Hey, Y'all!

Comfort Food Saturday: Daniel's Hot Chocolate

As you probably know if you visit my blog regularly, I just started a new job, so the next several weeks are going to be super- busy for me.  I've lined up a series of great guest posts for the next few Comfort Food Saturdays.  Not only will you get some fantastic new recipes here, you'll also have the opportunity to visit the blogs of several of my friends!  If you have a recipe you'd like me to post (or a different guest post, if you're not a foodie), email me!

This week's recipe comes from my friend Daniel. You've met him here before.  He is one of my dearest friends and it won't take long before you figure out he's truly one of a kind.  Enjoy his hot chocolate recipe!

This is a bonus recipe that I just always make all the time, and it never occurred to me that other people may not know how in the heck to do this. I have no picture of this. But it is so easy to imagine. But first let's get into the mood!  Y'all. New York City is COLD. Cold as a well digger's tail. Every winter when that wind blows across us just like it is coming right out of a polar bear's backside, I swear it will be my last. BUT I am still standing. One of the reasons is I know how to keep warm.

Now my Mama says she will take the cold any day because, well "You can only get so nekkid when it's hot. When it's cold I just keep on putting clothes on". This is absolutely right. But Alabama cold is not the same as New York cold. Especially when the cold comes flying through all the cracks and crannies in your old "historic" building. Well, I am convinced that sometimes "historic" is just a fancy word for a building that prolly shoulda been torn down by now.

Anyways. Mix you up a little bit of this to warm you and yourn on a cold night. It's so easy. Don't buy that powdered crap. Bring someone you love into the kitchen with you. Have a little quality time.

DANIEL'S HOT CHOCOLATE

• 1/2 cup Sugar
• 4 1/2 cups Sweet Milk (Vitamin D)
• 1/3 cup Cocoa
• 1/2 teaspoon Vanilla Extract

In a small saucepan, combine sugar, cocoa, and 1/2 cup milk and bring to a boil. lower the heat and add the rest of the milk and heat it up. Do not bring to a boil. Stir in the vanilla at the end and serve.

YUM YUM. Throw a couple of those mini-marshmallows you have laying around from the Sweet Potato Casserole on top and call it a night.

Happy Eatin', Y'all!

The first week

My first week back at work went quite well.  I commuted each day from home, which was good for all of us. It eased us into the transition and made sure I got a good amount of Dean time each day.  He's adjusting beautifully to our new schedule and loves having BJ around more. 

I fell right back into the rhythm of my job, as I hoped I would.  Once I spent a day remembering the nuts and bolts of this particular theatre, I was able to dive in and work on prepping for my show.  It felt good to use those parts of my brain again. I was especially proud to be able to do my job and still be a mom.  I made Dean's lunch every day and put him to bed every night.  This week will be a little different, as I'll be spending a few nights away from home, but I've already made his lunches for the week and a few dinners to keep him and Marcus from eating hot dogs every night  give the guys some variety. 

Instead of the apartments the theatre usually uses for housing, I'm staying in an extended-stay hotel for the duration of my contract. At first, that seemed like a drag, but then I realized something:  SOMEONE ELSE WILL CLEAN THE ROOM!  They will make the bed, bring me fresh towels, even run the little dishwasher in my kitchenette.  That?  Sounds heavenly.  I'm going to be very spoiled.  Fortunately, this means I can save my energy for Mondays when I'm sure I'll have plenty to clean up around my house.

 When we are in the rehearsal hall (where we rehearse before moving to the theatre), we put down spike tape on the floor to show where the set will be.  I needed to tape the floor out on Saturday, but didn't really have much other work to do, so Dean came with me.  He had a blast playing with my friend Tanya and running around the big empty room.  He even found a yoga ball in a corner, which entertained him for MINUTES! 

Dean has started showing a real interest in music. He's always been drawn to music, but his interest is maturing a bit, if you will.  Ever since he was a tiny baby, he'd stop whatever he was doing if some music came on, and he'd usually dance or sing along.  The other night, he went up to the theatre with Marcus and walked up to the piano onstage. Instead of running up and banging on it, he climbed up onto the bench and carefully plucked out several notes with his index finger.  Our friend Laurie, who's our music director for the department, said, "You need to encourage that! Most babies that age just bang on it. He's got a respect for the instrument."  He did the same thing with the piano in the rehearsal hall on Saturday--climbed up and started gingerly playing single notes.  I started playing piano by ear when I was 4, then took lessons for 10 years before dropping out to devote more time to dance.  What I'm saying is it's in his blood.  We're not going to push, but we are going to encourage his interest.  Inside I'm squeeing because OMG, how cool would it be to have a little musical prodigy?

