Party for one – Karen Creamer Author, Coach, Speaker

Working the Thanksgiving Holiday

November 23, 2017November 23, 2017 by Karen, posted in (it's all about the) food, Holidays, Karen's Kitchen, Party for one

Every so often, I work on Thanksgiving. This is one of those years.

I am a nurse. It happens.

This year, I had plans to get my go-to working-on-Thanksgiving-quick-and-easy-dinner menu items, but then I got sick with the worst head cold of my life. I didn’t feel like going anywhere to buy anything for any reason. Even food. (I know! I was really sick!)

I had a Plan B: Make turkey soup in the crock pot.

I had some of what I needed, by my delivery of the rest of the ingredients I expected last night fell through.

Like any good nurse–and like any good Italian!–I made the most of what I found in the refrigerator.

Ladies and gentlemen! May I present, Italiano Thanksgiving Dinner for One:

Chicken Parm Sub

Buon appetito!!

My birthday

May 28, 2017May 28, 2017 by Karen, posted in (it's all about the) food, Adult children, books, celebrations, friends, italian, local fun, Party for one, the beach

I hope you all had fun with me this week. In addition to the week of cakes, my daughter gifted me with a cake today, bringing my total to eight for the week, and this is the one with which we celebrated with singing and candles.

Here is today’s cake from Wells IGA: Caramel Sea Salt Cake!

Here is a slideshow of all seven cakes in the BirthdayCakeWalk2017.

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For my actual birthday today, I did more than just eat cake, if you can believe it! I ate whatever I wanted. A chocolate bread from Boulangerie in Kennebunk for breakfast. Sausage Flatbread with a salad from Pizza Napoli in Ogunquit for lunch. So far, that’s all. Oh, and the Salted Caramel Cake from my daughter!

And I tried to include things I love (besides food!) in my day. Connecting with my family and friends! Lilacs! The ocean! Reading! Writing! And of course, a visit to a bookstore!!

Now, for the point: It is my birthday wish that all of YOU have a day like this, too. Why wait for your birthday to be kind to yourself? Do it now. Today.

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Dance Party

January 22, 2016January 22, 2016 by Karen, posted in Music, no fear, Party for one

Something unusual happened today: I have my empty house to myself! The planets must have aligned! This is as rare and as exciting to me at 53 as it was when I was 16.

As a matter of fact, the first time I was ever allowed to stay home alone in my house was when I was 16. I think my parents went out for an hour or two. I was giddy. I didn’t know what to do first. What I did end up doing was dancing on the coffee table.

Dancing. On. The. Coffee. Table.

Sadly, I can’t remember what the song was.

Anyway, to celebrate my good fortune, and to honor my 16 year old self, I decided to dance on my coffee table today, too (definitely a challenge-my present day coffee table is so much smaller than the coffee table of yore).

I do remember what the song was today:

Dancing with Myself by Billy Idol

What song would YOU choose for your own 5 minute dance party?

The day I ate whatever I wanted

May 13, 2015May 13, 2015 by Karen, posted in (it's all about the) food, books, Party for one, quest for the best, restaurants, writing

When I read the title of this book by Elizabeth Berg, The Day I Ate Whatever I Wanted, I thought, YESSSSS!!!! That’s all I want! To eat whatever I want! So in honor of my birthday month, I did that today. Full disclosure: I was using food to comfort myself because I had to work the day before, on Mother’s Day. You know. Again. Solace eating. I’m on it.

I started with, believe it or not, a bowl of Cheerios and milk, with a banana (the revered food of Minions everywhere!) cut up in it. Hello, childhood. I have been craving this meal lately, for some reason. I’m going with it.

Then I had a chocolate croissant (Him: Do you want me to heat it up? Me: Yes! Yes, Please!) from Starbucks at the mall. This was completely unplanned! I was going to get a Tiramisu Frappuccino, but then I heard the croissants calling my name. How could I let them down?

Next I had Maple Roasted Butternut Squash soup from Kamasouptra. With the tag line: Steamy. Hot. Soup. Really? The best thing about Kamasouptra Soup is the (steamy, hot) roll that comes with it. Once you’ve had it, you’ll want it again. And again. Hey, maybe that could be another (racy)slogan for them..? 🙂

Mid-afternoon, I got hungry again (I know, right?). On my way to get a healthy snack (an apple) from the fridge, I remembered that I picked up a whole wheat wild blueberry muffin from New Morning Natural Foods new-ish Kennebunk Deli earlier in the day. If you get one, here’s a tip: zap it for 20-30 seconds in the microwave before you eat it. You’re welcome.

Finally, I picked my daughter up from track, and she asked that question that daughters everywhere have been asking their mothers for centuries. “Mom, what’s for supper?”

I had no idea.
She noticed my hesitation and knew an opportunity when she saw it. “Let’s get Chinese! Like you wanted to yesterday! For Mother’s Day!” Okay, so you know.

She had me at Mother’s Day.

We went to Maple Leaves. I forgot to take a picture of our food, but I did take a (blurry) picture of my fortune.

