Father of girls - two!

Whenever a new year appears, which seems to do so with ever increasing frequency, I have argued that it is just another day. Albeit, one in which we seem intent on making new resolutions and some of us go so far as to actually take stock of our lives! This year I half-heartedly fought the urge to make resolutions. However, by the time my birthday rolled around (yes, today), I realized that I had made a couple of resolutions. Worse yet, I am getting ready to commit them to writing, and at that in public. The two resolutions I am willing to admit having made, is to get my personal blog, fatherofgirls-two (fog-2) of the ground and try and get the first draft of the book I have been threatening to write for some n years done. There I have not just said it but written it down as well. I look to you reader (I don't refer to my lovely wife alone here) and any other accidental visitor, friends and assorted well-wishers to keep me honest.

A little background on the motivation behind this blog - my daughters who are aged 12.75 (going on 16?) and nearly 10 have over time made me realize what a lucky person I am. I find myself enthusiastically pumping hands and thumping backs of other dads who have just had girls (not just you Kausik, Mayank and Selva) and giving pitying glances to those fathers of boys - one or more (fob-1+) at what they are missing out. Of course all the fob1+ I have met, tell me girls are easy when they are not yet teens, but boys are a lot easier when they get to be older than twelve. I'd like to say that I have stayed above the fray in such petty squabbles but that would be lying (Resolution #1, 2001 I shall not lie (needlessly?)).

Better writers than I, from the comic (Erma Bombeck, Bill Cosby) to the serious (Anne Lamott) and the Page 3 set (Shoba De have dealt with children and the joys and travails of parenting; but why should that keep me from talking about my sweeties and how they are bringing me up.

Sweet as my girls are, breakfast especially on a school day is a big challenge. When Max wants cereal, Roz, my older one, wants a cooked breakfast. As both the girls have to make it the school bus stop by 720AM, every day is a challenge. LW's answer to this has been French toast and my own concoction has been a mean tofu scramble. Now for having gotten this far, I will share an original fog-2 recipe -Italian Tofu scramble ala Max (named after my little one).

Italian Tofu scramble ala Max!

Ingredients
1 small onion
1 small bell-pepper (green)
2 slices of whole wheat bread
¼ kg tofu - firm

2 tsps olive oil
4 tsps soy sauce
2 tsps Italian Seasoning
- could include some or all of
Basil, Oregano, Pepper, Parsley, Rosemary, Sage, Thyme


Preparation
Chop the onions into small pieces. Dice the bell-pepper, bread slices and tofu into small cubes.

Pour two teaspoons of olive oil into a small saucepan and heat over a small flame. Add the seasoning and as the oil warms up, add the chopped onions. Before the onions begin to blush, add the diced bread crumbs. A wooden spatula to keep the whole mixture stirred would be a good idea. Gently stir till the bread crumbs are coated with seasoning.

Add the chopped bell-pepper and the soy sauce and continue stirring. Finally add the tofu and mix it well over a low flame for 3 minutes. Turn the stove off, keep covered for five minutes and you are ready to serve.

Enjoy!