My Latest Dream

I had a dream last night. A glorious dream. I bought an abandoned Wal-Mart building back in my hometown and made it into a theatre. I don't know where this came from, but I also don't know why I've never thought of it before. I regularly see old warehouses and abandoned factories and think, "Wow, that would make an amazing theatre!" This one just came out of nowhere, but it makes perfect sense.

I've spent most of the day thinking about how perfectly everything works out. There's ample parking. The building is huge, and there's already a loading dock in the back. There would be plenty of space for a generously-sized stage/wings/backstage area/dressing rooms/offices. Concessions up front where the little McDonald's used to be. The area between the sets of automatic doors could be the box office, and the long area opposite that (where they kept the carts) could be coat check. Wall-in the garden center and make it into a scenic/electrics shop. There's some grassy space in the back where I would totally build a deck for a break area/employee picnics. I don't know how high the ceiling is, but I would imagine I could fit at least a bit of fly space.

I don't know if I would want to mount productions, or just bring in tours/concerts/rentals. I feel like in that area, tours and concerts would make out better. There also isn't as much turnaround time between shows, because you don't need rehearsal/build time. Plus, I feel like large-scale tours and popular artists would bring in people from farther away. So let's go with the thought that it's a road house. Then between tours, locals could rent the space for meetings, ceremonies, commuinty theatre, etc.

I would need all of the latest and best technical equipment, of course. Light/projection booth in the back of the house. Sound booth in the house. A full lighting/sound inventory in case of tours that don't come with their own equipment and need the plot hung before they get there....

I would be creating a lot of jobs for the area. I would need someone to do the books, PM/TD, ATD, techs, box office staff, house manager(s), ushers, security(?), company manager, marketing/development/outreach.... I could cooperate with other local businesses to come up with mutually beneficial agreements. Like... if I got a liquor license, team up with Fero and/or Shade Mountain wineries and some local microbreweries. Stock the concessions stand through Weis/Extrava/Purity/Ard's/Pardoe's/local baker friends/etc. Discount programs for local schools when I have children's shows. (My mom's school district gets a super special discount, of course!) Offer tours/workshops for local students interested in professional theatre. Maybe internships for high school and college students?

I don't actually know what my role would be.... I would want to do the scheduling/programming. Make HR-type decisions. Deal with contractors. I guess General Manager or CEO... or something...? My title will be "I Do Whatever The Hell I Want. Deal With It." That sounds about right.

So, yeah, I've been thinking about it a little. Just a little. I wanted to get my thoughts down somewhere, and this seemed like an acceptable forum. Feel free to ignore my rantings, but I think it's a good idea! Maybe I'll actually read one of the many books I have on running theatres/businesses...!

Something New

Alright, so it's been three months since I've posted anything. What are you gonna do? Work has been all-consuming, and I haven't been doing anything remotely interesting. I saw a community theatre production of Les Mis this past weekend, but I couldn't write a whole lot of positive things about it, so I decided to abstain from a review.

I have barely been cooking and haven't even thought about baking, let alone try a new recipe. Well, this afternoon I woke up (hey, don't judge, I'm on night shift tonight) and saw these three sad brown bananas on my counter. This happens fairly regularly... I buy a bunch of bananas, eat two or three, and forget about them until they're far too mushy for my liking. Today, instead of throwing them away, I decided to turn them into bread.

I started leafing through cookbooks, looking for a recipe. Turns out, I don't have any walnuts or pecans, so Banana Nut Bread was out. I was decided on plain old Banana Bread when I came across a recipe for Banana Bundt Cake. Ooh! Something new and different! I got excited about trying something new, so I pulled out every cookbook and just started looking for the word "banana". There was a recipe for Chocolate Chip-Banana Bars that was intriguing, but a little plain. Let's improvise!

So I took bits and pieces from a couple of different recipes and threw in a few of my own ideas, and we have "Chocolate-Covered Banana" Bars.

