Opera Singer in the Kitchen

Artistry in Food, Music, and Life

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    Moonstone madness

    September 7th, 2009

    Here is non-edible creation by yours truly. I have been out of practive the last year since being married but I decided to do something about the idea that had been stuck in my head for quite a while now.

    The following creation:

    1. Pendant: Moonstone
    2. Cord: Black leather
    3. Charms: Smoky quartz, citrine and a copper bead.

      I recently learned how to wire, so all the charms have been hand-wired. I am planning to place this on Etsy.com after creating an account.

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      Tamales to die for

      September 7th, 2009

      Even though I am half Chilean / half Mexican, I hardly learned to cook authentic cuisines from each country. Since I married 16 months ago, I decided that I would try looking for recipes online that sounded familiar to foods I had either in Mexico or in Chile.

      One of my latest tests was making Northern tamales about a 2 months ago. I decided after making them that I would only make them for special occasions because the whole process took 4 hours! My hubby took the opportunity to request them for his upcoming birthday in November, that is how good these tamales were!

      I thank this website for having a great demonstration for making tamales. Here is the finished product.

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      Japanese-themed night, tempura style!

      September 2nd, 2009

      So, I had planned many moons ago that I was going to make sushi or cooked sushi rolls this week. We decided to have homemade Japanese food tonight so that we do not have an excuse going to the new place in town that Ryan reviewed in his blog. The one thing that I really did not plan was making shrimp tempura. I really do not like frying to0 much because I do not like being burned but I guess I am going to have to put one of those spatter shields on my Christmas list, hint hint.

      I began my search starting with the type of frying oil used for tempura and I realized that I already had sesame oil and wondered if it was ok. I found out that this was the ideal oil to use for frying.


      I then proceeded with a great recipe for the tempura batter. The only thing that someone would need to know is the the blogger forgot to add that the recipe needed 3/4 cup of flour! Luckily I looked up other recipes to double check myself.

      The frying process began then with the lovely shrimp. I then saw that I had plenty of batter left so I fried baby portabella mushrooms! Yum! I was so pleased with how it turned out. Ryan got to taste test the goods during the process. Here is a pic of the finished product:

      Voila! We were happy with the process! I then proceeded to make the cooked sushi using the following fillings: avocado, cream cheese, smoked salmon, cucumber, and the fried goods.

      And the finished product, 2 hours later!

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      Peanut butter-chocolate chip banana bread

      August 26th, 2009

      Today was a particular LONG day starting out with the internet not working really well! My hunny and I planned on having company tonight so I thought I would plan something nice and quick. Mid week dinner for company gets hard, especially if one has a day job, so it was ideal for me not to make a big deal about it. I tend to obsess about the fact whether my meal is gourmet or not. I mean it always needs to be, at least for me. It is not a pressure for me but it is something I guess I have made it a goal for myself.

      Along with these thoughts, I added and spoke to the Lord that I needed to do a seasonal “whole body” cleanse, getting rid of toxins and well, 1 year married-bad-eating-habit errors! I will be doing this for 2 weeks so i have set a goal to makes healthier, but gourmet meals, that do not involve so much “bad” foods or at least too much of it. White rice, butter, too many carbs, etc. I am really, through God’s strength, going to need more balance in te meal planning this school year. This saying, even though my hunny got the stomach virus, I decided O would still make the meal I had planned. It was a brand new recipe and since we rescheduled with our company, I thought I might as well try it out.

      I made Panko-crusted Dijon Chicken with wild rice and home-grown cherry tomato salad with red onions and yellow peppers with a balsamic vinagrette. Unfortunately I do not have a picture for that!

      My company was going to bring dessert so I did not worry about that, but since we cancelled due to my hunny’s stomach virus, I decided to try a NEW recipe. I had some bananas that I needed to use. In the past I would make a banana bread or banana chocolate chip cookies, but I felt inspired to make something TOTALLY different.

      The recipe comes from “Visions of Sugar plums” blog. It is the Peanut butter-chocolate chip banana bread. It came out so well and look forward to trying it tonight with an espresso con panna!

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      Back from the dead

      August 24th, 2009

      So it looks like after 15 months of being married that I can continue with projects that I had ONCE started! LOL. I look forward updating this new blog within this new time that God has given me with my husband. I found a funky new template with one of my favorite colors!

      My intentions are the following:

      • To post pictures of my creations, whether it deals with food or decor.
      • To try to sell any of my creations.
      • To be more open concerning life changes. We are God’s creation so whether whimsical deals with things or with people around me, so be it!

      I miss being back in this side of the world. Facebook has taken way too much of my time. It is time to continue journaling my experiences.

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