Posts by admin:
- 1 cup very cold soymilk or almond milk
- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 2 cup Bob’s Mill whole wheat -white flour
- 2 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp salt
- Add 1/2 cup crushed sunflower seeds / pumpkin seeds
- Add to flour:
- 5 tbsp Spectrum non-hydrogenated vegetable shortening
Nutty “Buttermilk” Biscuits
June 6th, 2010 |
| From An Opera Singer in the Kitchen |
Greetings! I am writing to you from New Mexico where it is SO freaking hot. You know how hot? 104 degree weather hot. It is strange having gone from 75 degree weather in Michigan to this very dry area. Quite a change but we are managing, or at least I am. Ryan and I are going to encourage each other to be postive about the extreme weather. Let’s just say we have been spoiled by the nice weather in Michigan, but I won’t belabor the point.
All-state choir camp has officially started for Ryan and our friends, whom we are staying with here in Portales, New Mexico. Our friends work at Eastern New Mexico University and usually plan a fantastic choir camp for high schoolers. I have had the pleasure of hearing the finished product at the end of the week, but in the meantime I am chef of the week. While they have hours of practice and preparation for the students I will be working and planning evening meals for our friends. I am looking forward to it. Portales is definitely NOT the place to eat out since it only has fast food joints and literally HOLE in the wall restaurants.
Last night we ventured to a steakhouse after we arrived from our flight. I looked over the menu prior to our sitting down to see if there were any vegan options. I was nervous, but Ryan insisted I make sure there was something that I could eat. I assured him that I would make do. I regretted having made that decision FOLKS. This restaurant had a huge salad bar with different options but I decided to have the waiter make me a mushroom burger with only mushrooms and sauteed onions in little oil. I asked him to add avocado and the regualr veggies that come with a burger. He then asked me if I was vegan. WOW. I was surprised the guy knew that term. I sighed with relief because I somehow felt I would be taken care of from then on. HA! I got my burger on whole wheat bread and 5-6 pieces of mushroom! I was so shocked.
I just kept looking down at my plate. The lettuce was wilted and the tomatoes were transparent, egad!!!! Ryan immediately told the waiter that my dish was NOT acceptable and to please bring more mushrooms. 10 minutes later, my mushrooms appeared. I even ordered the salad bar, which was disgusting, but I made do with this situation because I knew what I was supposed to expect from this town. I simply looked over at Ryan and said “The Lord supplied me with food which others do not have…I will be happy.” Tomorrow was another day. It was seriously laughable!
So, needless to say, I am SO happy I will be preparing meals this year because I like planning and I like good food. Everyone is too busy to think about food preparation so I was glad that I could step up and volunteer this, so stay tuned for yummy goods. Here are a few pictures of my surroundings and please imagine 104 degree weather while you are at it. 😉
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| From An Opera Singer in the Kitchen |
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| From An Opera Singer in the Kitchen |
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| From An Opera Singer in the Kitchen |
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| From An Opera Singer in the Kitchen |
I am enjoying it! Can you tell? Our friends’ dog is precious. His name is Bartok and he happens to be such a friendly dog too. I am not a pet person but he is so easy to handle that I have fun with that
BY the way, I wrote a guest post at Kirsten’s Kitchen featuring a Greek Flatbread recipe. Visit HERE!
Before I left on my trip I did have time to enjoy a recipe I found on a great website. I had been in the mood for biscuits so I decided to search for a vegan recipe and then I added a touch of my own.
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| From An Opera Singer in the Kitchen |
My mother recently brought me a bag of milled sunflower and pumpkins seeds from Ireland. I have not seen anything like this in the US but I am sure anyone could make it at home in a food processor, but it was nice to have this bag of nuts. I decided to add a 1/2 cup of them to the biscuit recipe and wait to see how they turned out. This recipe was OUT of this world! The biscuits rose significantly and the texture was so tasty.
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| From An Opera Singer in the Kitchen |
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| From An Opera Singer in the Kitchen |
I split these in half and enjoyed with Crofter’s Cherry Jam but they would also go well with a tofu scramble. Hmmmm….so yum!
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| From An Opera Singer in the Kitchen |
Mix and set aside to curdle:
Sift together:
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POMtastic Mint Martini and Mango Monster Smoothie
June 3rd, 2010I am obviously all about the drinks lately whether they are somewhat a little alcoholic, raw, healthy, or for plain enjoyment. I find myself wanting fruity and fresh ingredients and have come up with refreshing options.
What is your favorite summer drink?
