Hard to Swallow

Whew. It's been quite a week, dear reader(s)... and apparently it's only Wednesday. Actually, some not great things have happened this week. Firstly, I managed to get so many paper cuts at work today you'd think I tried to craft a small origami village, when really all I was doing was a mail merge. Then there was yesterday, when I seem to have (gracefully) tripped down a flight of stairs and landed squarely on my right ankle. (Turns out my ankle is fine, though the jury is still out on my self-esteem and personal dignity.) And, worst of all, there's the fact that five of my colleagues, two of whom I consider my friends, were laid off yesterday. Which just really stinks.

A sign of the times, I suppose, though it doesn't make their departure any easier to swallow. It makes me feel guilty, and also a little bit ashamed. I mean, up until yesterday, all the recession meant to me was that everything was on sale. And that the term "recessionista" had been invented. The various national and international crises hadn't yet reached my doorstep, and I sort of just assumed everything would be fine. It's nice living in a bubble... until it bursts. At any rate, I hope that M & P land on their respective feet. I'm going to miss them.

But, the show must go on. Literally. I'm performing in a play that opens this weekend, and our crazy rehearsal schedule hasn't given me much time to dwell on layoffs and bubbles and stock market crashes. Or food, for that matter. Mostly, my non-working hours for the past two weeks have been filled with high-pitched singing, flouncy Spanish senorita skirts, set change assignments and fake eyelashes. I've barely cooked all week, and I was in such a rush to get to rehearsal last night that I actually skipped dinner. (...I know! Blasphemy. That must be why I fell down the stairs.) Tonight was my one night off from rehearsal, but after catching up on all the grocery shopping, laundry and apartment cleaning to do, I was too tired to even turn on the oven. Instead, I opted for some crusty bread, a few smeared slices of sharp cheese, some plump medjool dates and a crispy apple. YUM. Added bonus: I saved money by not turning on the gas stove. I mean, we are in a recession afterall.




I hope you'll forgive me for not posting a recipe this week - it's been a crazy one. I did manage to bake this cake last weekend. The recipe is for a blood orange olive oil cake, but I used meyer lemons instead, and I think it worked beautifully. I expect it would work with any type of citrus, really, and be delicious. Be warned, though: if you're the type to stick by the conventional notion that cake should taste purely sweet, you may not like this one. It's sweet enough, but you can really taste the olive oil - it gives the cake a subtle earthy, fruity flavor and a sturdy, moist crumb. Be sure to use good olive oil - if you're not sure what "good olive oil" really means, just give the oil a taste to make sure you like the flavor before you use it to make citrus olive oil cake.





That's all for now. Here's to a better week ahead (with some recipes, for goodness' sake!) Until then, keep on plugging away, and try not to forget to eat dinner.