Tuscan Stew

I have a love hate relationship with my AirPods.

When I am out walking, I like to wear only one so I can listen to music or talk on the phone, but keep the other ear free in case I need to hear something.  My AirPods have other ideas.

Half the time, the one I’m wearing won’t connect at all to my phone no matter how hard I try. It might even say it is connected, but it is lying.  I can hear nothing through the AirPods, but I am still connected to whoever I am talking to and they cannot hear me at all. Grrrrrr.  I take it out, put it back in, take it back out, shake it all about.  Do the hokey pokey and turn myself about.  Nothing.

Then there are the times when it just randomly switches from my ear to the phone, then back to my ear.  For no good reason.  I really think it is just messing with me.  I don’t think it understands how on the edge I actually am.  I have killed appliances for less.

But today was the topper.  I had taken the dog out and when I came back in, I put the AirPod on the coffee table, then hopped onto my computer for a zoom and went into another room.  I connected just fine, but could not hear the person on the other end.  I could see them, but zero sound.

We both checked our mute buttons, closed extra browsers, signed off, then signed back on.  Nothing.  We smudged some sage, broke out the eye of newt, counted backwards from 100, and hopped on one foot, but still nothing.

In the chat, I told her that I couldn’t hear anything at all and she kept telling me that she could hear the news, specifically the weather.  I showed her the entire room to prove that I didn’t even have a TV, so I had no idea how she was listening to the day’s forecast.  This was getting really weird.  Like an episode of Ghost Hunters weird.  Maybe we needed to up the game to include an exorcism.

Finally, in frustration, I decided to run and get my iPad to see if I could connect with her without involving the ghosts of newscasters past.  Or to get a medium, whichever I could find first.  As I passed the coffee table, I spied my AirPod.  Could it be?  Nah!  It barely works when it is in my ear.  But I picked it up on a hunch and sure enough….there was the audio.

Anybody know how to contact the Osbourne Family?  I may need them to come and remove a ghost.

Ingredients:

• 1 (1lb) package extra firm tofu, pressed
• 3 cups frozen stir fry blend of peppers, broccoli and carrots (option to use fresh veggies here, any combination)
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 Tablespoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon dried fennel
• 1 cup chopped onions
• 1/3 cup red wine or vegetable broth
• 1/4 cup tomato paste
• 2 cans of diced tomatoes

Marinade for the tofu:

• 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
• 3 teaspoons garlic powder
• juice of 1 lemon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 3/4 cup vegetable broth

Directions:

1. Cut the pressed tofu into 1/2 inch cubes, marinate for at least a few hours or overnight.
2. In a hot pan, put a splash of oil and sear the tofu on all sides.  Remove and set aside.
3. Turn the heat down and sauté the onion and veggies.  Add the garlic, fennel and oregano and saute for 30 seconds till fragrant (be careful not to burn the garlic or it will taste bitter).
4. Add the red wine or vegetable broth and boil till reduced.
5. Add tomato paste, cans of diced tomatoes and the tofu and simmer for 30 minutes -1 hour.
6. Serve over pasta or rice.

Enjoy!