Thinking outside the box

[click on image for larger version]

That's a pretty cool bit of photo editing, am I right?

WRONG.

It's actually an optical illusion formed by a modern art installation created by a French photographer/artist named George Rousse, who specializes in altering the use of space in his photographs. To better appreciate what he does, here's the same photograph but from another angle.



Here is the original post (via reddit) translated into English from it's original French.

And here is another website I just found (also via Reddit comments) that shows many more examples of George's amazing talent.

It is a great example of what's possible when you think outside the box, and a good reminder that things may not always be as they appear.

What I'm Cooking: Apple Slab Pie

I hosted a potluck over the weekend and was incredibly pleased with the results, both in attendance and in dishes. I had a number of new people show up, some of whom I've been trying to get to come for almost seven years. That alone would have been enough to make this an excellent party, but I also managed to produce the best pie crust I've ever made, thanks in no small part (I suspect) to my food processor.

The pie crust in question was for an Apple Slab Pie, courtesy of Smitten Kitchen.

Apple Slab Pie

Awesome Crust
3 ¾	cups (470 grams) all-purpose flour
1 ½	tablespoons sugar
1 ½	teaspoons table salt
3	sticks (340 grams) unsalted butter, very cold
¾	cup very cold water
Delicious Filling
4	pounds apples, peeled, cored and chopped into approximately 1/2-inch chunks (about 8 cups)
	Squeeze of lemon juice
¾	cup sugar
3	tablespoons cornstarch
1	teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼	teaspoon ground nutmeg
¼	teaspoon ground allspice
⅛	teaspoon table salt
The Finishing Touch
2	tablespoons heavy cream or one egg, beaten with 1 tablespoon of water

MAKING THE DELICIOUS CRUST:

1. Pulse the flour, sugar and salt a few times in your food processor to mix it together and then add the butter and continue to pulse in short bursts until the butter is reduced to the size of tiny peas.

2. Dump your dough into a large bowl and add the water, gently stirring it in with a rubber spatula until it all sticks together. If it's too dry add more water a tablespoon at a time until it's fixed and then give it a quick knead or three with your hands. Don't go crazy as we want to butter to soften.

3. Divide the dough in half and wrap each in plastic wrap and toss it in the fridge for at least and hour (and up to two days).

4. When you're ready to make the pie, preheat the oven to 375 degrees and line the bottom of a 10x15x1-inch baking sheet or jellyroll pan with parchment paper.

(I didn't actually have a 10x15x1-inch anything, so I ended up using a 9x13 casserole dish sprayed liberally with cooking spray, which is why my finished product looked nothing like the original.)

MAKING THE FILLING:

5. In a large bowl, toss the apples with the lemon juice until coated. Toss in the remaining ingredients and stir to coat.

PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER:

6. Tear of a big piece of parchment paper and sprinkle it liberally with flour. Take out one of your dough halves and use a rolling pin (also covered with flour) to roll it out into a large rectangle, bigger than the dish you'll be baking it in. Once done, slowly peel the dough off the paper and transfer it to the sheet/pan/dish.

7. Dump in your delicious filling and level it out.

8. Repeat step 6 and place on top of the pie, trimming off the edges and cutting slits into the top for venting steam.

9. Finally, brush the top with your egg mixture and throw that sucker in the oven for 40-45 minutes. Once done, place on a wire rack to cool for about 45 minutes before digging in.



As you can see from the above pictures my pie (on right) ended up nothing like the one Smitten Kitchen made. This was because I used a different dish and also cut my apples much to large. Whereas the originals could be picked up and eaten like brownies, mine required a fork like a normal pie.

That said, it was still delicious and the pie crust was AMAZING. When I was rolling it out I could still see the chunks of butter in the dough, which is why it turned out so chewy and flaky (can something be both?). I suspect this was because the food processor drastically cut down on the time it took to reduce the butter to pea-size, giving it less time to soften and melt into the dough.

This is going on my short list to make in the near future, just as soon as I can get my hands on a 10x15x1-inch baking sheet.

The Power of Corgi Puppies

I've spent a good chunk of the day so far trying to get our new internet service up and running at work and it's been a bit of a mess. Thankfully, one of my friends posted this video on my Facebook feed and now everything is all right again.

AFI 100: All About Eve

All About Eve is a 1950s black and white drama currently sitting at number 28 in AFI's most recent listing (2007). I watched it a few days ago as part of my ongoing attempt to watch all 100 films in AFI's list and I have to say it's been one of the most enjoyable films I've seen thus far.

The plot revolves around a young, dedicated fan named Eve Harrington who quickly insinuates herself into the life of her idol, an aging but still popular star of Broadway, Margo Channing, and ultimately ends up threatening to take away everything Margo has worked so hard to achieve.

The acting is excellent, the cinematography is excellent, and frankly I'm surprised it's not higher up on the list. To be fair, there are a lot of films above it that I haven't seen yet, but I would highly recommend you check this out if you've got some evening free and you want to enjoy some great cinema.

Image Source: [1]

Corgis with Quotes (Gif edition)

'Tis a lesson you should heed:
Try, try, try again.
If at first you don't succeed,
Try, try, try again.

-William Edward Hickson

Image Source: [1]

Millennial Celebration

A little over three years ago, Sid Meier's Civilization V was released and like its predecessors, I purchased it immediately. Two expansions, Gods & Kings and Brave New World were released in 2012 and 2013, respectively. I can easily say that this game, and to a greater extent the entire series, is responsible for the single largest time-sink in my life.

