My Top Ten of 2010

So it is almost the end of the year.

Not sure how that happened but it seems to have really come out of nowhere. It feels like just yesterday I was chumming it up with our customers at Banana Republic about playing Christmas music before Thanksgiving had even hit and now Christmas is over! With 2010 coming to a close I, like may others, am reflecting on the year. There have been many highs and lows, if I were to sum it into one word I think I would call it bipolar. I think that once 2011 hits I'll have to stop telling people I've just graduated from UCLA when they ask me what I'm up to. Just implies recently, like in the past month or so and truthfully it has been over six months now. Oye, that's mildly frightening. I cannot express how thankful I am to be going into the new year with a job lined up and prospects for more on the horizon. I think it is a good omen of a better year to come. Although I'm not sure if that's a fair statement. I don't think 2010 was by any means a bad year, I think it was more than anything a transitional year, and I don't think I was the only person who felt that way.

Although I am more than ready to waive goodbye to this year and give 2011 a good sturdy handshake, first impressions really matter you know, I've compiled a list of the top 10 moments of the year. These are in no particular order and to be honest I am positive I will leave out many magnificent moments only to be added to some other list perhaps in a different post.

Number 1 (This should be quite obvious) : Graduating from college! I have a Bachelor in Theater Arts, Check me out, cause I'm super fancy.

Number 2 : Sweet Charity. Dream role, amazing show with amazing people. I couldn't have asked for a better way to close out my time at UCLA.

Number 3 : Discovering I actually like, who'd-a-thunk, yoga! And I use the term "like" very loosely because I think the more appropriate description may be that I'm completelyandutterlyobsessed.

Number 4 : Landing an agent, and my first job post college assisting at the Goodspeed Opera House in the same week, before even graduating. And attached to that my entire Goodspeed experience. Period.

Number 5 : Having the opportunity to assist a Tony nominated director on How to Succeed and a Tony nominated Broadway Diva on Cabaret simultaneously.

Number 6 : Sloppy Senior Day, my birthday, and cast party debauchery.

Number 7 : Getting the best graduation gift a foodie like myself could ask for...My bright orange kitchen aid mixer. I named him Nemo. He is currently the love of my life. If he had a facebook we'd be in a relationship.

Number 8 : Although it stressed us all out to no end, Senior Project and the fact that we actually pulled it off! That's right we rock.

Number 9 : Gaff-taping my La Duca's to avoid standing out while swinging in Cabaret. The rush of performing in front of a live audience after rehearsing each number only twice on my feet the day of the show was in a word exhilarating.

Number 10 : Sharing another amazing year with so many new and old friends. Couldn't ask to be surrounded by more amazing people.

*Number 11 (for good luck) : Here's to many more good memories for 2011

Cheers and Happy Holidays

Autumn Foodie Creations

As promised I am double posting today, only because I have so many amazing recipes to share. Many of these recipes come from Cooking Light Magazine and when possible I have attached the links.

My autumn food adventures began with a small feast a friend and I made in early November. The feast consisted of Rosemary Sweet Mashed Potatoes that were supposed to be topped with caramelized shallots but I ended up mixing them into the sweet potatoes so that every bite had that bit of sweetness to it. I also altered the recipe slightly by adding a few tablespoons of brown sugar to the potatoes and I believe a dash of cinnamon. Truly scrumptous. Also I would suggest caramelizing the shallots last, after boiling the potatoes instead of first as it suggests in the recipe. We did it first and the shallots hardened before the potatoes were ready.

Also on the menu that night was Brussel Sprouts Gratin. The name of the dish is a little deceiving. When I think of a 'gratin' dish I immediately think of thinly sliced potatoes baked with lots of cheesy creamy goodness, but there is no cheese to be found in this dish. The recipe is pretty simple, and I've already made it again since. I used turkey bacon which doesn't give off the same amount of fat or flavor, so if you can spare the calories I suggest using full-fat, pig bacon. Also be sure to really toast your bread crumbs. I got lazy and didn't the second time around and it made what should have been a crispy crust quite soggy. 

