February 18th, 2014
My daughter turned ONE this weekend and I cannot believe that it has been a YEAR!!! It feels like yesterday that I had my youngest baby girl. At this rate, I understand why it is easy to continue adding to a family. I know, that was funny, but there are no plans right now, right God?
I never really believed it when people told me that once I had my second child that things are just not as important as it was with your first child. It is so true! Well not on;y that, but planning a little cake and time with family was not as inspirational when the whole family is sick. I contemplated making anything and postponing having the birthday girl eat her cake, but truth be told, she does not let anything get in her way. My youngest loves food and ate her entire little smash cake.
It is so true when those moms told me that when I planned, things might not go the way I envisioned them and when I hardly planned things would go really well. Well this is also true. My oldest’s birthday was quite a disaster for me personally even making me cry. Even though it was just our family and my sister with her husband, I was disappointed but all that was washed away with her second birthday.
My youngest was a doll even though she was a snotty mess. Since my baby girl has been teething and nursing a cold you would think she would not have any interest in sweets or cake, but I placed a little cake in front of her with the candle and she admired and stared at her little candle. I helped with blowing the candle and proceeded to place the plate in front of her. She did not know what to do.
She leaned in a few times, wanting to take a bite of it but refrained almost as though it was not proper. She finally grabbed the icing and started feeding herself. She was smacking away and then she grabbed her first layer, the WHOLE layer, and brought it to her lips and took a bite. I took so many pictures because it was so cute! I, of course, made Julianne a separate cake for her to enjoy and a bigger cake for mom and dad to enjoy later.
What kind of cake did I make? Well, I had made a pumpkin cake for Julianne for her first birthday but I decided to make a banana cake for Kathleen because she really likes bananas. I made her cake vegan even though she has been eating eggs.
I took a regular recipe for banana cake that called for sour cream and used So Delicious’ new cultured coconut milk as a substitute and chia seeds as an egg substitute. The cultured coconut milk was delicious and made the cake turn out very moist. I loved that it did not call for any oil or butter but just the sour cream and bananas. I liked that which is why I chose to make a cream cheese icing. Yum!
Vegan Sour Cream Banana Smash Cake
by Noelle Kelly
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes
Ingredients (makes 2 small smash cakes and 1-9-inch cake)
FOR THE CAKE
- 2 cups spelt flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoons Salt
- 2 chia “eggs” (2 Tbsp chia seeds + 3 Tbsp warm water) (egg sub)
- 1 cup turbinado sugar
- 1 cup So Delicious cultured coconut milk (Sour Cream sub)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 whole ripe bananas, peeled and mashed
Cream Cheese Icing
- 1 tub of Tofutti cream cheese (vegan)
- 3 cups sifted powdered sugar
- 1 Tablespoon So Delicious coconut milk
- Sprinkles (optional)
Instructions
For cake
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9-inch square pan with nonstick cooking spray and 2 small CorningWare ramekins.
In a small bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda and salt. Set the dry ingredients aside.
In a large bowl, mix chia seeds and warm water and set aside for 5 minutes until it becomes sticky. Whisk in the sugar.
Stir in cultured coconut milk, dry ingredients, vanilla extract and bananas, just until dry ingredients are moistened. Pour into prepared pan and dishes and bake approximately 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs. Smaller ramekins will cook in 30 min.
Cool completely and prepare icing.
For icing
To make the icing, in a medium bowl, cream the cream cheese and add 1/2 cup of powdered sugar plus the coconut milk and add in powdered sugar until it is used.
Assembly
Split each small cake in half to make a layer cake. Add 2 Tablespoons of icing in the middle of cake and place on lower layer of mini cake. Ice the rest of the little smash cake with 4 more Tablespoons. Decorate with candle and sprinkles.
For larger cake, ice the top of the 9-inch cake on just the top. DO not ice sides but it is up to the baker. Add sprinkles on top. Serve.
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I am happy to have a sour cream / plain yogurt non-dairy substitute for our family and I look forward sharing another recipe soon. In the meantime, our family continues to savor the bigger cake.
I now have a 27-month old toddler and a 12-month old baby. WOW! Where has time gone by. I have big girls and I feel immensely blessed.
What are your favorite memories with your kiddos?
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February 17th, 2014
This is a sponsored post with Yummly and Ragú®. All opinions are my own.
Have you ever felt like making something else other than spaghetti with spaghetti sauce? Usually during a busy weekday all I can think of preparing is spaghetti with a green salad but what I found out is that there really is so much more one can make with a jar of pasta sauce.
Ragú® has an Old World Style® Traditional Sauce that boasts 2 servings of veggies and is made with 11 juicy tomatoes making it its richest, thickest recipe. It has the Authentic Italian taste American family’s love and a variety of great tasting, quick and easy to make family favorite recipes.
The sauce is actually really chunky and thick which was perfect for the recipe I decided to remake from Ragú® ‘s recipe file.
The actual recipe from Ragú®is below. When I looked at the recipe I knew I could give it my own bus-mom-with-2-kids twist.
