Good Eats with a Side of Crabbiness

Hey there! Thank you for all your sweet comments on my "brag" video - the one of YS2 talking and laughing. He is our pride and joy and truly a dream baby in so many ways so once in awhile I just have to show him off. Thanks for allowing me to do that. I try not to get carried away by doing it all the time here but you'll still see some pics of him and maybe the occasional video too. I just don't want to do it too much that you'll go ugh, not another one! ha ha! You wouldn't do that though, would you? :)

Switching gears, I gotta gripe. I complained about this next topic on twitter recently so here's my question for you: have you ever won a giveaway in which you didn't receive your prize as promised (or expected)? It happened to me and I have to say it makes me a little crabby and disappointed.

I supposedly "won" something four months ago from a blogger who's sponsor was an Etsy shop owner. The blogger failed to follow up on it (I emailed her 3-4 separate times about it, got apologies and excuses on behalf of the etsy person) so now here I am four months later with still no prize for me. Actually for YS2.

I just think it's pretty lame. I feel that if you're going to host a giveaway there has to be some responsibility on the part of the blogger. I know sometimes things happen but hopefully, the blogger can prove they've done all they can to ensure the item gets in the right hands. Probably easier to track and follow up on with actual companies vs an independent person. I had been reassured that the etsy person was working on my handmade item and that I would be getting it soon. Uh yeah. Didn't happen. So I sent a "just forget it" email the other day to the blogger (I was nice but expressed my disappointment) - not an apology or any word from this person in return. Double lame.

I won't say who it is - I have a feeling most of you don't even know of this blog so no harm done there but I know I won't be entering any more of their giveaways! Don't worry, they're not on my blogroll (anymore) so you won't click there by mistake via my blog.

Anyway, I think I've griped enough...moving on...

I made Nelly's sesame crusted tofu the other day along with some Asian salad. Yum yum is all I gots to say 'bout dat.

On the tofu, I didn't have shoyu so I used Bragg's instead (thanks to twitter peeps answering my question if I could use it in place of). In the pic, you might notice I ran short with the sesame seeds - still yummers. I loved it and snarfed it (YS2 got a few bites and he loved it too). So thanks Nelly!

Oh, and I didn't burn it or anything else for that matter. Yay! Glad that many of you had stories of kitchen mishaps to share. I wasn't alone.

For the slaw with peanut dressing, I used two cabbages, green and purple, green onions, red bell pepper, and carrots. Salads like these though, you can put in whatever you want.

Peanut dressing (adapted from allrecipes.com)

6 tbsp rice wine vinegar

5 tbsp EVOO
5 tbsp creamy peanut butter or almond butter
3 tbsp nama shoyu/tamari/Bragg's/coconut aminos/soy sauce
3 tbsp sucanat/turbinado sugar/brown sugar
2 tbsp minced fresh ginger root
2+ cloves minced garlic

Blend well, pour on salad, mix it all up and enjoy! Makes lots of salad but we enjoy the leftovers.

I also finally made socca! That is purty tasty! Sorry, no pic - we were too hungry and dug right in. I made it for another batch of lentil soup Sam made; went great with it.

If you're looking for recipes for socca/farinata I know the Twins and Nelly have both posted them, and I'm sure there are many others who have too. In fact, check out Lori and Michelle's lastest stellar socca creation. Holey moley!

My first attempt at socca was savory. I added in oregano only because that's what we had. I baked it a bit too long so we had crispy edges but we actually liked it all the same. I'd like to try it with onion and rosemary. But, I also want to try the sweetened versions that Lori and Michelle have experimented with.

Anyway, I highly recommend if you haven't jumped on the socca wagon yet. :)