On Friday, Marcus cancelled his rehearsal so he and Dean could go to the Expo at the Bassmaster Classic. (For those of you who are clueless as to such things like I am, it's a fishing thing.)  They came home with a giant bag full of fish-related swag, including a set of Mardi Gras beads with wooden bass on them.  Dean makes me wear them around the house. 

Dean had to wear credentials while they were at the Expo.  How hilarious is THAT?

That's about it for us this week.  Next week is going to be insane.  I'd be lying if I said I wasn't looking forward to it.

Have you entered my giveaway?  Don't miss your chance to win a super-cute bib from the great folks at Jaq Jaq Bird!  Giveaway ends 2/28.

Jaq Jaq Bird Bib Review and Giveaway

The lovely folks at Jaq Jaq Bird  were kind enough to send me a bib to review. And lucky you:  They are giving one away to one of my readers, too! 

FACT SHEET

Jaq Jaq Bird provides "eco-friendly feeding and art products for babies and kids."  Their bibs first caught my eye in Parents magazine.  They feature bright, colorful designs on a soft, flexible, but strong pocketed bib.  It's a great size, even for my big ol' toddler, who happened to be ecstatic to model it for me.

They are "committed to creative learning products that are good for our children adn our environment."  The bib I received containes no PVC, no BPA, no Phthalate and only water-based dyes.

REVIEW

The bib I recieved features a street scene with roads, colorful houses, bikes, cars, trees and lakes.  Dean and I turned it into a game:  I would point to the picture and he'd tell me what they were.  I like the size of the bib, as it covered his entire shirt front and the pocket caught anything that happened to drop.  The velcro closure didn't scratch his neck, but was also strong enough that he didn't pull the bib off.  Cleanup was a breeze--I wiped the bib with a damp paper towel and all traces of milk and pasta sauce came right up.   

The only improvement I could possibly think of for this bib would be to give it sleeves for older toddlers who often escape from coverings such as this.

This product would make a great gift for any child, as it can be used for a variety of ages.  It would be an excellent investment for babies just starting solids--the pocket runs along the entire bottom of the bib so dropped or dribbled pieces of food will be less likely to end up on the floor. (Always a plus in my book!)  The bib is much sturdier than the ones I have used for my son, but seemed just as comfortable, if not moreso.

GIVEAWAY

So! Want to win your own cute bib from Jaq Jaq Bird?  Here's how to enter.  The contest will remain open until Feb. 28 at 11:59pm, at which time I'll choose a winner at random.  You can leave a comment each day to enter. For bonus entries, read below and go show the good folks at Jaq Jaq Bird and Sam and Bellie (the parent company) some love.

TO ENTER:
Mandatory: Visit the Jaq Jaq Bird website and leave a comment telling me your favorite item. 

Bonus entries: be sure to leave a comment telling me what you've done and your twitter name, if applicable.

*Follow samandbellie on Twitter.

*Tweet about this giveaway.

*Become a fan of Sam and Bellie on Facebook.

*Join Jaq Jaq Bird's mailing list.

*Subscribe to my blog (or let me know if you already do, including in a reader)

As a final incentive to check out their site, Jaq Jaq Bird is offering a free chalkmat ($30 value) with a $50 purchase.  The coupon code is FREE CHALK.  Check out their site and enter here to win!

Disclaimer:  The company provided this product to me free of charge in exchange for my opinion.

My heart...

belongs to these guys.

Marcus, his clone and me.

For my birthday, Marcus had this gorgeous painting of the Chrysler Building matted and framed for me.  We bought it just after we moved here and accessorized our entire living room around the colors.  Marcus is a wonderful, creative gift-giver and a fantastic husband, especially since he accepts the fact that sometimes my hair looks like that.

I lurv him. 
 

Happy Valentine's Day, y'all.

