We are so blessed that his schedule is so flexible. Me especially, because preparing for a substitute is worse than writing a months worth of lesson plans in Latin while standing on your head reciting the Gettysburg Address. I think I've had to take two days off for her this year.
I knew on Wednesday that I would take off today. Little B was still running a fever. Thanks to our good friend, Nurse Crazymom (she's not really crazy, it's her blog name :o), who came over with her otoscope, I got to see an infected ear for the first time. Horrible for Little B, but awesome for me.
NERD ALERT: I totally want an otoscope for my birthday. I am also totally not kidding.
We were planning a quiet, relaxing day of puzzles, reading a Whoopi Goldberg children's book (don't ask), watching the Wild Kratts and taking naps. I did not plan on spending half the day picking up tissue.
Meet Bella, The Tissue Bandit.
Five pounds of tissue-loving evilness.
Puffs, Kleenex, whatever you want to call them - were strewn all over my house like an Alaskan white out.
Little B and I picked up the remnants. Mr. B blamed me for letting Bella get in Little B's trash can. I blamed him for letting the dog get into the bathroom trashcan because I had just emptied her trash.
Mr. B left for work and all was calm...until I noticed a second pile of evidence at the top of the stairs. Little B was literally ankle deep in destroyed tissue. I called crime scene clean up (Little B).
As I crossed the room to yell at my dog (because yelling is the most effective trick with dogs, you know), something at the end of the hallway caught me eye.
A tissue box.
Right outside Little B's room I bent over to pick up the box. Then I saw the damage. The Tissue Bandit had struck again with vengeance.
The entire floor was covered with destroyed tissue. The bed was littered with whole tissues. The nightstand was a mess. It finally hit me - my little dog was jumping up on Little B's bed then crossing onto HER NIGHTSTAND to get to the tissue box on the far side. This also explained how we found a chewed up medicine cup on our bedroom floor.
I was ready to abandon my veganism for 5 minutes for one last act of animal cruelty. It was a good thing my friend, Nicole had just worked her amazing grooming magic on Bella. Otherwise, I'd have gone over to the dark side. ( I was going to say "eating Kung Pao Maltese, but thought that might be going to far.)
To bring myself back down, I needed comfort food - and I got it.
Seitan & Noodles
8 oz. wide Udon noodles
4 c. hot water
4 t. veggie better than bouillon
6 T. Earth Balance Margarine
6 T. Flour
1 T. dried basil
1 t. Spike
1 t. salt
1 t. paprika
Few grinds of black pepper
8 oz. seitan, cut into bit size pieces
Prepare the noodles according to the directions, drain and set aside. Dissolve the bouillon in the hot water and reserve. In an oven-proof pan, melt the Earth Balance. Add in the flour and spices, stirring constantly, about 2 minutes. Add the bouillon mixture, noodles and seitan; toss. Bake for 30 minutes in a 350* oven.
If you don't have an oven-proof pan, you can simply bake it in a greased 9x13.
This stuff was exactly what I had been craving: warm, comforting, noodlely goodness. Next time, I might even challenge the carbohydrate gods and serve it with mashed potatoes, too.
I'm so excited to eat it tomorrow, I've all but forgotten the Tissue Bandit.
I'm glad I could help in any way to keep miss Bella safe and sound! Hehe!! Love your blogs and recipes by the way! :)
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