My shop is having a sale! Use the code: cybermonday11 for 20% off your entire purchase plus FREE shipping! Feel free to pass it on. The sale ends tonight at midnight pacific standard time.

Also, I’m gearing up for a Huge Holiday Fair at Frances. Lots of local talent and food and music!

Hope to see you there!

The first event I get excited about when fall comes is Halloween. I LOVE Halloween!

The goth in me has been inspired to do some Halloween type things.  I’m on a roll with it so I thought I’d share a few things with you. First up, my gold leafed skulls…

If you want to gold leaf stuff yourself you’ll need:

1 package of gold or silver leaf (you can find this at any craft or art supply store)

adhesive (I used Old World Art gold leaf adhesive in the 2 oz. bottle)

varnish (Again, I used Old World Art gold leaf varnish in the 2 oz. bottle)

A tooth pick or stick (or anything you can use to move your item around without touching it during the adhesive & varnish process)

Paper towel or rag (for removing ink)

Burnishing tool

paint brush

Newspaper or junk mail (to lay under your project

Paint thinner (for cleaning your brush)

A pic of the supplies.

I got some awesome resin skulls from this lovely gal on Etsy. She did a custom order for me. As you can see, I started out with plain white skulls. Black ink was painted onto them for some depth.

They look kind of cool with just black on them, no?

After letting them dry, the adhesive was added. I was kind of amazed how little I needed. Once you apply the adhesive, you have to wait an hour before the next step. I busied myself with putting together the other half of my project which you’ll see at the end.

Here’s a blurry pic of one of the bird heads with the adhesive applied. it starts out white and dries to a clear tacky surface.

Get your leaf ready to apply.  You have to be pretty gentle with this stuff.

Once the adhesive was dry, the gold/silver leaf was applied to the skulls. The instructions said to use a soft brush. I started with a super soft brush and realized I needed one that had quite a bit more stiffness to it. The skulls I’m working with have much more texture than a flat surface. For the effect I wanted, the gold needed to get into some of those crevices and the stiffer brush really made all the difference.

Here is the cat skull with the gold leaf applied before burnishing.

Another of all of them after burnishing.  I didn’t take a photo of this step, but after the gold leaf is applied you want to polish the skulls with your burnishing tool. You do this by rubbing the surface gently with your tool. Do it in small circular motions. This smooths the surface, makes sure the leaf is pushed into the crevices, and gives the leaf a more natural look.

After burnishing my skulls I added some black ink to them.

I then rubbed the ink off with a moist paper towel. This will take the ink off the high spots and leave it in the low spots. It defines the detail and gives it a weathered look. You can skip the inking step entirely if you want a cleaner look.

Here’s one of the skulls after the ink has been rubbed off.

Once the ink has dried (which just takes a few minutes if even that), you’ll want to add your varnish. Definitely do this in a well ventilated area or outside.

Here are my lovely bones. The varnish takes 2 hours to dry. I put them in my laundry room with the vent fan on and left them overnight.

Here’s what I did with the gold bird skull. I made a head-piece with recycled leather flowers, copper studs, and feathers.

What do you think? I can’t wait to do the other skulls. It’s always satisfying to have an idea executed from start to finish. This was fun. It’ll be for sale in my shop.

I also couldn’t help myself. I’ve been wanting to do a bat for a while. I cut this one out of copper and enameled it with an opalescent charcoal grey. The result was more of a brown, but I like it just the same. It’s available in my shop for purchase.

I know this isn’t Halloween related but, I’ll be participating in the sketchbook project this year! I finally took the plunge. There are so many stories brewing in my head, it’ll be great to have them on paper and in all kinds of people’s hands.  There’s still time to participate if you’re interested. I’ll be posting my progress as it goes.

Well, my jewelry isn’t going to make itself so I’m going to get back to work. The holidays are right around the corner ya know! Thanks for hanging out with me.

xoxo

-Xappa

So here we go with the recipe…

This my friends, is one of my favorite dishes to both make and eat. Veggie enchiladas with home made sauce. Delicious with lots of yummy vegetables and the sauce is fantastic! By the way, the sauce tastes nothing like the canned stuff. Don’t get me wrong! I do like the canned stuff, but you can’t beat home made!

Veggie Enchiladas with roasted sauce

Makes enough for 4 servings. Takes about 1 hour with 30 minutes prep time.