As Thanksgiving approached it was time for me to tackle what has become one of my favorite days of the year. A Thanksgiving feast for my closest girlfriends which allows me to make and experiment with a giant turkey for the past 3 years straight. This year my project was brining the turkey. I was inspired by the Food Network's Sunny Anderson and used her Daddy's Game Changing Turkey recipe as a guideline for my brine and gravy. The brine, or as my roommate and I joked, my turkey's over night spa consisted of water, a whole lotta salt, thyme, sage, rosemary, lemon and some peppercorns. After letting it soak in a styrofoam cooler in my kitchen overnight I let it come to room temperature and got to work on the rub. I used lots of thyme, rosemary, parsley, salt and pepper of course, olive oil, and my secret ingredient, honey! Inside the bird I followed Sunny's lead and put some sage, thyme, lemon, onion and garlic, along with onion garlic and broth in the pan to get those gravy drippings going. Here's what it looked like precooking:

And here is what it looked like after a mere 4 hours in the oven. I credit the gorgeous golden brown color to the honey in the rub, the dark pieces are the fresh herbs that couldn't quite take the heat. I think next year I'll use dried herbs in the rub. 

The gravy, although not pictured was Sunny's recipe from the link above and it came out DELICIOUS. It was the first year I made a successful gravy and I think it was because I finally curbed my anti-recipe, I can figure it out on my own, voice and followed tried and true directions. Like i said, I was very proud. 

The stuffing was sort of a no brainer, I cheated a bit here merely because i was too lazy to either buy bread ahead of time and let it get hard or roast a bunch of cut up bread the day of. I use Trader Joe's Cornbread Stuffing as the base but add a few things of my own. I saute LOTS or aromatics, aka about 2 onions and a whole bunch of chopped celery. Add a hefty amount of parsley and let that cook down for about 20 minutes. Just before it's all softened I add salt, pepper and thyme. I toss this mixture with the bread pieces and then proceed to make the seasoning package that comes with the stuffing. I never use all of the seasoning liquid because it makes for mushy stuffing and although mine came out a little drier than I'd like this year, I'd much rather is dry that mushy. Here's the stuffing pre-baking.

Although I could not go home for an actual Thanksgiving holiday I was able to spend it with a dear friend and her family. But since I was barging in last minute to her family's meal I couldn't show up empty handed, also it felt wrong not to be doing something in the kitchen on this festive Thursday in November. So...I made a double batch of Pumpkin Mini Muffins whose recipe also came from Cooking Light to take to Thanksgiving dinner and work the next day. This recipe was insanely easy. I read a few of the comments and altered the recipe just slightly. I substituted 1.5 cups of the all purpose flour for whole wheat flour which added a little more nutrition, I also doubled the amount of cinnamon and added about a teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice to the dry ingredients. Like I said these were super yummy, and if I were looking to make them more decadent I think they would taste heavenly with a dollop of cream cheese frosting. 

AND to round out this very long, food filled entry --I imagine you are becoming quite hungry by now, I made a huge pot of chicken soup day before last because I am flirting with a cold that I really wish would go away. The recipe is really simple, and essentially reminds me of my mom like no other. After the soup had been simmering on my stove for about an hour I stuck my nose into the pot, took a big whiff and was immediately transported to my house in El Cerrito eating soup with what we called 'dot noodles' on a rainy day with my mom and dad. But isn't that what food and cooking is all about? Bringing us together, making fond memories, and full tummies?

Nothing like a bowl of mom's chicken soup. Ask me nicely and maybe I'll give you the recipe. Unlike all the above foods this one has no link except that it comes from my home with love. 

Stay tuned to the next foodie entry, for tomorrow, in the spirit of Chanukah I will attempt to make potato latkes from scratch with my good friend Steve! 

Frida Libre!

Okay once again I've waited entirely too long to update my blog. I have many recipes to share and even more exciting news about my big girl life. Try not to judge me as I am sure to write far too much in this entry, if not add a second entry just for all the food I've been making over the past month.

I'm still working at Banana Republic which has managed to fill up my daily schedule quite a bit. I've been yoga-ing less, unfortunately, and feeling a need for the yogi strength and wisdom. But standing for essentially 4-6 hours straight can wear a girl down!  I finally got myself to a late night yoga class day before last and it was quite possibly the best thing I could have done for myself. I have been over eating a tinge since Thanksgiving (but then again who hasn't) and feeling the need to mentally and physically detox. During the class I found myself in a twisting reverse warrior pose, and while exhaling through it I literally felt like I was wringing the gunk out of my internal organs. This may sound strange, but I felt like all the sugar and junk I had been eating was finally being processed out of my system. Dear yoga, I never thought I'd say this; but you are my soulmate. Love Cami

In other news, I landed my very first professional theater job!! The show is called Frida Libre. It is a new children's musical being produced in conjunction with the La Jolla Playhouse in San Diego that will tour San Diego county schools. I start rehearsals in San Diego January 11th 2011 (can you believe 2010 is almost over?!) and will be performing from February through early April! I got the news while I was driving up Hwy 5 to visit my fam in Northern California. My caller ID was blinking my agent's number and I just was praying they were going to tell me I had gotten the job, and I did! As soon as I hung up the phone, still driving, I literally began to weep. I have never been so overcome with emotion so instantly. Since graduation I cannot begin to count how many times I have sat down and thought to myself "what the hell are you doing?! You can't do this, this isn't real." But finally landing a job gave mt the validation I needed to remind myself that I'm actually good at what I do, and I love it enough to keep trying no matter what. Holy crap it was a good feeling.

