Operation Arach-i Freedom
My kitchen window is freaking me out.
This guy has been hanging out for the past two weeks. Spinning. Growing. Giving me heart failure.
Lest you think he is not that big, think again.
It is not merely the sight of Spidey that sends me into a full body shudder. No, what sends me into a complete panic that has me again vowing to switch to decaf is when I don’t see him.
You see, in this very window frame we watched sugar ants crawl in all summer, prompting me to leave aggressive reminders to Pea Daddy on the dry erase boards to “CAULK THE WINDOW.” I’ll use any excuse I can to say the word “caulk.”
Caulk.
The only consolation I take in the fact that Pea Daddy has in fact not caulked the window is that I can now put “caulk” on my shopping list and we can have lengthy discussions about whether or not I “got the caulk today.”
Spidey likes to tease me and hide up in the window frame, just dangling a leg over to assure me that he is not in my shoes, in my shirt or worse yet, in my bed.
It doesn’t jive with my personal ethics to go around killing spiders. It also doesn’t jive with my personal ethics to die of a spider bite. Sorry, Spidey, gots to go.
My hero.
The camera work gets shoddy here because I was retching and wiggling my arms like they were on fire.
I’m not sure what he did with Spidey after Operation Arach-i Freedom, but I’m told that while he did not die, he will also not be able to crawl in and kill me through my caulk-free window anymore.
There’s still plenty of fear to go around in the Pea house, though.
Lulu, for example, fears clothes. I clocked her at having two full hours of complete nudity this morning. I’d call into her, “Lulu, are you dressed yet?”
“Nope…I’m STILLLLLL naked!”, she joyfully announced.
Gigi, on the other hand, is afraid I’m going to give her teacher some lesson plan ideas that rob her of school-mandated consumption of fluorescent blue lollipops.
Did you know that “lollipop” starts with “L?” Gigi’s teacher does. Perhaps I will send Gigi with lettuce and lentils for her snack tomorrow.
Pea Daddy’s current fear is that I will find a way to inject pumpkin into every appetizer, beverage, main course, snack and dessert from now until Christmas. And that I’ll by another $14 Baked Pumpkin candle. I can’t help myself. I kind of want to eat it with a spoon.
He should be afraid. I’m fully stocked…
and overflowing with ideas.
Pumpkin Curry with Tofu
Makes four servings
Marinade:
- 1/4 c. maple syrup
- 1 1/2 t. apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 t. salt
- 1 1/2 t. cinnamon
- 1/2 t. ginger
- 1/2 t. nutmeg
Curry:
- One 16 oz. package of extra-firm tofu, drained and pressed
- 1 1/2 c. fresh oriental pumpkin (i.e. Golden Nugget, kabocha or other winter squash), peeled and cut into 1/2 in. thick pieces
- 1 T. minced ginger
- 1 t. minced garlic
- 2 carrots, peeled and cut into coins
- 1 c. broccoli florets
- 1 c. red bell pepper, cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces
- 1 1/2 T. curry powder
- 1/2 t. garam masala, if desired
- One 14 oz. can light coconut milk
- 1/2 c. canned pumpkin
- 1 T. cornstarch
- 1/2 lime
- 2 T. fresh cilantro, chopped
- Granular sweetener to taste (sugar or stevia), if desired
- 2 c. cooked brown rice
In a shallow pie plate or dish, combine marinade ingredients.
Fight every urge possible to eat a spoonful of cinnamon.
Add pressed tofu and turn to coat.
Allow tofu to marinate for at least 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, peel, seed and slice pumpkin.
Set aside.
Preheat broiler. Spray a large skillet with cooking spray and place over medium high heat. Sauté ginger, garlic, carrots, broccoli and peppers for 4-7 minutes.
Remove from pan and place in a large bowl covered with tin foil to keep vegetables warm.
Place tofu and pumpkin on a prepared cookie sheet and broil for six minutes on each side.
To prepare pumpkin curry sauce, heat curry powder and garam masala over medium heat until aromatic. Add coconut milk and bring to a low boil.
In a small dish, combine canned pumpkin and cornstarch. Mix until fully combined and then add mixture to curry sauce and bring mixture back to a boil.
Add juice of 1/2 a lime and cilantro,
and then add vegetables, tofu and roasted pumpkin.
Stir, heat through and serve over brown rice.
Delicious. And I still have six cans of pumpkin and half a gourd. Pea Daddy is shaking in his boots.
By the way, in case you are wondering if Lulu ever got dressed, she did.
And she accessorized with a very loud, very shrill whistle.
I’d almost prefer the spider. Maybe the whistle will have an unfortunate run-in with some caulk.
Haha- Maybe Lulu is rebelling against your recent post involving clothes, etc.