For the sauce:

5 good-sized tomatillos (or you can use tomatoes for a red sauce)

1 green bell pepper (You can substitute red for a sweeter sauce)

1 small white onion

2 Hatch chilies

3 cloves of garlic

1 jalapeno (optional)

1 cup of fresh cilantro

For the filling:

8 ounce package of mushrooms

1 yellow squash or zucchini

1 medium white onion

2 large carrots

2 broccoli crowns

1 can of good quality olives

2 c. panela cheese (you can substitute any cheese you want, but I’m telling you this cheese is the best!)

Package of flour tortillas (larger size ones)

Sour Cream, green onions and avocados (for garnish)

P.S. I feel silly telling you this, but if you want to make this vegan just sub the cheese and sour cream or omit it entirely. You won’t even miss it because the sauce is what gives it so much flavor.

Directions:

Fire up the grill (with mesquite for best results), or the oven to broil (which ever suits you). In the meantime, rub a small amount of olive oil on all of your sauce ingredients (with the exception of the cilantro, leave that aside), until they’re coated.

Once your grill has reached proper temperature set each ingredient on the grate and let it blister on each side checking often. If using the oven do the same thing by putting the ingredients on a cookie sheet. You want it to look like this:

I forgot to take a pic of my stuff so here's someone else's from Delallo.com

Once the peppers have blistered on all sides take all ingredients off the heat and set them aside until they’re cool enough to handle.

In the meantime dice the onions and carrots. Give the mushrooms, broccoli crowns, and squash a rough chop into relatively the same size so they cook evenly. Saute the onions and carrots in a little bit of oil until they’re slightly browned. Add the mushrooms, broccoli, and squash with a little bit of salt then turn the heat down to low and cover.

Now it’s time to make your sauce! Peel the skin off of your peppers and tomatillos/tomatoes. Make sure you de-stem and de-seed your peppers! Put your naked peppers, tomatillos/tomatoes, garlic, onion, jalapeno, and cilantro into the food processor and blend until liquefied.

At this point you should be tasting and seasoning your sauce. It’s important you don’t skip this step cause you’re going to be covering your entire meal with it! Add salt and pepper. Taste and adjust.

Once you have your sauce to your liking, add about half of it to your cooking veggies and turn the heat up to medium high. Add the olives and stir often until the veggies are cooked through (about 5 minutes). Remove from heat and set aside.

Now you want to set up your enchilada making station!

Put a layer of sauce on the bottom of your glass baking dish. Fill each tortilla with filling and cheese to your liking. Fold it up like a burrito and place in the dish, repeat until the dish is full.

Pour the remaining sauce onto the top of the enchiladas (you can do that with any remaining filling too). Sprinkle the cheese on top and put it into the oven on broil. Keep a close watch on them bad boys!

Once the cheese on top has browned slightly they’re ready!

Here’s a rough idea of my process. I forgot to take a pic of the sauce and cheese on top of my enchiladas before I baked them, but you get the idea.

I like to garnish mine with some delicious avocado slices, green onions, Mexican sour cream, and a drizzle of hot sauce.

So, this summer has been very eventful. Here are some of the highlights:

We went to see the Black Keys in Mesa. A really good day and night with some great people. Those guys know how to put on a great show!

I took a trip to California to participate in the Getty Crafty event and visit my family.

On the first day, I visited with my sister-in-law and my niece. Isn’t she the cutest baby you’ve ever seen?

My mom’s garden. Apparently, it has been quite fruitful. Still waiting on that zucchini bread ma…

I sent my pop some make-shift plans for display items. Of course he went above and beyond what I asked of him. Check out the cuff display behind the earring rack. Crazy! Thank you again, pa!

Mom and dad helped out with so much for this show.

It was such a beautiful day.

I ran out of battery power for my camera so the other photos I took weren’t so lovely.

Sacramento is so green and lovely. I miss that so much living in the desert.

Aaand a few more. Sorry about the blurriness. I took these from the car.

The next day we went to my favorite ice cream spot in the whole world.

Brock’s Ice Cream Palace. I’ve been going to this place since I was little and it NEVER disappoints.

Still looks the same.

Even though Violet wasn’t eating it she enjoyed the ice cream just the same.

I believe my flavor was caramel cashew. I wish I had some right this moment.

On the last day of my visit my mom and I went to breakfast.

Real cute spot and the food is consistent and reasonably priced.

Isn’t my mama pretty?

Our food.

My mom playing with her food. I kinda wish my trip was longer but, I just don’t got it like that…yet. It’s always nice to have a taste of home even if it’s a really tiny one. I’ll see you again in the fall my lovely family!