So it has been a while since I shared my breakfast and lunch eats but I HAVE been eating. Ha! This week I have been focusing again on eating my dark greens. This morning I made a lovely mango banana smoothie with almond milk and TONS of spinach. What a delicious and filling breakfast option and I am getting a nice dose of vitamin K too!
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| From An Opera Singer in the Kitchen |
Mango Monster Smoothie
serves 1 tall glass
1.5 cups Almond Breeze milk
1 frozen mango (2 frozen halves from Trader Joes)
1 frozen banana
2 cups spinach
Place items in blender and blend well. The sweetness factor was perfect for me but it all depends on each person. Stevia is an option too!
I was getting my greens on y’all! I peeked in my fridge and was reminded I had a huge bunch of kale staring at me. I immediately put it to good use. Raw kale salads are out of this world and they pack so many nutrients too! I made the salad with a southwestern avocado dressing and placed it in a wrap. So quick and delicious.
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| From An Opera Singer in the Kitchen |
Raw Kale Wrap with a Southwestern Dressing
serves 2
2 cups kale, washed and chopped
1/2 cup red pepper, sliced
1/2 cucumber sliced
Dressing
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1 avocado, pitted and mashed
1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
2 tsp agave mustard
1 Tbsp miso paste
1 tsp black pepper
1/4 cup pepitas (raw pumpkin seeds)
In a small bowl, mash the avocado and then add the rest of the ingredients except the seeds. Mix well. Add seeds.
Add dressing to salad and massage the salad until the leaves have softened a bit.
Split salad between two whole wheat pitas and fill with cucumber slices and red pepper slices. Roll and cut in half.
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| From An Opera Singer in the Kitchen |
So my NEWEST recipe is inspired by a nice box I received from the folks at POM. These are such cute mini bottles! These are simply given to sample and use in different recipes. I was so excited!
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| From An Opera Singer in the Kitchen |
I immediately decided to use a fresh bunch of mint I had in hand and I mixed some key limes and vodka to make this fruity cocktail.
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| From An Opera Singer in the Kitchen |
POMtastic Mint Martini
serve 4
2 cups POM juice
3 key limes, juiced
1/2 cup mint, chopped
4 ounces vodka
ice
Wash mint and chop finely. In a medium bowl, add juice and mint and crush mint in juice. You can use a blender but I did not want to create any foam. I crushed mint with bare hands into the juice in order to infuse the POM juice.
Using a sieve, strain juice into a drink shaker and add vodka and lime juice. No sweetener is needed since the POM juice is sweet enough.
Add ice to the shaker and POM concoction, cover and shake until blended and chilled.
Pour into martini glasses and enjoy.
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| From An Opera Singer in the Kitchen |
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Cherry-Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies and Cherry Bom Bom Smoothie
June 2nd, 2010 |
| 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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Green Papaya Salad with MATCH Mini Thai Crab Cakes
June 1st, 2010 |
| From An Opera Singer in the Kitchen |
So if you read my post yesterday, I mentioned I would continue to share what meal we enjoyed with our Thai Basil Spritzer. When I started preparing a menu, I had to think about the flavors, making sure that none overpowered the other. How can I do this if I have not had them before? Good question. Sometimes I read about the traditional recipe and the origins, then I decide what would combine with that specific dish. On other occasions, I will remember when I had the dish the last time and TRY to imagine the flavors and fly by the seat of my pants.
This is how I decided to start my menu. Before I got married, Ryan and I met up with my mother at a nice little Thai restaurant near my mom’s house. The restaurant was having an anniversary and guests were allowed to choose from 3 different salads, so I decided to try the green papaya salad for the first time. Let me tell you, that was more than 3 years ago and I have been thinking about it ever since and I finally decided to try my hand at it. What does a green papaya look like? Well, green of course!
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| From An Opera Singer in the Kitchen |
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| From An Opera Singer in the Kitchen |
Green Papaya Salad
serves 2
1 small green papaya, peeled outer layer and then julienned
(yielding 2 cups)
1 large carrot, peeled and julienned
1/4 red onion, thinly sliced
1 1/2 roma tomatoes, sliced 1/2 inch thick
1/4 cup crushed toasted peanuts
Dressing
1 1/2 Tbsp tamarind paste
2 tsp sriracha sauce
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 key limes, juiced
1 Tbsp palm sugar
2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Green Papayas are available at your local Asian Market. Buy a small one and wash and peel the green layer. Julienne the fruit until almost reaching the core. Dispose.
In a medium bowl, add julienned papaya, carrots, tomatoes and red onions. Toss until mixed well.
In a small bowl, add dressing ingredients and mix well until the palm sugar is dissolved. Add dressing to the salad and massage salad with dressing.