Corinthians 13:11: When I was a child, I used to speak like a child, think like a child, reason like a child; when I became a man, I started playing strategy-heavy turned based, 4X games.

As of today, Monday, November 11, 2013, I have played Sid Meier's Civilization V for 1,030 hours. In case you're curious that's the equivalent of me playing for 24 hours a day for almost 43 days straight. YIKES. Part of me is incredibly proud and another part of me is demanding that I go outside and get some exercise right now.

And another part is demanding to know why I've only managed to complete 142 of the 287 available achievements.

That said, maybe now would be a good time to go for a walk. :)

The Thanks-Giving Post

With the arrival of Thanksgiving only a few short weeks away (how on earth did it get to be November already?!) my Facebook feed has started to become inundated with daily posts about what folks are thankful for this year. Having never partaken in this particular annual event, I thought I'd take a few moments to make a list of things I'm thankful for. So, without further ado:

1. I'm thankful that my previous employer laid off my entire department back in early 2006, because it gave me the motivation to make the move out west to California.


2. I'm thankful that I acted on that motivation.


3. I'm thankful I got a chance to reunite with two of my best friends, Beth and Brian, who had moved out to California the year before.


4. I'm thankful I ran into my old high school friend, Jeff, who promptly offered me a place to live which I'm still renting out seven years later.


5. I thankful that I met a group of friends that help reawaken my love for board games.


6. I'm thankful for those friends who have become the closest thing to family without actually being blood-related.


7. I'm thankful for my family and extended family, even though I don't speak with them or see them as often as I should.


8. I'm thankful that as I've grown older I've also grown to appreciate my family and extended family more, as they rightly deserve.


9. I'm thankful for my job at the television studio that allowed me the freedom to do so many things, like traveling overseas again, and introducing me to so many wonderful people who have become good friends, like Brian and Emily.


10. I'm thankful for Emily constantly asking me to join her and her friends for bar trivia, as it led to me being introduced to the first woman I've ever loved, Joanna.


11. I'm thankful for the two and a half years that I was given with Joanna, and all the ups and downs that went with it, because it was best time of my life and she helped me grow into a better person more than I could have ever done on my own.


12. I'm thankful that she reintroduced me to acting because it's something I love to do and it allowed me to meet so many amazing people that I never would have met otherwise.


13. I'm thankful that she is happy and more at peace now, even if it can't be with me or because of me.


14. I'm thankful that even though my brain tells me it's not realistic, my heart still holds out some tiny hope for second chances with happy endings.


15. I'm thankful that I accepted the risk to leave my stable, cushy job at the studio and finally try my hand at working professionally in theatre. I don't know if this is what I want to do with my life, but it's absolutely worth finding out one way or another.


16. I'm thankful that my parents are happy, healthy, retired and loving it.


17. I'm thankful my life has been mostly free of injury and illness (knock on wood).


18. I'm thankful that I still get fits of creative outburst, regardless of whether or not I follow through with them.


19. I'm thankful that corgis exist and that hopefully someday I will have one of my own.


20. I'm thankful for my love of cooking and my slowly expanding palette.


21. I'm thankful that my body has, for the most part, put up with my eyes continuing to be larger than my stomach and my brain continuing to think I'm still in my early twenties.


22. I'm thankful that great theatre performances can still fill me this overpowering glow for a few hours afterwards that makes me feel like anything is possible.


23. I'm thankful that there is still so much that I don't know and haven't experienced.


24. I'm thankful that very few things are cast in stone, and that the future holds almost infinite possibilities.

Happy Little (Halloween) Trees

The Sunday before Halloween I went to a party and was one of two people there to show up without a costume. I was thoroughly chastised by my friends, but I hadn't planned on going to any parties and as such hadn't bother to come up with anything.

Thankfully, said party involved Halloween-themed games and I was quickly converted into mummy.



But while that kept me covered (har har) for the evening, it wasn't going to cut the mustard for Halloween proper.

The same group of friends decided to head to downtown Hollywood to see "The Nightmare Before Christmas" in 4D and then go check out the annual Halloween Carnival in West Hollywood. By the morning of I still hadn't thought of a costume and the idea of just buy a generic "Where's Waldo" costume grated on my nerves. But then, INSPIRATION!

During my lunch break I raced home and changed into a pair of dark blue jeans and a light blue dress shirt, and then hit up the local Halloween costume shop for a small brown afro and a fake, glue-on beard. From there I drove to the nearest Michael's to find a painting palette and brushes to complete my outfit. And voila!



BOB ROSS (and friends)!

I have to say I was super pleased with my last minute costume idea. I had about two dozen people recognize me and ran into three other Bob Ross's over the course of the evening (see below). For those of you unfamiliar with Bob Ross, he was a painter/art instructor with his own series, The Joy of Painting, on PBS for 11 years from 1983 to 1994, which is still running in syndication all over the place. The post title refers to one of his more frequent sayings, "happy little trees."



Switching gears slightly, let me just say that the Halloween Carnival was not at all what I was expecting. It ended up being just me and my two friends in the above picture that went, and over the course of the evening I walked about twelve miles. I had heard of the Carnival before, but it had been referred to as a parade to me, and had never gone since I moved out here back in 2006. So there I was, expecting to be walking down to a parade route and watching a bunch of floats and what have you.

Instead WE were the parade, milling about Santa Monica Boulevard, which had been blocked off for two miles, with a couple hundred thousand other folks all dressed up in costumes and having a good time.



I'm not sure it's something I'd do again, but it was absolutely worth going to at least once.