Over the summer I fixed up some new display cases made for my local shops. Here’s one I did for Blueberry Deluxe from start to finish.

I got me a stinky train-case (it seriously reeked of Jean Naté), and took the top handle off.

Gutted it of the unsightly vinyl glued inside.

Here it is gutted.

I traced the pieces I took out onto some vintage fabric. Cut it out leaving about 1/4 seam allowance and sewed each piece with finished edges. Once that was done, I just hot glued the fabric onto  the inside. As you can see here, it is slightly too long. I just snipped a little off folded it over and glued it in place.

Another view.

After I finished glueing everything in place I added some wire to hang various items off of. I just drilled holes into the existing plastic for the wire to hook onto.

I re-attached the handle and sewed the wire onto the fabric for the top of the display.

And here is the case finished with the items waiting for new homes. What do you think? I think you’re pretty much up to speed on the goings on in Xappaland except for a few things here and there. Hope your summer was an eventful one and I’ll have some more updates for you soon. Good night for now, and enjoy your weekend!

xoxo

-Xappa

Our first attempt at a composting bin has been successful and we purchased herbs and some pots to put them in. So far, they’ve lasted longer than any herbs I’ve owned before. Which isn’t that long but, for me it’s quite an accomplishment. We’ve already put some to use in our cooking. Using fresh herbs makes a huge difference.

I used some of our fresh rosemary for some Italian greyhounds. I used the recipe here. Deeeelicious! Such a refreshing drink.

We had them with black bean burgers, chips, salsa & guacamole. So good!

I get so excited for light drinks during the warmer weather. If you have any drink suggestions or recipes please share with me!

Even though the swaying trees and smell of jasmine in the air make me want to lay in the grass and daydream my life away, Space Cadet has been keeping me busy. I’m proud to say that Firefly Gallery is now carrying my line! If you’re in or passing through Paso Robles, California  stop by and check the place out. Locally and handmade items by some very talented artisans. It’s adorable!

Annnnnd in local news, Space Cadet is now available at Wet Paint artist’s supply in Tempe, Arizona!

If you’re local and you don’t know about this place, shame on you!  Lots of art supplies, locally made wares, crazy selection for all your spray paint needs, and an impressive stock of art related magazines, books and dvds. Now get your ass in there and buy something! Jess and Dump will take care of you.

On top of the new locations, I will be participating in the upcoming Getty Crafty Event in Sacramento, California.

So far over 70 vendors have signed up for this event and I’m proud to be one of them! There will be live music, food, and very talented crafters slingin’ their wares. Learn more about the event and the cause here.

I’ve already started on some enamel pieces for the show. Can’t tell you how excited I am about using my kiln! It’s a love affair, really.

I can’t wait to turn these into necklaces and rings. And yes, that is an octopus and an anatomical heart up there.

Here’s some pics of the last batch I made that were more illustration oriented.

There will be a good mix of the two for the show. I plan on making more hearts in the future. maybe even teeth with pretty designs on them. I’d love to hear some suggestions on what you’d like to see on a necklace.

Don’t get me wrong, he absolutely, without a doubt, loves me. He’s a very kind, thoughtful, and loving man. These are qualities that I’ll take any day over romance.

With that being said, I just wanted to share a day we had together to let everyone know that their partners just may have a trick or two up their sleeve.

On Wednesday, I turned 34 years old. I woke up happy to go to work. Let me repeat that. I was happy to go to work. My job I realized, makes me happy. Weird right? The day was fantastic. The weather was gorgeous, my friend boss bought me lunch from Postinos, and I received two really cute drawings from her adorable daughters. A scene in outer space from Sophia, and a robot with Saturn and the moon from Debbie.

How awesome is that?

That night Dominic and I made shrimp scampi and spent some quality time talking and genuinely enjoying each others company. It was a mellow night because Dom had a special date planned for us the next day. The next morning we got up and took the dogs on a walk as per our usual routine. Dom made breakfast and we hung around the house for a few hours. Then, we headed out for our date. As usual, we stopped at a few thrift stores along the way. When we started getting closer to our destination Dom made me close my eyes. When I opened them I saw this…

The Mesa Arts Center. I was so excited! When we got inside we went to see the exhibit he thought I would like.

Turns out he was right on the money. The last time the arts center had some of Cheech’s collection up I wasn’t able to make it. So this was really awesome. It was his collection of small paintings. I did a show a few years ago where all of the pieces on one wall were small. I should have invited him. Maybe he’d have bought one or two. In my mind he would have for sure.

