Friends + Food + Theatre = Love
{Our romantic Valentine’s Day dinner – slices at Great Northern Pizza Kitchen}
{They were delicious!}
{Geva staff/alumni/interns/teaching artists/artists/directors, etc. at Naz for Shrek the Musical}
{Gathering snow in the backyard beside our poor, neglected grill. Don’t worry grill, spring is coming…maybe}
{An easy Valentine’s recipe for a tasty treat}
{Vanilla snow ice cream!}
{And it was awesome!}
Along with our V-day date of pizza, Shrek, and homemade snow cream, I also attended Ted’s Bacharach musical show again on Thursday night, attending opening night of Clybourne Park at Geva with Shawnda and a bunch more Geva folk on Saturday night, hosted a post-show discussion of Clybourne on Sunday afternoon, and attended a lovely cast party for the Bacharach show with Ted on Sunday night. This was, indeed, a weekend of friends, food, and theatre. Which makes it a weekend of love.
Hope your weekend was full of love too!
V-Day – Yae or Nay?
Alas! It has been one long week. It’s finally Friday! And Valentine’s Day! When I was younger I used to align with a pro or anti Valentine’s Day sentiment, depending on the year. I’ve never been one for the color pink or hearts or flowers or teddy bears or chocolates or jewelry or cards or poems or soft romantic music or ridiculously overpriced anything or unoriginal expressions of love. So to most people, I suppose, that would make me a V-Day naysayer, but in truth, though I don’t care for all the vague, inauthentic, bland, over-hyped, commercial Valentines traditions, I do actually love the idea of a holiday devoted to spreading the love and letting your significant other, family, friends, coworkers, pets, peers, mentors, etc. know that you value them. I just happen to think that you can find a million more genuine, thoughtful, fun, and practically free ways to share the love with everyone you adore (not just your partner), any old day of the week, without feeling like you must spending $55 on a dozen roses, $25 on chocolate, $3 on a card, $18 on a bottle of wine, and $65 on dinner and a movie on this particular Friday or you’re doing love wrong.
One Valentines Day I received a dozen gorgeous red roses in full bloom, a nice romantic dinner out, and The Notebook on DVD from a boyfriend, which was absolutely lovely and very much appreciated – but the next year I was single and my best friend and I had a girl date at Olive Garden where we laughed way too much, scarfed huge portions of seafood pasta, drank mango margaritas, brought our own crayons and coloring books to keep us entertained, and left pictures and candy for our young, clueless waiter, which was amazing. I’ve spent the day with boyfriends, with my lady friends, with a mixed group of friends, with my parents, in rehearsal or performance, cuddled up with my cat, and completely alone – and you know what? Because I’ve been graced with so many wonderful, loving people in my life every day, I’ve never felt more loved or less loved on Valentine’s Day than any other day of the year. And though I’m not gonna turn down any offering of free, delicious, fattening chocolate or some pretty flowers on our table (because, duh), these ‘tokens of affection’ don’t make me feel any more loved than a heartfelt hug.
So, if I’ve got to be in a camp, I would say I’m in the pro ‘love thy neighbor because you want to and have fun doing it’ camp and I’m in the anti ‘shower thy love interest with expensive flowers because you’re supposed to’ camp.
This year Ted and I have a hot date to scarf a completely unromantic meal somewhere quick and cheap, usher for/see a bunch of my talented pals perform in/laugh our tails off at Shrek the Musical at Naz, followed by the making of snow ice cream (oh yes, this is happening), and probably a hot bath for me after I’ve eaten a frightening amount of snow ice cream that will probably make me sicker than a dog, because that’s just what I want after a long week. And if $30 magically appeared in our bank account, I’d probably insist we go bounce ourselves silly at the new indoor trampoline park in Rochester too. Because nothing says ‘I Love You’ more than simultaneously flailing yourselves at a trampoline wall and laughing until you cannot walk.
What are you plans for this fine Friday with the ones you love, or all by yourself?
Slip Slide Away
Click here to view our silly little sledding video.
