My Nutty Valentine

Dear Mouse,

Happy (Belated) Valentines!

DAY OFF!

& Love is in the air ...(R to L: The Boo & Butley, The Theatre Dog)

Thanks for picking up the slack with two excellent posts while I was orbiting Planet Show. This was definitely the most strenuous, action-packed two weeks in my personal work history. The short version: it took two "10 out of 12" days and one "8 out of 10" to get through every technical cue in this multimedia epic ... once. Preview performances began last Tuesday. We rehearsed all day each day, made changes, and performed at night. Two nights in, the entire second act was rewritten significantly and put onstage within 48 hrs. We finally opened Friday night after a final day of rehearsal, breathed a sigh of relief ... and then performed the show twice on saturday and twice on Sunday. I stopped even pretending to get dressed in the morning, and the costume department has had to take in my first-act Guatemalan Shorts twice (a fringe benefit I suppose.) At the moment it is 630PM and I am already in pajamas, digesting a Short Ends Platter and a Coors Light from Gates BBQ and blogging from bed, where I will likely stay until our 930AM call to do the show for school kids at 10AM! tomorrow.

Let me say at this time that I realize nothing is more annoying than a working artist complaining about how exhausting it is to Live The Dream, so I will stop there and tell the whole truth: that my Valentine's Week was aces, and that I am feeling utterly grateful for the opportunity to work this hard, to learn this much ... and eat this sandwich:

The "Nutty Girl" Sandwich and a large LatteLand Coffee.

(this sandwich tends to sell out at LL. If you miss it there, go to the actual The Nutty Girl, a cafe & juice bar in nearby Westport, where I will be spending my next morning off. )

Nutty Girl at Home. Poor lighting.

So I realize that in the past I may have said the words "Best Sandwich in the World" before, maybe even more than once. But that doesn't mean I can't say and mean them again. After all, is there really only One Right Sandwich out there for each of us? For example, the "Spicy Godfather" at Graham Avenue Meats and Deli in East Williamsburg - that's a hell of a time. I'll never forget it. The first time I ate it, it transported me. It was exciting. It was (duh) spicy. It gave me so much - I had to give half of it to Leon - I thought I could never want more from lunchtime. It also completely destroyed my stomach before a matinee, but I went back for more. It was just that good.

Godfather, we'll always have Brooklyn. But a girl has to move on.

Call me fickle, but there's a new lunch in town. And I've been eating it for breakfast. It's glorious. What sounded like a list of wacky, mismatched ingredients turned out to be a charming little stack of tasty harmony. It is nourishing and sturdy and not-too-sweet. It will get you through tech. It is packed with energy and entirely plant-based. AND it is nutty, sweet, and orange - a little valentine to your 2nd chakra.

The Nutty Girl a la LatteLand KC

(because I'll have to make them myself back in NYC, let's all start now)

2 slices some kinda nutty/multigrain/sprouted bread

a generous slather of cashew butter

shredded carrots

thin slices granny smith apple

thin slices extra sharp cheddar

Love,

The Boo

When Life Gives You Apples...

"Comrades - real comrades - are your family. Bonds of the spirit are stronger than blood, and a true friend is worth a thousand kin."

-Euripides, 'Orestes'. (Written 2,400 years ago.) (Yes, this includes Mice.)

"I guess you're just what I needed/ I needed someone to feed" - the Cars

Dear Mouse,

There were quite a few contenders for the title of this post, most of them along the lines of "Happy Valentines Day To Me", "Snowpocalypse Now", or the ever popular, "Really??!!??" But none of these had anything to do with food.

I'm thinking of selling the movie rights to my week/end. You can't write this s**t. Of course, I'd have to alter it somewhat. No one would believe it all, and I would be sent home from the pitch meeting with a stern admonition to review all of Sex & the City's plotlines before attempting so blatantly to steal. I believe it would read more like Sex & the City meets 'Lost' with a sprinkling of 'Planes Trains and Automobiles' and a soupcon of 'Schindler's List'.

I can't possibly write it all out. I just tried like five times and erased it all, boring myself. How bout this tried and true format instead?

Things To Remember:

* Cabin fever is real. Snowmaggeddon hit us in DC resulting in 4 cancelled shows and 3 days housebound. I stopped making eye contact and hid in the bathtub.

* "Snowmaggedon" is ridiculous.

* If your band meeting gets rescheduled more than 3 times, it's not going to happen, even if you came into NYC for it.

* It is possible for a theatre to both cancel your show AND call you back to DC a day early so you can be there to not do it.

* Amtrak will never ask to look at your ID, unless of course you have to get back to DC to not do your show, and have left your ID there and only realize this when it's too late.

* Amtrak will not accept a frantically faxed photocopy from your stage manager.

* Nothing could close the Post Office. Not rain, nor snow, nor sleet, nor - oh, wait, except snow.

* If you get up at 530 for the 7AM bus, all buses will be canceled.

* If you are planning to break up with someone, it's best to turn your phone off while discussing this with friends, lest you accidentally call her and leave this conversation in voicemail form ... on Valentine's Day.

* When life gives you bad apples, make this:

Ye Olde Ina Garten Apple Crisp. Perfect.

Resist the temptation to take it out early, and eat it with vanilla ice cream.

I know I say this all the freakin' time and it's probably why we don't have a book deal, but I am just consistently and joyfully amazed by the power of community and by the simple and significant role that food/cooking has within that. As you noted in the past post, there's something about transforming raw materials into delicious sustenance with your own two hands that gives one hope and perspective. Thanks to the little transient family in the actor house, what could have been a really bad day ended with a glowing table, good stories, and a delicious, sweet spiced apple crisp with orange zest and bubbling caramel edges. This morning, our Orestes pointed out a bag of apples he'd bought that were in danger of going south and asked "Do you think we could make something out of these?" With a big smile on my face, I set to peeling ... and healing. Happy Valentines Day after all.

Love,

The Boo

P.S. I have also now eaten fried Milky Way at this "Pittsburgh Style" (What??) dive bar. Not quite as healing.