Why am I Suddenly My Dad?

So, I recently returned from a trip to Walgreen's. Purpose: purchase something to relieve my itching hell.

I had plans of getting some "natural" product with sandalwood, neem, or tea tree oil, all of which are supposed to relieve itching and fight fungus stuff. But after excercising and making dinner, there wasn't much time (or energy) left for making the drive to Whole Foods or some such place. So Walgreen's it was.

The pharmacist suggested just trying some Benadryl cream, but once by myself, I thought, "oh ho, why not get the Benadryl and the hydrocortisone cream?"

I currently have both on. This is something that my dad would do. If one is okay, why not five different products?

Non-Itchy Things
For dinner, I made baked tofu and a carrot-ginger salad. YUMYUMYUM!!! Baked tofu is the best thing ever. Here's the recipe (courtesy of one of the Moosewood cookbooks):

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BAKED TOFU

1 cake of tofu (firm or extra-firm)

SAUCE
1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon water
1 tablespoon dark sesame oil
1 teaspoon tomato paste (optional according to Moosewood, but mandatory according to me)
1 teaspoon rice vinegar
1 teaspoon honey

DIRECTIONS
Preheat your oven to 375 degrees and press your tofu.

Mix up your sauce and cut your tofu into 12 triangles. I use the method of cutting the tofu horizontally into 3 slices, stacking the slices, and cutting through the layers on the two diagonals.

Put the tofu triangles in a baking dish and cover them with sauce. Bake uncovered for 35 minutes, turning every 10 minutes. The tofu is done when the top looks taut and seared.

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I serve the tofu on rice, but if you're not a big rice fan, some sort of noodle dish would be equally tasty. Also, I like having hoisin sauce on the side.

Here's the recipe for the carrot-ginger salad, which is also one of the best things ever:

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CARROT-GINGER SALAD

1 lb carrots, grated (or however much you have)
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 tablespoon dark sesame oil
Minced ginger (however much you want)
1 tablespoon sesame seeds

DIRECTIONS
Grate your carrots, mix it all up, and season with pepper and/or salt.

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Well, that's all for now. Porkchop has a friend over, so I should be somewhat social.