So, we pretty much lucked out and chose a townhome within super quick walking distance from an elementary school that is home to a completely fantastic sledding hill. It’s just a little steep and really long and smooth and everything you could want in a sledding hill…except the climb back up – that sucks – but other than that, it’s perfect! Build in a ramp or two and you’ve got yourself an epic afternoon of sledding. Which is exactly what we did Sunday afternoon. With about half a foot or so of thick, plush snow on the ground and more snow lightly falling from the sky, we grabbed our sleds, bundled up in winter gear, and hit the slope. And, oh, was it fun! I can’t believe I missed out on all of this sledding fun as a child! You can sit and go forward, lie on your tummy and fly down face first, get a big push from your hubby for an extra fast trip, run and dive into your sled as it begins to make its way downhill, and even sit backwards if you’re feeling daring. But seriously, while we still love all the great sledding ramps and hills that we discovered last winter at Mendon Ponds Park, this hill is awesome because its practically next door and its so long, which means you get a great sled ride in before you have to wearily haul yourself out-of-shape self and your sled back up that long, snowy hill – calves burning all the way.
I’m actually hoping for more snow this month and in March so we can get more sled runs in on the hills before the season is over.
Anyone want to come with us? Hot cocoa and pizza at our place afterward?
Winter Fest ’14
For all my fellow Texans, this is what a frozen sandy beach and Lake Ontario looks like in the winter. Ice galore! And this – snow sculpture contest, horse-drawn sleigh rides by the frozen beach, Siberian Husky dogsled pup cuddling, chili tasting cook off, Finger Lakes wine tasting, ice chunking, ice “skating” across frozen lake, and a Polar Plunge for all the yahoos out there who choose to submerge themselves in frigid water when it’s 4 degrees out – is what a Winter Festival looks like in Rochester, NY. Who says the beach is only for the summer?
(Check out my adventures at Winter Fest ’13 here.)
Culinary Kryptonite
Somebody at Hedonist Artisan Chocolates has my number.
Ted and I visited them on Friday afternoon for their Valentines Day Under the Sea chocolate tasting, and these two beauties were among the variety of gourmet handmade truffles in their display case just waiting for me to happen upon them.
Oh, yes.
Ice wine and pop rocks are my culinary kryptonite, and some genius at Hedonist put them into truffles. Day = Made.
Dear Hedonist, I love your style. Make me a rhubarb truffle and I’m forever yours.
So Much Book Love
These people. And this food. And the books. I love them!
{The Book Thieves – (well, most of us, less about 4 or 5 thieves) – photo by Chris Fanning – and yes, that is a coon skin hat}
{Some eats for the evening – homemade biscuits and strawberry jam, homemade cranberry relish and cream cheese with crackers, homemade rhubarb pie (by yours truly – my obsession with rhubarb is deep and multi-seasonal), homemade chocolate sea salt caramel brownies with jeweled strawberries, and homemade savory meat pastries made with carrots, onion, and bison (we don’t mess around when it comes to good eatin’). We also enjoyed a delicious array of NY red wine and NY wildflower honey mead, apple pie, mocha muffins, and carrots with hummus – photo by Tanya Dillyn}
{Wine and brownies and awesome people and good books – welcome to book club}
{Pretty art I scrounged up for The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey}
Last night was our first meeting for The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey. I love book club nights so much! The books are magical, our commitment to tasty, book-inspired food and wine is always exceptional, and our conversations (and friendships) are just the best!
As for The Snow Child, we’re only halfway through this Russian fairy-tale inspired story about one couple’s life in the Alaskan wilderness in the 1920s and the child they meet that changes everything, but so far, I’m into it! I’ve still got a whole half the book to go, so I’m not going to say much now. More to come later!
This book is also the “If All of Rochester Read The Same Book…” book, which means that pretty much everyone in this city is reading it right now, the author will be in town in March, Writers & Books has crafted up a dandy little reader’s guide, and there’s going to be a ton of fun/neat programming and activities surrounding the book in the next month or so. We have a lot to look forward to!
