What's in a name?

So I'm in the process of changing my name to Kaplan, and I've been really surprised how hard it has been for me. Since I was a child I always knew that I would change my name when I got married. I really want to have the same name as my children, and honestly keeping it just seemed pointless to me. It doesn't make the whole name thing equal between men and women because children take their father's name. Anyway I'm changing my name. It all feels so strange though! My whole life I have been Erin Larive for almost 25 years now, and it feels a little unnatural to introduce myself as someone else. To be honest half the time I still sign my name "Erin Larive", and I haven't quite figured out my new signature yet.

On a lighter note, here's a great recipe that I recently came up with. I'm pretty much in love with Tempeh right now. If you haven't ever tried it, you should!

Thai Tempeh Red Curry (Veagan)

Ingredients

Thai Red Curry Paste

Hot Curry Paste (Optional)

1 can Coconut Milk

1 can Bamboo Shoots

1 Red Bell Pepper, thinly sliced

1 Package Tempeh

Pineapple Chuncks

Fresh Basil, chopped

Soy Sauce

Vegetable Stock

Lemon Juice

Cut Tempeh into cubes, and marinate for about 30 min. I use a mixture of low sodium vegetable stock, soy sauce, hot curry paste and a splash of lemon juice. (While the Tempeh is marinating I usually start the brown rice cooking.) Simmer the coconut milk and 2-3 tsp. of the Thai red curry paste for about 5 minutes, stiring occationally. I also add a little hot curry paste because we like it a little bit spicier. Add Tempeh and bamboo shoots and simmer for another 5 minutes. This is when I add the red bell pepper and about 3/4 of the basil because I like the peppers to be a little bit crunchy. Simmer for another 5 minutes. Add Pineapple and cook for another minute or so. (NOTE: It is important to add the pineapple near the end because otherwise it gets unbelievably hot.) Sprinkle the remainder of the basil on top, and serve with brown rice and beer.

Honeymoon

Cameron did such a great job putting all our pictures together for this slideshow! I've been meaning to post it for a while now, but we had to get it in the right format. Enjoy. :)

Home Sweet Home

The house is definitely feeling more like our house. Megan moved out last weekend and we basically spent the last week cleaning, organizing and most importantly, de-clutering. We've also been picking up a few things that we didn't get from our registry, so now the bathroom and bedroom are pretty much complete. :)

One of the most useful gifts that we received is our knife set. I can not believe how amazing the knives are, and how easy they make cooking! Since we returned from our honeymoon, we've been enjoying a lot more Mediterranean style food. I came up with this great dish. They are so good, I just had to share them.

Caprese on Toast

Ingredients

Tomato

Fresh Mozzarella

Fresh Basil

Aioli*

Baguette

Olive Oil

Balsamic Vinegar

Simply slice bread (about 1/4'') and toast. Slice both tomato and mozarella as thin as possible. Spread a thin layer of aioli on the bread and layer with one basil leaf, one slice of mozarella and then a slice of tomato. Finally, drizzle with olive oil and vinegar. Salt and pepper to taste, and serve imediately. Between 4 and 6 of these guys is a good sized meal, but they make great snacks as well! Each serving is about 130 calories, depending on the type of cheese used and thickness of slices.

*We make our own aioli using raw garlic which gives these little spicy garlic kick!