A Musical and a Snack

Yesterday a friend and I went to the Walton Arts Center to see West Side Story Broadway Tour and it was worth every penny of the sixty-five dollar ticket. Our seats were on the ninth row, smack dab in the middle of the row. I have to say that we had the best seats in the house.

The lead cast members playing Tony and Maria had beautiful voices and magnetic chemistry. The other cast members wowed the audience with their dancing AND vocal abilities. The sets were very nice and minimal and the costumes were delightful. This version of West Side Story differs from the original in that the Latino parts are played by Latino actors and Spanish is used liberally throughout the show. It really gave a feeling of the cultural differences between the Sharks and the Jets.

If this show comes to your area, please don't hesitate to spend your money!

After the show we decided to have an early dinner and wanted to try something new. There is a little cafe named BHK Kafe in Nightbird Books, a small independent bookstore on Dickson Street that uses local ingredients so we thought we'd give it a shot. When we walked in we had a bit of difficulty figuring out how to order as well as what was offered on the menu. After locating the menu my friend left to "powder her nose" so I place my order of Salad of Local Greens and Pumpkin Tacos along with a glass of merlot. My friend ordered the Soup du Jour, a lentil dal soup with ginger and miso, and Spring Rolls.

I sat at one of the few tables with my glass of merlot and my friend browsed the bookstore while we waited for our meal. Cooking from fresh ingredients requires some time so after awhile our dinner was brought to our table.

My salad was served on a long rectangular plate and consisted of fresh crisp greens with slices of granny apple, cucumber and celery tossed in a lime cilantro dressing. The dressing had just the right amount of tang and the vegetables were nice and crisp. My pumpkin tacos were served on a square plate and consisted of roasted pumpkin sauted with other things and topped with something akin to Curtido, a spicy/tangy cabbage salad. This was placed on miniature corn tortillas. The flavor was complex and very tasty.

My friend's soup was served in a soup cup and was a nice creamy textured lentil soup. The flavor was a bit bland and needed more of something. The spring rolls were served on a square plate and consisted of 2 rolls filled with local greens, herbs, mung bean, cucumber, celery, onion, sesame, carrot, shitake mushrooms and miso. The dipping sauce was a slightly tangy miso sauce. Unfortunately, her meal was just so-so.

We both ordered desserts to go, a chocolate layer cake with chocolate buttercream frosting and dried apricots, a hazelnut brownie torte with chocolate ganache and a shortbread cookie. The cake was good but the dried apricots were a bit strange. The brownie torte was interesting. The cookie was very dry but had a good flavor.

As we were getting in the car to leave the restaurant my friend said, "Maybe we should have opted for Italian food. I'm still hungry!".

Ratings:
West Side Story: Superb!
BHK Kafe: Worth One Shot But No Return

Mastering the Art of Not Cooking

My name is Sarah and I am a food addict.

I just saw "Julie and Julia" and was enthralled and captivated throughout the film.  I then just had to get a wedge of brie and a sourdough baguette.  Unfortunately, when I got to the store there was no brie...just a "triple cream" cheese (oh, too bad) and I had to get the baguette at Atlanta Bread Company.  Oh the trials and tribulations of a foodie living in Northwest Arkansas.

I only wish there were a vegetarian version of "Mastering the Art of French Cooking".  I guess   Deborah Madison's "Greens" cookbook might be a close equivilent but there is no way in hell I am going to take that much time to cook, unless I'm having dinner guests.  Her recipes are enticing and sound delicious but parchament paper is just too much. 


And that is the point of the film and food writers in general.  Too many people are not willing to spend the time it takes to make the creations Mrs. Child wrote about all those years ago even though each recipe may be a masterpiece.  There are so many shortcuts a cook can take these days but it seems that too many cooks think that spending more than fifteen minutes preparing a meal is too time consuming.

I am so lucky to know people who believe in cooking and using fresh ingredients in the preparation of their meals.  I, on the other hand, am the laziest of the lazies and will, more often than not, reach for an Amy's Kitchen frozen entree or get something to go from a favorite restaurant.  Salad greens in a bag?  You bet!  Grated cheese in a ziplock?  Hand it over!  Dressing in a bottle?  Pour it on!  I'm even at the point that a decent a bottle of wine  with a cork instead of a screw top is getting a bit bothersome.

That is why I love having people over for dinner.  I get to churn my creative juices and lose myself in the preparation of a meal that I hope others will enjoy.  I love shopping for and planning a menu, just like Julia Child.  I only wish that someday there will be another like her...someone who loves to create recipes for the sake of eating, not for monetary gain.
Hmmm, Mollie Katzen comes to mind...

Ms. Lazy has finished her Henri Hutin Triple Cream Belletoile cheese with sourdough baguette and martini and was planning on a salad but is too full for anything else, other than a brownie.  Not quite the meal I had envisioned after the movie.  Maybe I should have gone out to eat.

