"Firemen's" Barbecue Sauce

I don't like traditional red barbecue sauce, but I love the white barbecue sauce on tofu (because I don't eat meat). We have always called it Firemen's Barbecue Sauce because every year the fire department in my home town of Cuba, NY has a chicken barbecue and they use the white sauce. So no matter whether the sauce comes from the bottle or is homemade, it's Firemen's Barbecue Sauce to us!

I don't know what the exact recipe is, but the main ingredients and approximate measurements are:
1 c. olive oil
2 c. cider vinegar
2 tbsp. salt
1 tbsp. poultry seasoning
1 tsp. pepper
1 egg

It works best to make it in a blender--put the egg in the blender and blend for a second, then add the oil and blend it good. Slowly add the other ingredients and mix it up. It will separate when it sits, so you'll need to shake it before you use it. Put it on whatever you normally put barbecue sauce on. I like to put tofu in a pie pan and dump some of the sauce on it, then put it on the grill. Delicious!

Another contest I entered

One of my favorite blogs right now is BabyMakin(g)Machine, and she has a great contest going to celebrate her 6 month blogoversary! http://babymakingmachine.blogspot.com/2009/05/6-month-blogiversary.html?showComment=1244407853482#c5402996555670271512



Even if you don't win the contest, the blog is worth checking out! Even though I've never met blog author FutureMama, I feel like we've become friends through her blog. She's adorable!

(Raisin) Scones

Wow, as I've started collecting recipes that sound good to me, I realize that I have really unhealthy tastes! Or maybe it's just that I tend to see more recipes for baked goods than I do for healthy meals.

I also sometimes automatically substitute ingredients--in this case I'd replace the raisins with chocolate chips or take them out completely, which is why I put Raisin in parentheses. I got this from the Parade magazine that came in the Sunday paper.

(Raisin) Scones
Instead of spending money at a bakery each morning, make breakfast scones at home. These light treats are ready in 30 minutes flat and freeze well.

1 lg egg
1/2 c milk
2 c. all purpose flour
2 1/2 T. sugar
1 T. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
6 T. cold butter, cut into bits
(3/4 c. raisins)

1. Preheat oven to 400. Whisk egg & milk together in one bowl and the flour, sugar, baking powder, & salt in another.

2. Drop the butter into the flour and, using your fingers, cut and rub until the mixture is pebbly. Pour in the milk and egg. Mix with a fork until the dough is evenly moist. (Add the raisins and give the very sticky dough a few more stirs.)

3. Spoon a dozen mounds of dough onto a foil-lined baking sheet & bake for 20-22 minutes, or until the scones are golden brown. Cool for a few min. Serve warm w/ butter or jam, or a little of each.

I think I've been stabbed in the back!

I was talking to a friend of mine today, and he said that he saw an acquaintance of mine. I say acquaintance because we know each other and might possibly be friends, but there always seemed to be some tension between us and I don't know what it is; we just never really "clicked." So anyway, I was talking to my friend and he said that this person said some stuff about me...stuff that only a few people know. It's not that I have any deep, dark secrets. I just happened to share some of my deepest fears at a really rough time in my life with very few friends, and I have a feeling that one of the people I talked to told this other person. Let me see if I can explain this better...

I was going through a rough time as so many of us do. I leaned on a couple friends. Like, TWO friends. And I told them pretty much everything. One of those people, we'll call her "Person A" is friends with my acquaintance, "Person B." Person A knows that I don't particularly like Person B. So when my other friend, "Person Z" told me that Person B knew all kinds of stuff about my emotional turmoil of a few years ago, the only one I could really think of who would have shared such information would have been Person A.

I'm very confused right now because, first of all, this information was probably shared years ago, and that situation has long since passed. I'm over it and am now very happy. I don't know what good it would do to confront her about it. At the same time, though, I want her to know that I'm not pleased that she shared this information. And then there's a tiny part of me that wonders if I'm barking up the wrong tree. Maybe she didn't say anything!

Ugh, I'm so angry and hurt right now!!! But the good thing is that Chris will be home in a few hours and I can't wait to hug and kiss him and make up for the four days we've been apart!!!

Melt-in-your-mouth Strawberry Muffins

I got this recipe from a Stonyfield Farms yogurt lid, but I haven't tried it yet. I'm considering replacing the strawberries with chocolate chips (I know I'm terrible!) because I tend to like to keep my fruit and my baked goods separate.

1 c. all purpose flour
1 c. whole wheat flour
1/2 c. sugar
1 1/2 t baking soda
2 eggs
1 c. Stonyfield Farm yogurt
1/4 c. butter, melted
1 t. vanilla
1 c chopped strawberries, fresh or frozen

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375. In a bowl, mix together flour, sugar, and baking soda. In another bowl, mix eggs, yogurt, butter, and vanilla. Toss strawberries into the flour mixture, then pour yogurt mixture into flour mixture and stir. Spoon batter into greased muffin tin, bake for 20-25 min, or until the tops are golden brown. Yield: 12 muffins.

Contest to win a beautiful bracelet! (I REALLY like this!)

I found the most adorable giveaway on the Contest Corner blog! We went to England last year and I loved it so much, so I really hope to win the bracelet! Here's a direct link to the contest so you can check out the bracelet:
http://contest-corner.blogspot.com/2009/05/giveaway-london-calling-bracelet.html



And here's the link to the etsy shop so you can see all of the wonderful things that Bebe and Yaya have to offer:
http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5205135

Closed again

We got word this afternoon that my school is closed again on Monday because of swine flu. Here are the latest articles:

http://www.wgrz.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=66352&catid=305

http://www.wivb.com/dpp/news/School_district_awaits_H1N1_results_20090503

While I love the idea of another day off, it's also incredibly frustrating because this is such a busy time at work that I really need to be there, and also, this creates a conflict with two big events, which will now have to be scheduled for the same day! ARGH!