Cooking All Weekend

I do cook during the work week, but it's usually something quick. Pasta, burgers, frozen pizza. Nothing that requires a lot of effort and is fairly quick to cook, because I'm usually tired after working and sometimes Eric doesn't get home until after 9pm and who wants to prepare a huge meal at that hour?

So I'm spending this weekend cooking. I got up early and went to the grocery store. No one in Hollywood wakes up before 10pm and with the Hollywood Film Awards last night, people were sleeping in more than usual. Eric really likes a Sunday Night Dinner so I had decided yesterday I would make a pot roast. Now my pot roast is made using a recipe my Mom used to use in the 60's. It's simple but so good. It's one of Eric's favorite meals but what kills him is that you have to cook it low and slow, so after about an hour in the oven, the smells of pot roast begin to fill the apartment and it's another 4-5 hours before we can eat it. It drives him nuts. Eric is working tomorrow so he won't have to be around the smell which is another reason I chose to make it. It's also great to have meat, veggies, and gravy all cooking in one pan. Makes for easier clean-up.

For those of you who follow me regularly, you know my goal has been to cook for Chris Hardwick and Benedict Cumberbatch. Well, yesterday on Twitter, I invited Chris Hardwick to dinner and one of my "foodie" followers suggested I make cajun shrimp. Chris has yet to respond to any invitation, but it's good to practice. So tonight, I'm making cajun shrimp pasta. I'm also baking my chocolate filled cupcakes that Eric enjoyed so much last weekend, and I cooked up a cubed steak sandwich for myself for lunch.

I will have to do the dishes many times this weekend. I will wash the same measuring cups, plates, bowls, pans, etc several times and each time I won't mind at all. Cooking helps me relax, helps me take my mind off whatever other bullshit is going on in my life. Cooking to me, is love. I like to share my cooking with others and have them enjoy what I make.

So while others of you may be out shopping, or going to movies, or other things...I will spend the weekend covered in chocolate, spices, and dish soap, and will love every minute of it!

As If I Needed Another Reason To Love Him

Tonight Fathom Events showed an encore presentation of The National Theatre's production of "Frankenstein" starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Johnny Lee Miller (Yes, they both play Sherlock on TV in case you didn't know). I got to see Johnny Lee Miller as "the Creature" as they were calling him, and Benedict played Victor Frankenstein. It was directed by Danny Boyle and for those of you Harry Potter fans out there...George Harris, who was Kingsley Shacklebolt and said "You may not like him, but one thing you've got to say is Dumbledore's got style" was also in the play.

The only regret I have is not going Monday so that I could see Benedict as "the Creature"  and compare and contrast.  But I'm not complaining. I thought it was extremely well done. Yes, maybe a bit overly staged in some points...like I don't think we needed the "steam punk" group when the Creature first goes out into the world, and the giant chandelier lighting was a bit distracting, but I did love every minute of it. I am and always have been a theatre geek and this is theatre at it's finest. I understand why the actors changed roles every other night. It has to be exhausting putting in the effort to play the Creature, not only physically but mentally as well. The 2 hours just flew by and it was the perfect length. Nothing dragged or seemed out of place and the story moved along. There was some humor, but mostly you felt for the Creature as well as Victor Frankenstein who was more like the Creature then he probably wanted to admit. 

Most of all though, it just made my respect, admiration and yes, love, for Benedict Cumberbatch grow that much more. You can tell he researches his roles, whether in movies or live on stage. You can see what an amazing range he has. Even his speech changed to match the mood.  I'm not sure how you're supposed to see Victor, as the victim or as the monster, but I did find myself feeling for this lost man who did something and thought no one would find out, yet it tortured him throughout his days. In understated simplicity, Benedict portrayed all those emotions and if you were supposed to hate him, I just couldn't. He is truly gifted and I'm really hoping that they allow a camera crew into his portrayal of Hamlet later next year in London and that Fathom Events shows it.  (I also have to cook this man dinner!)

Back to the Beginning

It's Memorial Day weekend, the "unofficial" "official" start of summer and I haven't posted anything since January. Typical. I could blame it on the fact that my laptop is genuinely dead now and I have to borrow Eric's, or I could blame it on working, getting used to California, or just plain laziness. But I'm not going to blame it on anything and I'm going to "get on with it."