There were some really awesome pieces. I’ll definitely be cyber stalking a few of the artists. We wandered around looking at the other exhibits also being shown. One was called “Rust Farm”. It was interesting and the pieces were beautiful in a creepy sort of way. Right up my alley. The artist is local and also on my cyber stalking list. Oh the world the interwebs have opened up for me!

We took some pictures outside after we were done getting artsy fartsy.

We went to a few more thrift stores and headed to our favorite sushi spot on the East side. Sekai Sushi. If you live on this side of town, hell even if you don’t you should go to this place.

Mmmmmm. Just look at the spread.

Aaaannnnnd…..done. It didn’t stand a chance.

The final surprise of the night was Filmbar for Spike and Mike’s sick and twisted animation festival. What??? Art, sushi, and vulgar cartoons? My baby knows me all too well.

I’m so excited that a place like this exists! I ordered a sasparilla and Dom ordered a beer. They were playing great music, they had a great beer and wine list and it looks like they serve apps too. Awesome all around. After the show was over we headed home and crashed.  An amazing end to an amazing day.  Dom surprised the hell out of me. I can’t wait to see what he has planned for our anniversary! I kid, I kid.

Seriously though, it really was the best date ever.

I hope your holidays were lovely including the heart one. The new year has been good to me so far. And with a new year comes new goals and plans.

On the business side my finances are in order and I now have some much needed help. My studio is about 95% the way I want it. I got myself one of these:

Stalking Craigslist on a daily basis always pays off.  Now I’m looking for a workbench.  I want something that looks similar to this;

with just a few adjustments here and there. That is a beautiful piece of equipment, no? I’ll just have to be patient and hope I run across one that suits me. It’ll happen, hopefully sooner than later. Just this one object and my studio will be complete! In the meantime, I scored two 4 drawer lateral filing cabinets, a new lamp, a work table for outside, a metal letter file aaaaaaaannnnnnd this:

An industrial snap setter. EEEEEEeeeee! I love, love, lo00000ve this! And even more awesome is that it was a gift! No more raw finger tips or bruised knuckles from my mallet. I gotta tell ya, the way to this woman’s heart is through tools and equipment!

Okay, enough about that kind of stuff. I’m excited to say that a new member has been added to our family. My brother and his wife have welcomed a baby girl! I am so excited to meet her! I’ll be flying out in a few weeks and couldn’t be happier for the two of them. Here is a photo.

Isn’t she the most beautiful thing you’ve ever seen? I can’t wait to be her favorite auntie! The weeks just aren’t moving fast enough. She is so cute it kills me! My brother updates us with photos almost weekly. Love it.

The boyfriend and I have also added to our family.

Her name is Gabby, she snores, she and Gary get along great, and she is awesome. The end. I’m going to stop here for now. I’ve got a grip of work to do for an event next Saturday. I’ll fill you in on that later. Enjoy your Sunday!

xoxo

-Xappa

I got the canvas first and the idea was that he would finish it. So, I decided to document my process and show you the end result. Here are the idea sketches. I wasn’t sure what body position would work best.

I decided to go with the position on the far right.

So, I forgot to take pics of the background coloring process. It’s 4 different shades of spray paint. Nothing too crazy. I sketched her basic shape onto the canvas after I was done with the background. Then covered the sketch with gesso and sketched her again, this time with detail.

After I had her mostly sketched out I started adding the base color/s. I started to add the outlines here and there. I go back and forth with color and outline.

Once I had the outline completed, I added more detail and shading. Then the “babies”.

Once I added the bronze onto the details of her seams and rivets, I went in with spray paint to “clean” her up.

I handed the canvas over to Jules and he finished it with some truly amazing results!

This was our first collaboration together, and I’m so grateful for the opportunity. I only wish we had done this sooner! Here are some really blurry pics of the rest of the paintings from his show. I didn’t want to use a flash because it just makes everything look flat and unappealing.

And finally, a pic of me and Jules and my boobs. If you’re interested in any of the artwork you see here or more from Jules you can go to his website www.julesdemetrius.com it’s fantastic!

And of course, I can’t let you go before I tell you about another place to eat. One of my favorite things to do!

The spot is called Thai Rama and it is located at 1211 W. Camelback rd. in Phoenix. As per some suggestions we stopped by this place before going to the art show. It was delicious! Here are some photos of the evidence. Almost all of the entrees are under $10 so, it’s pretty easy on the wallet too.

And my Thai iced tea with cream.

If you live here. Go to this place. Now.