Corgis with Quotes

"Every act of creation is first an act of destruction."
-Pablo Picasso

Image Source: [1]

Owl City

I was in the office this morning entering tickets for our Sunday matinee and decided to play through all of Owl City's albums on Spotify for fun. While doing so I came to the realization that Owl City (electronica artist Adam Young) is definitively my favorite musical artist (John Mayer would probably be second followed by Sting/The Police). Normally were someone to ask me what my favorite thing was in a given genre I'd probably hem and haw over a couple different choices. But it this case it's very cut and dry.

There's no other artist out there whose music can consistently cheer me up like Owl City does, and the lyrics always have some meat to them. Most of his songs are upbeat in both tempo and message, though there are some nice, more melancholy options for when the mood hits me. As mentioned above, all his music is electronica, so it may not be everyone's cup of tea but I think he's definitely worth checking out.

Owl City hit it big with the mainstream audience back in 2009 with his hit "Fireflies", though he had been playing around with electronica since 2007. More recently, "Good Time" with Carly Rae Jepsen has been getting a lot of airtime, though I personally prefer more of his songs that haven't been playing on the radio. If you've already got Spotify installed I'd go ahead and just listen to the three albums they've got up there. Otherwise, go install Spotify. It's free and a great way to discover new music without having to constrain yourself to what the radio plays.











Image source: 1

What I'm Cooking - Tomato Soup

Fall is here, and with it comes the triumphant return of soup in all its many forms. One of the easiest and most delicious options out there is tomato soup, and the Garden Fresh Tomato Soup recipe from AllRecipes.com has been my go-to choice for years now. This version incorporates the changes that one of the AR users suggested, and I think it makes the soup so much better.

Tomato Soup (recipe doubled)

8	cups chopped fresh tomatoes
	(or [2] 28oz cans and [1] 16oz can of whole peeled tomatoes)
2	large onions, chopped
8	cloves of garlic, chopped
4	cups of chicken or vegetable broth
4	tablespoons of butter
4	tablespoons of all-purpose flour
2	teaspoons of salt
½	teaspoon of sugar
2	tablespoons of balsamic vinegar
⅛	teaspoon cayenne pepper
3	tablespoons of fresh basil, torn
1	cup of heavy cream

1. In a large stock pot or dutch oven throw a few tablespoons of olive oil over medium-low heat until shimmering. Add the onions and cook for 5-7 minutes until soft and translucent. Add the garlic and cook for another minute until fragrent.



2. Add tomatoes and bring to a boil. Then and the broth, reduce to a simmer, and cover and cook for 20 minutes.

3. Add basil and then puree, using either an immersion blender (the greatest thing ever invented for soups) or by transferring it in batches to a blender. Once done, transfer soup to a separate container.



4. In your now empty pot, add the butter over medium heat and let melt. Then add the flour and stir continuously until a roux is formed. Once this is achieved, start adding to soup back into the pot in small amounts to make sure not lumps appear in the roux. Once you've added a few cups in go and pour in the rest.



5. At this point add all the other ingredients, as well as salt and pepper to taste. Depending on how much texture you like in your soup you can either give it another go with the immersion blender or strain the soup through a fine sieve. Personally I like the texture, but either way it's going to be delicious.

If I can't sleep, I'll make Excel charts instead.

I ran across another post on sleep habits the other day entitled "How I Cured My Chronic Insomnia" and thought it was worth passing along. In the article, the author offers up nine suggestions on how to combat insomnia:

1. Get on a consistent sleeping schedule.
2. No interactive screen time 1 hour before bed.
3. Don’t eat too late.
4. Exercise daily.
5. No caffeine after 1pm.
6. Use a white noise machine.
7. Black out shades or sleep mask.
8. Don’t drink too much alcohol.
9. Practice mindfulness (i.e., meditation).

I've managed to do most of those things at one point or another, and even managed to do some of them at the same time, but I don't think I've successfully done them all consistently. 1 and 4 are probably my worst offenders, though there wasn't a noticeable change in sleep habits when I was doing them both consistently the last time I tracked my sleep. That said, I've no idea how long good habits take to kick in, and three weeks may not have been long enough to notice a change. So let's have another go at it, shall we?

I doubt a consistent sleep schedule is going to happen but with my job switching back to a 9-5 for a few months, now is as good a time as any to attempt it. I'm going to aim for an 11pm (or possibly 11:30pm) bedtime, which means cutting off the computer and other electronic devices by 10 or 10:30pm. *sad trombone* I'm not entirely sure what "late" refers to in terms of dinner time but I figure no later than 8pm would still be fine. Daily exercise isn't going to happen, but I'd be happy just to get back to going to the gym three times a week. Maybe I can also throw in a brief walk every night, which is something I've tried repeatedly to do without success.

No caffeine is doable though will probably suck when my friends want to stay up late and party. I've already got an air purifier that acts like a white noise machine, and it might even be worth getting new filters for it. California is a super dusty place and I wouldn't be surprised if that was contributing to me waking up in the middle of the night. I've only got one set of black out shades but they're already on the window facing East, so that's as good as it's going to get. I don't really drink alcohol to begin with so that shouldn't be a big problem, and I've never really tried meditation, but it's worth looking into.

So now all that's left to do is to create a nifty little chart in Excel and I'm on my way! Scientific results, here I come!

Corgi of the Day

What I'm Cooking - Cornbread

Cornbread is something I've rarely dabbled with in the past, in part because my results usually ended up subpar. Thankfully, Cooks' Illustrated decided to tackle this troublesome side dish in a recent issue (July & August 2013) and I am very pleased with the results.

