From An Opera Singer in the Kitchen |
Happy Thursday y’all!! I can’t wait for this weekend to just be able to take a break. How about y’all? It is a cool 60 degrees with gorgeous sunny weather and I am loving it!
I took a look at my plants this morning and I was HAPPY today! I have my first serrano pepper almost ready for me! How exciting. Growth has so much meaning for me. It is symbolic for me because it makes me question whether I am growing in Christ. Is my relationship with my Creator in motion and am I growing. Beautiful creation, like my herbs, makes me realize daily HOW wonderful God is and how amazing his gifts are to us. Take a look at this:
From An Opera Singer in the Kitchen |
From An Opera Singer in the Kitchen |
I am loving it! I can’t wait to use my peppers in a creative way! How do YOU use hot peppers?
I was looking through my pictures and recipes and realized I had not posted a fun recipe I came up with several weeks ago. If you visit my blog often, you know that I REALLLY like Mediterranean food and consume lots of hummus! This meal was inspired by several other dishes that I combined in one to make a complete dish.
Instead of buying pita, I made herbie flatbread, hummus, a chopped fattoush salad, and a marinated portabella cap. SO GOOD! It was quick and perfect for consuming after a great workout and that is what we did! Enjoy these recipes!
From An Opera Singer in the Kitchen |
Since I make hummus alot, I try to vary my meal planning around it so I can have variety. I easily get bored with the same meals but I like to feature it in a different way, so for this occasion instead of buying whole wheat pita from the store I made my own flatbread. I usually do not have too much time to make my own bread BUT this recipe was SO easy to make during the week. This is a veganized and an adapted recipe from Bon Appetit magazine.
From An Opera Singer in the Kitchen |
Herb Flatbread
makes 8 flatbreads
1 1/2 cups whole wheat white flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 1/2 teaspoons Italian seasonings
1 1/2 tsp dried parsley
1 1/2 tsp garlic powder
6oz plain soymilk yogurt
Olive oil (for frying)
Sift first 4 ingredients into medium bowl. Stir in parsley, Italian seasonings, and garlic. Add yogurt and stir with fork until small clumps form. Knead mixture in bowl just until dough holds together.
Turn dough out onto floured surface. Knead just until smooth, about 1 minute. Divide dough into 8 equal pieces.
From An Opera Singer in the Kitchen |
Roll each piece into ball, then roll each dough piece out on floured surface to 4 1/2-inch round. Brush large nonstick skillet generously with olive oil; heat over medium heat. Working in batches, add 3 dough rounds to skillet; cook until golden brown and puffed, adjusting heat to medium-high as needed to brown evenly, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer flatbreads to platter; serve warm.
From An Opera Singer in the Kitchen |
Hummus
serves 4
2 1/2 cups cooked chickpeas, reserve 1/4 cup of liquid
1 Tbsp Tahini butter (sesame seed butter)
1/2 cup olive oil
1 lemon, juiced
1 tsp cumin
2 garlic cloves
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp paprika
olive oil for drizzling
Place beans in processor and add chickpea liquid,garlic cloves, lemon juice, tahini, and spices. Process. Keep processor on and little by little add the olive oil until the mixture becomes smooth. it should not be grainy. Serve immediately or refrigerate.
From An Opera Singer in the Kitchen |
Chopped Fattoush Salad
serves 2
3 cups romaine lettuce, chopped
1 tomato, diced
1/2 cup red onion, diced
3/4 cup English cucumber, chopped 1/2 inch thick
1/4 cup fresh mint, chopped
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp sumac (Mediterranean spice)
1/2 cup radishes, chopped
3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 Tbsp lemon juice
[I opted out of the crunchy pita in this salad because I was using the flatbread.]
In a medium bowl, toss onions and sumac together. Sumac gives this salad a lemony flavor. After those ingredients have been resting for 5 minutes, add the rest of the vegetables and toss.
Marinated Portabella Caps
makes 2 caps
2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
3 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp ground black pepper
In a skillet, heat olive oil and place mushroom caps and cook over medium heat. Mushrooms will absorb oil, so add 1-2 Tbsp water and continue cooking. Add salt and pepper and cook for another 5 minutes. Add vinegar and continue cooking for 5-10 minutes until vingegar has been somewhat absorbed. This becomes a glaze on the mushroom and is really tasty!
Assemble
From An Opera Singer in the Kitchen |
From An Opera Singer in the Kitchen |
From An Opera Singer in the Kitchen |