I cannot begin to explain how proud I am of the successes my peers have been fortunate enough to have in these short six months since graduation. I was talking to the amazing Angelica Richie, whose blog can be accessed here, about this today and it truly is fantastic. To think that so many of my friends are working in New York, Los Angeles and all over the county is ridiculous. (To tune into the UCLA c/o 2010 progress click here.) The life we have all chosen to lead is by no means an easy one. We have given ourselves over to the theater and entertainment gods in hopes of finding just a tiny bit of gold at the end of our long and difficult rainbow. Scary thought right? And yet, as idealistic or perhaps egotistical as it may sound I feel that we all belong here. I feel that through the hard work, blood, sweat and many, many tears that we all put in everything will work out in the just the way it is meant to. There were many jobs I was not have been cast in that caused me a lot of heartbreak, but all of those previous jobs would have made me ineligible for Frida. And from what I understand, this is going to be an opportunity to create a title character role in a new musical that will be performed for kids, which we all know are my favorite people! I hate to say that everyone was right when they said the right projects will come along, but in this case I think they were.

I've got lots of recipes to share since it is officially that gluttonous time of year and I've already started cooking and baking up a storm, but I am choosing to put them in a separate post merely for the sake of brevity (and my tummy is rumbling for dinner so I need to take a quick typing break to feed my appetite.)

More fun to come!

Mommy Wow! I'm a Big Girl Now

Hello Friends!

Although it has been quite a while since I've posted I thought it was about time to catch up on some of the grown-up things I've been up to lately.

I have finally managed to wrangle a big girl, day job. Starting Saturday I will be working as a cashier at Banana Republic! Try not to get too jealous, I know it's a deeply coveted and highly prestigious position that only us chosen few can have, but apparently I had what they were looking for. It shouldn't be too hard to figure out, I've worked for the company twice before and when looking for extra holiday employees experience reigns supreme. And I like to think I gave a stunning interview in my chic, well thought out, Banana Republic outfit. As part of my holiday employment I have been told I will essentially get very few days off in the months of November and December. I won't be going home for Thanksgiving for the first time EVER. If that's not a sign of growing up then I don't know what is. The company apparently has "blackout dates" where any request for time off will not be taken, these dates are essentially from November 26th through New Years. I'm really hoping I can manage to get home for more than a few days during Christmas time, but I'll have to get a feel for the managers and all that before I know for sure.

Another fun milestone in my road to adulthood was filling out my absentee ballot for the election next week. I was assuming I wouldn't be voting since I am still registered in Richmond, but apparently I thought ahead and registered for an absentee ballot which my mom brought to me during her visit this past weekend. For the first time I sat down and researched all the propositions on the ballot, the main races, and the measures on the ballot specific to Richmond. It took a solid 2 hours, but I did it and was so happy I did. I dropped my ballot in the mail this afternoon and have officially submitted my vote for this election. 'Mommy wow! I'm a big girl now!'

In other news I've OF COURSE been cooking a lot. I just got the November issue of Cooking Light Magazine and I must say I have dog-eared WAY too many recipes for my tummy to hold. I'm currently taking applications to be my human vacuum cleaner and taste tester so that I will not turn into an obese cat lady making epic meals for 7 and eating them by myself.

Here's a lil dish I created on my own that I've literally made 10 times in the past 2 weeks. It's easy and super delicious. The base of the bowl is just brown rice with boiled broccoli and asparagus. The kicker though, is the tomatoes on top. I saute red onions in olive oil, throw in sesame oil and halved baby tomatoes (mine are from the farmers market. Literally as sweet as candy). Let those get warm and puffy, then just add some 'soyaki' sauce from Trader Joes, a ton of fresh garlic and basil and viola! I pour the whole mixture on top of the rice, broccoli, and asparagus and it's AMAZING!

These bad boys were something I whipped up while I was bored last week. I hadn't used my kitchen aid mixer for a while and he was feeling lonely. They are sugar cookie sandwiches that I thankfully was able to pawn off on some friends because eating more than one of these would produce insane sugar highs and perhaps give someone diabetes. Seriously, they're all sugar. I used a basic sugar cookie recipe, rolled each cookie ball in sugar sprinkles, and once cooled I added the filling which is a butter frosting made of confectioner's sugar, butter, milk, and vanilla extract. If that's not enough to make you drool and want to hop on a treadmill simultaneously, then I don't know what will. How many times can I say 'sugar' while describing one dessert? Here it's six. Holy sugar rush!