You are posting delicious recipes faster than I can keep up with! And were those some adorable peas in a pod I spotted on your window sill? Too cute!
oooh love the pumpkin curry! I always love seeing the recipes using canned pumpkin but I am a little jealous as I dont even think we can BUY canned pumpkin in Australia!!!
Whoa. Totally impressed with this recipe!! Chris might actually like this one too…I can’t really get him to eat pumpkin but if curry is involved, things might change!
I’m blown away every time I come to your blog! Your recipes look delicious. I need pumpkin, coconut milk, tofu…ahhh…I wish I lived in a grocery store sometimes! lol
Oh my goodness that curry looks FABU!
Ditto on the spiders though. I found a 4″ diameter spider in my bathroom. I dropped everything and ran…and sat on the couch until my partner could come home. WHen he walked in the door, I yelled and kept frantically pointing to the bathroom, where my cleaning supplies were scattered in evidence of my immediate terror. Mr. Spider DID die that day I’m afraid. I’m still watching the hole in the sheetrock, waiting for his family to come looking for him. Perhaps we could borrow some of that caulk
I just wanted to tell you too, that your girls are growing up SOOOO Fast! (I probably DON’T need to tell YOU that). Lulu I feel like has shot up and matured in the last month! Beautiful family as always!
Spiders are frightening, especially that one on your window. Yikes. I’m the same way with insects. I’ve spent nights sleeping with the lights on because there was a centipede in my room and I didn’t know where it ran to. I had to make sure it wasn’t in my bed!
And your pumpkin curry looks amazing. Will you be my personal chef? In exchange, I’ll help Lulu put on her clothes everyday. It’s a win-win!
Oooh, that spider just gives me the creeps! I’m glad he won’t be bothering you anymore–I would definitely have nightmares about Mr. Spider if he was still hanging around my window. I just have to deal with the Asian beetles.
I’m envious of your stock of pumpkin
Ive made pumpkin tofu before and I love what you did with the pumpkin curry sauce!
Bugs. I’ve lived in the South and they are everywhere. After seeing cockroaches the size of golf balls all the time, no bug freaks me out anymore. Snakes though that’s another story. Pretty much reptiles or rodents are no dice and I freak!
Dinner looks delicious! In my house I’m the one that has to take care of bugs, because the husband is afraid. I think he would have left to stay in a hotel if he ever saw a spider that big in the house.
Ewww, spiders freak me out!!!! But no wonder these little creature are hanging around your kitchen. If I were him, I wouldn’t want to leave either.
aaahh! I hate spiders – I swear my house breeds them. Not sure where they come from, but every time I turn around, there’s a new one!
As a teacher, I will NOT give my kids any sort of candy. First of all, there are too many allergies out there. Second of all, I don’t believe in corn syrup laden food. Lastly, parents go BONKERS on you if you do something that they don’t agree with. Lesson? Don’t give kids food.
I am laughing as I write this – you had me smiling from the title of this post all the way up until the last sentence. I don’t know what I love more – your usage of the word “caulk” throughout, Lulu’s pride of her nakedness, or your stock of pumpkin. That recipe looks delicious! I’m so digging Pea Daddy’s scrubble, too. I vote he keeps it!
On the other hand, I am shuddering over your Spidey pictures – I don’t like killing them nor do I like them in the house! My big fear now is that if I see one inside and he gets away from me he’s going to end up in Chloe’s crib. BAH!
that dinner looks awesome! i just bought some pumpkin candles also, they just smell so amazing!
Yet another recipe I need to try. The list is getting long-I better get cooking! I didn’t realize they sell fresh ginger in a bottle like that. This changes everything. I hate working with fresh ginger. I need to find a bottle!
My husband can sympathize with Pea Daddy. Last night he sat down to dinner and said “There’s no pumpkin or squash in here are you feeling alright?”
my parents’ house is really old and bugs get in EVERYWHERE. It’s terrifying, and I still can’t kill spiders. That’s my dad’s job.
The first picture of Lulu is so adorable!!
oh my word that spider was HUGE! i kind of gagged when i saw it…they totally gross me out. i’m not at all for killing things but spiders i make an exception for. [shudder]
I HATE spiders like that…just hanging around…waiting to KILL you (or not, but you never know). Glad you got that guy outta there!
Pumpkin curry look amazing! I think my husband is getting sick of our multiple pumpkin meals too…and that’s too bad
I can relate to this post on multiple levels: I abhor all arachnids and I too look for ways to put pumpkin in pretty much any- and everything. I recently made pumpkin mac & cheese, which was wonderful – though not vegan! Your pumpkin curry looks amazing
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[Same comment as above, but with my correct blog link!]
I can relate to this post on multiple levels: I abhor all arachnids and I too look for ways to put pumpkin in pretty much any- and everything. I recently made pumpkin mac & cheese, which was wonderful – though not vegan! Your pumpkin curry looks amazing .