Comfort Food Saturday: 33

Today's my 33rd birthday, so I thought I'd do something a little different.  Here are 33 foods I love, some with hyperlinks to the recipes. Some are just things we make at our house and others are things everyone eats.  I wish I could indulge in each of these today, but my hips wouldn't fit through my doorways if I did that, so I shall refrain.  I will, however, be enjoying a special birthday dinner with my family at our favorite local restaurant and you better believe there will be cake.

Tune in later this week when it hits me that GOOD LORD, I AM 33!

THIRTY-THREE FOODS JEN LUVS (in random order)

1.  Marcus's tacos. He makes the best tacos ever. E-VER. The only downside is that he fries his own tortillas which, while awesomely delicious, smells up the house for a week.

2.  Flank steak. My favorite is made by my mother-in-law, but Marcus's is a close second.

3.  My mom's round steak and gravy.  I could take a bath in her gravy.

4.  My dad's hamburgers on the grill.  Bonus points for melted cheese.

5.  Red velvet cake.  This week, I made Bakerella's red velvet cake balls. Oh. My. Word.

6.  Shrimp Creole.

7.  Andouille sausage.

8.  Krispy Kreme doughnuts. (HOT NOW!)

9.  Veggie pizza. Or meaty pizza. Or cheese pizza.

10.  Extra-sharp cheddar cheese.  We go through at least a block a week in our house. (Why is my cholesterol high again?)

11.  Vanilla Almond French Toast

12.  Any and all pasta.

13.  Burritos.

14.  Sweet potato casserole.

15.  Really good macaroni and cheese.

16.  Honey mustard dressing.

17. Mushrooms.

18.  Chocolate souffle.

19.  Red bell peppers.

20.  Onions.  (My child has inherited this love.)

21.  Cinnamon Rolls, but not if they have cream cheese icing. Am purist. Like regular icing.

22.  Croissants. (Chocolate, butter and almond varieties all hold an equally special place in my heart.)

23.  Sauerkraut on mah hot dawg.

24.  BBQ Nachos.  So wrong, yet so right.

25.  Turnips. The roots and the greens. LOVE them.

26.  Yellow squash.  These days, I have to fight Dean to get any.

27.  All fried potatoes.  I've never met a tater tot, french fry or hashbrown I didn't like at least a little bit.

28.  M & M's.  It's Casey's fault for posting this story.  I've been craving them like mad ever since I read it.

29.  Spinach dip, preferably with artichokes.

30.  Fondue. I love fondue, especially the cheese kind. Anything that requires a special utensil with a color-coded dot is for me.

31.  Bread. The crustier and fresher, the better.

32.  Fresh raspberries.

33. COFFEE!  (That's a food, right?)

WHOOSH

That's the sound of the past month f-l-y-i-n-g by.  I had lofty intentions for the month of January.  I wanted to get a head-start on re-doing our third bedroom. My goal is to have it turned into an office space by mid-summer.  Our desk (with added shelving unit!) is currently in the family room, AKA in the way.  I'm always scared Dean's going to bonk his head on the corner or figure out how to climb onto the desk and send the printer crashing to its death.  I've picked out my paint color (which is prettier and brighter in person), drawn a groundplan for the furniture we already have and that which we hope to get, and daydreamed endlessly about how I can better organize our stuff to make the space function as both a work area for me and a spare bedroom for guests.  Friends, I have not done one thing to this room all month. In fact, the air mattress is still in the middle of the floor from when Marcus and I camped out there over the Christmas of stomach death, and all our boxes of Christmas decorations are still sitting in there waiting for Marcus to put them in the attic.  Did I mention my parents are coming on Friday?  YEAH.

I also envisioned myself making more sense of Dean's room, cleaning out the bins of out-grown clothes in his closet, sending some stuff to my brother-in-law and his family for their new baby (who's coming any day now), organizing some stuff for a garage sale I'd like to have in the spring, and buying bins to store the 80 kazillion little toys littering the floor.  Again, haven't done a thing.

My house is not necessarily any cleaner than it was when I was working, even though I'm home all day every day.  I envisioned sparkling floors, Cheerios picked up the very minute they hit the tile, beautifully clean vanties without a trace of shaving cream or hand soap drips on them and carpets vacuumed so often that they always had those lovely lines.  Yeah...not so much. I do clean it on a different schedule now, doing one room a day until it's time to start the whole cycle over again.  Laundry is done constantly, or so it seems.  The house is clean, but still has Little People farm pieces all over the place looks comfortably lived-in, if you catch my drift.