Growing a snout now.

Vacuity Is My Middle Name

I admit that I found "vacuity" when I was looking up "nothingness" in the Thesaurus.  I wanted a word that started with an "F" but there seems to be none that conveys my meaning.

Vacuity:

1. Total absence of matter; emptiness.
2. An empty space; a vacuum.
3. Total lack of ideas; emptiness of mind.
4. Absence of meaningful occupation; idleness: "the crew, being patient people, much given to slumber and vacuity" (Washington Irving).
5. The quality or fact of being devoid of something specified: a vacuity of taste; a vacuity of emotions.

That is how my brain is right now.  Work was so utterly boring today that I thought I was going to lose my mind.  We are usually very busy this time of year and especially on Fridays.  This is not good and does not bode well for my idea of hiring another person.  I need a vacation so very badly but feel nothing but guilt at the thought of taking any significant time off and making Ceci, my co-worker, work open to close for a week or more.  She doesn't care about having to work so many extra hours but that is not the point.  It is mind-boggling to me that my bosses think it is okay for someone to work 10 to 12 hour days for 5 days in a row at any given moment short of a crisis.  I have done it for years and I will not do it ever again.  I don't care if every employee suddenly dies, I will NOT work those hours.  Yup, I've had enough and now that I'm 50 I won't take it anymore.

Okay, food talk.

I love "Brown Cow" label non-fat vanilla yogurt...it is like vanilla cream but guilt free.  I had blueberries, yogurt and granola for breakfast.  Yum!
Dinner was "Amy's" Broccoli Pot Pie with kalamata olives and Stone Mill Bakery french bread.
I will be following that up with Almond Peach Pie from Java-Jacks bakery while watching "Mad Men" season 2/disc 1.


Now, drug talk.


I am on Prednisone and it is supposed to make you hungry, cranky and (some other side-effect I've forgotten).  It has done none of these things.  I think the hunger feeling is just stomach upset that people mistake for hunger.  How would I know if I'm cranky since I'm always a bitch?  Since I can't recall the other thing, then it is meaningless.  So, the next time you need to be on steroids for a short period of time, don't hesitate..it's better than scratching until you bleed!



 

Lunch and a Movie

I had the most wonder lunch at Hammontree's Grilled Cheese  today with my friends Matt and Sheila Ross.  This place has the best sandwich I have ever had, hands down.  I had the Brie's Company which is grilled apple, Brie, Gouda, caramelized onions, and a fig compote on sourdough bread.  Oh my gawd!
Sheila had the Caprese Melt which is fresh Mozzarella, pesto, tomato bruschetta, fresh basil leaf with their house cheese blend on sourdough bread.  Yummy!!
Matt had the El Chupacabre which is Pulled Pork, Queso Fresca, Manchego, poblano peppers, and a green mole sauce served on sourdough bread.  This guy is a major food snob but said it was good and will make a return trip (let me tell you, that's saying something).
Okay, enough about the food already.

After that we went to see "Bruno".  I laughed so hard that my stomach hurt.  If you like "in your face irreverence" and "made to shock even the most die-hard" you will love this movie.  The scene at the fight club in Fort Smith, Arkansas made the whole thing worth while.  I can't wait until it comes to DVD to see it again so I can find out what I missed while laughing until I cried.

I'll keep this short and sweet since it's my first post since February, 2008.  A lot has happened since then but my life is still as boring as always so I hope you enjoyed this little slice of my uneventful life.  I'll tell you about the spider bite later.

It's Been a Long Time

It has been seven months since my last post. In that time I have turned 50, had my first period in a year, shortened my hair and gained weight. My accomplishments are mind boggling.

My 50th birthday was loads of fun! Ceci and I went to Tulsa where we met Marcy, Karen, Kim and Lynn at the Embassy Suites for an overnight pajama party. We got to the hotel a little before 3 PM (which is the official check-in time) and our suite was not ready. After being told that it would just be a few minutes we sat in the lobby and chatted. About 15 minutes later I went to the front desk to ask about our room and they said it still wasn't ready. By that time I was getting hungry and asked if they could load our stuff into our room once it was ready while we went to Utica Square to eat an early dinner and shop a bit. We then hit the road and parked our asses in "The Wild Fork" which was a nice place with an outdoor dining patio and ample dining areas inside. We chose to eat indoors and ate and drank and carried on for over an hour. We then walked around Utica Square and shopped a bit and then went back to the hotel.

Our suite was spacious with two bedrooms, a wet bar and a sleeper sofa in the common room. I think we must have had the floor to ourselves as it was very quiet, although we were anything but quiet. We played games and opened birthday gifts and ate more food and drank and laughed and had a fabulous time. The only sour note was that I started my period, which I haven't had since December 2006, and I bled like a stuck pig. Not being prepared for such an onslaught I didn't have enough tampons as I was having to change them about every two hours. Luckily the public restroom in the lobby supplied tampons at no charge so it was okay. I recall that the last time I had that bloody of a period was when I stayed at the hotel in Tucson. Isn't that bazaar?