Eeeeee!!!! I freaked out just looking at that thing. That spider would have been dead the first chance I got to sic Peter on it.
Just wanted to say how much I enjoy your blog… it never fails to make me laugh
Your recipes are wonderful. I can’t imagine how much work you put into the whole process. Love all your pics too! Keep on doin’ what you’re doin’!!!!
That looks AMAZING!
There was the scariest spider living behind my car side mirror. He’d hide behind the mirror when I came outside, and I started realizing he was there when I was driving, so I’d drive really fast and hope he’d fly away. Finally he disappeared, thank heavens, cause he was HUGE and funny colors. Also? There’s a black widow living in my front bushes.
Did the girls like the curry too?
Oh and the “arachi-freedom” title is just too funny! I hate spiders too but for some reason I find their webs fascinating. They are pretty beautiful and I always feel bad because it seems like they are working so hard, and then it rains or the wind blows and they have to start all over again!
If you notice in the pics, I reserved some tofu and veggies for them. They gobble them up plain, but the spices are a little much for their palates right now.
I went a little pumpkin crazed and bought so many cans and now I’m trying to figure out what to do with all of it. I think this recipe will need to go on the list!
I’m not afraid of spiders, which is a good thing because they seem to love our house. Now, if our house was crawling with snakes, that’d be another story. I’d make an Emily-shaped hole in the front door as I ran screaming and flailing my arms.
I know I’d LOVE this recipe…I can’t wait to try it. Anything involving pumpkin and maple syrup has my name allll over it.
Ugh spiders – they creep me out too, I would not have gone that long without ridding my house of it, haha, kudos to you!
Love the new take on curry! I recently discovered the wonderful world of curry…and how anything with curry in it tastes AMAZING…I also feel the same way about pumpkin. So the two together sound like heaven to me!
I cracked up at “lengthy discussions on whether I got the caulk”. The same way I laugh when someone says they love conch. Clearly, I am mature.
Is there anything hotter than a scruffy man killing a scary spider for you?
I’m broadening my horizons with cooking, but I have yet to use curry in any of my dishes… which I should change soon because I keep thinking about it! This looks delish. And “caulk” always makes me laugh too
Hooray! I have all the ingredients I need to make this yummy-looking dish:-). (My husband doesn’t like pumpkin, but that just means more for ME!)
Obviously no outfit is complete without a whistle!
Perhaps my favorite story of that caliber is actually one that my friend told me about when she was trying to lower her cable bill which is through Cox Communications. Without realizing what she was saying, she told her roommate, “I have been thinking about going down on Cox a lot lately.” It was only when her roommate burst in to hysterical laughter that she realized what she had said
mmmmmmmmm….pumpkin! I am drinking a made-in-the-vitamix pumpkin smoothie as I read this – no lie! it’s cold and rainy now, the spiders are all trying to make their way inside, good luck!
Haha! I’m glad someone else appreciates “caulk” the way I do
My boyfriend is renovating his bathroom and I make sure to ask him how is caulk is every chance I get.
I wish something in my house needed caulking, hence needing to make caulk jokes all day.
I had to quickly scroll through most of this post because I cannot handle spiders. EEEK! We had a big honkin’ one that spun a web in the front of the house. It was over by a tree so I let it be. I hate them and if they come in the house or a window, they must perish. If they are off doing their own thing, they can live.
This one decided to move headquarters and I walked right in the middle of it yesterday. While it was ON THE WEB. I freaked the hell out and Scott had to come and save me. Frack.
P.S. Great curry!
That recipe sounds great – right now I have Curried Chickpeas and Cauliflower doing the slow-cooker thing. I’ll be serving over whole wheat couscous tonight!: http://www.familycircle.com/recipe/vegetables/curried-chickpeas-with-couscous/
Oh, that’s just a nice garden spider. One late summer we had one of those, but BIGGER, on our living room window. At first I was very nervous, but then the two older babies were fascinated by it. I realized I could not be afraid of it in front of the kiddles so I relaxed. Every morning we would look for the spider and see the new web it would spin each night while we slept. That spider ate all the nasty bugs we did not want getting into the house. Yay! We were all quite sad when the fall came and our spider made fewer new webs each night. Eventually the spider languished and died. We all read Charlotte’s Web together and then watched the cartoon. It is a lovely memory that we all still talk about.
Fight every urge to eat a spoonful of cinnamon….now that’s funny! Bet you don’t know someone who did that in under two minutes?
