So I just went on Facebook and saw in my news feed that Andy Bienstock, Program Director at WYPR 88.1 FM, went to high school with Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan! Remember the seven degrees to Kevin Bacon game? I wonder how many of us are even closer. Get the full scoop on this national Smalltimore moment here.

By popular demand, I'm posting that fake chicken, or tofu "chicken", salad recipe that I mentioned in my last post.

I made some modifications to the original "Faux Chicken Salad" recipe from the cookbook, "How It All Vegan" by Tanya Barnard & Sarah Kramer (Arsenal Pulp Press, 2002). Here is how I made it:

Ingredients:

• 1 cup of tempeh or firm tofu, cubed
• 1/2 cup of mayonnaise
• 1 stalk of celery, finely chopped
• 1 medium dill pickle, finely chopped
• 1/2 medium onion, chopped
• 2 tbsp fresh parsley, minced
• 2 tsp prepared mustard
• 2 tsp of soy sauce
• 1 garlic clove, crushed and minced

Directions: Steam the cubed tofu for 15 minutes on medium-high heat. Remove from heat and set aside to cool. In a medium bowl, combine the mayonnaise, celery, pickles, onions, parsley, mustard, soy sauce, and garlic with the tofu and toss lightly. Serve over toast, as a side dish, as a sandwich filling, or alone. Makes 2-4 servings.

Sarah and Tanya recommend tempeh before the firm tofu (I couldn't find any tempeh when shopping). But I think the tofu worked fine. They also recommend that you add 1-2 tsp. of curry powder if you want to spice it up.

Bon Appetit!

I know that Seth (Godin) wouldn't approve. (See #11 here.) But I'm going to do it anyway. For the past couple of days, I have been outnumbered. 4 cats to 1 human. I have my own cat, but I also watched the 3 that live in the apartment below.

They come in all sizes and colors, but one thing is universal. THEY REALLY LOVE TO EAT. In fact, I think each cat lives for that moment when he or she sees you approaching that part of the room where the food's stored, followed by the sound of the crack of the can or the scooping of the pellets. Knowing how much it means to them, when I opened one eye to my very own cat staring at me indignantly at the crack of dawn both days this weekend I looked into her desperate eyes and imagined three other hungry faces. So I got my butt out of bed to, well, get them on a good start.

To treat myself, last night before I went out to celebrate a friend's birthday, I decided to make tofu "chicken" salad, based on a recipe I found in a vegan cookbook I bought eons ago.

I thought to look for the directions on how to make tofu "chicken" salad after having some at One World Cafe for the first time a little over a week ago. I didn't have very high expectations of my own concoction because I'm not the best in the kitchen. (Did I ever tell you that I once put an entire head of garlic in a recipe that required one clove?) But I was really proud of myself when I took the first bite because it tasted great!

Before my culinary breakthrough yesterday, I stopped by the Eddie's off Roland Avenue in the late morning/early afternoon. It was the first time I'd been to that location and might be the last, at least for a while. Ever been in there? I felt like I was decades too young and like I had tens of thousands of dollars too little in my savings account to be in there. It probably didn't help that I was half asleep, but hey, a weird experience is just that. Weird.