My poor dermatologist never stood a chance.

I'm itchy.

I'm not saying this for sympathy (Ok, I kind of am) because I know it's my own fault. I'm weak. And ate bread all weekend. Bad, bad girl.

But I enjoyed every second. I went to LA for the weekend to get in some QT with one of my favorite friends from college, who has, until recently, been living in Colorado working on becoming a Doctor of Psychology...which means now I get great free advice on top of all the normal fun. Yay!

But because she loves wine and cheese as much as I do, we hit up a wine bar down the street from her place (turns out I love Culver City). And, unfortunately, the cheese plate came with a side of bread...and like I said...I'm weak, especially after a bottle (or two) or wine. And that's when things got out of control.

After the bread for dinner came the beer for dessert and the bagel for breakfast (Lox and cream cheese...I'm such a sucker). I have a tendency to explain the cheating with all kinds of awesome excuses, too, like 'it's a special occasion' or 'well, I already screwed myself last night, so I may as well go for the gold', and lucky for me, both held true. And breakfast was super fun so I just enjoyed it, since the lively bunch included the doc and I, our buddy BigShot, who also gives fabulous, though non mental-health related, advice, my little sister (and my stylist), and her roommate the opera singer. It was a whole table of ridiculousness, let me tell you.

But because of all this, I'm eating gluten FREE this week. Completely. I'm not even gonna let myself cheat in my normal ways, so no soy sauce, no beer, no half a cracker in the breakroom. I'm being good.

And I'm starting by eating my leftovers from Friday night for lunch. Brown rice salad is really more a summery dish, but I'm fickle, and now that it's feeling like fall/winter, I want my warm weather back. So, as usual, I let my kitchen do the work and I pretend.

Brown Rice Salad
1 cup brown rice
Block extra firm tofu
half a cucumber, seeded and cut small
3 stalks green onion, sliced
1/4 cup chopped peanuts (save some for topping)
small handful cilantro, chopped (save some for topping)
small handful mint, chopped
juice from one lime
3 cloves garlic, minced
3-4 tsp peanut or sesame oil (sesame is best)
salt and pepper
opt: handful shredded carrot

Add brown rice to 2 cups boiling water. Reduce to simmer, cover, and cook 35 minutes. Remove from heat, remove lid, and let cool. Drain tofu. To remove excess water, wrap it in a kitchen towel, place in a colander, and put something heavy on top. Let sit at least 10 minutes.
In the meantime, do all your chopping.

In a small bowl, use a fork to mix the garlic, oil, lime, salt (1/2 tsp or so), and pinch of fresh pepper. Set aside.

Remove tofu from towel and cut into long slices. Heat a good dash of peanut oil and brown tofu slices for about 4 minutes a side. Cut into cubes. Let cool.
Mix rice, tofu, and remaining ingredients in large bowl. Toss gently with dressing. It's good at room temp or chilled. Four servings.
About 305 cals, 3g fiber, 36g carbs, 9g protein.