Fresh Corn Bread

1 ⅓	cups (6 ⅔ ounces) stone-ground cornmeal
1	cup (5 ounces) all-purpose flour
2	tablespoons sugar
1 ½	teaspoons baking powder
¼	teaspoon baking soda
1 ¼	teaspoons salt
3	ears corn, kernels cut from cobs (2 ¼ cups)
6	tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 6 pieces
1	cup buttermilk
2	large eggs plus 1 large yolk

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Whisk the cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking power, baking soda, and the salt together in a large bowl and set aside.



2. Throw your kernels into a blender and let it run on high for about 2 minutes until very smooth. If your blender is old like mine, you might also want to invest in a pair of earmuffs.



3. Transfer the puree to a medium saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly (seriously, it'll clump and burn otherwise), until very thick and deep yellow, 5-8 minutes. I could only find white corn when I went shopping so stick with the time range if you're unsure if it's done or not.

4. Remove the pan from heat and add 5 (NOT 6) tablespoons of butter and whisk until melted. Then add the buttermilk and whisk again. Finally add in the eggs and whisk one more time. Once everything is fully incorporated, transfer the corn mixture to the bowl with the dry goods and fold together with a spatula until just combined.

5. Melt the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter into a 10-inch iron skillet over medium heat. Pour in the batter and level out before placing in the oven for about 23-28 minutes. Check it with a toothpick to confirm it is done and then remove it and let it cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes. Then remove the cornbread from the skillet and let cool for an additional 20 minutes before grabbing giant handfuls, slathering it in butter, and then cramming it into your mouth as fast as humanly possible.

Watch this. NOW.

A great weekend that I'd like to repeat.

I had a great weekend on Monday and Tuesday, and it was the first time in a while that I felt both rested and productive over the break. I finally got back to the gym again and managed not to seriously injure myself, though my legs and lower back weren't terribly pleased with me when I was finished. It was also the first time I made the trip out by foot, a roughly two-mile roundtrip which went by swiftly as I listened to podcasts of The Moth.

Having started the weekend off on such good footing, I decided to continue the trend on Tuesday and went hiking for the first time ever at Runyon Canyon, a very popular destination in downtown Hollywood. I didn't do the full circuit, but it was an exhausting work out that rewarded me with some great views of the city.

[Click image for gallery]

As a further reward to myself, I decided to make chili for dinner and paired it with a Cooks' Illustrated recipe for cornbread which I will share later (it was REALLY good). The chili was okay but nothing special, a recipe that I had randomly pulled from one of the food blogs I follow. That said, it's hard to make chili that isn't good, so I've been happily been eating it for lunch all week.



I've also gotten on another Bioshock 2 tear, and I'm very close to finishing the game (only three years behind schedule!). I always marvel at the art design of the series, and I'd love to see a movie made out of it, just so I could see the tableaus on a larger scale. Or hell, make a theme park attraction out of it. That would easily be enough to get me to shell out whatever exorbitant prices theme parks are charging these days.

[Source]

Only two more days until my triumphant return to The Pokemusical and I'm super excited to be going back. It's been extended for the third time, and I'll be performing in five of the twelve extra production. Thankfully there's only one midnight performance (this Saturday), but copious amounts of caffeine should carry me through. :D

I've also got my first big rental next week, a musical fundraiser which has me fluctuating between excitement and terror. After numerous calls this week I think everything is going to go off without a hitch, but I'm super nervous about getting it right. My company has done rentals with these folks before and everyone seems to think they're super high maintenance, but the woman I met with the other day seems fairly level-headed.

The Power of Music

So yesterday ended up being a rough day, which turned into a really rough night, which turned into an absolutely miserable morning. And as I had no interest in spending another day wallowing in misery I decided I needed a pick-me up, and fast. And what better way to brighten the mood than listening to some upbeat, cheery music?

Of course, my musical knowledge is pretty limited so I jumped on Facebook and asked my friends for suggestions. And lo, pay dirt was struck! And because they worked so well for me I thought I'd pass some of them along. Enjoy!

Belle and Sebastian - "We Are the Sleepyheads"

Ben Lee - "Catch My Disease"

Capital Cities - "Chartreuse" (my personal favorite)

Fitz and The Tantrums - "MoneyGrabber"

Phoenix - "Lasso"

Spoon - "Finer Feelings"

Bloc Party - "Rachet" (both the song and video are sweet)

HAIM - "Forever"

Tally Hall - "The Whole World And You"

Roosevelt Radio - "Turn Out the Lights"

TV On The Radio - "Second Song"

Two Door Cinema Club - "What You Know" (also really good)

It's been a quiet week in Lake Woebegon...

To my embarrassment, while I knew the stories Garrison Keillor told about Lake Woebegon were clearly false, or at least embellishing on some truth, I didn't realize until my late twenties that Lake Woebegon didn't actually exist. Nor did I get the play on words that the name entailed.

Anyways, much like in Lake Woebegon, it's been pretty quiet here in my home town, thus the lack of recent posts. Our current production just got extended by two weeks which everyone is thrilled about, and I'm currently prepping for what will likely be a crazy night of ticket sales tonight. One of the grants that my theatre has received is to help fund a single night of theatre for folks who normally can't afford to go. So tonight we are offering $5 tickets, limit two per person, with no pre-sales, and on a first come first serve basis. As of 5:45pm we already had two people in line for the 8pm show. MADNESS.

The third extension of The Pokemusical has also been announced and I'll be coming back for five of the twelve extra shows they'll be putting up. There are a number of new cast members involved and I'm looking forward to working with them all. It was a fun show the first time around and I can't imagine that will change.

