Life will always try to make you run, even if your preference is for a steady trot. I say this, but much of our stress I think, is self-inflicted. Put your phone down, get off Facebook and Twitter, and you’ll be in a better state of mind.

My own life’s rhythms ebb and flow. For public schools, this is vacation week, so no sub assignments to consider. I’m tutoring at night because the private school nearby where I work has a different calendar than the one followed by their public counterparts.

While no fill-ins as a guest educator, I do have two articles I’m on deadline for. I continue writing for National Oil & Lube News. If you’ve never read any of my work for them, the February cover feature is mine, highlighting how no industry is immune from the reach of Donald Trump’s tentacles and tariffs.

Because I’m out during what are post-dinner hours for most people, I prefer not to have the standard American dinner, traditionally the largest meal of the day. For me, for much of my work week, I’ll whip-up something at lunch that is really my dinner. I make enough so that I leave a meal for Mary when she makes it home from work, or one of her after-labor fitness classes.

I don’t know where my culinary skills fall on any kind of continuum. I know my way around the kitchen, am quite capable of dicing and chopping, and I’ve mastered some of the basics of food preparation. I’m sure in our culture of fast food, or if you’re a foodie—eating most of your meals at a restaurant where the food is overprices and in my estimation—often underwhelming, then food prep might be foreign to you. Then, factor in the continued avoidance by many in the culinary world of moving away from meat to more plant-based meals, and cooking at home is almost always preferable to paying someone else to feed me.

Pad Thai for Two (maybe three or four)

Today’s Thai for Two packet presented an option that was fairly simple in terms of assembly. I had to soak my rice noodles for 25 minutes, so there was a time commitment involved. However, while my noodles were setting up, I diced my scallions, mushrooms, and then, timed my stir-fry requirement so that when the noodles were done soaking, all I had to do was add them, stir them around with the packet of Pad Thai Sauce (which was enclosed) and “voila!” I had dinner. I even steamed some broccoli because I love it and cruciferous vegetables are a good thing.

Cooking is cool.

Oh! I did forget to tell you I desired to add some plant-based protein, so I opted for tofu as an optional ingredient. If you don’t know, tofu is best if pressed before using. I also have a routine where I sear it prior to adding it to the dish at-hand. Pressing tofu is a practice you’ll want to adopt if you want to appreciate the goodness and utility of this soy-based protein source.

So all-told, my Pad Thai dish I made for lunch probably involved 45 minutes of preparation. But damn!! It was so good!! The case could even be made that not only was the food great-tasting, plant-based (and healthy), but preparing food can add some punctuation to your day: some even consider it mindful and meditative.

Pad Thai, with tofu, broccoli, and some kimchi on top.