I've made some other fun dishes but failed to take pictures so I'll have to divulge those recipes at a later date.

More soon!

Kashi Adventures

"Kashi cereal has as much protein as an egg!"

This was the phrase of the day as I broke the seal of my LA, post school, acting career and shot my very first commercial! The initial audition was last week, one of the five I went on during my week of insanity, and the call back was this last Tuesday. I got the final word that I had been cast on Wednesday, and now here I am on Sunday night with a sunburned face and my first commercial under my belt. The whole experience was very different than I had imagined but still tons of fun. And I'm not gunna lie, getting paid to stand outside in beautiful weather by the water, cheer on marathon runners and talk about Kashi cereal...not too bad. Sure I had to pee for about 3 hours before we got a break, I was in a long sleeve shirt in 75 or 80 degree weather and I walked away with a tomato red face but I'm gunna venture to say there are way worse ways I could have spent my Sunday.

We made the trip up to San Luis Obispo where we would be shooting Saturday afternoon, checked into our hotel and had then entire evening to roam the town. I instantly clicked with a few people and we found ourselves at the Central Coast Brewery sampling their 5 beers for 5 dollars. A perfectly wonderful way to spend a Saturday evening with some new people in a new place. After the brewery we made our way farther into town for dinner. I've never been to San Luis Obispo, but it reminded me a lot of Berkeley or Westwood only cleaner and with a little more of a small town feel. Westwood is always bustling but SLO had an easier, calmer feel to it. After being sufficiently stuffed by 1000 pounds of sushi we headed back to our rooms to hang for a while and eventually tried to crash early because our call time was 5:30 AM this morning!

When I woke up not only did it feel like I hadn't really gone to sleep, the TV still on and playing infomercials for things like the shake weight, total home gym, and any other awkward product endorsed by Chuck Norris. I dragged myself into the shower and met the rest of my dazed and sleepy Kashi friends for our craft services breakfast which was being served essentially in total darkness because it was 5:30 in the morning and apparently no one thought to bring some lights to help us out.

This upcoming week promises to be one with a little more free time, although whenever I say that I end up eating my words. Tomorrow I'll be hitting up the Laugh Factory to see my friend's Comedy/Improv/Music group perform as part of an MTV event. I wish I knew more about it but I helped choreograph a small segment in one of the videos they will be playing and felt it appropriate I go out and support. The group is called The Waitist and their videos are pretty funny so if you haven't seen them I'd suggest giving them a gander, I choreographed their Slumdog Millionaire spoof and was so pumped they asked me to come back and choreograph another.

Essentially it has been a crazy couple of weeks. I will write more soon, but for now I am off to dreamland because I am absolutely POOPED!

More Rain Dancing

In recent years I have become very well acclimated with this phrase:

"When it rains it pours."

Literally that should be my mantra, or at least the working title of the made for TV movie about my life. It seems that I am so rarely in any kind of in-between place. I go back and forth from feeling complacent, and tired, and useless to over worked, over booked and frantic in a matter of seconds. When I am feeling overwhelmed it is never a slight itch of a feeling. It is one of those moods when you think the world is going to end, the tears will not stop flowing, and nothing you do is right. When I am feeling great I want to shout it from the rooftops, start a dance party and have everyone join in. Maybe I'm bipolar, or maybe this is a part of getting older? Maybe having so much alone time suddenly forces you to discover the multidimensional, and slightly psychotic person you've always been? Who knows. Two weeks ago I was averaging one or two auditions per week. I was spending a lot of time reading and watching netflix, going to yoga, of course searching for a day job and cooking with all my fresh farmer's market finds. At that point it was pouring normalcy all over my big girl life. I had time to kill during the day which until recently was a complete rarity in my life.

This week however I have been on 5 auditions spanning from mainstream commercials to reality shows, to theater and student films. Suddenly it's raining cats and dogs all over my potentially professional performer life. I have another audition tomorrow, my dad's coming into town AND I have a concert to perform in on Saturday night. Oye! Did I mention there's a female chorus piece from Verdi's Macbeth in the concert sung entirely in ITALIAN? Yah, that's real and not easy. Also I am singing the soprano part which unfortunately for my neighbors sounds like a strangled cat when I am trying to learn it off of my old school tape recorder in the middle of the day. For my wonderfully grumpy neighbor who yelled at me to shut up; I'll stop singing at 2 in the afternoon when you stop yelling and laughing with your roommate as loud as possible at 2am. Thanks.