Ingredients:
· 1 Tbsp. olive oil
· 2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken thighs or breasts
· 1 medium onion, sliced
· 1 jar (4.5 oz.) sliced mushrooms, drained
· 1 jar (1 lb. 8 oz.) Ragu® Chunky Pasta Sauce
Directions:
1. Heat olive oil in 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat and cook chicken, onion and mushrooms 10 minutes or until onion is tender and chicken is lightly browned.
2. Stir in Pasta Sauce. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer covered 15 minutes or until chicken is thoroughly cooked. Serve, if desired, with hot cooked pasta.
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You can see that the recipe above is simple but when I make a meal for the whole family including my toddler and 1-year old, I always like including lots of vegetables. I’ve been making a point to prepare my meals the night before or on Sunday night before the crazy start of the week begins, but sometimes I do not even get to do that. I love throwing a whole bunch of veggies in a pot with rice and chicken to make for a quick dinner.
Even though Chicken Cacciatore is traditionally served with pasta I decided to serve mine with brown rice and give it a twist from the Latin-American Arroz con Pollo (Chicken and Rice) with an Italian spin. I fried the chicken in the pot then added the rice, onions, garlic and let that cook then I added to assorted veggies along with the Ragú sauce. The meal was ready within the hour!
My version was a hit with my family. My toddler used new words I had not heard her say with the following “Mommy, hmmm, so much flavor!” I blended a serving for my youngest while my hubby and I ate a portion with a green salad on the side. It was a successful meal with plenty of vegetable servings and decided this was a keeper in our home.
Tra-Dish with Ragú® : Healthy One Pot Chicken Cacciatore
by Noelle Kelly
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes
Ingredients (6 servings)
- 12 boneless chicken thighs, no skin
- 1 1/2 cups brown rice
- 2 large yellow onions, slices
- 1 yellow and red bell pepper, sliced
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 cup sliced carrots
- 1 1/2 cups cauliflower florets
- 1 cup corn kernels, canned or frozen
- 1 cup mushrooms, sliced
- 1 jar Ragú® Old World Style Sauce
- 2 cups water
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
Heat olive oil in a large pot on medium-high heat. Add chicken thighs, onions, and garlic and brown chicken for 10 minutes. Add rice after 5 minutes and make sure you stir the rice so it does not get burned. *
*Note
This allows the rice to cook quicker after all the rest of the ingredients are added.
Add the carrots, mushrooms, and cauliflower to the mixture and continue cooking for another 5 minutes. Add the jarred sauce, water and salt and pepper and bring pot to a boil.
Reduce heat to low and cook for 35-40 minutes.
Serve 2 chicken thighs per person with rice and veggie mixture. Goes great with a side salad.
Want to get more ideas for recipes? Visit Ragú® on Facebook for additional quick, easy and delicious ideas. Also, visit www.RaguSweeps.com to enter the Ragú Better and Better Sweepstakes for a chance to win great Authentic Italian themed prizes and a grand prize trip to Venice for a family of four.
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February 14th, 2014
I was given 2 copies of the book, one to review and one to give away. All opinions are my own.
It’s Valentine’s Day and hopefully you have something planned for your loved one or not. If you’re single, you can still plan something with your friends. We are all trying to stay healthy in our home and hopefully the hubby and I will be able to celebrate tomorrow.
I recently had the chance to check out a NEW book called Loveology, released on the 4th of this month that is very attractive to the eye. Who doesn’t want to read something in pink with the words love all over it? I know there are a lot of books, especially secular books, with theories about love but it has been a while since I read one that has been so dead on especially on what Scripture says.
Have you ever questioned what the point of marriage was all about or why we had to love at all? Are you scared to get married at all because you feel like everyone around you is getting divorced? Did you ever feel unsatisfied having casual sex, always feeling empty at the end? Are you looking to get married but have not had successful attempts at dating or do you feel like you are doomed to singleness? Are you newly married and already feel the flame of intense love dwindling? This book is for you!
My hubby and I have been married almost 6 years and have 2 little girls and I have to say that marriage is more than I imagined it to be. I never had all the answers but I knew the 2 years of my single life I was resolved to give up on dating and just wait on God’s will and plan for my life.
What is marriage for? Well marriage definitely exists for something larger than itself especially when you learn that love is not only a noun but a verb which means it is a feeling and an action. All this is described in depth in the book.
The author, John Mark Comer, lead pastor of Bridgetown: A Jesus Church in Portland, OR, “breaks down for young adults everywhere how a relationship should function and what a healthy marriage looks like, based on what God designed marriage, sex and romance. Comer strives to shine some insight on what God was thinking when created mean and women, writing ‘Loveology’ as a theory on love.“
He breaks down the book in amazing sections giving scriptural basis for his explanation for each section. Here is a look into the chapters in his book:
- Part 1: Love
- Part 2: Marriage
- Part 3: Sex
- Part 4: Romance
- Part 5: Male and Female
Within each part of the book Pastor Comer focuses what it is to love and brings back what the Bible states and then pinpoints why there are a lot of misconceptions in marriage, love, dating and more
I love the fact that Pastor Comer does not beat around the bush when it comes to the most important things in our life. The hard issues of life are pinpointed and discussed and in a great format. I really like the format of the book how easy it is to read especially if one has never read the Bible.
