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| From An Opera Singer in the Kitchen |
Can you tell that I have been all over the cherries? When I found out I was moving to cherry land I knew God was being super kind to me. He knows that cherries are my favorite fruit and I have been enjoying it.
What did everyone wake up to this morning? I woke up to a VERY dark morning and then to this:
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| From An Opera Singer in the Kitchen |
I like breaks from very sunny days especially when they are a bit on the humid side. My husband has been going through awful allergies due to the cottonweed that has started falling like snow in the summer.Really, seriously. It is a sight to see. I get the occasional upper palate itch but Ryan is just not doing well. He is now, now that he has his claritin and sudafed dose. We are surviving! 🙂
Last weekend, while Ryan was in a meeting I was able to visit the Holland Farmer’s Market for the first time. It was teeming with people and the local farmers were selling tons of asparagus and rhubarb. It is so NEAT to see what is obviously in-season. Before I moved to Michigan and before I got married for that matter, I had not really paid attention to items in-season. In the past 2 years I have been learning alot about this and it has helped understand how to support the local farmers.
After walking aorund the market I started out looking for garage sales. Are you big on those? I like them but they have to be good. I don’t like when people sell their trash. I stopped at two that were really great. I bought some sheet music and a Phantom of the Opera score along with some old jewelry. I like using “grandma” jewelry and making something vintage out of it. At the second garage sale I found a GREAT deal. The lady was selling all her cooking magazines for 10 cents!!! I quickly picked up 10-12 magazines.
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| From An Opera Singer in the Kitchen |
Yeah! All for just a dollar. We are talking about new issues as well! Why would a vegan buy these magazines? Well even though they have recipes focusing on meat, dairy and all the non-vegan foods, I enjoy reading the articles and I like being inspired by different recipes and even veganize them too! I have fun and I enjoy the pictures too. 🙂 I was happy with my buy.
So continuing on the cherry theme, I concocted a delicious Cherry Bom Bom Smoothie recipe that both Ryan and I enjoyed as dessert one afternoon. Even though I am trying to cut down on my sugar consumption, I try to cut down on the processed sugars. This was a DELICIOUS substitute and so simple too.
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| From An Opera Singer in the Kitchen |
Cherry Bom Bom Smoothie
serves 2
2 cups Almond Breeze milk
2 cups dark red cherries, pitted
1/4 cup organic cocoa powder
1 Tbsp agave nectar
3/4 cup ice
Blend all items in a blender until combine well and smooth. It tastes like a chocolate cherry bom bom. So delicious.
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Another delicious cherry recipe I enjoyed this past week was from on of these Bon Appetit magazines. So I realized it had been a while since I made a vegan cookie so I veganized one of their recipes from one of their February 1998 issue.
This cookie is crunchy and not a soft cookie but it was delicious. Ryan thought it was well veganized and delicious. Even after he dunked the cookie in his milk it was still crunchy with each bite. He enjoyed it alot.
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| From An Opera Singer in the Kitchen |
Cherry-Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies
adapted from Bon Appetit’s February 1998 issue
makes 2 dozen
1 cup whole wheat white flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) Earth Balance vegan “butter”, room temperature
1/2 cup vegan sugar (Whole Foods)
1/2 cup (packed) dark brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp Ener-G egg replacer
2 Tbsp water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1 cup old-fashioned oats
1 1/2 cups vegan chocolate chips
1 cup dried tart cherries
1/2 cup walnuts
Position racks in center and top third of oven and preheat to 325°F. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper.
Sift flour, baking soda and salt into medium bowl. Using electric mixer, beat butter, sugar and brown sugar in large bowl until well blended. Mix in egg reaplcer and both extracts. Beat in flour mixture. Mix in oats, then chocolate chips, cherries and almonds.
Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls onto baking sheets, spacing 2 inches apart. Bake cookies 12 minutes. Switch and rotate baking sheets. Bake cookies until golden, about 6 minutes longer. Cool cookies on baking sheets (cookies will firm as they cool).
DO AHEAD Can be prepared 1 week ahead. Store airtight at room temperature.
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