Compliments to Home Depot

Tonight I was thankful to be a girl, and a helpless one at that.  And that is not something I say often.

I ran to Home Depot late this afternoon, because it's the closets to my home.  I have vegetable and herb plants that need repotting, and I had kept them alive close to a month in the pots they came in (which was my personal test, since I do not have an innate green thumb), and realized they deserved a replant.

So I went to Home Depot to pick up the things I would need:  soil.  I ended up buying a handful of other herbs because, clearly I'm the master at gardening now that I've kept 3 veggie plants alive for 4 weeks (insert awkward silence here).

And when I got home, I took the 5 bags of soil to the backyard, took the new planters that had arrived that morning, took out the plants from their existing pot, opened the bag of soil....
.
.
.
.
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....and realized that it was plant FOOD, not potting soil.

So my husband help me load the 4 unopened bags of plant food back in the car, and I raced back to Home Depot.

Unfortunately, I arrived 6 minutes after closing, and as I loaded the soil onto the cart from my car, I saw them locking the doors.  I ran to the door, pushing my cart, and knocked and waved at the people I could see, but no one moved towards the door. 

And then I started crying.  No.  Balling.  Right there at the door.  I was so incredibly embarrassed by my mistaking plant food for soil, and suddenly acutely aware of all the plants in my backyard lying on the concrete that wouldn't get replanted, and would probably die as a result.

About 60 seconds later - I was still standing at the door, balling, looking around for help - that someone opened the door and asked what was wrong.  I blurted out my story (between heavy sobbing) and they were kind enough to let me in, allow me to exchange my 4 bags of plant food for actual soil, and help me back to my car.

I did stop crying by the time I was back at my car, but the embarrassment still clung to my face.

Overall - my sincerest and greatest appreciation for you, the workers at Home Depot.  Not only are you there every day despite this crazy invisible foe, helping us with our at-home needs, but you saved my plants, my sanity, and my entire sense of what I can accomplish, should these plants continue to live now that they were successfully repotted.

Thank you.

Some Vegan Delights

Still in shelter in place and/or tired of the same ole-same old when it comes to the food you've been eating?

Here are some delicious alternatives!  They are both Vegan, but whether you're vegan or not, they're absolutely delightful.

(1) Nut-Butter Bread (also called Peanut Butter or Depression Bread). 
You can make with other kinds of Nut Butters, even though the recipe says Peanut.  We did ours with Nutzo and Sunflower Seed bread and it was soooo good.

• Note, this is not a sweet bread.  If you want it sweeter, add more sugar.  It is, however, dense, and has similar consistency to banana bread.

(2) Pan Fried Tofu.

It's easy enough:  Tofu, cut into small pieces.  

Then put the pieces in a large ziplock bag and add cornstarch. 

Roll around until well coated.  

Then add the tofu (and any chosen veggies) to a hot skillet that has good amount of oil (we use Sesame) already in it.

While frying, add in Soy Sauce (to your taste preference)

Once the first side of the tofu is fried and crispy, flip with a spatula.  AT THIS POINT, add in a packet of French Onion mix, and fry it up with the tofu and veggies

(You may have to add more oil half way through to keep the tofu frying and to get it crispy).

Once cooked, enjoy!  The flavor punch is so worth it!