Tofu Peanut Noodles with Broccoli

+ other things I am loving this week

I am always pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoy tofu when it is paired with a flavorful sauce. I tried to make this dish as easy as possible so there is no time wasted squeezing water out of the tofu and cutting it into cubes.

We are literally just crumbing it up straight into the pan to saute. When it’s cooked like this it almost has the texture of a ground meat, but a bit softer. The cool thing about tofu is that it takes on the flavor of your seasoning or sauce. This dish ends up tasting like a comforting bowl of peanut noodles with a boost of protein from the tofu.

** Full recipe and printable version at the bottom for paid subscribers, but first the weekly R.E.P.O.R.T.

Reading

Instead of scrolling TikTok or Instagram while I nurse my son I have transferred my addiction to Substack scrolling. It feels a bit healthier because I do take the time to stop and read full posts so my brain isn’t constantly changing topics every 30 seconds (I’m 100% sure that can’t be good for us).

Some of the substacks I am enjoying are:

• Outfit Repeater - Megan tracks every article of clothing she wears throughout the year in an effort to be a more conscious and sustainable consumer. I would like to do this too, but maybe when I’m not dealing with postpartum body changes.

• Platonic Love - A substack written by two friends and it kind of feels like you are in their friend groupchat just getting good recommendations and advice. I never skip an email from them.

• Bad Art Everyday - is doing a get off your phone February challenge. I am failing miserably, but I do enjoy the sentiment.

Eating

I made 2 Valentine’s Day dinners. One that I made over a week in advance and shared with all of you and one that we actually ate on Valentine’s Day. Above you will see our actual Valentine’s meal. A New York strip steak (my favorite cut) done using the reverse sear method, crispy parmesan potatoes and a simple salad.

I neeeed to work on a recipe for the crispy parm potatoes because the one I followed was a bit too oily. If you just give that recipe title a quick google you will see lots of options out there.

Playing

I keep hitting play on Love is Blind thinking a new season will feed me something new, but its just more and more and more of the SAME. and it’s boring.

Things that are not boring: Severance and Traitors. Both very different shows, but both delighting me in different ways. Amy hated the outdoor excursion episode of Severance, but I do think the slow burn of that episode was necessary for the story line to move forward.

I’ve also been curating a killer playlist for cooking. It is not ready to share yet, but is that something you’re interested in when I am ready to share?

Obsessing

I am really obsessed with getting my steps in. It’s so hard for me to find time for a workout these days, but I have been doing most of my computer work from my standing desk on my walking pad (hi thats how I am typing this right now) and I can easily get around 10K steps in just a couple hours.

My rule I’ve made for myself is that I don’t sit to work unless I have already walked 10K for that day. It takes a bit to get used to walking and typing, but now I think I actually am more productive when I walk and work. Something about the rhythmic movement that helps me not get distracted.

A key element to my walking are my Hokas! I am a Hoka Clifton girl for life because I have arthritis in my feet and these allow me to walk all day pain free.

Recommending

Every Byoma product that I’ve tried has been so incredible. I found most of them through Nina Pool on TikTok. She finds more affordable versions of cult skincare and makeup favorites.

I looooove this Byoma moisturizer. I originally bought it for Amy, but I steal it pretty much every day. It’s super lightweight and it absorbs immediately. It reminds me of the Clinique moisturizer I love, but at a much better price point.

Then, I slather my face in a few drops of this face oil to protect from this never ending harsh winter. For an oil, it actually absorbs pretty nicely and doesn’t feel like its just sitting on top of my skin all day. It has definitely improved my skins overall moisture.

Treating

I treated myself to an hour and a half of uninterrupted work time at a local coffee shop earlier this week and it was pure bliss. I sat next to a fire with my hazelnut latte in a real mug and took the time to slowly edit the recipe photos I had taken earlier this week.

It was amazing and made me feel SO refreshed when I came back home to my family. Life is wonderfully chaotic right now so it was a good reminder that Amy and I both need little pockets of time away from the boys to feel better when we come back to the chaos.

ASLO I was so excited to see that the local coffee shop was absolutely packed with people. I feel like everyone is seriously leaning on local businesses and shying a way from large corporations and chains. It makes me feel so good.

Tofu Peanut Noodles with Broccoli

Hands on Cook Time: 30 minutes | Serves 4