In a nutshell, I'd planned to reach this week having accomplished a lot more than I have.  But you know what?  As I plan to return to the working world next week, I can look back over this month and say with pride that we've had a home-cooked meal nearly every night, Dean and I have had an absolute blast playing at the park and at home, I've gotten to have at least one lunch date a week with Marcus, I've done a good amount of reading and writing and I've had time to devote to talking to my long-distance friends on the phone. 

I'd say it's been a good month.

Untitled (by choice)

Dean and I are on our own for a couple of days, as Marcus has travelled to Tennessee for his grandmother's memorial service.  She passed away peacefully on Saturday after a long battle with Alzheimer's.  I only met her once, several years ago, and she was already experiencing a lot of memory loss, but she was a sweet lady. 

The story of how she met her husband and came to be Mrs. Lane is one for the books.  Marcus's grandpa, Abe, was working on the railroad (all the live-long day) and Carolyn worked in a little store where he stopped a couple of times a week.  Each time he stopped there, he asked her out. She always politely declined.  One day, he asked again and she replied "If I go out with you, will you never ask me again?"  He agreed.  He picked her up the next morning on his motorcycle, took her to a remote cabin in the woods and refused to take her home until she agreed to marry him.

Two days later, they came down from the cabin and went to the Justice of the Peace.  They were married almost 70 years. SEVENTY YEARS!  If Marcus and I are married 70 years, he'll be 106 and I'll be 100. 

It's sad that she's gone, but we're all very glad she's at peace. 

Dean and I are doing fine on our own, excpet he didn't want to sleep last night.  At 9:30 (OMG) I went up to see why he was talking to himself after being in his crib for almost an hour.  He stood up and pointed to me and said "Hi, Sugar!  Out!"  I picked him up, changed his diaper and tried to rock him  back to sleep. Then Marcus called and Dean heard his voice and wanted to talk to his daddy, but our cell reception was crappy, so that didn't work out so well.  I finally got him down about 10:05, then went to bed to read.  I kind of fell asleep and woke up with my book on my face at 1:15.  Dean, who should have slept until at least 7:30, was up at 6:24. I've had 6 cups of coffee today. Today we did our usual Monday thang: Go to Target, go to the park, consume lots of fruit, take enormous nap (him, not me).  We also got his hair cut. He looks like a third grader.

You can't hear him, but he's saying "Cheese" and showing you his teeth. 

Comfort Food Saturday: Parma Rosa Sauce

I love pasta more than any other food on earth, with the possible exception of M & M's.  I'm always looking for new ways to serve pasta and new sauces to complement it.  Parma Rosa sauce is a creamy tomato sauce that is delicious on its own or with chicken, sausage or shrimp over pasta.  You can also make it a little thicker and use it as a fondue.

My husband introduced me to Parma Rosa sauce from a Knorr packet, but I've recently learned how to make it from scratch.  It's a great way to use leftover meats (chop up those leftover grilled chicken breasts and toss them in!) and it's a different flavor than traditional alfredo sauces. 

A few notes about this recipe and my experience making it:  Plum tomatoes tend to have the best texture and flavor for this sauce.  Normally, I would use fresh garlic, but it was a bit too overpowering, so I switched to a couple of dashes of garlic powder so it's a more muted garlic flavor.  Marcus and I often eat this sauce with pasta and andouille or hot Italian sausage. If you're serving yours with a milder meat (or no meat), you might enjoy a dash of cayenne pepper to give it a little zing.  This sauce is wonderful over hearty pastas like rigatoni or penne, especially if you're adding meat or sauteed veggies.

PARMA ROSA SAUCE

• 1 1/2 to 2 pounds plum tomatoes
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley (dried will work, too!
• pinch of sugar
• salt and black pepper to taste
• dash cayenne pepper
• water, if needed

Heat oil in a large saucepan.  Add tomatoes (peeled if you prefer), salt, pepper and garlic powder.  Cover and cook until the tomatoes "collapse." (About 10 minutes)  Uncover and cook, stirring often, until the mixture is very smooth.  Add water if needed to keep sauce from sticking to the pan.  Slowly stir in the cream, then add a pinch of sugar (to cut the tartness of the tomatoes).  Simmer sauce to incorporate cream.  Remove from heat and stir in cheese and parsley.  Stir until cheese is melted, then serve over hot pasta.