As far as flavor goes, this salad is combination of sweet, slighty spicy, and tangy. It can be eaten with rice noodles to offset the combination of flavors but it is optional.
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| From An Opera Singer in the Kitchen |
MATCH Mini Thai Crab Cakes
makes 16 mini crab cakes
1 1/4 cups MATCH “crab” meat
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh thai basil
4 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 red onion, finely chopped
1.5 Tbsp hot chili sauce (such as sriracha)
1 tablespoon sugar
2 tsp cornstarch
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp coarse kosher salt
1/4 cup Panko breadcrumbs
Mix all ingredients in a medium bowl and let sit for 10 minutes for flavors to somewhat blend.
Make into 16 mini patties. Heat a non-stick skillet with 1 to 2 Tbsp of coconut oil. Cook patties for 5-7 minutes or until browned on each side.
Serve with the green Papaya salad and remember to enjoy with the Thai Basil Spritzer!
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| From An Opera Singer in the Kitchen |
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Thai Basil Spritzer
May 31st, 2010 |
| From An Opera Singer in the Kitchen |
So the weekend came and went even though it is Memorial Day today, I am still going to call it a work day. We somewhat celebrated our time off Saturday and Sunday, so we will continue to catch up on items that require our attention this coming week.
Saturday I had an AMAZING voice lesson with my teacher. We worked through certain scales and then proceeded to continue working with my aria of a century. I do not know if I mentioned before but Depuis le jour by Charpetier from the opera Louise has been the scariest aria for me since my FIRST voice teacher gave it to me my sophomore year in college. He was a wonderful man but everytime he told me to stop using my “little girl” sound I STILL kept doing it. He gave me no instruction how to obtain a soaring sound that brought abour full sound.
Fast forward 10 years and BAM! I have acheived freedom in my upper range, to reach notedlike I have never reached them before. Here at my 6th voice teacher and I have someone who explains things to me like he knows me inside and out. When I do not achieve a sound he tells to work on, he tries a different technique and explains it to me differently. He has even told me now that he feels that my voice is learning my NEW technique and feeling at home with it. By the grace of God I was able to sing a very HIGH note with light sound, for effect of course, and increasing sound by using my diaphragm and correct breathe control. I felt so free and so giddy at the same time. I look forward starting my work with the rest of my arias.
After this marvelous voice lesson, I mentioned to Ryan that I really wished to lounge in the sun somewhere near water. A friend of ours had mentioned that a park near our house called Lake Lansing park had a great area to lay out and soak some rays while people enjoyed swimming in the lake. That sounded like a great plan to me. We took our towels and a change of clothes and immediately picked up a spot on the grasss among the hoards of people. Ryan suprisingly ventured into the lake while I read my book for a little and then just relaxed and stared at the sky. How great is that?
So relaxing! I hope you get to do this later on today!
On that note, make sure you stay hydrated. I leave you with a simple BUT DELICIOUS beverage that will make you want to preapre it all the time. I made a totally new meal today which I will feature in the next couple of days accomopanied by this delicious spritzer that I found on a beautiful blog called The Daily Raw Cafe. Terilynn featured a recipe from Raw Food Celebrations cookbook called thai basil tea, but I changed it a tad bit by adding my own twist to it.
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| From An Opera Singer in the Kitchen |
Before you shake your head and realize that this is made with Thai Basil leaves, let me tell you that I was as skeptical like you. I have only used basil for cooking or maybe in salads, but as a beverage? It was so refreshing and so completely different than anything I have ever had.
Basil has many benefits and aids in digestion and upset stomach. This herb also has a nice serving of magnesium, iron, vitamin K and many others. This is just another great excuse to get your greens on! Whoop whoop! I made a whole pitcher of it and we finished it by the end of the day. Ryan liked it alot!! Make it for YOUR Memorial Day or any day in this hot summer and you are sure to be cooled off!
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| From An Opera Singer in the Kitchen |
Thai Basil Spritzer
makes 8-10 servings
slightly adapted from Raw Food Celebrations
6 cups water
4 cups loosely packed Thai basil leaves (approximately 32 leaves)
4 key limes, juiced
4 Tbsp agave nectar
2 teaspoons finely grated fresh peeled ginger
ICE
2 cups seltzer water
Combine water and basil in a blender. Process until basil is mostly liquefied and blended.
Strain the mixture through a sieve in a separate bowl.
Add basil water to a glass and add the lime juice, agave nectar and ginger.
Blend until well-combined. Add the seltzer water and serve over ice.
Note: This is not a super sweet beverage but should have only a slight sweetness but otherwise, the sweetener can be adjusted to taste. The original recipe called for 1/4 tsp of stevia.
