#MEwx Hot, humid with clouds and a vegie stir-fry recipe

Good Morning Augusta.

This morning we have patchy fog with mostly cloudy skies and a slight chance of thunderstorms. A chance of showers mostly during morning hours. Highs in the lower 80s with light and variable winds becoming southwest around 10 mph this afternoon.

Tonight we'll have partly cloudy conditions with a chance of showers and slight chance of thunderstorms in the evening, then mostly clear after midnight. Humid with lows in the lower 60s. Light and variable winds.

The readings from my weather instruments are:

We've received 0.39 inches of rain here over the past 24 hours.

Our outdoor temperature is 63.9°F, the humidity is 99%, the Dew point is 63.7°F with a heat index of xx.x°F.

The wind direction is West Northwest between 0.0 MPH and 0.2 MPH.

The Relative pressure is 29.91, the Absolute pressure is 29.61 and rising with a weather graphic indicating clouds and sun.

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

Visibility is really low in the patch of fog outside right now, so slow down if you're driving.

The UV rating is 0 out of 16, The moon is  11.6% illuminated, the moon phase is waning crescent, Sunrise is 5:02 am↑ 56° Northeast, sunset is 8:25 pm↑ 303° Northwest, Moonrise is 2:21 am↑ 62° Northeast, Moonset is 5:44 pm↑ 301° Northwest and we'll have 15 hours 23 minutes of daylight today.

Here's another  healthy and generally vegetarian recipe to keep you all healthy, wealthy and wise. So, to be fair to everyone.

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