And that's pretty much it for me the last few weeks. I'm still trying (and failing) to get back into my normal routines and I'm still spending more time than I should hermit-ed away at home in front of my computer. On the upside, it's given me lots of time to watch more West Wing, so it hasn't been a total loss. :D

And now, time for something completely different (from Reddit):

What I'm Cooking - My first-ever lasagna!

In the same issue of Cooks' Illustrated (September & October 2011) that brought you the Cranberry-Nut Muffins, comes (one of) my greatest creation to date, a towering juggernaut of the vegetable world, replete with healthy goodness, deliciousness, a just a splash of over-the-top hyperbole. LET US BEGIN!

So what makes this recipe so great beyond tasting delicious is the fact that it's so easy to make. Normally you'd expect to be building from scratch with CI, but this time they looking to keep your time in the kitchen to a minimum. This means a no-cook tomato sauce and a no-cook cream sauce accompany the no-boil noodles you're going to be using today.

Vegetable Lasagna

No-Cook Tomato Sauce
1	28 oz. can of crushed tomatoes
¼	cup chopped fresh basil
2	tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2	garlic cloves, minced
1	teaspoon kosher salt
¼	teaspoon red pepper flakes
No-Cook Cream Sauce
4	ounces Parmesan cheese, grated (2 cups)
1	cup whole-milk cottage cheese
1	cup heavy cream
2	garlic cloves, minced
1	teaspoon of cornstarch
½	teaspoon kosher salt
½	teaspoon pepper
Vegetable Filling
1 ½	pounds eggplant, peeled and cut into ½-inch cubes (about 7 cups)
	Kosher salt and pepper
1	pound zucchini, cut into  -inch pieces
1	pound of yellow squash, cut into  -inch pieces (about 4 cups)
5	tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
4	garlic cloves, minced
1	tablespoon minched fresh thyme
12	ounces baby spinach (about 12 cups
12	no-boil lasagna noodles
½	cup minced pitted kalamata olives NOPE NOPE NOPE
12	ounces low-moisture whole-milk mozzarella cheese, shredded (about 3 cups)
2	tablespoons chopped fresh basil

FOR THE TOMATO SAUCE:

1. Whisk everything together and then set it aside. That's it. Seriously.

FOR THE CREAM SAUCE:

2. Whisk everything together and then set it aside. That's it. Seriously.

I will note however that by the time I got to spreading the "sauce" onto my lasagna it was more the consistency of cooking dough, and I added some more heavy cream to make it manageable.

FOR THE FILLING:

3. Pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees.

4. Eggplant is notorious for carrying moisture and to avoid watering down the lasagna when it cooks CI came up with brilliant plan of microwaving the sucker to preemptively reduce the liquid it was retaining. So first toss the eggplant with about 1 teaspoon of salt and then place it high on a couple of paper towels on a large plate. Microwave on high for about 5 minutes, take it out, toss it, place it on some fresh paper towels and then throw it back in the microwave for another 5 minutes. By the end of this the eggplant should have lost a significant amount of volume. Once done, mix together with the zucchini and squash.

5. Now we're going to further reduce the moisture in the veggies cooking them for about 7 minutes over medium high heat. Before we get started though, combine 1 tablespoon of olive oil, the garlic, and thyme (I used dried) in a small bowl. Once that's done heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a large non-stick skillet until shimmering and then toss in half the eggplant mixture, ½ teaspoon of salt, and ½ teaspoon pepper; cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are lightly browned. Push the vegetables to the sides of the skillet and then put half of the garlic mixture in the middle and smash it up good until fragrant. Then stir everything together, transfer to a bowl and repeat the whole process with the other half of the eggplant mixture.

6. The last step before assembly was the most cumbersome for me. Return the skillet to medium-high heat, and the remaining teaspoon of oil, and heat until shimmering. Then try and cram all 12 cups of spinach into the skillet, stirring constantly, until wilted. Suffice to say I made a mess. Anywho, once that's done transfer the spinach to a paper towel-lined plate and let drain for a couple of minutes. You might even considering wringing it dry if your paper towels are sturdy enough. Then stir it into the eggplant mixture.



LASAGNA ASSEMBLE!:

7. Grab yourself a handy-dandy 13 by 9-inch baking dish and spray that sucker down with vegetable oil spray. Spread 1 cup of the tomato sauce in the bottom of the dish; shingle 4** noodles on top of the sauce. Spread half of the vegetable mixture over the noodles, followed by half the cream sauce, and 1 cup of mozzarella. Repeat layering with 4** noodles, 1 cup tomato sauce, remaining vegetables, remaining cream sauce, and 1 cup mozzarella. Place remaining 4** noodles on top layer of cheese. Spread remaining 1 cup tomato sauce over noodles and sprinkle with remaining 1 cup mozzarella.



Light spray large sheet of aluminum foil with vegetable oil spray and over lasagna. Bake until bubbling, about 35 minutes. Cool on wire rack for 25 minutes. Cut into pieces, sprinkle with basil, and serve. BAM!

Seriously, this was delicious and it fed me for a week. Even my roommate was impressed, and demanded I pass along the recipe to him.


**No bake noodles seemed to come in two forms, and frankly I wished I had gotten the other. The first is you standard looking lasagna noodle, which would be long, fairly sturdy looking and wavy on the ends. The second, which I ended up getting, are short, flat, cracker-like rectangles that cooked up okay, but weren't particularly good. So, yeah, keep away from those.

Third Stanza of a Love Cycle

I thought us safe within my walls,
The windows shuttered, door secured.
I thought the hunters left the woods,
Traps felled to ruin, for want of prey.
I thought the fire of love would mend,
But shadows lurk where there is light.