The next morning we took our time and requested a later check out since we were so late in getting into our room the night before and played a few more games. We then checked out and hit the road for a bit of Sunday Brunch at "The Brasserie". This was a bit more pretentious than the previous restaurant and the food was okay (not great) but the service was impeccable. After that we shopped at Wild Oats Market and then headed our separate ways back home. I was exhausted for the next week. I guess that's what happens when you hit the half century mark!

All-in-all my birthday was a great success and I'm proud to join the fabulous fifties club.

Dining at Home

I thought I'd follow up on my last post and let you know how my Asian Fusion dinner was.

The Szechuan Guacamole was very good. The ingredients were very interesting (toasted sesame oil, soy sauce, chinese five spice, ginger and oriental chile paste) which made the dip spicy and tangy. I served it with rice chips, cauliflower and carrots. I really wanted to have daikon instead of carrots for an all white dipping theme but there was none to be had.

The Szechuan Noodle Salad was good. This was a cold soba noodle salad with a marinade of soy sauce, toasted sesame oil, rice vinegar, ginger and a bit of that oriental chile paste. I was hoping for more of a kick with the chile paste so will definitely add more next time. I julienned a red bell pepper, yellow squash and snow peas which was a great combination and just the right amount of "crunch".

The Asian Fritatta was excellent. I stir fried onions, garlic, asparagus, julienned carrot, shitake mushrooms and mung bean sprouts and added soy sauce. This was placed in a baking dish and then 6 eggs were beaten and poured on top. I also made a sauce of water, soy sauce, toasted sesame oil, sherry and scallions which was thickened with corn starch. I had been hesitating about the sauce but was glad that I made it as it really added a nice touch.

For dessert I made a peach crumble. I got this from the Moosewood Dessert cookbook and the crumble had flour and cornmeal, sugar and butter. I used frozen peaches since they are so much cheaper. The dish was very good but I'll probably use less sugar next time. This was served with vanilla ice cream

After dinner we watched "Who the #$&% is Jackson Pollock?", a documentary about a woman who purchased a painting at a thrift store and then spent the next 10 years trying to get it authenticated. This was a very interesting look at the art world.

So the evening was a success and we ate and drank too much but that's okay. The best thing is that I have lots of leftovers!!

Cooking Fool

I love to cook. I love to cook for other people. I love to make salads and casseroles and pasta dishes. I am not a fan of stir frying but will do so if push comes to shove. I really love baking. If you could see my kitchen you would say "how in the hell do you cook in this thing?". My house consists of an upstairs open space and a downstairs open space with a bathroom off the living room and a screened porch. Anyway, my kitchen has a refrigerator, a counter top convection oven, an electric burner that caterers use, a microwave and a toaster oven. I am the queen of single-burner cooking and often make four course meals for my friends with my eclectic collection of appliances.

I love to read. I love to read cookbooks. I have a large selection of vegetarian cookbooks but make only a few dishes from most of them so I have decided to create my own cookbook of favorites and dishes I'd like to try but I get so bogged down in reading the cookbook that I revert to those tried and true recipes. I'm trying to decide how I'd like to arrange the recipes and have decided, for now, that I'll group them by menus instead of by dish type. I just love those cookbooks that have menus. I don't know why since I rarely ever create an entire dinner around the menus.

Now I'll share my very first menu, which I'll be making this Saturday, from my new shiny white cookbook.

• Szechuan Guacamole (surrounded by daikon, cauliflower and rice crackers)
• Cold Szechuan Noodle Salad
• Asian Frittata (this is a baked dish rather than stove-top)
• Peach Crumble with vanilla ice cream

Hungry yet?

White Wedding Reception

Northwest Arkansas is a melting pot of upper and lower incomes, Caucasians, Hispanics, Vietnamese, Koreans, and now African-Americans. Yesterday I went to a party with all white honkies in all income levels. There were "business men", millionaires, teachers, financial advisers, newspaper columnists, builders, artists, shoe-shine "boys", factory employees and one lone veterinary receptionist. The amount of badly dyed hair was astounding. I'm sure the dollars spent on cosmetic surgery would have solved our health care crisis. The amount of tequila and other spirits being consumed was, as usual, very high. The occasion? A wedding reception. The bride was on the road to teary eyed inebriation and the groom seemed to be holding his own. What an interesting gathering. The venue was outside of the newlywed's home with food tables in the garage and round dining tables in the driveway. The food was, in typical ozark style, a barbeque with lots of dead animal flesh, overly sweet barbeque beans, velvetta cheesy scalloped potatoes and a fairly good broccoli salad. There were appetizers inside the house and consisted of a cheese ball, cubes of cheese, fruit, crab dip and crackers. The dessert table had punch, a cake and petit fours. This was a true "southern living" style house and party.