You may ask yourself...

Why doesn't Jen talk about her students this semester?

I'm not teaching this semester.

Why isn't Jen teaching this semester?

Well, an opportunity presented itself that I couldn't pass.  I got an inquiry from one of my stage management mentors from grad school asking if I'd be interested in stage managing 2 new plays at Alabama Shakespeare Festival between February and April.  I was interested.

Does this mean you'll never be able to go back to your teaching gig ever ever again?

No way.  In fact, the boss and the big boss were both VERY supportive. Remember, I'm an adjunct professor, which means I'm part-time on a semester-by-semester basis. I basically teach specialty classes, in my case, theatre and stage management, and overload classes that won't fit into the full-time faculty's schedules. I was just slated to teach one section of intro to theatre this spring (my management classes are out of rotation til next year), so they were quite understanding and willing to let me go, with the understanding that I"m interested and availble for next fall.  Not to mention, I'll be doing what I DO, what I teach others to DO.  I don't want to be that teacher who hasn't done her thing in 10 years.  Theatre technology is constantly changing and I need to keep up, lest I teach outdated things to my little whiz kids.  They were also excited that I could offer our students current contacts at ASF, especially since it's one of the only professional theatres in our state.

What does Dean think about all this?

Dean's pretty jazzed that his manny, BJ, is going to be spending a bit more time with him and he's excited about the increased guy time with his dad.  He's also excited that he gets Mommy all to himself all day on Mondays, which will be my day off. 

Is the pay better?

You better believe it.  Let's put it this way (without getting too specific):  I"ll make more in 2 weeks working at ASF than I would teaching one class for an entire semester.  This will allow us to have some much-needed electrical work done to our house and will also help us build our savings back to the healthy place it was when we moved to Montevallo.  And I can get a pedicure. And possibly a latte from Starbuck's.

When does Jen start?

Feb. 15 begins my "pre-production week." That's the week before rehearsals actually begin, when I go to the theatre and prepare things, like paperwork, scripts, the rehearsal studio, etc.  I'm slated to have a production assistant who will help me, but I'm not sure whether or not that person will be on contract during pre-production.  Rehearsals start on the 23rd for the first show.  As soon as the first show opens, we start rehearsals for the second show. That one ends on April 26.  It'll be busy, but it should go by quickly.

Will Jen sleep?

Possibly.  Jen will be coming home as much as she can.  I'll have an apartment in Montgomery for nights when rehearsal goes late and during our long days of technical rehearsals, so I will stay there some.  But the way the schedule looks, I should be able to make it home most nights to spend some time with Dean before bed and to feed him breakfast in the morning.

What does this mean for Jen's blog readers?

Hopefully, I'll still be able to blog about 3 times a week.  I've lined up several guest posts for Comfort Food Saturday (still accepting recipes, if you're interested!) and I'm pre-writing some posts to put up while I'm busy.  I'll probably start doing Wordless Wednesday a little more, hopefully giving you some nice shots of the theatre, which is absolutely gorgeous.  If you've got questions about what I do or my shows, I'm happy to talk about that, too, as much as I can.

So that's what's happening with me.  I'm excited to get back into a professional theatre setting for a while, especially since I'll be working on 2 new plays.  There's nothing quite like collaborating on a play for the first time in its existance to get your creative juices flowing.  And at the end of it all, Dean and I will become "people of leisure" for the entire summer, hopefully sleeping in a bit, working on our herb and vegetable garden, taking swimming lessons and just letting the days go by.

Every Little Thing's Gonna Be Alright

There has been so much ick and sickness in my house this week that I haven't been the commenting fool I usually am on the blogs.  I'm finally catching up on my reading and feeling able (meaning "not too doped up on codeine") to leave coherent comments.  Several of us have had rough weeks, some much rougher than others.  I think we all need a little virtual hug as we begin this new week.

I'd planned to use this song as the background for Dean's 2nd birthday video montage, but my video editing program had other ideas.  If you're a parent who watches Nick Jr.(formerly Noggin), you may have seen this song's video during a "Move To The Music" break between shows.  I love the little cartoon they've got set to this song.  It shows nothing but happiness and pure, absolute love. We could all use a hug so sweet it makes a heart pop up, don't you think?