Now that I’m caught up and well rested it’s like the creativity flood gates have opened! I finally got my kiln going this weekend and spent my entire Saturday getting to know it better. I had recently purchased a pyrometer. If you don’t know what that is, it’s a doohickey that allows you to see what temperature your kiln is. Anyhoo, the pyrometer didn’t work. Ugh! Oh well, it didn’t matter though cause the kiln works wonderfully! It heats evenly and I used it all day. It took me awhile to figure out a routine (Its been awhile) but, I feel pretty confident in what is needed  to make things run smoother.

Here’s the first actual piece of jewelry made yesterday. It’s a large pendant.

I can’t tell you how exciting it is to be working with something new!

Speaking of which, I’ve been working on some new headpieces for a photo-shoot next month. I actually made my first headpieces for a bride and bridesmaid. The bride requested a detachable veil…which for some reason had never dawned on me. They came out great! She’ll be taking photos for the wedding and I’ll share them with you later. Until then, this is my first dramatic headpiece. It features poppy red leather flowers, (from an ugly leather jacket via the 1980′s) Russian veiling, pheasant feathers, and vintage lace.

This project was a blast! The other pieces are still in production at this moment but as soon as they’re finished you’ll be the first to know. Let me know what you think.

I’ve been getting the itch to paint lately as well and had the opportunity to do some small ink pieces. They’re different that what I normally do but, it was a really fun exercise for me. I call the maroon-ish one “the flood”, the green one “the storm”, and the orange one “the lightning”.

I mounted the pieces in little vintage frames which I spray painted matte black. I’ve got this obsession with matte spray paint lately and bought a crap load from a hardware store nearby. They actually carry some really good specialty paint at an unusually cheap price. Which made me suspicious, but not suspicious enough to not fill my cart and spend $60 instead of $120. I am so not gonna tell you where this place is.

But, I am gonna tell you where some good eatin’ is! Although the blog is entitled “New projects”, and these 2 places are a) not new and b) not projects you’ll still love me for giving you the scoop anyway!

The first place I’m going to share with you is called “Scramble”. It is located in the shopping center on the Northwest corner of 7th St. and Mountainview in north Phoenix. It is very yummy and it is very reasonable. I took a photo of one of my delicious breakfasts there.

This is their Santa Fe eggs Benedict. And before you ask…yes, that is turkey on it. I’m back on the meat. *sigh* I’m hanging my head in shame right now. Moving on…All of their menu items are under $10, their patios are doggy friendly (they even put out little bowls of water for your furry friends), aaaaand they serve breakfast till 2pm. The honey bunny has a box at the Post office across the street and we use that as an excuse to eat there.

The next spot we like for happy hour is…..Cherry blossom noodle cafe. They have an awesome happy hour menu from 3-6pm Monday through Friday. We eat like pigs and we were both very full and happy for $30. The desserts look pretty awesome, but I didn’t make room. Here’s a picture of a few dishes we got.

Cherry Blossom Noodle Cafe is located at 914 E. Camelback rd. It’s in the Shopping center next to Oregano’s on 10th st. I have some more places but, I’ll wait till I get some pictures first. If you have any suggestions on good places to eat share them in the comments below. If you’re nice enough I’ll share the location of that hardware store…..maybe.

’till next time!

xoxo

-Xappa

Now to give you the scoop… Had the 2nd In the Yard event with PHX DIY. We have a few new members and it was a lovely day out!

Here’s one new member and close friend Angela Riccobono. She’s reppin’ for her line Cherry Bombin’ Wear. Lovely items made from recycled bicycle tubes. Love her to death!

Next up we’ve got Claire Tinnion. She creates lovely paintings and is a real sweetheart!

We have added See Saw Designs to our growing number of members. Raquel, Angela, and Lindsay do amazing letterpress work!

Next up is Starving Artist Bazaar. Jennifer creates fantastic creatures from recycled wool sweaters, and lovely lamp work jewelry.

Thems are the new memberonis! Here’s a look at the treat table. It was the day before Valentine’s day after all.

Kinda wish I had one of those cookies right now!

K. Next up in my calendar of past events was a Roller Derby! Some of the PHX DIY girls got together for Amanda’s (from Perfect Dressipe) birthday. We got there about 30 min before the bout was supposed to start. The line was out the door and stretched out across the large parking lot. Apparently because of this movie there has been a surge in attendance to these things. It was lots of fun, however I think it may have been more fun if alcohol were allowed. Just my opinion.

Here’s a horrible pic of the girls revving up the crowd. Sorry, we weren’t in the best spot. My other pics were waaaay worse than this one.

