The Home Stretch

Hi guys and gals!

Well, I've entered into the home stretch. Not only is this the week that my first show of the summer opens, but it's also the final week of my planned experiment period. I made it through the insanity of this past weekend, and I've just got to push through a couple more nights of rehearsal before we open and the stress of preparation is replaced by the excitement of sharing what we've worked on with an audience!

I started off my Friday morning with a fun, energizing spin class as usual, although the normal instructor took the day off (I'm looking at you, Tyler). That night's Les Mis rehearsal was great as well. Afterward, my castmate/carpool partner Seth and I grabbed a quick dinner at Ruby Tuesday across the highway from where rehearsal was held. I got the garden bar and a side of spaghetti squash, which I had no idea was even an option there! Saturday morning I got up early to drive to Johnson City to pick up my number for the Blue Plum 5K, though I actually got there a bit too early, so I had a LOT of time to kill before the gun. The race went pretty well. The sun came out but it wasn't too hot, although some knee pain slowed me down a bit near the end of the course (I've had to deal with knee pain when running since I was a teenager). Afterward, I met my friend Austin for what we'd planned to be lunch at EarthFare, but we got there a bit too early for there to be anything out on the bar just yet. So, I got a container of sesame kale and we both got smoothies. Before I left, I picked up some more sunflower butter, almond butter, and something I'd been wanting to try for a while: hemp seeds. Hemp seeds are a great, complete protein source, along with being packed full of other nutrients and the ideal 3:1 ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids. The brand I got were Ziggy Marley's Hemp Rules. They're certified organic, and they came in two flavors: Sea Salt & Pepper and Caribbean Crunch.

And no, the significance of the brand name is not lost on me...

After our trip to EarthFare we decided to visit the farmer's market in historic Jonesborough, TN. We got there sometime between 10:30 and 11:00, a bit late by farmer's market standards, but we still found some great things. Austin picked up some local free range eggs, and I got some shiitake mushrooms and a big bunch of kale. I had hoped to get some rainbow lacinato kale because lacinato varieties are great for making kale chips with since they're flatter than their curly relatives. But, they were already sold out of their lacinatos, so I tried another flat kale that they had. I didn't catch the name, but based on how it looks, I think it's most likely something similar to Portuguese or "tronchuda beira" kale. I made chips out of it last night and they were amazing! They had a great flavor, so I'll definitely be back to pick up more of this and other kale varieties to give them a try in the future.

Jonesborough Farmer's Market, photo courtesy of Austin Abshire

Kale and shiitake mushrooms from the farmer's market

Later in the day on Saturday, I had a grant writing meeting with some of the folks from Glasgow Theatre Company at Starbucks here in Bristol. I decided to give a new drink a try that Audrey, one of my Urinetown castmates, who happens to work at Starbucks AND is a paleo vegetarian herself, had recommended. I got an iced venti green tea, no water, add strawberry juice, unsweetened. It tasted incredible, it was refreshing, and it was much cheaper than many of the other drinks I used to get. It may become my new regular beverage option!

Perfect on a sunny afternoon

On Sunday morning I woke up and wanted to eat something really good since I knew I'd have a long day ahead of me loading our set into the theatre followed by rehearsal that night. That's when I decided to try another recipe/idea that had been floating around in my head for a while. I'd heard of using things like chopped walnuts to make ground "meat" before, and I even bought a bag of them the last time I went grocery shopping (however long ago that's been), but I'd never used them. Even though the walnuts were already chopped, I put them in my food processor to break them down a bit more so that they more closely resembled the size and texture of ground meat. I then threw in some cumin, curry powder, chili powder, and a few dashes of coconut aminos to give it the richness and flavor of meat.

The "meat" making process. Click to enlarge.

After that was done, I sliced up some Brussels sprouts, red onion, and some of my farmer's market shiitakes and sauteed those along with some garlic and diced jalapeño. Once the vegetables had cooked through, I tossed in my walnut "meat" mixture, tossed some hemp seeds on top for crunch, and had a SUPER hardy, nutritious, protein-packed brunch that gave me enough energy to make it through the day. I've still got some more walnuts, so I may even recreate the meat mixture, make some tomato sauce, and throw it together with some spaghetti squash for a homemade paleo vegan version of spaghetti with meat sauce this week!

The remaining ingredients and the final, delicious product. Click to enlarge.

As the final days of the experiment are approaching, I'm still trying to figure out what my next step is going to be. I'm definitely not going to abandon it in its entirety. I know that much. I guess we'll just have to see what happens!

Once again, if you're in the area and would like to come see Urinetown this weekend, call the Paramount box office at (423) 274-8920 or click here to buy them online.

Some of the cast at last night's rehearsal

 Much love to you all,

Jon