Livin' La Vida Loca

We were supposed to go kayaking yesterday off of the Hillsboro Inlet with a Meetup group but skipped kayaking since our kayaking group wasn't meeting up until later in the morning and storms were expected to start around noon.

Naturally since we didn't go out it never started raining and would have been a beautiful day for kayaking but I guess if we had gone kayaking it would have started thunder and lightening as soon as we got all our equipment in the water.

So instead of kayaking we went tube snorkeling off of Vista Park since that requires almost not equipment and is right around the corner from our home.

Had an awesome time since the ocean was almost smooth as glass although the water was still kind of cloudy from the day before's storms and it was high tide so the water was rather deep for snorkeling.

We stayed out for a bit over two hours and saw some awesome stuff although with the water rather cloudy I couldn't get any really decent pics of anything despite seeing some really colorful Parrot fish and a small Stingray that I followed around trying to get decent pics of but was never able to.

I did get a really good shot of tis dead fish though.

Still dealing with leg issues.

My doctor gave me some bad news after getting an ultrasound of the arteries in my leg. The femoral artery graft that was put in my leg after getting shot back in the nineties is totality blocked. At least I know now why it has been giving me so much pain when trying to use it. Next step is to see a vascular surgeon which I've been trying to do for over a week now. I guess ascular surgeons are really in demand this days because the soonest I can get an appointment is over a month away. Hopefully it can somehow be opened back up without going through major surgery again.

I've really gotten into cooking and seem to be much healthier eating my own cooking, not to mention saving a lot of money by not eating out all the time.

This is a recipe that I found online and then modified to my own taste. It makes enough for dinner for two with enough leftovers for lunch for two the next day the next day and maybe even a late day snack.

I often eat it with rice and vegetables or chili. It also makes for good sandwiches.

3 pounds firm tofu, rinsed, patted dry, and cut into 3/8 inch thick slices.
18 tablespoons lemon juice
4 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
6 tablespoons Soy Sauce
1 ounce minced fresh rosemary
1 teaspoon ground white pepper
5 tablespoons olive oil

Preheat oven to 350 F.

In a blender mix all the ingredients for the marinade.
Pour the marinade into a baking pan
Slice the tofu into 3/8 inch thick slices and place in a single layer in a baking dish. Flip each piece of tofu over so that the marinade coats each side.

Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, or until the marinade has been absorbed.

I've finally made chili sin carne completely from scratch using no oil or salt that tastes fantastic.

I took 1/2 lb black beans, 1/2 lb red beans and 1/2 lb pinto beans that I soaked in water over night. I then put them in a pressure cooker until the regulator weight fully levitates at which time the heat is turned off and the pressure cooker is allowed to cool off. This seems to give me perfectly cooked beans every time.

Next I made a very simple Tomato Puree. I took 4 lb of tomatoes that I cut in half and boiled for 5 minutes. Drained the water and put them in a blender with their skin and seeds to puree them. I then added this along with 1 cup of bosonic vinegar in a pan that I heated until it was reduced down to a thick texture.

Next I chopped a red onion and yellow onion that I added to a pan that I had browned some butter in and cooked the onions until they become translucent.

Next I added chopped red and green peppers to the onions and cooked the mixture until the peppers were tender at which time I added the chopped mushrooms, frozen corn, chopped celery and frozen sliced carrots and continued cooking everything until everything was tender.

While I was cooking the vegetables I was also roasting the garlic at 350 for 20 minutes. I then sliced the garlic and added this in as well.

At which time the vegetable bouillon that has been dissolved in 1 cup of water was added to the vegetables so now I have a delicious thick soup of vegetable ready to be used in the chili.

Finally the beans and tomato puree are added to a large sauce pan along with the cooked vegetable mix, oregano, cumin, pureed chipotles in adobo sauce, chili powder and enough water to give a thick soup like consistency. I then then brought to a boil and then simmered for about an hour.

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4 tablespons of butter
1 lb red peppers
1/2 lb green pepper
1 large yellow onion
1 large red onion
1/2 lb mushrooms
1/2 elephant garlic
1 lb celery
1 lb corn
1/2 sliced carrots
1/2 lb black beans
1/2 lb red beans
1/2 lb pinto beans
1/2 cup chipotles in adobo sauce pureed
4 tablespoons oregano
4 tablespoons cumin
3 cubes vegetable bouillon
4 tablespoons chili powder
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