Happy Valentine's Day, Chinese New Year, and The Winter Olympics!

Wow, what a busy weekend!  First up, the Olympics.  I'm hoping to find time each evening for us to watch some of the events.  We are not into winter sports as much, but it should be a lot of fun to watch the skating, skiing, and beautiful Vancouver landscapes.  I LOVE this video from Proctor & Gamble.


Happy Valentine's Day!  Brennan is spending the night with his friend Jared and going to church with him this morning.  What a treat - he was sooo excited!  His mom had a Valentine's party for the boys last night and is making Valentine's pancakes this morning.  I'm thinking about taking the boys to the Children's Museum in Indy later this afternoon if we can get back before the snow comes in.  We're expecting another few inches tonight.

Happy Chinese New Year!  2010 - The Year of the Tiger.  This is Thomas's favorite animal so he's especially excited.  In honor of, we made Chinese Fried Rice yesterday for lunch.  It was delicious and the boys had never made it before so it was a treat.  The great thing about fried rice is that you can add to it whatever works for you.

Chinese Fried Rice
White Rice
Extra Firm Tofu, chopped into small squares
Frozen Edamame, heated in the microwave
4 eggs, scrambled
Rice Wine Vinegar
Olive or Sesame Oil

I cooked 9 cups of rice (6 cups of water and 3 cups of rice) according to the package directions. 

While the rice was cooking, I heated 2 Tbsp olive oil in a large skillet and cooked half of the package of tofu that I had chopped into small squares. (I could have easily cooked the entire package since I had so much rice).  I added 3 Tbsp of low-sodium Soy Sauce and stirred.  I then set the tofu aside on a plate.

I then scrambled 4 eggs and chopped them up with the spatula.  By this time the rice was cooked and I added it to the large skillet with the eggs.  I added the microwaved shelled edamame, the tofu, and 3 Tbsp of olive oil.  If I had sesame oil I would have used that because the taste is classic with this dish.  I then added 2 Tbsp rice wine vinegar.  I added 3 whole cloves of garlic for flavor.

Once the ingredients are well mixed and are cooking over the medium-high heat, I add soy sauce to taste.  I probably ended up with 3/4 c low-sodium soy sauce in the end.  I kept tasting to make sure the flavors were right.  I removed the garlic and we served it immediately.

Other ingredients I would have used if I had had them on hand:  scallions, water chestnuts, bamboo shoots, chopped carrots.

It was delicious and we are having it for breakfast at David's suggestion.  It's really pretty healthy and all 4 of us liked it, so that's always a plus!