I could not keep them from your eyes
Nor burn so bright to smite them whole
And so the home my heart had made
Was once again a house no more.

Apparently folks still read the newspaper.

We had a glowing early review come out from the largest area newspaper on Monday and have absolutely been flooded with calls and online purchases the last three days. I've been told each of the previous three days have matched or surpassed what was previously the largest single day for ticket sales in the 10 year history of the theatre.

So, yeah, I guess folks still love Shakespeare. Who knew?

Anywho, I had meant to do another post on Wednesday, but pushed it to Thursday due to work. Which then got pushed to today. So far it's been fairly quiet, but it's early yet and I've still got to prepare for the musical program tonight.

I think I've mentioned previously the secondary rehearsal/music space we have in our building. It's acoustically modeled after an opera house and we usually run music performances on the Friday and Saturday nights that we are also having a main stage production running. So it can get pretty chaotic when you've roughly 200 people showing up in a 30 minute window for two different performances that all run through a single box office (i.e., me).

That said, I've got an awesome lasagna recipe I want to share with you and I'm going to go see one of the midnight showings of The Pokemusical tomorrow night, so I should have lots to write about in the next few days, assuming I actually find more time to sit down and write it out. :P

Pardon me while I geek out for a moment

So I finally got a chance to sit down last week and game with my friends. We decided to draft the cube and I ended up creating a green-black deck stuffed with expensive high-end creatures, which mostly relied on a single combo to get things going. I actually got this combo to work three times, but it was only successful once. Due to the size, the image of the combo is below the cut.

Step 1 was playing Lotleth Troll onto the battlefield and then using its discard ability to dump a big creature into my graveyard, in this case, Griselbrand. On the following turn, I cast Exhume to put Griselbrand in the battlefield without having to pay its casting cost and then immediately used his ability to draw an extra 7 cards.

At this point I had around 12 or 13 cards in hand, which I then proceeded to play without paying any of the casting costs thanks to Eureka, which allows both players to play any number of permanents from their hand. Obviously you run the risk of letting your opponent(s) play amazing cards as well, but hopefully your massive card advantage (thanks to Griselbrand) will still win you the day. Which it totally did for me.

Among other things, I ended up playing Ob Nixilis, the Fallen and 11 lands, which allowed me to deal 33 damage to my opponents and left me with a now 36/36 creature with which to finish them off.

It was a good day. :D

Change is the only constant.

So a close friend of mine just found out he's going to be a father. He is the first in my inner circle of friends to become a parent and the last one anyone would have expected. The baby wasn't planned, he wasn't given any say in the matter, and he has no real interest in a long term relationship with the mother. Nevertheless, he's stepping up to the plate and accepting his newfound role as a father. Personally, I think he's going to do a bang-up job and he's got a great support group of loving friends to help out, myself included.

And while this came as a complete surprise, what's equally as shocking to me is the effect this revelation had on my own outlook towards children. I've never really been interested in children, though I always assumed I'd eventually have some of my own. It is even possible that I may have, in the past, spoken of children in less than...flattering terms, a stance that I assumed would change at some point down the line.

Well, it would appear that that time has come. I really don't know how to explain it better than having a switch flipped. While I'm not suddenly on a tear to get married and have kids immediately, I think I definitely do want to have them, and my previous distaste for babies has softened considerably. This stance was made readily apparent when the secretary of our board of directors showed up at my office the other day with her 14-month-old in tow and I proceed to have an extended conversation in gibberish with the boy while some stupid grin was plastered on my face.

The revelation makes recent events in my life a little more-heartbreaking for me, but I think it shows a sign of continued maturity on my part, the (perceived) stagnation of which has always been a sore spot for me. And who knows, maybe this is the start of a golden era for "Westward Joe Becoming More of a Mature Adult", in which case things can only get better from here on out. Here's looking to you, Future, and whatever it is you bring with you.

What I'm Cooking - Cranberry-Nut Muffins

So...cranberries. Apparently cranberries are really, really hard to find outside of the Thanksgiving season. Don't get me wrong, I hadn't expected to stumble across fresh cranberries, but I was shocked that I couldn't find a bag of frozen berries to save my life. I went to three groceries stores and two specialty stores before I finally found some at a mega Whole Foods.

But the important part is that I did find them and was finally able to make these delicious muffins. As will come as no surprise, this is yet another Cooks' Illustrated recipe, from their September & October 2011 issue.

Great Cranberry-Nut Muffins (makes 12 muffins)

The Topping (a.k.a. excuse for more sugar)
3	tablespoons all-purpose flour
4	teaspoons granulated sugar
1	tablespoon packed light brown sugar
2	tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch pieces, softened
	Pinch of salt
½	cup pecan halves
The Muffin Stuffin'
1 ⅓	cups (6 ⅔ ounces) all-purpose flour
1 ½	teaspoons baking powder
1	teaspoon salt
1 ¼	cups pecan halves, toasted and cooled
1	cup plus 1 tablespoon (7 ½ ounces) granulated sugar
2	large eggs
6	tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
½	cup whole milk
2	cups fresh (ha! yeah, right!) cranberries
1	tablespoon confectioners' sugar

Right off the bat, let me warn you that you're going to need a food processor for this recipe. If you don't already have one go get one because they are awesome and you should have one regardless. That done, let's jump right in, shall we?



FOR THE TOPPING:

1. Add everything but the pecans to a food processor and give it about 4-5 pulses until it resembles coarse sand. Then throw in the pecans and give it another 4-5 pulses. Once done, dump the delicious mixture into a bowl for later.

