Bon appetit - Pizza Pi and salad

Vegan pizza takeout from Pizza Pi in Seattle

We decided to do a dinner and movie night out. Actually, back in Wisconsin, we'd switched to movie and dinner, in an attempt to economize when movie prices started rising. We'd go to an inexpensive 4 o'clock show, and then out to eat. That seemed to work in Wisconsin, but apparently it doesn't work so well in Seattle. The 4 p.m. show we went to cost us $19. This was our first movie since moving here, and we picked a theater close to home that was showing the film I wanted to see - Julie & Julia. We almost walked past the Seven Gables theater because it looked like a large house on a residential street complete with a hefty set of front steps. My husband spotted the movie sign and up we went into a large house of sorts with a box office and theater and other lounging rooms. The place was old, and slightly decrepit, but "arty" in a very cool way, if you know what I mean. It was also packed, and we stumbled in the dark up the center steps of the theater to claim a couple of seats in the very back. My seat was not very comfortable - sprung springs and forward slanting, but I made due in the name of art. I mean, I can be as artsy as the next person. But still, trying to stay on the seat was sometimes competing for my attention with the film. There was another little thing - the screen. It was so small and far away. Plus, there were at least 10 previews (I'm not kidding), and I was very much missing our Sundance Theater in Madison.

We loved the film, and all the actors were terrific. My only complaint was that Julie Powell and her husband couldn't have possibly eaten all that butter and cream and not put on weight. "Julie" SAYS she gained weight but the tiny and adorable Amy Adams shows no outward signs. Meryl Streep was fabulous as Julia. I will have to rent some videos so I can watch the real Julia Child. I think I love her. The whole movie was wonderful.

We were feeling pretty good after this film but as we headed back to the car we saw tickets being placed on windshields. What? Did we overstay the two-hour limit? What? What? What? Yes, there was a ticket on our car, and it soon became clear why. There were multiple, stacked parking signs on the street - you know the kind - and we'd spent some time trying to decipher their meaning. We finally thought we'd got it worked out when we decided it was okay to park from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. for two hours, except on Sunday. What we missed completely was the top sign that said "no parking AFTER 6 p.m." The ticket was for $44, making this the most expensive movie we've ever seen. As we drove away, I was wishing that the seat had at least been comfortable and the screen, bigger...

We went home to organize dinner because we didn't really have a set plan - the kind that involves reservations - and we were feeling a bit deflated after the ticket. No one really wanted to cook so I said I'd make a salad if he went out for a pizza. Going out for a vegan pizza isn't an option we've ever had before, so the novelty was kind of appealing. He went off to Pizza Pi to pick up the broccoli and mushroom pizza we ordered, and I went to see if there was anything left in the refrigerator to make into a salad. I've always wanted to be able to do this - order out for pizza like any normal family might. La-di-da.

Surprisingly elegant homemade salad from the dregs in the fridge

In the fridge was a bit of romaine, a few baby carrots, a small hunk of cucumber, baby beets, very soft yellow pear tomatoes on their final day of life and some leftover cashew-dill dressing I had made a few days before. This was not going to be a Julia-quality gourmet meal, but out of respect for her memory, I cut those veggies as carefully as I could. Elegant little strips of julienned beets and perfectly cut spears of cucumber. (The dressing, by the way, was made by blending cashews with water, olive oil, rice vinegar, sugar, dill, lemon, salt and possibly other stuff until it was creamy, smooth and delicious.)

The pizza surprised me at first because it never occurred to me that it wouldn't be whole wheat. It looked just like regular pizza from Pizza Pit except it was a little under-baked. It was a bit limp instead of crisp but the crust was nicely chewy and the toppings were fresh and good. Pizza Pi uses Teese for the cheese topping. We re-heated some slices in the microwave (yes, we have our first microwave in the rented house) and they improved greatly. It wasn't quite as good as homemade but it was good and I'm sure we'll be having it again. The salad was perfect.