Anyhoo, awesome night! Had lots of fun with the girls and got to meet some new peeps. That’s always a good time.

So, after all of the celebrating and holidays and what nots. I decided to do a cleanse. The master cleanse, no less.

Ummmm….yuck. I only lasted 5 days. I’ve done this before and the longest I’ve gone is 8 days. Absolutely hated every minute of it. BUT, I felt really good afterward and it keeps me from getting sick all year. If you’re interested I suggest doing some intense research, and making sure you’ve got the right mind-set to do it. It is not an easy plan in the least.

A few weeks later PHX DIY participated in the SAMA Street Fair.  Here are a few pics of the event…

Here’s what the street looked like at 7:30am. Interesting way to do the check in…interesting but frustrating.

Here’s the street once the fair got started.

And our lovely PHX DIY members set ups…

Against the grain.

See Saw Designs.

Spoonful of chocolate hope.

Starving Artist Bazaar

Kenzie Noelle Designs.

Sea Lemon.

Cherry Bombin’ Wear.

Space Cadet.

Okay. I suppose you’re all caught up for now. I promise, I won’t lag on getting these posts up for the rest of the year! Have a great week!

We plan a menu each week and shop accordingly. Nerdy, I know! But those grocery bills add up when you aren’t precise in your shopping list. And I don’t like to throw food or money away. So, I’ll proudly wave my nerd flag when it comes to this.

With that being said I’d like to share some lovely items from last weeks menu.

Super yummy tilapia tacos with tomatillo salsa, and refried black beans with chips, guacamole and cotija cheese.

Home made sushi. I’m too lazy to give you instructions, but lucky for you someone else who isn’t lazy has posted them here. Yay!

Meiso to go with the Sushi.

And on another day we had Shrimp and Tofu fried rice. It is so yummy, that I have decided to share the recipe with you. I just kind of eye-ball the spice amounts so keep that in mind when making it yourself.

Xappa’s Super Fantastic Amazing Fried Rice

Ingredients:

1 block of extra firm tofu (extra firm works the best)

1/2 package of frozen shrimp (get the already cooked kind)

1/2 cup of frozen petite peas

1 medium yellow onion chopped

1 broccoli crown chopped into 1 inch pieces

1 baby bok choy chopped into 1 inch pieces

3 green onions sliced thin

2 or 3 cloves of garlic chopped fine

2 cups of long grain white rice (you can use brown rice as well)

1 egg (optional)

4 tbsp chili garlic sauce (can be found in the asian isle of most grocery stores) or in a pinch you could sub 2 tsp powdered garlic powder and 4 tsp red pepper flakes.

3 tbsp + 2 tsp soy sauce

1 tbsp sesame oil

vegetable oil for frying

This should make enough for 5 large servings. We usually have seconds and still have leftovers the next day.

Directions:

Steps 2 through 4 can be done while the rice cooks and cools.

1. *Cook rice according to package directions and let cool to room temperature.

2. *While the rice is cooking drain tofu and wrap tightly in paper towels or a cloth napkin. Place tofu on a plate with something heavy on top of it and set it  aside for a half an hour.

3. Thaw shrimp and put it in a bowl with 2 tbsp chili garlic sauce and 1 tsp soy sauce and put it in the refrigerator.

4. After about a half an hour take the tofu out of the wrap and cut into 1 inch cubes. Put into a bowl with the remaining chili sauce, sesame oil and 1 tsp of soy sauce. Coat tofu evenly and set aside.

5. Heat your oven to broil or 450 degrees.

6. Place tofu on a foiled baking sheet (this makes for easy clean up) and place in oven for about 15 minutes. Oven temps vary so, just make sure you keep an eye on it.

7. While the tofu bakes beat your egg (if using) and coat the bottom of your large sauce pan or wok with vegetable oil.

8. On medium high heat cook your egg, scrambling it. Then remove from pan and set it aside.

9. Stir fry your yellow onion, broccoli, and bok choy until your onion starts to brown a little.

10. Add shrimp, garlic, rice, frozen peas, and the remaining soy sauce. Stir quickly adding more oil if needed. Stir until peas and shrimp are heated through.

11. By this time your tofu should be a nice golden brown color. Remove it from the oven and add it to the rice mixture along with the egg and green onions.

12. Remove from heat and eat! Add your favorite asian hot sauce or garnish and enjoy!

I hope this was clear enough for you as it is my first time writing a recipe of my own. Let me know how yours turns out!