FOR THE MUFFIN STUFFIN':

2. Pre-heat the oven to 425 degrees and set the rack to the upper-middle position.

3. Spray down a 12-cup muffin tin with baking spray or throw some muffin cups (is that what they are referred to as?) in them.

4. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and ONLY ¾ths of a teaspoon of salt (NOT ALL THE SALT) in a bowl, then put it to the side.

5. Process the toasted pecans and granulated sugar until the mixture resembles coarse sand, about 10-15 seconds (see below).



6. Transfer that delicious, delicious sand like substance to a large bowl and then whisk in the eggs, butter, and milk until combined. The wisk in the four mixture until just combined and set that sucker aside for THIRTY (30) MINUTES to thicken up. This is important.

7. Pulse the cranberries (if frozen, microwave for about 30-45 seconds first to partially thaw) with the remaining ¼ teaspoon of salt, and confectionser sugar in a food preocessor until coarsely chopped, about 4-5 pulses.



8. Using a rubber spatula, fold cranberries into batter. At this point you're going to start loading up the muffin tin. CI recommended using an ice cream scoop which worked perfectly, but you can use a spoon or whatever you have lying around.



9. Sprinkle the topping on the muffins and press lightly to make sure it adheres. Then stick them in the oven for 17-18 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through to make sure they cook evenly. Remove muffins from oven and let cool for 10 minutes on a wire rack. Remove the muffins from the tin and let cool 10 more minutes. Then gorge on fresh muffins.

10. NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM!

Food for Thought

Tuesday morning my father headed back home to the East Coast, leaving me once again capable of wasting my free time on nothing remotely productive. Fortunately, his time here was filled with lots of shenanigans, so I have not one, not two, but THREE different recipes to share with you in the upcoming days as well as a review of a brand new game, Nothing Personal. But before that can happen I need to go make pizza and play some L4D2 with some friends.

In the meantime, why don't you listen to these happening beats?

Daily Haiku - August 22, 2013

Old ladies appear
Sticking labels to postcards
Mail Party success!

With every new production that goes up we send out a postcard announcement to our mailing list, which currently tops out at just slightly under 6,800 people. Attempting to have any one person do this on their own would be insanity, but fortunately there is a local group of volunteers who can come in and help. 12 nice old ladies and two hours later we had the labeling completely done! HURRAYS!

Daily Haiku - August 21, 2013

The work day ended
And suddenly I'm in bed
Where has my life gone?

Beautiful Poetry

This showed up on my news feed today and it was too beautiful not to pass on. The poet's name is Neil Hilborn and you can read more of his work on his tumblr page, Keep the Radio on Softly, and I highly recommend you do so.

Daily Haiku - August 12, 2013

Preseason football
Land of useless player stats
And bad announcers.

Daily Haiku - August 8, 2013

Time slides around me
Input rebuffed by fatigue
Sleepwalking awake

Daly Haiku - August 7, 2013

Giant Burrito
One moment within my grasp
Then NOM NOM NOM NOM

To Review or Not To Review

Back in my high school days, whenever we had to perform a scene or monologue in our theatre arts class the other students were required to verbally review our performance. I always felt super uncomfortable when I was forced into this role because who was I to judge? I didn't have any previous experience in acting. I wasn't well versed in how to give constructive criticism. And neither were the majority of my fellow classmates. So more often than not the "reviews" were generally useless, being filled with either unwarranted platitudes or the most neutral of criticisms.

Fast forward fifteen years or so, and I find myself slightly more educated in the ways of acting and more comfortable doling out criticism when asked. That said, I still find myself somewhat reticent when it comes to giving negative reviews. The old adage comes to mind, "if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all."

Case (sort of) in point: I recently went and saw a theatrical production that, while it had some truly spectacular moments, was absolutely littered will appallingly bad performances. Having purchased my tickets through Goldstar, I had the opportunity to leave a review, which at best would be mediocre but littered with scorn. And thus my reoccurring moral quandary began anew. Do I leave a mediocre-to-negative review or none at all?

In this case I went ahead and posted it, only to discover that the majority of the other reviews were glowing. Go figure. Maybe I got caught them on an off night or maybe I'm just not the target audience. Who knows? Nonetheless, I think leaving a criticism is often more helpful than leaving no comment at all. Just my two cents.

Daily Haiku - August 6, 2013

By themselves, stunning,
But within the production
Nearly lost in shit.

Corgis with Quotes

"Things which matter most must never be at the mercy of things which matter least."
― Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

The Father has arrived

My father arrived yesterday for his annual summer visit to the lovely locale of SoCal and apparently brought along a little of the East Coast weather, if only temporarily. But that's okay as we spent all of last night indoors playing board games and will likely repeat that cycle tonight are for the majority of his stay here.

The reason I'm such a bigger gamer nowadays is almost entirely due to my father's early influence. Sure, we played family favorites like Monopoly, Sorry!, Risk, and Clue when I was younger, but he also introduced me to Rail Baron, Acquire, Diplomacy and a handful of other games that required a bit (or a lot) more strategy. It also helped that my Uncle David and Aunt Susan were also big gamers, which allowed me access to even more playtime in my youth.

Once I got out of college there was a rather large lull in gaming until I arrived out in California and met a like-minded group of people, one of whom had compiled a very large collection of his own. Awash in a flood of new games, my desire was rekindled and with my new found disposable income I started building up my own collection of board games. Curious as to what I've currently got? Say no more!

