You have to find the joy in little surprise snow days... even if it IS nearly April.  And it DOES cancel a busy day of important rehearsals and work.  AND you could really use the money...

All New Snow!  Yikes!

Miss Peanut would like some food...

Sir Lancelot's saucy wink

This is one of my favorite quick and easy recipes - and it's actually Husband's favorite dinner!  I found it in the back of my mom's recipe box and added a few of my own twists... When I cook, it's very free-form - all numbers are flexible and to taste.

Veggie Curried Rice:

1/3 cup Olive Oil

1 tsp Minced Garlic

2 tbsp mild Curry Powder

1 tsp Ground Cinnamon

Sprinkle of Sea Salt

Dash of Black Pepper

1 Zucchini

1/2 Green Pepper

1 cup Raisins

1 Carrot

1/2 lb Chicken Tenderloin

Sautee Garlic in Olive Oil until fragrant - add curry powder, cinnamon, salt, and pepper.  Mix into a sauce, and add Chicken.  Cook through.  

Dice vegetables.  Add carrots to chicken to cook until tender.  Add zucchini, pepper, and raisins, coat with sauce.

Add to rice.  I used instant white rice because it is fast and easy, but this would be yummy with brown or basmati rice as well!  This can easily be a vegetarian dish.

Typically we have this with Naan (I'm so glad Meijer carries it now!), but a few nights ago, I attempted a stuffed chicken recipe that I wasn't altogether pleased with, and I had some leftover stuffing.  I made a sort of  improvised, very American Samosa...

American Samosa:

1/2 cup Ricotta cheese 

1/8 cup Parmesan Cheese

1/8 cup Spinach, Diced

1 stalk Celery, Diced
1/2 Carrot, Grated

2 pieces of Fried Bacon
1 egg

1/2 tsp Cayenne pepper

Sea Salt to taste

Mix all ingredients, place inside a halved flour tortilla (this was what I had available at the time).  Pin tortilla shut with a toothpick and deep fry until golden brown.

This was surprisingly delicious (You can see it in the upper left corner of the picture above.  The original stuffing was pretty bland, so I added the Cayenne which spiced it nicely but not too much.  I am a well-known spice baby.  I think if I make these again I'll really embrace the Samosa idea and add some chunky cooked cauliflower and eliminate the Parmesan altogether.

Anyway, that's what's for dinner!

Spring is coming!

I've been interested in homesteading for quite some time... it's something that really appeals to me, the self-sufficiency and being in tune with the seasons.  I have dreams of grapevines and honecombs, fresh eggs and warm growing things... but since I live on a city lot, I have always kept those dreams in the future.

Recently I visited a good friend in Grand Rapids who is quite the naturalist.  On a visit to Barnes and Noble I picked up Your Farm in the City: An Urban-Dweller's Guide to Growing Food and Raising Animals.  It's an amazing resource!  It has totally inspired me to rock out my garden and make the most of my space this year - in fact, in light of the (slightly) warmer weather, I went seed shopping and got some planting done...

I can't believe that the little sprouts are already poking out!  It's only been three days!  Hopefully the carrots, tomatoes, and peppers catch up with the broccoli and spinach!

Gentlemen -- We only live once!

A few shots from behind the scenes of The Full Monty...

Marci puts on the finishing touches... I love the cute dogtags of her kids!

Sonja discusses hair options with Ethan.

Cara rolling hair like a pro.  It's a shame I wasn't a teen in the 80's - my big hair skills would be much better.

Trena and her daughter.... She seems to be having a moment.

Pam's ready for her night out. 

Me and Josh!

Uncle Sam... Or Uncle Keno?

There's something wonderful about old friends - they remind you of who you were, and who a part of you still is.

It's a spring day, I am sitting at my computer listening to "The King is Dead" and cuddling with my dog.  I am catching up on blogs and thinking of several friends old and new.  I just got done with an exhausting week of dress rehearsals and shows for The Full Monty: The Broadway Musical... my hair is exhausted from teasing and my eyes are red from constant mascara.  I have another busy week ahead of me, with mask-making, costuming, work, photography, and more shows this weekend...

But for this moment, life is pretty perfect.

Reflections...

Does it seem like as you get older, your world gets smaller?

Perhaps I should explain.  I've been feeling a natural pull toward home recently - theater, cleaning, cooking, yardwork, decorating, photography, playing with kids, doggy parenting, wifey business, and casual visiting with friends and family have pretty much been my life for the past six months.  This is strange, because I feel like I have always been a very outwardly focused person - historically, I love meeting new people, visiting new places.  I was always the friend who would drop everything for an  impromptu trip downstate for a visit.  I would think nothing of driving 2+ hours for a day trip, just because.

I guess I have been feeling a definite pull recently, the sort of pull you get when you are moving into a new phase of your life.  I felt it upon graduation, I felt it after leaving OEE, and I felt it after the move to this small, quirky community.  The problem is, I have NEVER handled change well.  I cling to the familiar long after I should have let go.  I am definitely an earthen-type person - steady, calm (but full of life), slow to move but stubborn once I've reached where I should be.  I think maybe I have let others' opinions of what I should be affect me more than I would like to admit.  When I think of what I really want in life, it reflects a great deal more of craft, home, and hearth then it does glamour and nightlife.  If one of my friends were telling me this, I would be fully supportive... life is a series of stops on a road, not a highway after all.  But why is it that my heart is so resistant to the idea of that life for myself?

I am too focused on others.  I have always lived vicariously through my more dramatic acquaintances.  It's like I want to have it all - a lovely comfy home, wild and exciting travel, massive parties and small meals with friends.  It's this dichotomy that has ALWAYS been frustrating for me - if I had a goal, I could aim for it.  "My heart seeks the hearth.  My feet seek the road.  A soul so divided is a terrible load."  --Bruce Coville

The post-holidays winter has always felt like a bit of a chrysalis for me.  Our Michigan winters are famous for being long, dark, and bitterly cold.  They are the perfect time to pause, reflect, and curl up under a cozy blanket with a husband and some furry friends.  When the spring finally arrives, I guess we'll see what emerges.

"Wanderer Above The Sea of Fog" by Caspar David Friedrich