Risotto!

Luke and I made risotto!  And it was really, REALLY good.  Like take-the-first-bite-and-roll-your-eyes good.

The Finished Product

We opted for asparagus risotto, since Luke doesn't like mushrooms, but really you can put whatever you'd like in it.  I'm thinking of experimenting a bit next time...

But back to the asparagus:  After a little digging on the internet, I found this recipe from The Flourishing Foodie (a blog I really love), which I'll now reproduce for you here:

Ingredients:

10 - 12 asparagus spears

1 cup water

dash salt

6 tbsp butter

2 shallots, diced

1 cup dry Arborio rice (don’t pre-wash it- the starch is what gives risotto it’s awesome creamy texture)

3 cups vegetable stock, warm

1 cup Parmigiano Reggiano, grated

(note: prep all ingredients first.  Once started, risotto waits for no man!)

 Directions:

1. Prep the asparagus (wash, snap off the ends). Boil/steam for 5 minutes with 1 cup of water until just tender. Don’t overcook the asparagus; it’ll get plenty of cooking when you add it to the rice later on. Set to the side and save the cooking liquid.  

2. In a large pot or wok, on low heat, saute the diced shallots with 3 tbsp butter until soft and translucent.

3. Add the arborio rice and stir. Toast the rice with the butter and shallots for 5 minutes, stirring to make sure it does not burn.

4. Add the leftover asparagus water, a quarter cup at a time. Cook until the water has been absorbed, and then add the next quarter cup, making sure to stir every minute or so. Turn the heat to medium and add the chopped asparagus.

5. Once you have used all the asparagus water, continue the same process with the vegetable stock until it is all used up. It should take roughly 20 minutes. Remember to continue stirring.  Somewhere in here I seasoned with salt and pepper.

6. Once the rice has cooked, take it off the heat. Add the butter and the cheese, and stir until creamy. Garnish with a little extra cheese. Serve immediately.

(Note: I've since tried this recipe again and used onions instead of shallots, since that's all I had on hand.  Not as good.)

 I highly recommend you try this recipe- you won't be disappointed!  

Beware, though: your kitchen may end up looking like this: 

Mess, mess, messy mess

Talkin' (literally) 'Bout My Generation

Those of you who know me know that I do theatre.

Me, Red, and Marcus.  Photo by Wade Tillotson.

Those of you who know me well know that I just closed a show, My Generation.

Suzy and the mourners.  Photo by Wade Tillotson.

I was lucky enough to be a part of this original musical formed around the music of the '60s.

Reasons why this show was a blast:

1.  The people.  The cast and crew were made up entirely of awesome people.  Fun people, smart people, dedicated people, talented people, funny people.

The cast of My Generation.  Photo by Kevin Harris.

2.  I got to perform with my brother (who, incidentally is fun, smart, dedicated, talented, and funny).  It is one thing to spend time with one's sibling, but to share the stage and work closely on an art form that we're both passionate about is very special.

My brother, Marcus.  He's super talented.  Photo by Wade Tillotson

3. The music.  Simply put: it's good stuff.  I got to sing "It Ain't Me, Babe," "Feelin' Good," "Respect," and the show also included songs by Simon and Garfunkel, The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, David Bowie, Janis Joplin, Elvis, The Beach Boys, The Byrds, Louis Armstrong...

Me about to sing "Respect."  How fierce are my backup girls?  Photo by Wade Tillotson.

4.  The band.  It's not that often that I get to sing with a live band, and it is so fun.

5.  My character.  While not the strongest show I've ever worked on, script-wise and story-wise, I really enjoyed digging into a character with such an arc.  Amy begins as a pregnant 20-something rushed into a marriage and ends as an independent, confident reporter for Rolling Stone.

Giving Travis a well-deserved slap in the face. Photo by Josh Cohen.

6.  The production team.  The whole team was great, and it was a particular pleasure working with the director on this show.  Not only is he all the qualities I listed above, but he really knows what he's doing. He knows what he wants to see happen onstage and knows how to communicate that to the actors.  It's as simple as that, and it makes all the difference.

Bob, Suzy, Marcus, Red, and Me.  Being silly.  Photo by Wade Tillotson.

Now that the show is closed and I've had time to reflect, part of me misses it and my theatre peeps and the other part is so relieved to have my life back.  But that's how the theatre world goes: it's cyclical.  There will be a next show.

The cast performing "Sound of Silence."  Photo by Wade Tillotson.

In the meantime, I'm going to clean my house, cook more, sleep more, work more, play more, and catch up on some reading.  And paint Luke's house.

Kitchen Vignettes

In keeping with the idea of documenting my home, here's a peek into my kitchen.

Let me just say this:  my kitchen, while not a crazy-tiny room, sucks when it comes to storage.  There are two drawers.  Two cupboards.  Two sets of open shelving, and one small area of usable counter space.  No pantry, no place to store food, and very little space to store the various kitchen equipment that someone who loves to cook (me!) is bound to acquire.

So what have I done?

Created storage, naturally!  The challenge, of course, is to create storage space in a way that is both functional and attractive.  Here's what I've come up with:

This shelving set sits right in between my kitchen table and my back door. 

Top shelf:  cookbooks (most of which were are a second-hand gift from my dear friend/cooking buddy, Alex), lamp-that-I've-had-forever, mixing bowls, and 'love art' (a DIY of mine). 

Middle Shelf: more cookbooks, Junior Mints lunch box (a gift from my mom and sister), gorgeous bamboo salad bowls (Xmas gift from mom and dad).