It was under 1 minute. Come on, Stacie. http://peasandthankyou.com/2010/09/22/peas-on-film-peas-0-video/
That’s what I meant…one minute
For the record, I can still taste the cinnamon in my mouth and I wasn’t the one trying to eat it. You must still be reliving the moment aweful moment…I mean…record breaking moment, just like Pea Daddy breaking the speed limit while running 
You guys crack me up and are my daily dose of humor. The recipes aren’t too shabby either! Keep it up!
so judging from the fact that you said PRESSEd tofu, i’m going to assume you have not tried the boiling trick?? fine!! whatever!!
i know you don’t want to kill spiders, but coming from someone who just had a scary spider bite that made my knee three times its normal size and was radiating heat and itching like a son of a _________!!!! get rid of the spider!!!
It’s gone MOM, it’s gone! And I was rushing to get dinner on the table last night…I forgot to boil the tofu. The next brick, I promise!!!
I’m not scared of spiders, but I AM scared of ghosts that I inevitably think are everywhere. Too bad you couldn’t leave the spider and web around until Halloween. You wouldn’t even have to decorate!
Your girls are so beautiful; I love the pictures…and this pumpkin n’ tofu dish…yum..what a fabulous Fall meal…I’m surely going to create this one night this week! Thanks for the great recipe. Enjoy your afternoon…
i am TOTALLY digging pea daddy’s beard.
and your posts, per usual.
those pumpkin bars are calling my nameeeee!
Yes, such an unbelievable combo…gotta try it!
HaHa! That boy better caulk that window. The spiders are creeping me out lately too. The worst is when you walk through their sticky web. Great curry recipe, I will be coming back for that one soon.
Not gonna lie, if you didn’t include that amazing recipe with this post, I would have punched you in the face. I hate spiders!!!!! But the recipe really does make up for it, holy yum!
I’m loving all things pumpkin these days! That looks good!!
Lol…caulk in her whistle. Now THAT would be funny! Ok sorry, def making this curry! Yum-O
Just curious, did the girls eat this for dinner also? Looks delish
I reserved the tofu and some sauceless veggies for them, which they scarfed. The curry is a little spice heavy for them.
It’s like I always tell Ben, “You don’t caulk the window, you don’t caulk me.”
I wondered if the girls ate this dinner too! Thanks.
I am always amazed at your delicious recipes! I figured if I ever got a law degree it would be because I was no good in the kitchen, with kids or at home in general. You are the whole package
You said “caulk” and “package” in the same comment. I love you.
Your spider’s twin is outside my back slider door in the tree!!! I’ve been watching it grow and get HUGE!
Your pumpkin curry sounds REALLY good!! Put that one in the ‘to make pile’
Looks delicious!!! We stocked up with pumpkin too
And been making so many things with it, love it!!!
I may or may not have dragged Seth into Bath & Body Works last weekend, just so I could get a whiff of all the new seasonal scents. I also may or may not have already purchased an evergreen plug-in for the holidays.
LOVE this recipe–just added it to my laptop recipe file!
Yeah, once we have a frost these things won’t be bothering us faint of heart anymore!
This week is pumpkin week on my blog. You know, in case you need some extra inspiration for those 6 other cans
We have a spider about that size who has made a home just in front of our front door. I say hi to him every day on my way out. I guess it helps that he lives outside, but spiders don’t really bother me much. Unless they are big enough to be deemed “saddle ‘em and ride ‘em” spiders. I make sure to point those ones out to my cats.
Please, don’t ever post photos of spiders again. Ever. *shudder*
Not sure I can make that delicious looking curry because of it’s spidey association! I’m pretty sure I saw it in there
You are a horrible friend. You need to warn me before you post such graphic photos! Marshall REFUSES to kill spiders. He coaxes them outside and gives them a cookie and sends them on their way.
That curry looks INCREDIBLE. Worth scrolling through the spidey pics.
this looks ridiculously good….just saved this page!
Spiders are icky! But that pumpkin curry looks amazing
I remember loving food that turned my mouth, teeth, and lips different colors as a kid. My friends and I would use pixie sticks and vaseline as lip gloss. We never tried the old Koolaid as hair dye…
I sometimes go to construction sites as part of my job, and it’s ALWAYS funny to say caulk
Never gets old!
Mmmm…pumpkin currie. That is my kind of dinner.
I’ve been eating and cooking with pumpkin like an insane woman. I’m pretty sure I’ll be orange by the end of the autumn season.
dear gawd that looks amazing. I WANT SOMEEEEEEEEEEEEEE TOFU CURRY STAT.
just made this… very good! i subbed sweet potatoes and sweet potato puree for the pumpkin because i made pumpkin bread yesterday – thanks for some good eatin’ girl
I’m a frequent reader but rarely comment as I’m usually
reading your blog at work. I just wanted to say that this marinade
for tofu has become a weekly staple in my family as I try to
convert all of us to vegetarians. My 5 and 2 year old girls love
it. Thanks for all the wonderful recipes!
I am so glad! Thanks for the feedback!