it together eventually. For Lovie Smith to become the first Black coach to go to the super Bowl was really nice to see, he is a great guy. Then for him to be closely followed by Tony Dungy was just wonderful. No matter what happens a Black coach will win the Super Bowl. This may not seem like a huge deal but it kind of is. Speaking of the Colts, they are going to be one hard team to beat. I am sure that it is technically possible but if both teams play in the Super Bowl like they played last night the Bears uh, well, how do I say this and still sound like a fan??? Maybe just leaving it at that will be fine. One thing that really confused me about the Bears game was the weather. See, it was snowing lightly throughout most of the game and was coming down pretty well by the fourth quarter. However, at my house it was not snowing at all. I realize I live about 11 miles away but it was still strange. I spoke about this to my sister and we talked about how it would be fun to find the place where the snow stopped. It would be like that spot where you can stand in four states at once but it would be the spot where one side of you got snowed on and the other didn’t. Apparently, that spot was within 11 miles of my house. Anyway, GO BEARS.

The next thing I want to talk about is the fantastic dinner I made yesterday. Man was it delicious. I made potato gnocchi in a tofu cream sauce. Now I am sure many of you are currently making disgusted faces but you shouldn’t. This sauce, although made entirely of tofu and veggies, did not taste anything but delicious and creamy. If you are a person who likes delicious creamy sauces but is health conscious (and not allergic to soy) this is the sauce for you. Gnocchi is also pretty decent foodstuffs for the health conscious and is incredibly delicious and filling. I was so proud cause I basically made this recipe up and it worked. I would like to take this time to share. A side note is that there was a lot more sauce than gnocchi so if you don’t want leftovers you should make less about half the sauce would go perfectly with one package of gnocchi (about 3 cups cooked).

1. Get a big old pot of water on the stove.

2. Sautee two leeks (I only use the onion-like part not the leafy greens on top), one red pepper, ¼ cup fresh basil and two cloves of garlic together over medium low heat in some olive oil (I think I used about 1.5 tbsp) until nice and soft. The longer you cook the more flavor you get out and I don’t think it is possible to cook these things for too long.

3. Put the juice of one lemon into a blender

4. Put half a cube of tofu in the blender and blend

5. Once it is nice and creamy add the rest of the tofu (if your blender is better than mine you can probably add all the tofu at once)

6. Add the sautéed vegetables and a little bit of water (maybe ¼ cup or so?? Like I said I don’t measure) to the blender and blend until nice and smooth.

7. Taste sauce. It should be incredibly delicious. I didn’t need to add any salt or pepper but you may like those things added.

8. Chop up some mushrooms and spinach and put them in the already nice and hot sauté pan, sauté until spinach is limp and mushrooms have shrunk down a bit.

9. By this time the water should be boiling and you can put in the gnocchi. It should only take 2 minutes to cook so while that is going add the cream sauce to the mushroom/spinach mixture. MMMMM delicious already.

10. Drain the gnocchi and serve (I topped it with a tad of mozzarella and some basil)

This fantastic meal contains 381 calories, 47g carbs, 10g fat (half from cheese), and 23g protein (thanks to sparkpeople and to Julie for turning me on to it) for a 1 ¼ cup serving of gnocchi and enough sauce to sufficiently cover it, well.

The final thing on the agenda is a little news bit I read this morning. In California democratic assemblywoman Sally Lieber is going to introduce a law making spanking, hitting, and slapping a child under four a misdemeanor. Personally, it’s fine by me. I wasn’t a spanked child and I don’t plan to spank my future unborn children. However, I wonder if a light spank is the same thing as a hit or a slap? I am not sure. Maybe it depends on the person who is doing the hitting? Also, what is the deal on the age limit? Are there already laws to protect older children or does it not matter if they are spanked, hit, and slapped? Also, while I am certainly not an advocate of that type of punishment so many people are and I really wonder if such a law is truly going to be effective. Are Californian kids going to call the police on their parents every chance they get? Just got me thinking.

As a result of thinking, I think I have certainly rambled enough and it is time for this week’s Name That Tune. I have Tony’s iPod today so we’ll see what happens. Monica asked that I put slashes to separate lines rather than periods. That made sense to me.

1. Angel came down from heaven yesterday/ stayed with me just long enough to rescue me. Angel, Jimi Hendrix. Identified by Brooke

2. She’s a miss beautiful supreme/ A girl that others wish that they could be. Ebony Eyes, stevie Wonder. Identified by Brooke. (way to get the easy ones Friend)

3. Now who got the chance to make things right/ Why the politicians always want to fight

4. Dreamed I was an Eskimo/ frozen wind began to blow/ and my mama cried. Don't Eat The Yellow Snow, Frank Zappa. Identified by The Doc and Monica

5. At night I can’t sleep I toss and turn/ Candlesticks in the dark visions of bodies being burned. My Mind Is Playing Tricks On Me, The Geto Boyz. Identified by Monica