Lately, I have been reconsidering my career path. As much as I love nutrition, education, and public health (HAPPY NATIONAL PUBLIC HEALTH WEEK, by the way)….
I keep discovering little traits about myself that I feel would make me an excellent Magician. For instance, 2 weekends ago- at Melissa’s bachelorette party- I realized I am very talented at making drinks disappear.
Score. Next, I found I have innate skills with cards.
Specifically, Bachelorette Dare Cards…I kept drawing the wildly succesful ones! Like getting a bouncer to laugh:
He loved it.
Getting a man to flex us his muscles:
And getting a man to propose to the Bachelorette.
I have also been working on my ability to disappear from my blog and reappear and random times with massive photo heavy posts. Yup. I’m gooooooooood.
A few other traits that make for a successful magician:
1. Patience. A great magician knows the importance of patience, whether it be in the form of learning new tricks, dealing with pushy crowds, or pleasing the non believers.
Someday I will be as patient as my dogs. Doesn’t matter if we are in the kitchen, living room or out on the deck, they are always eager and ready to snatch up any dropped crumbs.
(Sidenote: It is not wise to give above mentioned patient beggars thorough baths, only to let them spend their days in their kennel outdoors during the dryest 2 weeks Michigan has seen in ages. Their white parts WILL end up grey.)
Yeah. That’s awesome.
Onto important trait #2: an open mind. An open mind is necessary in the field of magic, whether it be creating new tricks, learning new ways to market ones services, or finding new settings which complement your personal skill set.
Finding new settings…kind of like spending months and months and months buried in snow, and then being gifted a sunny & 75 degree week in the middle of march. Relocation was TOTALLY necessary. As in…to the grill, on our deck. Ahhhhh. Perfect.
Yeah, I could deal with this new scenery for a while. 2 beautiful 6 oz top loin steaks, seasoned with salt, pepper and Mrs. Dash SPICY; mushroom kebabs; and these babies-
Balsamic Marinated Asparagus
1 lb asparagus, rinsed
2 tbsp honey mustard
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 cloves of garlic
1 tbsp EVOO
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1. Trim woody ends from asparagus. You can do this several ways- pick up a stalk and, holding it at both ends, bend till it snaps. Or, my method, take your knife and tap along the base of a stalk. Cut where you notice the knife taps start going deeper. Once you find where the woody part is, cut all pieces approximately the same. (Discard ends; or save to make the most delicious veggie stock imaginable.)
2. In a gallon size plastic bag, combine mustard, vinegar, oil & garlic. Smash garlic cloves with back of a knife. Just peel them, lay them out on your cutting board, with the knife on top, and slam your hand down on top. Also doubles as excellent stress relief.
Don’t forget to squeeze in your fresh lemon.
3. Add asparagus, and let marinate 30 min to 2 hours. Whatever floats your boat. Then saute, roast, or grill your asparagus. No salt or pepper even necessary for these bad boys.
The charred tips are my favorite part.
Onto the final, most important trait a magician MUST possess-
Excellence.
All great magicians know that they can’t rely on the same tricks time and time again. Variety is important, as well as adapting to the needs of your audience. A great magician is inventive, creative, good on their toes, and able to make the most out of the props available.
I found my skills in this category last night, when I challenged myself to make tofu, and to make it taste GOOD.
Chile Peanut Tofu with Mango Curry Couscous
1 block of extra firm tofu; drained & sliced
1/2 cup peanuts
1/2 cup panko
1 tbsp garlic powder
1 tbsp ginger
2 eggs (or 2 “flax eggs”- 2 tbsp ground flax seed + 6 tbsp water)
1/4 cup sriracha (chile garlic paste)
1 box of plain couscous
2 tbsp yellow curry powder
1/2 cup minced dried mango
1/4 cup shredded carrot
1/4 cup toasted sesame seeds
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Lay tofu between sheets of paper towel and press moisture out. Slice into blocks. Meanwhile, in a food processor, combine peanuts, panko, garlic and ginger.
2. Pour breading mix into shallow dish. In a separate shallow dish, whish together eggs & Sriracha.
3. Take your tofu blocks for a dip. First in egg mix, then in peanut mix, then to baking sheet.
4. Bake in oven for 45 min, flipping once. Meanwhile, prepare couscous. Bring directed amount of water to a boil for the serving size you are making. Add in desired amount of couscous, mango, sesame seeds, curry powder and carrot. Cover & remove from heat. Let sit 7 minutes. Fluff with fork before serving.
And that, my friends, is some SERIOUS sleight of hand. The tofu was so chewy & crunchy with a sweet & nutty flavor, the couscous was bright and flavorful, and the broccoli…well…can you eve go wrong with roasted broccoli?? I think not.
For my final trick, in lieu of pulling any rabbits out of my hat, I’d like instead to wish my beautiful best friend a HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
Dear Niki:
I was there when you turned 15. I spent a lot of time that year driving us around in my little red laser cleaning up the messes you made from your spilled lemonade, orange soda & ice cream taking us places on the weekends.
I was also there when you turned 16. We went to cheerleading camp that summer!
When you turned 17, I was about to graduate high school & leave you for NMU.
When you turned 18, you came up to visit me at NMU. Don’t worry, I deleted ALL evidence of that weekend 
When you turned 19, I saw you at TJS house for new years eve. You came with your future husband!
When you turned 20, I had just turned 21. I didn’t see you much, because you were still in school and I spent most of my time like this:
Yes, I really am posting this picture for the whole world to see. Just tryin to prove a point 
When you turned 21, we started spending a lot more time together. Not because I was over my bar phase, but because you were finally old enough to come with me!
Then you turned 22. Became engaged. GOT MARRIED!!! Simply an amazing year.
When you turned 23, we had another amazing year. We went to mexico, you got a puppy, and we’ve just had a lot of really great memories made.
-
Thank you for a wonderful, silly, loyal, trustworthy, fun, amazing, beautiful friend. I know this year can ONLY be better than the last
