A Little Preparation

I need to sign Mila up for the Boy Scouts because that kid is ALWAYS prepared.

The scene: On a warm, sunny Saturday, I found us without a single plan for the first time in ... goodness, I don't know. We always have places we have to be or things we have to do on Saturdays. A weekend day without chaos is unheard of around these parts, and was even during the height of the pandemic. Thus, I thought it would be good to make good on a promise. Back about a month ago when we were at Ohiopyle, I said we would return when the rhododendrons were blooming.

Which, uh, we were still too early. It's about 2-3 more weeks until that area catches up with Pittsburgh.

Regardless, I was all, "Hey, girls! Hike! Ohiopyle!" and the girls were really very happy about the prospect.

And so we piled into the car and drove to Ohiopyle for a nice long hike.

Mila brought a backpack. In fact, she brought the most obnoxious Minions backpack you ever did see.

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Why did she bring a backpack, you may wonder? I probably should have wondered that before we left the house. But, you see, the child ALWAYS takes backpacks and purses with her no matter where we're going. The usual contents are a snack, a few rocks, a handful of trash, an acorn, and a toy or two or five. I don't know why. I don't pretend to care about the why. The kid travels with a whole host of "necessities" and I just roll with it.

But, oh, the child was PREPARED.

I should have known that suspicion was in order given that Mila happily wore that backpack for miles. Usually she ends up having regrets about her "necessities" and tries to get me to carry them, but this time she was happy as can be and totally content to keep carrying her preshusssss things.

And then I learned why.

Tadpoles.

Mila remembered the tadpoles.

After stopping to admire the hundreds of tadpoles wiggling around in a puddle the last time we were at Ohiopyle, Mila committed herself to making friends with some of those tadpoles. She managed to not only remember that she cared, but also that "Ohiopyle" was the magical place. She packed a perfect tadpole transportation system in that backpack all by herself. It magically appeared just as we happened upon a puddle of tadpoles.

And, so, Mila got to bring some tadpoles home.

And she was SO very excited.

But there's a thing she doesn't know. There's a reason I was so willing to let her catch dozens of baby frogs. The frogs that live in our pond? They've been disappearing. A snake has been caught snacking multiple times and despite being escorted VERY far away, it keeps coming back for more. I believe the two largest frogs are still around (though I haven't seen them in DAYS), but a lot of the smaller ones seem to have vanished for good.

So I suppose we need a new generation anyway. Now that a lot of the plants have filled in, the tadpoles probably stand a better chance in our pond than they did in that puddle. So ... Yay?

The best part, though, is that Mila's advanced preparation skills led her to selecting a container that could be properly sealed during the drive home. You know what's worse than having a snake snacking on your frogs? Having your kid spill a bunch of tadpoles in your car. Fortunately, I don't know that from experience, but I definitely thought about it the entire hour+ we were driving home.

Tofu Fried Rice

Somehow in my quest to buy important groceries over the past year, I have amassed an excess quantity of frozen vegetables. I don't really know how it happened, but let's go ahead and get a plan together so I can use some of them, mmkay?

Tofu Friend Rice. The girls both love it. It's easy to make. It's delicious.

Does it get any better than that?

Tofu Fried Rice

3 tablespoons peanut oil (divided)
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon crushed ginger
1 teaspoon lime juice
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 package extra firm tofu, cubed (drain and press the extra water out of it before cubing it)
2 cups white short-grain rice, prepared per package instructions
1 red pepper, diced
1 small onion, diced
1 cup broccoli florets (I used frozen, but fresh works even better)
2 large eggs

1. Place 2 tablespoons peanut oil, soy sauce, ginger, lime juice, and red pepper flakes in a gallon baggie and then toss the tofu in with it all. Shake it up and let it sit for at least ten minutes. It's called "marinading," kids, and it's what gives the tofu taste. (You could do the same thing with chicken or whatever, omnivores.)

2. Prepare the rice per package instructions.

3. In a large skillet or wok, heat the remaining tablespoon of peanut oil over medium heat. Toss in the red pepper and then the onion. Stir it all up.

4. Throw in the tofu, as well as the marinade. Fry the tofu and vegetables until the tofu starts to brown. Add the broccoli and continue to fry until the broccoli starts to soften.

5. Throw in the rice and stir everything up.

6. Push the rice and veggies off to the side. Using the empty spot in the skillet or wok, make some scrambled eggs. I break the eggs into a cup or bowl, scramble them with a fork, then pour them into the skillet/wok. A few stirs later, they are cooked.

7. Mix everything together. If you need to add more soy sauce, feel free to do so. It's a taste thing, for sure. I don't like a lot of soy sauce, but some members of this family would put an entire bottle on their plate if I would let them.

8. Listen to your kid rave about how great tofu and fried rice are. Or is that just what happens at my house?

Tiny Dancer