AND…
{via}
{via}
I was accepted as a 2014 World Book Night giver! I’m so excited! I LOVE this organization! On April 23, 2014 I’ll be giving away 20 copies of the book Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein (my first choice pick – though I had about 5 favorites from this year’s list so it was hard to narrow it down to my top 3!) to light or non-readers in Rochester, NY! To learn more about World Book Night’s mission, click the link above. To check out their 2014 book list, click here. Love their mission? Apply to be a 2015 giver here!
I cannot wait for this box to arrive for me in April!
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Cupcakes & Chili
I’ve gotten several recipe requests for the Lemon Lavender Cupcakes I made over the weekend. And so, here it is. Enjoy :)
Cupcakes
- ½ cup sugar
- ½ tsp. lavender buds
- ½ cup butter (room temperature)
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup flour
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ cup milk or half-and-half
- ½ tsp. pure vanilla extract
- Yellow gel food coloring (optional)
Filling
- ¼ cup lemon curd
Frosting
- 4 oz. cream cheese (room temperature)
- 2 Tbsp. butter (room temperature)
- ¼ tsp. vanilla extract
- 2 Tbsp. lavender simple syrup (1 Tbsp. lavender buds, ¼ cup sugar, ½ cup water)
- 1 and ½ cups powdered sugar
- Purple gel food coloring (optional)
Toppings
- Lavender buds
- Lemon zest
- Yellow or purple sugar, edible glitter, or edible pearls
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F; line a 12-count muffin pan with 9 paper liners. (Recipe yields 9 cupcakes)
- Put the sugar and lavender flowers in a food processor. Process briefly to combine.
- Tip the lavender sugar into a bowl with the butter. Beat together until pale and fluffy.
- Beat the eggs into the butter, one at a time, then sift in the flour and fold gently.
- Add salt and baking powder. Stir in the milk and vanilla.
- Spoon the mixture into the muffin cups. Bake for 18 minutes. Cool on wire rack.
- Use a paring knife to remove a “plug” from your cupcakes. Fill holes with lemon curd.
- To make simple syrup – In a small sauce pan, combine sugar and water and bring to a simmer until sugar is dissolved. Add lavender and simmer on low heat for 3 minutes. Strain liquid into a small bowl to remove lavender and let cool completely.
- To make frosting – Beat butter and cream cheese until well combined. Beat in vanilla and 1 Tbsp. simple syrup. Beat in powdered sugar, one half cup at a time. Add 1 more Tbsp. simple syrup and gel food coloring, if using.
- Frost cupcakes and sprinkle with toppings.
We also went to a chili and beer tasting cookoff, which was an exceptionally delicious dinner. We sampled 5 or 6 beers and all 17 chilis, catagorized as mild, medium, and hot – with cheese, sour cream, onion, bread and butter, and cornbread. Oh, man. Talk about good eatin’. Ted and I took notes so we could properly judge and cast our ballots. Clearly, we were invested. If you haven’t been to a chili cookoff recently, I’d highly recommend it.
Girls’ Night/Surprise Party
To celebrate Shawnda’s birthday and squeeze in a good old-fashioned girls night, our wonderful, fun, little group of about seven amazing ladies surprised Shawnda with dinner at Great Northern Pizza Kitchen where we shared harvest salads, lobster bisque, garlicky breadsticks, and The Goat Pizza (olive oil, fresh garlic, roasted garlic, mushrooms, diced tomatoes, kalamata olives, parsley, mozzarella cheese, and goat cheese), and then headed back to her place for a Pajama Party complete with cozy pajamas, girl talk, music, party hats, a birthday song/candle/wish, and multiple bottles of wine, brownies, lemon lavender cupcakes, ice cream cupcakes with pop rocks, ice cream sundaes, pumpkin chocolate chip muffins, white cheddar popcorn, sea salt popcorn, and more tangy pop rocks…because what’s a girls night without a blast from the past?
Good friends are some of life’s greatest treasures!
Lemon Lavender Winter Cupcakes
Lavender sugar cupcakes, filled with sweet and tangy lemon curd, and topped with lavender simple syrup infused cream cheese frosting
…for the win.