I've been making some changes lately. I've started a "planking" challenge, where I'm stretched out on the floor on my elbows and tiptoes for a certain amount of time. At this point I'm supposed to be at a minute and a half. I can do about 46 seconds before my legs are shaking and my arms are screaming and I have to put myself back on the ground, but considering that just 16 days ago I could barely do it for 10 seconds, I think I'm making progress. I'm also doing 30 squats, 20 crunches and 10 "girl" push-ups every morning. So slowly, I'm getting into better shape, which is good. 

I'm also reading more. Eric's Mom sent me an Amazon gift card for my birthday so I was able to buy some more books and have been reading those at night and at lunchtime at work. I've always loved reading and am enjoying the fact that I am doing it more.

So now to writing more. I have issued myself another challenge. It's more of a goal than a challenge, but it will be challenging to accomplish so we'll consider it a challenge. When I started this blog things in my life were changing. I was living with someone for the first time in over 21 years and I was cooking in a kitchen that didn't have an oven. I survived that and even learned new things in the process. Now I have moved to a different state and am trying to get used to a new climate, a new grocery store, and a new job. I am learning something new every day about myself and about California. It's great. But when you move to the Los Angeles/Hollywood area...as they said in "Pretty Woman"..."everyone has a dream" and I think it's time to pursue my dream. I've been listening to podcasts a lot on the drive home from work, mostly "The Nerdist" from Chris Hardwick, "Adam Carolla" as well as "Dr. Drew," and the "WTF" podcast from Marc Maron. What I've learned from these podcasts (besides the fact that everyone in Hollywood used to have an alcohol or drug problem) is that you need to set small, realistic goals for yourself and grow from there.

So here's my goal...and one of them isn't small and realistic at all, but if I can accomplish the first one, then I'll be able to get to the second one with less trouble.  I want to cook dinner for Chris Hardwick and Benedict Cumberbatch. Now, these will be two separate dinners, and as I mentioned, cooking a meal for Hardwick will probably be a lot easier than getting Benedict Cumberbatch to have a meal with me, but it's a goal and being a stubborn Taurus, I'm going to try my best to accomplish this.

 Chris Hardwick lives in Los Angeles and is in town quite a bit. He's also monumentally busy, but he's got to eat, right? Chris has helped me in ways I'm not quite ready to get into yet, but let's just say he's been an invaluable guide to me in my personal life. I figure starting out with an email to him will be a start and probably the best way to reach him. I'd say I'd reach out to him on Twitter, but trying to invite someone to dinner in 140 characters right of the bat is a bit more of a challenge than I want to take. (He also has over 2.2 million followers.) I also know he's been eating a lot of vegetarian lately (his girlfriend is a vegetarian and she's invited to dinner as well). So that will be good. I'll start to cook more vegetarian meals for myself and Eric. Believe me, as much as I like to take pride in my cooking, I wouldn't invite over someone and have them be a guinea pig. So that's my first challenge and I'll keep you updated in the weeks to come as to whether I've gotten any response. I figure it may take me a year and I'm ok with that. One step at a time.

Benedict Timothy Carlton Cumberbatch will be the next goal as a dinner guest. I'm probably going to have to give myself 5 years for this one. But hey, at job interviews they always ask you what your long term plans are...well, this is one. I first "really" noticed Benedict on "The Graham Norton" show when he was discussing Cumberbitches and the pictures comparing him to an otter. Then I saw him in "Star Trek: Into Darkness" and the wonderful series "Sherlock" where I will admit, I developed a major crush on him. Every since I was old enough to notice guys, I've been attracted to tall men with deep voices. (Good thing Eric falls into those categories). Mr. Cumberbatch is also very busy and doesn't come to Los Angeles very often, so that will be difficult, although if I could manage it, I'd cook for him in London in a heartbeat. This one will have to be one I'll have to be careful with as well, I don't want to be considered a "stalker" and in the first year, I'll probably only try to get some contact information and send a small, introductory letter. I'm willing to take my time with this to make it happen. It probably won't, but I am determined to try.

So that's it. That's what I'm going to work on and that's what I'm going to write about. I won't promise a timeline for writing as I can't seem to keep those, but I will say I'm going to try to keep a weekly update on my progress.

Back to the beginning. It's like cooking without an oven and I've already done that.