Bottom shelf: basket of foil, plastic baggies, garbage bags, etc.  

Here's my second answer to kitchen storage: 

Top shelf: bamboo steamer (which holds potatoes, onions, and garlic when not in use), fruit bowl (antique store find), wine glasses (because- literally- my kitchen shelves are not tall enough to fit a wine glass), recipe box (gift from my mom when I graduated high school), owl measuring cups (gift from Luke, from West Elm), and owl tea towl (one of two, from my mom and sister).

Middle Shelf: Tea and vitamins (including vitamin D, because apparently my levels are crazy-low.  What?! I work in an office!)

Bottom Shelf:  My beautiful red Kitchen Aid mixer, Maggie (an appropriately-named gift from my parents for graduating magna cum laude from Cal Poly), IKEA watering "can", and (way in the back) more mixing bowls.

And one more shot: 

My kitchen stays happy as long as I stay organized!

Home: My Favorite Place

I've recently come to realize that I may not live in my studio apartment forever.

Which really (like, really really) bums me out.

Let me back up and paint you a picture...

My studio is one of 3 units attached to a 100-year old craftsman-style home in the heart of San Luis Obispo.   The house itself is on a street that is equal parts residential and office buildings.

My landlord's house (mine is in back)

There are trees, driveway parking, a lovely sunny backyard with garden beds, fruit trees, birds, and not-one-but-TWO porch/patios (complete with grape arbor!).

My studio

My yard

My studio (really a studio +; the kitchen is a separate room) has wood floors, old wavy glass windows, lots of light, a old-fashioned stove, and a built-in sort of nook for my bed.

I'm 2 blocks from downtown SLO, 3 blocks from my favorite Thai restaurant, 4 blocks from the library, and 5 blocks from work (the theatre).

And those are just the physical amenities, which don't even begin to describe how the place feels!  It's sweet, and quiet, and cozy, and airy.  It's inviting, old-but-not-crumbling, warm, private, lived-in, and so comfortable.

Of course there are a few things that I don't entirely love: the occasional ant infestation, the way the house will retain cold and heat, the claustrophobic shower, and very minimal storage space.

But it's impossible to get hung up on those things when the place is so thoroughly charming.

My front door

PLUS it's the first place I've lived on my own, and the first place I've lived where I'm truly comfortable in my own skin and where I am in my life (which are, I think, states one needs to reach in order to live alone- but that's a post for another time).  I'm so very comfortable here and this space is so completely mine.  I don't know if I can imagine anything better.

So you see why contemplating even the possibility of someday moving makes me blue.

So what will I do?  Enjoy it! Take pictures!  Write about it! Love my house in words and pictures!  I've decided to use this blog (in part) as a way to document my time here and my living and surrounding space- so expect to see house-related posts in the future!

Dexter the Serial Cuddler

I woke up this morning to my cat, Dexter (named after the famous TV serial killer), cuddling with me.  Like a person.

He seems to want to get as close to my face as possible.  I swear, if I let him he'd sleep ON my head.

Or sometimes he'll sleep under the covers holding on to me...

Or with his paw in my hand...

Yes, I know posting about my cat might seem a little crazy...but he is just so stinkin' cute, and has such a distinct personality that I had to share a couple photos.

Don't worry, I love him within the bounds of normalcy.  Just barely.

At least I'm not as crazy as this lady.

I'll leave you with this gem:

The Most Delicious Salad

I made a fantastic salad tonight.

You know that feeling when you're sick and nothing sounds good?  Well I had that feeling to the max tonight, and finally (after much putting-off of dinner-time decision-making) settled on a salad.

And boy am I glad I did.

Basically a Salad Nicoise, but without the meat/seafood (because you all know I'm vegetarian), with homemade creamy balsamic vinaigrette and some toast on the side.

My dressing ingredients (recipe below)

My salad ingredients (also listed below)

Alas, I was so excited to eat the dang thing, I forgot to take a picture!  Suffice to say it was beautiful.  And even more beautiful in my belly.

Creamy Balsamic Dressing: 

4 cloves of garlic, minced

4 tbs. nonfat Greek yogurt, plain

2 tbs. lemon juice

1 tbs. sugar

1 tsp. seasoning (I used Trader Joe's 21 Seasoning Salute)

1 tsp. salt

freshly ground pepper

1/3 cup balsamic vinegar

3/4 cup olive oil

Whisk dry ingredients with the yogurt until well mixed.  Whisk in the balsamic vinegar.  Whisk in the olive oil.  Feel free to play with ingredients and ingredient amounts- next time I'll probably add slightly less vinegar (or a different type of vinegar!)  I know my photo shows mustard, but I ended up not using it since the dressing was already tangy without it.

Salad:

Butter lettuce

Artichoke hearts

Roasted peppers

Roasted asparagus

Roasted potatoes (tossed in a little salt and pepper)

Olives (I like the TJ's olive medley)

Hard boiled egg (my favorite method to hard boil eggs is here)

Feta Cheese

Tomatoes

Avocado

Whatever else you want!

Enjoy!  I know I did...and next time I'll remember to take a picture!

Picnicking at Perfumo!

One of Luke and my favorite things to do is picnic, which isn't surprising considering we love food and love being outdoors.  One of our favorite spots is high up at the top of Perfumo Canyon Road; the view is AMAZING (the header on the blog is a photo Luke took on one of our excursions).

This photo was taken around February of 2011, soon after we started dating.  Happy, happy picnickers!

Here we are again in November of 2012.  Can you believe it- picnicking in November!?

I just don't think it gets much better...