My daughter was all over this, because I’m getting ready to either a) find an agent to sell my book or b) publish it myself.

Hey, any and all signs are welcome here.

🙂

Thanksgiving dinner for one

November 23, 2014 by Karen, posted in (it's all about the) food, family, Holidays, Karen's Kitchen, NaNoWriMo, NaNoWriMo2014, Party for one, writing

It so happens that I will be working Thanksgiving (as is the majority of my family) and therefore I will be a Party of One for Thanksgiving Dinner.

I also plan to continue my NaNoWriMo efforts and so will have very little time for cooking and such. I do, however, love food. And, you know, eating.

So, here’s my plan for a traditional-ish Thanksgiving Dinner for one:

MENU:

Rotisserie turkey breast. Okay, full disclosure: I am buying it (precooked) on Wednesday (they are cheaper if you get them cold vs hot at Hannaford’s). It takes 6 minutes in the microwave but if you have a crock pot you can stick it in there on low 2 or more hours ahead of time and it will be ready (and moist! NOT DRIED OUT AT ALL!) when you want to eat it.
Instant mashed potatoes: the Idahoan brand Buttery Homestyle is the best! Very fast: 3 minutes and 30 seconds in the microwave. Hint: put 1 3/4 cup of water rather than 2. You’re welcome.
Quick turkey gravy: I think the McCormick Turkey Gravy packets are pretty darn good. You can pour the drippings from your turkey breast container (if there are any) into gravy. Ready in 5 minutes or less.
Stove Top Turkey Stuffing. I forget how long this takes. I might make it the day before.

Now, everyone has their one thing that they must have on the table or it’s not Thanksgiving-Butternut Squash is mine. This will need to be made ahead of time: roast or boil a small squash (I always get it prepeeled and also precubed if I am really feeling lazy) until soft, mash with a potato masher, add 1-2 tablespoons each of butter and brown sugar, sea salt to taste.

Interesting Trivia: I’ve heard (I think it was from Clinton Kelly on The Chew last week) that the general rule of thumb for the number of Thanksgiving side dishes is this: you must have one side dish for every person coming to dinner. Right. So. That would be one. And done. 🙂

I made bread dough (recipe from Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day by Jeff Herzberg and Zoe Francois) today and put it in the fridge so now I just have to bake it off that morning. I can make a roll or two or a whole loaf and-OH! I almost forgot the cranberry sauce!!!

Which reminds me of and is a nice segueway to that song Christmas Wrapping by The Waitresses:

“I’m spending this one alone,” he said
“Need a break, this year’s been crazy”
I said, “Me too, but why are you?
You mean you forgot cranberries too?“

ENJOY!!!!

Minions!!

October 26, 2014 by Karen, posted in friends, Life in the cube, movies, Party for one, Work from Home

If you love the minions and are trolling for minion products to surround yourself with happiness, I am here to lend you a hand.

Walmart has small packages of minion stickers in the card/party section and boxes of minion bandaids in the (you guessed it) the bandaid section. Both are inexpensive, under $3. The Women’s section has one-piece pajamas that are covered in minions, and it has a hood that consists of a minion head with glasses for $20. (HINT: Makes a great Halloween costume!).

The Dollar Store has these cups (look to your left) for (you guessed it) only $1.

Target has some very cute T shirts for about $8-$9. I found one in the Women’s section, several Boys’ section (even a Halloween-themed one), and a couple in the Girls’ section. They also had some very cool knit hats and little stretchy gloves for boys, but alas, they only came in size 4-7 which was too small for my head and hands.

Pay attention when you cut the tags off of any minion clothing you buy; some of them have cool cardboard minion TAGS. I have used them for book marks, and I also have one taped to my computer monitor at work.

Why not? It’s the little things, right?

At the movies (or, Hell is other people)

September 26, 2014September 26, 2014 by Karen, posted in local fun, Party for one

I was done with trying to align the planets so that I could go see a movie with my husband. I decided that, if I wanted to see This is Where I Leave You at the theater, I would have to go by myself. I rarely will cough up the cash to sit in a theater to watch a movie, but for this one, I wanted to make the effort (Hello? You had me at Tina Fey. And Kathryn Hahn).
I was lucky enough to find a niche of time in which no work schedules, carpooling, medical appointments, or householder responsibilities encroached…so I went for it.
I entered the darkened theater and took my favorite seat on the left in the last row. As my eyes adjusted, I realized that there were four others in there with me: three women and a man. (HINT: This is where the Hell part comes in).
One of the women hacked and coughed continuously, to the point that I almost regretted declining that Whooping Cough shot earlier this week…almost. The other two women talked non-stop. The man was silent…until he wasn’t.
What was great, though, was that it was worth it. The movie was mostly absorbing and funny (reference: Tina Fey) and loud enough to drown out much of the talking. I think the best part, though, was that I could laugh out loud and tear up at will, without worrying about embarrassing various family members that might have accompanied me to the show. So yes. I laughed. I cried. So there.