"Chocolate-Covered Banana" Bars

Ingredients

3/4 C. unsalted butter, softened

2/3 C. white sugar

2/3 C. brown sugar

2 eggs

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

3 ripe bananas

1 C. all-purpose flour

1 C. whole wheat flour

1/4 C. cocoa powder

2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

12 oz. bag semi-sweet chocolate chips

powdered sugar to serve

Method

- In a mixer, cream together the butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add in the eggs, one at a time, beating until incorporated. Add in the vanilla. Beat in the bananas until well-incorporated, and no chunks remain.

- Add in the flours, cocoa, baking powder, and salt all at once, and stir until well mixed. Stir in the chocolate chips.

- Pour the batter into a greased and floured 9" x 13" pan. Bake at 350 degrees F for about 25 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

- Remove from the oven and let cool. Dust with powdered sugar to serve.

They're very thick, cake-y bars. Plates and forks might be called for. They're also delicious!

Hopefully this is the start of a new wave of baking in my life. Let's hope you hear from me more often!



Enjoy!

Tofu-Veggie Stir-Fry

I'm doing it. I'm really doing it. I'm attempting to go one month living a vegetarian lifestyle. It's something that has interested me for a long time. I'm curious about how it will make me feel, and if it will help me to lose any weight. I considered trying to go vegan, but there's no way I'm giving up cheese or ice cream!

I started on May 1st, so today is day 6 of my experiment. I might go really crazy and try a fruit/veggie cleanse or even a juice fast while I'm on this bandwagon. Both the vegetarian lifestyle and a cleanse are things on my 30 Things Before 30 list... of which I have been rather neglectful. I'm trying to step it up since I'm down to four years until I turn 30 (yikes....).

I know it's only been six days, but so far giving up meat hasn't been difficult. It's a little hard at work because the employee cafeterias don't have many healthy vegetarian options. The past couple of days, I've made do with a salad and some fries. I'm probably going to start packing a lunch more often. This is where learning to cook without meat comes in (or, you know, lots of PB&J's). I sought out tofu at the grocery store and decided to try to make something with it. I came up with the idea of stir-frying, and it seemed easy and something I knew I would like.

Now, this wasn't as homemade as I would have liked, but I had just gotten off of work and I was tired and lazy, so I bought a frozen stir-fry veggie mix (sugar snap peas, carrots, onions, peppers, broccoli, celery, water chestnuts, and green beans), and a jar of stir-fry sauce. Someday, I'll try the sauce from scratch, but the frozen mixed veggies are just so easy. No washing, no dicing/chopping/julienne-ing, no wait time for it to cook.... So nice.

This is the perfect recipe for those nights when you just don't want to put a lot of effort into a healthy dinner, but still want something satisfying and impressive. It's fast, easy, and delicious!

Tofu-Veggie Stir-Fry

Ingredients:
2 Tbsp. Olive Oil
3 cloves Garlic - minced
7 oz. Extra Firm Tofu - cubed
1 bag Frozen Mixed Vegetables - thawed (Any variety you like.)
2 tsp. Crushed Red Pepper
1/8 tsp. Ground Cloves
1/2 C. Stir-Fry Sauce (I used La Choy brand.) 

Method:
-  In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over med-high heat. Add in the garlic and cook for about 30 seconds, until it softens and starts to brown. Add the tofu and cook until golden.

- Stir in the veggies, crushed red pepper, and cloves, until all incorporated. Let cook, stirring occasionally, until the veggies are heated through.

-Stir in the sauce so that everything is coated, and let cook for about a minute, stirring occasionally.

- Remove from heat and let stand a minute or two before serving, to let the sauce set and the flavors come together.

I served mine with brown rice. It'd be great by itself, too, or with something like Quinoa or Couscous.  If you want to get really fancy, you could go the Lo Mein route, but that's a whole other dish to prepare!

The whole recipe (not including the rice) has about 760 calories in it, and I got two meals out of it, so 380 calories for a serving is amazing! Let's say half a cup of brown rice has about 110 calories in it, that's only 490 calories for the whole meal! Of course, I enjoyed a Yuengling Lager with my meal for another 135 calories... oops!

Please comment with some of your favorite vegetarian/tofu recipes that I can try out!

Enjoy!