Here is a recipe I kind of created--

Tofu Tacos
1 package extra firm tofu
vegetable or olive oil
Pinto beans, canned or prepared yourself from dry (see below)
Taco seasoning pack
Mexican Rice, shredded cheese, taco sauce, sour cream, lettuce, or any toppings of choice
Corn tortillas

Slightly cut open tofu package and let liquid drain out. After opening completely, slice tofu into bars about 1/2 inch across the width but keeping the length of the tofu. Pat the pieces dry with a paper towel. In frying pan, heat a small amount of oil. Lay the tofu in pan and saute, turning to brown each side. Add taco seasoning to taste (reserve some for beans) and stir to coat the tofu. Brown corn tortillas on a griddle with a little oil, heat in microwave, or, if using a gas stove, lay directly on the burner grate over a low flame, turning to brown both sides.

To prepare your own beans-
Follow package instructions to soak about 2 cups of beans over night.  Drain and rinse the beans and add water- just covering the beans in a sauce pot. Saute 1/2 chopped onion and a few cloves of garlic, minced, in a small amount of oil and add to beans. Add reserved taco seasoning. Cook until tender, about 2-3 hours.

Build tacos to taste and enjoy! We used leftover salsa and rice from our favorite Mexican restaurant.

Well, it's been almost a month since my last post. So far I have a B in microbiology and a B in pre-calculus and an A in government. Pre-calculus is getting really hard; we are in trigonometry right now and learning all those identities are going to be very hard! Hope I can pull off a B. I will be perfectly happy if I do.



Tomorrow is our 28th wedding anniversary. How long ago but quick it seems. I am just plugging along here, hoping for answers to all my prayers! Babbs (Top left, my visit to Lance's in Cool. Barb, Tam, Owen; seated: Estella, Amelia, Ava, Olivia, Emma. Below, at Andy's in North Carolina; Andy, Lucas, Becky)

I'm back into the swing of school again. I am taking Microbiology, Pre-calculus, and American Government. I love the biology, government is plain easy, and pre-calculus is a challenge. Never mind what I told Lisa it did to me!

Here is the Gram stain technique I have learned, one of a few. It's really exciting. I actually did one tonight to practice for a quiz. It looked very similar to this one I found in a Google search. The purple (I know it looks blue, but it really is purple) are Staphylococcus epidermidis and the pink are Escherichia coli. My instructor said, "They look beautiful!" Of course, she does this as a job all the time, but she still shows enthusiasm when we are successful!

I have a tutor for my math class; just because I really want a little extra help. The instructor goes so fast and does a lot of things in his head when he's working problems. I really wish I could just see what was in that ol' head of his, but I can't. I think he likes to flaunt how smart he is, also. But, my first test wasn't too bad; I think I pulled it off with a C or better. I'll find out next week.

I plan on picking up Lucas and Lydia on Friday. Sarah will meet me in King City and they are going to spend the weekend here. I'm rather excited.

Now that summer is here I can post to my blog. So far, I've weeded all my gardens, and had some time with grandchildren, which are the flowers in my garden of life! I love being a Grammy!

Here are some roses I got a couple of summers ago with Gerlinde. They looked amazing this spring. To the bottom left is my artichoke. We've already eaten one artichoke from it; I picked two more yesterday. They are very organic, spider webs, flies and who knows what critters are crawling around in them. I usually give them a good soak in salt (just in case there are snails and slugs hiding) and lemon water. We just pick the organic off.














Sammee is wearing her purple coat. I'm not sure if she likes it or not. She looks pretty ridiculous.

I got my grades the other day and am proud to say, I maintained my 4.0; all A's once again. So, summer is off to a great start. In less than 3 weeks we'll be off to North Carolina!

My first time whale watching! I went with my marine biology class and we could bring someone along, so Becky came with. Here's a shot I got of humpbacks: fluking and swimming. It was an awesome trip. We also saw 2 gray whales, not as easily, and a sweet little minkie whale. There were hundreds of dolphins closer in.

Hello, anybody who actually looks at this! I've finally downloaded some pictures off my camera and would like to share.


<----------Lucas, demonstrates his amazing dribbling skills at his basketball game.













<---- Lydia in her beautiful birthday dress, a lovely contribution by Jamie Across-the-Street!



<----: "I love my big pomelo! I can't decide if I should eat it or throw it!"


Enjoy your days!

Babbs

I've finished 2 weeks of school. I love my marine biology class. The teacher is very excited about the class and you can tell he enjoys teaching it. We get to go whale watching in a few weeks. I can't wait to do that; it will be out of Santa Barbara. We will also visit the tide pools at Vandenberg and we are going to a bird estuary sometime.

I made my first speech in class and did fine. He only pointed out one thing that I can improve on: my transitions. That's a pretty easy fix. I was so nervous though; I could feel my face turn red when it dawned on me that everyone was looking at me! Horrors! People who know me best would know that I don't like being the center of attention. How awful.

I had my first math test and it's a good thing it was multiple choice. I drew a few blanks working some of the problems so I just started plugging in choices. So, anyway, what's the deal with imaginary numbers? I want to know.

Becky and I are re-watching the Avonlea series again. It's been a few years and we just have to visit with our old friends again. I think my favorite characters are Gus Pike and Peg Bowen "the witch of Avonlea." I turned to Becky and said, "I bet she reminds you of me." She agreed and lauged. Peg is not really a witch but she tromps around in her boots and smokes a pipe--not that I smoke a pipe. She refuses to go to church because everyone is a goody-two-shoes. She has long gray hair and wears what I like to call "comfortable clothes." She makes herb concoctions that help people. I think she's pretty cool. So, I think I will grow my hair long again, and get some boots. Having a nice pair of men's work boots with steel toes in them wouldn't bother me at all. I doubt if I will get a pipe though. I wouldn't care to be known as the "witch of Vandenberg Village" either. Or the "old lady pipe smoker..."

We went to see "Leap Year" tonight. It was a cute movie.

Have a wonderful Valentines Day everyone!