In other news, UCLA started school last week. I was surprised when I made the personal realization that I am so beyond happy NOT to be in school. I thought that come September I would be sad and nostalgic about everyone else starting their classes, and my friends and the comfort of knowing what I would be doing just about every hour of every day. But, I've realized quite the opposite is true. Sure, not knowing what I'll be doing day to day can be terrifying. Not having a day job stresses me out, and of course as a 20-something, single female, I'm looking for a boy. But when it comes down to it I know I am so lucky to be where I am. So this week was crazy, next week may be the opposite, but at least I can find solace in things like yoga and cooking to pass the time between these days of panic and madness. I really can't even believe this is the life I live.

I am beyond excited for my dad to come down this weekend. Although I feel bad for dragging him to all my obligations this weekend it will be nice to have a driving buddy, not to mention some one to make me mickey mouse pancakes in the morning. I thought I had more to write but I guess this is it for now.

As always there will be more soon and hopefully fun stories to follow.

Panic Be Gone!

Okay been a while since I've written on this piece. Fail.

The last week has been quite a whirlwind. I can't believe it's already Friday again. Living life on a day to day schedule that never looks the same makes the days flow remarkably fast. Since last writing I've gone from feeling incredibly high, to insanely low and back up to my happy balanced self.

I've pulled myself out of the production of Pippin. (Cue gasps of shock here). In school we're constantly taught that we should take every opportunity to perform no matter what it is. Experience is experience...right? After spending a lot of hours stressing over the decision I woke up yesterday with some sort of clarity, thank you to whoever sent that my way, and realized I could not commit the time and money to the project that it warranted. Although I didn't get the dance teaching job (sad face) I feel that there are more things in store for me, not to mention even without that job I'm still working in Malibu once and week, Playa Del Rey 1-2 days a week, and auditioning all over town. It adds up to A LOT of gas, time, and money therefore I decided I couldn't afford to be driving an hour EVERY NIGHT to rehearsals out in the Valley. It's just too much.

I couldn't help but feel an insane amount of relief after officially sending the email about having to depart from the production. By nature I worry a lot about every one else and how my actions will make them feel and often forget to take my own well being, sanity, or feelings. For the first time I made a decision based on what I felt I really needed, without being selfish, and it felt damn good. Not to mention this weekend without being tied to those rehearsals still brings me a full load of commitments.

I think I've said this before but I think I am the busiest unemployed person ever. I guess technically I'm teaching my dance classes and working at Pepperdine, but still, those don't quite add up to a full day job. Tomorrow I will be driving down to Vista (near San Diego) to audition to assist in choreography for the Miss California USA pageant. I'm actually super stoked. I already made up my minute of super girlie, 'stancer' choreography to Katy Perry's California Girls (their song choice not mine, but quite fitting for the project). Then on Sunday I'll be heading back to UCLA to help put some numbers from Cabaret back together with whoever is in town to be presented at Orientation on Monday morning. Talk about insta-choreo. Hopefully I still have everyone's spacing written down in my original binder from the show, we shall see. After that rehearsal I head all the way down to Fullerton for a vocal rehearsal for a concert I've been cast in. I'm excited for the rehearsal but I just downloaded all the group songs they wanted us to learn and it's A LOT. Gotta find time to learn those before Sunday afternoon.

Phew, I'm tired just thinking about the next few days. But I'm approaching it with an open mind and with a smile. I've learned from yoga that no matter how difficult things get physically, if you keep your mind light and a slight smile on your face, everything just gets easier. Something my yoga teacher often says at the end of class is "no matter how difficult warrior 3, or the crow pose can be, it's a thousand times easier that what you'll encounter in your day to day life." But if we keep breathing and releasing eventually things will get easier. I had my share of panic moments this week, but I've learned from the practice that these moments never last long. It's your life, and it's too short to remain in a state of fear, stress, anger, and tension. I guess it's easy for my to say this now that my panic has passed. But I know it will be back sometime trying to pull me into the darkness of self doubt. Force me to ask the questions like "what the hell am I doing with my life?!...who are you kidding, you'll never make it...you call yourself an artist?!" Thankfully I can lay in savasana and push all of those thoughts away from my mind and make room for the universe to fill me with wisdom and guidance.

Good things are coming my way, even if I have to wait for a little while. I'll be here, trying to make the most of this life. Cooking good food, enjoying the company of friends and trying to make sense of this real life I've only begun to enter.