Posts by admin:
- 8 Wild Hibiscus Flower Company tea bags
- 8 cups hot water
- 1/2 quart black cherry juice (all-natural juice, not concentrate)
- 1/4 cup orange juice
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 1/4 cup lime juice
- 1 cup tequila
- 1 cup triple sec
- 1/3 cup skinny syrup (stevia based), or any other simple syrup
- Wild Hibiscus Flower Pyramid Salt Flakes (to rim glasses)
- Bugs, Bees, and Butterflies
- Summer Fun Collection
- Flower Collection
Carnival Fun at Lionville Chick-fil-A
July 25th, 2014
Here’s what you missed this week at the Chick-fil-A in Lionville. It was an amazing time with local families and kids having fun with various games, prizes and the moon bounce. It was the most crowded I have ever seen it which in my opinion deems it a success.
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Skinny Cherry Hibiscus Margaritas #MasterMixologist
July 24th, 2014
Disclaimer: Opera Singer in the Kitchen is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com
Disclosure: I received product to review and create my recipe. All opinions are my own.
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Just Pretend Kids Review + Giveaway
July 22nd, 2014
I try to save money on not loading up our weekly schedule with activities that might cost a buck. Since this summer has mostly been a wet one, it has been hard to be outdoors. Even though I had grand plans of letting my kiddos dance in the rain in the suits, summer colds have impeded this fun activity as well and thunderstorms.
Most of our time is spent indoors, letting our two girls under the age of three to freely run and play with the toys they have in various places. Since being hospitalized, a lot of television has been our friend and sadly, it has back tracked the way I want my girls to entertain their time. Sometimes the scarves are taken out and we pretend we are a band of gypsies.Other times we wear sunglasses and lots of ponytails and rock out to dance music. Oh yeah. We go all out.
None of this can be done or created out of thin air. I feel like it needs to be fostered. While my girls are still very young, I try to explain to my oldest, who is 2 1/2, that there is a need for pretend. Slowly but surely she is understanding but of course, every day is a different one.
I love that my toddler likes pretending to be a princess since she is constantly requesting Sleeping Beauty. When I brought out dress-up time with a strawberry tutu and wings, she was super excited! She wore it three days in a row, twirling and spinning, and trying not to make her little sister jealous.
I figured since my daughter loves strawberries that now she could be a strawberry fairy, making strawberries available to her friends. Even though the folks at Just Pretend Kids only sent me the tutu and wings, there is a matching headband,wand, and body suit to complete the outfit. Since I was in a particular toy shop this weekend, I decided to pick up a plastic wand with floating stars to complete the outfit, so now my daughter knew her outfit is could go around changing her toys into strawberries.
It think it is fascinating to hear the stories a young child tell. We love music in our home so as my strawberry-clad fairy / toddler twirls, she sings, hums, and creates her own music. I look forward visiting the Just Pretend Kids site in the future for princess dress-up outfits. They have ALL types of collections for any little girls desires especially for those who love dress-up. Here are a few examples of their collections:
Want your little one to have a chance to have her own tutu and fairy wings? One US reader will win a pair of their own from their favorite collection. Follow the steps the giveaway entry form below. Good luck!
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Mini Bento Snack Boxes for Busy Moms
July 18th, 2014
Bento boxes are all the rage right now but they are all mostly geared for toddlers and children. I am a very busy mom of two kids under the age of 3 and well, frankly, I hardly have time to make their lunch whenever we go out let alone my own. I know this sounds sad but usually there is only so much time, but my ideal is to save money on eating out whenever we go do fun outdoor activities.
When I started looking for snack ideas for me, I knew that the new Jarlsberg minis would be a perfect addition to my snack box. Everything made mini just seems to taste better and having Jarlsberg cheese in mini form, encased in an elegant yellow wrappers completes everything.
The new Jarlsberg Minis are only 70 calories each, bite-size, mellow and nutty in flavor. When I paired it with my multiple favorite snack foods, all that was left to complete it was a glass of white wine. If only. So what exactly did I put in my box?
First I was happy that I purchased a mini bento while in Japan at Epcot. It was the closest I felt traveling across the ocean to a place I’ve always wanted to go. It was the cutest design and in my favorite color too! I ended up having to pick up 2 more for my girls so they wouldn’t question or demand the box away from me.
My bento box was perfect with 2 tiers, where I stuffed the bottom tray with fresh cherries. The bottom tray is sealed with a plastic cover to prevent the contents from spilling over. I added a handful of raw almonds, 1-2 Jarlsberg Minis, and 2-3 slices of my favorite sliced turkey. I was gushing with excitement because I no longer had an excuse. Of course my kids like this too and I include them in their own boxes. Three for the win!
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Sweet Cherry Chutney + Demo + Giveaway
July 17th, 2014
For three years we lived in Michigan and would travel to the Cherry Festival in Traverse City only to find out year after year that the winter had been so cold that the cherries were not ready for the festival. They were either brought in from Washington or Japan! How ironic but even so, here we now live in Pennsylvania and we were told yet again that the winter was hard and that the cherries were brought in from Washington. Well, you know what? Good for you Washington! At least we can enjoy the cherries from somewhere! It would be tragic if we did not have them at all.
As I arrived at Whole Foods I actually had no clue what we would be learning. I was excited to learn I was going to learn how to can a good amount of cherry chutney. I’ve never really been a fan of chutney but since we were using cherries my skepticism was quickly turning into curiosity.
Marisa quickly explained to us how one should can and how the acidity of fruit can affect how the canning and cooking process work. There is a perfect Ph level to safely water bath a jar and it is 4.6. If the level is below that then there is nothing to worry about. What if your level is above the 4.6? Well, add more acidity and it will balance out.
I saw all the simple ingredients go into a pot and they were cooked at medium high heat, never allowed to burn or stick, but constantly stirring until the heat was lowered. The cherry mixture simmered almost having a caramelized color. The smells were amazing despite the amount of apple cider vinegar that the recipe asked for. The appearance was tantalizing and all participants were drooling, waiting to get a taste with a cracker and cheese.
Even though I am known to take on too many hobbies, I was very intrigued by the canning process. I love the fact of preserving in large quantities of anything to have available during an off-season. I asked Marisa how one might be able to can without having to invest in new tools and she answered them all pretty well.I had a big pot to boil water, a base to keep jars from touching the bottom of the pot, tongs, and glass jars. I was all good.
The chutney was ready and the glass jars were ready to filled. The jars were the same heat, coming out of boiling water, of the chutney, so they were filled and sealed but not tightly and placed back in the simmering water to cook for 15 minutes. We kept another jar to taste test.
The end result was addictive and incredible. The bursts of cherry mixed in with citrus, golden raisins, and mustard seeds was spectacular. The folks at Whole Foods had St. Angel soft cheese and crackers to accompany the chutney and it was a perfect accompaniment.
As we left we all received our own goody bag to make the chutney at home with a Black OXO Good Grips Cherry Pitter included! It was an exciting goody bag. I went straight home the next day and made it and was super happy with the end result. I knew that even though I might not undertake the canning hobby I knew I could pick it up when the girls were older.
How about making your own Cherry Chutney? Whole Foods was so kind to give away a $25 gift card for one of my readers to buy their own ingredients for the chutney. You should also check out Marisa’s book Food in Jars because I also made her strawberry jam a few days later which turned out well.
