#MEwx Above freezing, clouds, wind and Stir-Fried Rainbow Peppers, Eggplant and Tofu

Good Morning Augusta

This morning we have mostly cloudy skies, becoming partly sunny. Highs in the mid 30s with northwest winds around 10 mph gusting to 20 mph.

Tonight we'll have clear skies with  lows around 20°F. Northwest winds will be around 10 mph.

The readings from my weather instruments are:

Our outdoor temperature is 31.8°F, the humidity is 43%, the Dew point is 11.8°F with a wind chill of 22.6°F.

The wind direction is North Northeast between 8.9 MPH and 12.5 MPH.

The Relative pressure is 29.87, the Absolute pressure is 29.67 and rising with a weather graphic indicating Sun and clouds.

If you want to see real-time instrument readings from my personal weather station click Here. That will take you directly to my weather station.

Visibility is 10.0 miles / 16.1 kilometers with mostly cloudy skies.

The UV rating is  0 out of 16, The moon is 37.4% illuminated, the moon phase is waning crescent, Sunrise is 7:14 am↑ 121° Southeast, sunset is 4:16 pm↑ 239° Southwest, Moonrise is12:50 am↑ 100° East, Moonset is 12:05 pm↑ 256° West and we'll have 9 hours 3 minute of daylight today.

We didn't receive any rain or snow here over the past 24 hours.

As you can probably tell, I'm posting alternate salad and chicken/fish recipes. All are low-cal and low in cholesterol IF you stick with these or any other low-cal meals along with a realistic exercise regiment you'll lose weight.

Stir-Fried Rainbow Peppers, Eggplant and Tofu

MARTHA ROSE SHULMAN

INGREDIENTS

•           1 pound Asian eggplant

•           1 tablespoon rice wine or dry sherry

•           2 tablespoons hoisin sauce

•           1 teaspoon low-sodium soy sauce

•           2 tablespoons peanut oil, rice bran oil or canola oil

•           ½ pound firm tofu, cut in 1/2-inch squares and drained on paper towels

•           1 tablespoon minced ginger

•           2 fat garlic cloves, minced

•           ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes

•           3 bell peppers of varying colors

•           1 Anaheim pepper

•           Salt to taste

PREPARATION

1.         Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Cut the eggplant in half lengthwise and score down to but not through the skin. Line a baking sheet with parchment or foil, lightly oil the foil and place the eggplant on it, cut side down. Roast for 15 to 20 minutes, until the skin begins to shrivel. Remove from the oven, allow to cool until you can handle it, and cut in half along the score down the middle of each half, then into 1/2-inch slices

2.         Combine the rice wine or sherry, the hoisin sauce and the soy sauce in a small bowl and set aside

3.         Heat a 14-inch flat-bottomed wok or 12-inch steel skillet over high heat until a drop of water evaporates within a second or two when added to the pan. Swirl in 1 tablespoon of the oil and add the tofu. Let it sit in the pan for about 30 seconds, until it begins to sear, then stir-fry for about 2 minutes, until lightly colored. Transfer to a plate

4.         Swirl in the remaining oil, then add the garlic, ginger and red pepper flakes and stir-fry for no more than 10 seconds. Add the peppers and eggplant, sprinkle with salt to taste and stir-fry for 2 minutes. Return the tofu to the wok, add the hoisin sauce mixture and stir-fry for another 1 to 2 minutes, until the eggplant is tender and infused with the sauce and the peppers are crisp-tender. Remove from the heat and serve with rice, grains or noodles