Food | Book Chatter

Books and Happiness — Photo Credit: Sasha Pirthee Creates

I am ready for this crazy week to end. I had something going on EVERY night this week. Concerts, school performances, audition prep for Grease. I am so tired!

Yes, it is all coming to a close soon but with summer comes additional stuff like the THREE summer school classes that The Teen is taking to make sure he is on track. When you have two periods of choir and two periods of drama, you end up going to summer school to make sure you are on track for graduation. Who knows about student government at this point? It’s a wild card. When I was in high school you couldn’t take any of this stuff until you had the requirements met. Ultimately, I can veto all of it but now he believes he wants to go to a performing arts school which justifies the heavy art load. Sort of.

All I want to do this weekend is sit down with a book and maybe throw something on the grill. This book has my interest right now. I am a good 100 pages in and hooked so far:

The theater department had a seafood fundraiser and I bought a bag of these gigantic scallops and a bag of jumbo shrimp. Weird idea for a fundraiser, huh? I sure hope they weren’t sitting in a van down by the river in 100 degree heat before arriving at my doorstep. Anyway, the shrimp I can always use but I don’t have any tried and true recipes for the scallops.

After looking online, I found this recipe, Scallops and Corn Chowder from Real Simple. Doesn’t it look good? It’s does not involve the grill but that’s okay. Sitting outside with a tall glass of something and a bowl of this? Bliss.

I’ve also been wondering, in my more lucid moments, where my sense of style went. It’s vanished. I would like to spiff up my style in some way. I am very practical when it comes to clothes and I hate spending money on clothes when I can spend it on other things, but I don’t think I can ignore the fact that my style is in the $h^t#@r. I like comfortable but the last time I checked, looking like a hobo wasn’t a thing.

Anyway, I must go and look productive. I hope you have a nice, relaxing weekend.

This weekend, is the calm before the storm. I got up this morning to prepare goodies for the Super Bowl but in the back of my mind, I am thinking about the week of hell that is coming up, otherwise known as production week. Oliver is a tough show to do. It’s bleak but it has some amazing songs and it’s not everyday that your kid plays a murderer or is part of a gang of pick-pockets.

We’ll get through it. We always do. My son has been involved with this company since he was seven and he is now almost sixteen. My daughter, since the age of four. But production week would be so much easier if I didn’t have to work. With the double casting and in some cases, triple casting, the call times are all over the map. You have to really pay attention to the schedule and between my two kids, getting them fed and getting myself fed, since I am also back stage, can be a real challenge. Plus, they are still in school, so there is homework and studying that won’t be done since they will both have late nights ahead of them.

But, BIG but, it’s goes by quickly. By next Monday, we will all be breathing a big sign of relief.

As for today, I’ve prepped all the Super Bowl food for the oven. I just need to time the cooking just right so I can take the stuff over while it’s still warm. I can’t wait to just sit down and relax!

What am I reading?

I am reading Orefo by Richard Powers. It’s like nothing I’ve ever read before. Science and art collide and I am finding myself fascinated by it all. I am also reading Where’d You Go, Bernadette? and I am loving it.

What am I cooking?

I made a ginormous tray of Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas with cream sauce. I also wrapped little smokies with bacon and will sprinkle with brown sugar before I cook them up. I also made these Philly Cheesesteak pockets. I must have been starving when I planned all this stuff. It’s not like there’s going to be a big group of people there today but I guess it’s better to have too much than too little. Plus, The Teen can plow through a buffet like it’s nobody’s business so it’s best that I keep the food coming.

What am I watching?

Nothing, at the moment. The Girl has Gilligan’s Island on. I used to love that show but man, I cannot stand it now! Of course we’ll be watching the Super Bowl later and I will be recording the Puppy Bowl. I am a huge Seinfeld fan and Jerry Seinfeld and the gang have been having secret meetings lately. He said, that the meetings have nothing to do with the Super Bowl, but I am secretly hoping for a mini-Seinfeld reunion during today’s game. We shall see.

What do you have planned for today?

Chatting with friends about books and life…