Where does your tofu come from?

I got this idea to have a vegetarian meal one night a week. Really, it's not that big a deal. I mean we do it during Lent anyway. But since I actually was a vegetarian when I got pregnant w Oliver (until that darn pork chop!) I wanted the kids to see 'vegetarian' was more than just cheese pizza. I have always been into finding new ways to eat. Not just eat, but live. I love the idea of teaching our kids where our food comes from - not from the grocery store - and that something actually gives it's life so we can eat dinner. Since military life always has me playing catch up - PCS, moving house, having a baby (wait, that wasn't the military's fault, or was it?) I sometimes forget what's really important to me. I get sucked into the convenience of frozen pizzas & pb & j's. Then I watch a movie like Food Inc & I'm reminded that even if my eyes are shut to reality, that doesn't mean it's not happening.

For years I have wished for a farmer's market that was close to my house & that was open every day - unheard of in most cities. I never imagined I'd have to move to freakin Japan to have it happen!

As I was planning my meals for the week I thought - hey, what if I could not only have a vegetarian meal, but one that was made using ONLY local ingredients! Minus the condiments. Bc I'm pretty sure there isn't a local hoisin factory & if there is, I'm pretty sure I don't know the kanji for 'hoisin'. This week I decided to make tofu stir fry. I know. Really creative since I live in Japan. But it was all I could think of since my brain has literally been hijacked since the birth of my 3rd gorgeous bebe. Plus, I love tofu & rarely get a chance to make the whole family eat it. hehe

First, I get Mimi to help me whip up a nice glaze. She also helped me pick out the ingredients at the market bc I find, the more involved the kids are in the process, the more likely they are to eat it too!

I love the way the tofu is packaged at the market. In an open bag. No water packing, no 'freshness' seal!

Pop it in the oven to cook for awhile.

Here is all of my lovely local veg. In the background are some dried lime leaves I also found that are wonderful simmered in curry!

My recipe called for Shitake mushrooms but I didn't see any at the market. I did see some other mushrooms that were in a big bunch & frankly, they made me nervous. I don't know a lot about mushrooms so I just opted for bean spouts instead. Which I always like. At the market, the sprouts are in a big bin & you just dive in w your hands & fill a bag pre labeled w a price. It seems to be a nice place to gather as I often see several older people chatting & baggin spouts. I watched them for awhile to see if there was some protocol for bagging & there didn't seem to be. Just grab a handful & shove them in. I did notice they were stuffing the bags as full as they could. Obviously, you want to get your moneys worth but I didn't need that many & didn't want them to go to waste. This clearly bothered one woman who was walking past me. She looked in my cart & saw my half full bag of spouts & started telling me something in Japanese. She was pointing to my bag (half full) & her bag (over flowing). I nodded & tried to explain, uh, small bag, I said.
This is what we ended up with - stir fried tofu & veg.

Mimi trying out her sticks!

Now, on this particular night, Ryan came home w - I KID YOU NOT - a bag of Cheetos, Rocky Road ice cream & sugar cones, for God's sake! Sugar cones???

This is God's way of telling me to not take myself so seriously, clearly.

I would also like to point out that blogger spell check does not recognize the word 'shitake' however does recognize the word 'Cheetos'. Sad, very sad.