7 Wonders (+ expansions)
Acquire (my father's originally)
Alhambra
Cards Against Humanity
Escape: Curse of the Temple
Forbidden Island
Guillotine
Kill Dr. Lucky
King of Tokyo (+ expansions)
La Strada
Lost Cities
Nothing Personal (Kickstarter)
Penny Arcade: The Game - Gamers vs. Evil
Penny Arcade: The Game - Rumble in R'lyeh
Race for the Galaxy (+ expansions)
Rail Baron (my father's originally)
Ruse & Bruise
Settlers of Catan (+ expansions)
Survive: Escape from Atlantis
Walk the Plank! (Kickstarter)

There's a lot more games I need to get my own copies of as well, but with the new job I'm going to have to curtail my board game spending for a while. *sad trombone*

Daily Haiku - August 1, 2013

Accursed drivers
The network printer is there
Waste my time no more!

What I'm Cooking - Spring Vegetable Pasta

I know, I know, I'm a season behind, but that's what happens when you're running about for months at a time being a social butterfly. I'm once again dipping into the treasure trove of my Cooks' Illustrated and trying out a recipe from their May & June 2011 issue.

Spring Vegetable Pasta (serves 4-6)

3	medium leeks, white and light green parts halved lengthwise, washed, and cut into ½-inch-thick slices (about 5 cups); 3 cups roughly chopped dark green parts reserved
1	pound asparagus, tough ends snapped off, chopped coarsley, and reserved; spears cut on bias into ½-inch-thick pieces
2	cups frozen baby peas, thawed
4	teaspoons minced garlic
4	cups vegetable broth
1	cup water
2	tablespoons minced fresh mint leaves
2	tablespoons minced fresh chives
½	teaspoon lemon zest
2	tablespoons lemon juice
6	tablespoons olive oil
	Table salt
¼	teaspoon red pepper flakes
1	pound campanelle (or farfalle or penne) pasta
1	cup dry white wine
½	cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus extra for serving
	Ground black pepper

REMINDER: DO NOT THROW OUT THE TRIMMINGS FROM THE LEEKS OR ASPARAGUS.

Even though I read through the entire recipe before starting I still managed to space out and dump all the tough ends of the asparagus into the trash. *facepalm* Thankfully the trashcan was empty and after a thorough rinse they were good to.

Now, since this is CI we're talking about, you know they've got some tricks up their sleeve. The first one is enhancing the flavor of the broth used to cook the pasta.

1. Take the trimmings from the leeks and asparagus and combined it with 1 cup of the peas, 2 teaspoons of the garlic, the vegetable broth, and the water in a large sauce pan. Bring that to a simmer over high heat and then reduce to medium-low and continue to simmer for 10 minutes more.
   
   


2. While the broth is simmering, combine the mint, chives (which I didn't have so I just left out), and lemon zest in a small bowl and set that aside for later.


3. Strain your new super potent broth through a fine mesh strainer, smooshing down the solids to extract as much of that sweet, sweet brothy goodness as you can manage. You should still have about five cups remaining, but if you come up short simply add a little water to make up the difference. Dump the solids and return the broth to the saucepan, cover, and keep warm over low heat.


4. Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat until shimmering. Add the sliced leeks and a pinch of salt; cook, covered, stirring occasionally, until leeks begin to brown, about 5 minutes. Add asparagus pieces and cook until crisp-tender, 4 to 6 minutes. Add remaining 2 teaspoons of garlic and pepper flakes; cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the remaining cup of peas and continue to cook for 1 more minute. Transfer the vegetable to a plate and set aside for later. Wipe out pot.
   
   

Next we get to the big twist on the recipe wherein CI decides to cook the pasta like risotto by browning in oil and then slowly adding liquid to the pot. This helps flavor the pasta and also gives it a sauce of sorts avoiding the need to have butter or cream.

5. Heat the remaining 4 tablespoons of oil in the dutch oven over medium heat until shimmering. Add pasta and cook, stirring frequently, until just beginning to brown, about 5 minutes. Add wine and cook, stirring constantly, until absorbed, about 2 minutes.


6. When wine is fully absorbed, add hot broth. Increase heat to medium-high and bring to a boil. Cook, stirring frequently, until most of the liquid is absorbed and the pasta is al dente, 8 to 10 minutes.
   
   


7. Remove the pot from heat, stir in lemon juice, Parmesan, half of the herb mixture, and vegetables. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately, passing Parmesan cheese and remaining herb mixture separately.

And voila! You have a delicious meal that can feed you (i.e., me) for a week. I'm not a huge asparagus fan so I'm not sure I'd make this again just for myself, but this would certainly be something I'd consider making when I was having friends over or if I was going to a potluck. That said, it took me about two hours to make this recipe so it's not something you'd want to do on a weeknight without help.

Daily Haiku - July 25, 2013

Cooking on weeknights
Is not something I'd advise
When you start at nine.

More Theatre News

Before I did The Pokemusical I was in Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson, a rock musical written by Michael Friedman and Alex Timbers about our seventh president, Andrew Jackson.

Well their newest work, a musical version of Love's Labour's Lost, just opened as part of New York City's Free Shakespeare in the Park. The link has most if not all the songs included on their page, but I'm adding one here as well for you to take a listen.

The Pokemusical: Redux

Last night was the first of our two extra performances of The Pokemusical as part of our Hollywood Fringe extension. It was easily the best crowd yet, and I'm excited to go back Friday night for the midnight performance!

Plus, I finally sat down and went through the official show photos and thought I'd share a few. You can click on them for a bigger version.

Photography by Rich Clark.

Photography by Rich Clark.

Photography by Rich Clark.

Photography by Lyssa Samuel.