Another casserole day yesterday. I got up after finally catching up on sleep sometime in the afternoon, and started to clean my house. When that was finally done, I went shopping at Wally World to get ingredients for the day's cooking. I made the green bean casserole again, and added a new casserole to my repertoire: Chilis Rellenos! My grandma emailed the recipe, at my behest, after she served it last time I visited. I don't think I made it as well, but that's okay, it's still good.

Chilis Rellenos (Grandma's version, spell-checked)

Chilies Rellenos

1 7 oz can whole chilies*

1/2 lb. Monterey Jack cheese, grated ( I sometimes sub cheddar)**

3 eggs

2 1/4 c milk***

1 c Biscuit baking mix

Seasoned salt to taste

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Split chilies, rinse, and remove seeds. Dry and arrange on bottom of 11 x 8 x 2 inch dish.**** Sprinkle grated cheese on top of chilies. Beat eggs, blending in milk, and baking mix. Pour over cheese and chilies. srinkle with seasoned salt. Bake 50 to 55 min.

*I just bought a 7 oz can of diced chilies to cut off some prep time

**I used about a 1/4 lb. of shredded Colby & Monterey Jack cheese, just enough to cover the chilies in the pan I used

***I thought two and one quarter cups was a LOT of milk for this recipe, so I cut it down to one cup

****I used an 8 x 8 x 2 inch pan, as I do not have one larger...

Total cost? $5 for 9 servings = breakfast all week (or lunch, whatever...)

For the main course I found something in The Tofu Cookbook by Becky Johnson. It's a bit more expensive than most of my recipes, but I thought I would try something new. When I made it I cut the recipe in half as to conserve the other half of the tofu for another recipe, which I haven't chosen yet. I have tried to remain true to the author's presentation, but some things changed, sorry Becky.

Without further ado, here is the recipe, in full, as presented in Johnson's book:

Fried Garlic Tofu

Serves 4

500g/1.25lb firm tofu

50g/2oz/.25 cup butter

2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

200g/7oz enoki or other mushrooms

45ml/3 tbsp soy sauce

30ml/2 tbsp sake or lemon juice

1. Wrap the tofu in kitchen paper, place a weighted plate on top and leave for up to 1 hour to drain off excess water.

2. Slice the tofu to make 16 slices using a sharp knife.

3. Melt one-third of the butter in a frying pan. Add the garlic and cook over a medium heat, stirring, until golden, but do not allow it to burn. Remove the garlic from the pan. Add half the remaining butter to the pan, add the mushrooms and cook for 3-4 minutes, until golden and softened, then remove the mushrooms from the pan.

4. Place the tofu in the pan with the remaining butter and cook over a medium heat. Turn over and cook the other side until golden and the tofu is warmed through.

5. Return the garlic to the pan, add the soy sauce and sake or lemon juice and simmer for 1 minute. Transfer to warm serving plates and serve immediately with the mushrooms.

(Aaaand, scene.)

This recipe cost me around $10, but that's because I had to buy everything but the garlic, which I had on hand. Totally worth it, and I'm now stocked on soy sauce and lemon juice.

Edit: it cost $8.22

So I finally finished cooking and had my neighbor, Matt, over for some chit-chat and video game playing. While he was here I got an invitation to an Indians & Aliens party. I didn't really get the joke (that the Native Americans were in contact with beings from another galaxy, or something like that) until I got there, so I put on my crazy fringe jacket and my big, furry hat that people think is either Russian or Mongolian. I decided I was a French fur trader, bringing whiskey to the Natives in exchange for furs (or medicinal herbs, whatever). I actually only knew two people at the party, one of the people living in the house, and a guy from my class, Billy. I met some interesting people and had a pretty good time.

Today I woke up to my friend Chuck wanting to chill, so I got up and got ready to meet the day, hungover. Much earlier than I might have otherwise gotten up. Anyway, when they left I went up to the Coffee Pot to study and work on assignments. I had been there a while when a musical act got up on stage and started jamming some nice, happy jams. The call themselves Calliope Musicals, and I think they were perfect for the Coffee Pot. They didn't have a typical percussion section, no drum set, just a guy playing a vibraphone. The leading vocalist, Carrie Fussell, has a great voice. I can't place who she sounds like, but it fits the music beautifully, matching melody with the vibraphone at times, and soaring off to high notes played by the lead guitarist, Matt Roth. Roth's guitar is sometimes pleasantly subdued, subtly complimenting the vocals, letting them be heard, but when the vocals disappear, his licks don't disappoint. All the time, the downbeat rhythms of vibraphonist, Craig Finklestein, keep you tapping your feet. Anyway, I'm no music critic, but they have some great, chill grooves on their site, so check 'em out!

www.calliopemusicals.com

I talked to the main duo after the set, and they were super cool people, so send them some love, or check them out in the Austin area.

That's all from me, 'til next time, eat well!