The book is non-judgmental and discusses gender issues, homosexuality and true love at its Biblical core. The beauty of the Bible, from what the author discusses, is that the Bible shows us the beginning of marriage ending with Revelation with the marriage of heaven and earth.
I really like the fact that the pastor focused on the point there is no real “one” out there in life to complete our lives. Before I met my husband I had read and had been taught that were not incomplete human beings. A marriage is all about “two broken people coming together to find healing in Jesus. One broken person plus another broken person does not equal bliss.” Such a perfect point! I like the fact that the pastor also talks about his personal life and what he thought was an idea of love and marriage.
What I was blessed with the most was the fact Pastor John Mark spoke truth. Here is another quote from the book
- ” As a general rule, where the Bible is dogmatic, we should be dogmatic. Where the Bible is ambiguous, we should be open-minded and loaded with grace. And where the Bible is silent , we should shut the heck up.”
If Christianity is not something you understand or believe in, don’t let it deter you from reading this book. Wouldn’t you want to know more about what TRUE LOVE looks like?
Before Loveology was released as a book, it was an event and continues to be an event held in large spaces for young adults or anyone interested in discussing the nitty and gritty of life, love, marriage, sex and romance. Now, wouldn’t you want to be there for that??? I would. Want to win a copy?
To win a copy of this book, leave a comment below telling my what’s the hardest thing about love.
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February 11th, 2014
I did not quite believe it when locals in Pennsylvania told us almost 1.5 years ago that this place would have hard winters especially since we had a mild winter last year. In comes this year with our little Maximus and Nikka for surprises. First a big snowstorm and then an ice storm and then no power.
I always thank God for these surprises because it teaches me more about myself and more about my husband and how we can better work through crazy situations such as losing power over 36 hours. As I sit here writing this I know there are still LOTS of people without power. I am super thankful for all the hard work the PECO workers are doing in order for us to have power but it is even more incredible the generosity that has been extended to us.
We could never have imagined being out of power and for 36 hours at that because I know it could have been longer. I really tried not to worry and was as calm as possible but my tummy said otherwise with an upset stomachache every time I ate something. The first day we trucked through our experience and stayed at home because it still was not that cold. We layered up and kept on our day. The kids did not make anything of it and only objected on the hats they had to wear throughout the day.
As the evening approached we really wanted to get out our chilly home and head out to an open restaurant for a warm meal. We had called several places in the area but we were not sure if our favorite Mexican would be open since their phones were not up. We drive by and it was open so we had to find an ATM since they were only taking cash. We arrived around 5 pm and did not get seated until 20-25 minutes later since the restaurant only had limited servers. We had our delicious dinner and headed to the mall until closing time. The mall had their heat blazing but there we could all settle, getting our phones charged at Verizon and laptops charged too.
We headed home to settle for the night at 50 degrees leading our kids with flashlights to their bedrooms for a good nights sleep. I really tried not to worry but my tummy was doing jumping jacks because all I could think were my kids getting sick, but they were covered well in blankets and in layers so they woke up really warm. The problem was when we woke up. It was FREEZING on our first floor and we decided to pack up quickly and head to our friend’s home to work for the day and for the girls to have a place to be warm.
Half a day went by and we were happy to find out that our power came back and it was a relief. I had prayed, not trying to feel selfish, that God would bring back our power so we could have our homes and not inconvenience people. I was thankful to Him because God is great in little things and big things.
What did we do with our freezer and fridge items? We had our patio and actually salvaged pretty much all of our food by placing it on the patio, so, thank God, but there was no dinner. Thankfully we were invited to dinner with another family and then we came back home ready to sleep in our warm home.
We learned a lot and I cannot even believe that even now, people do not have power, so we pray for you who do not have power and we thank the Philly Social Media Moms who lovingly and generously offered their homes and their meals. We felt loved indeed. Go check out their websites!
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February 10th, 2014
I attended this event by invitation and was not compensated. All opinions are my own.
This past Friday night I had the great opportunity to be the first to attend Opera Philadelphia’s social media night at the opera. I am sure you are wondering what that means but we got the chance to sit in a convenient spot in the theater away from patrons and live tweet the performance. It was a rare chance. Opera and theater snobs might be appalled but I am so thrilled to share with you my experience.
I was armed with my fully-charged phone and directions on how to discreetly use our phones during the performance, like keeping it on silent and dimmed. We sat in our designated spots and were among other tweeters from the area. We were all a mixture of media folk, from bloggers to magazine writers to regular tweeters.
Now to tell you a little about the contemporary, flamenco-infused opera production, Ainadamar. Ainadamar means “fountain of tears” in Arabic and is about the controversial life and defiant death of the poet, Federico García Lorca. It is described as “poetry in motion,” and was that a reality. I was really excited to see this 80-minute Grammy-award winning performance that was set in three images and performed in Spanish.
As we sat in the performance, we found out that the Argentinian composer, Osvaldo Golijov, was in house! I had been reading about his life in South America which I find fascinating since I am half Chilean but that is not all. He grew up in an Eastern European Jewish household so his musical influences were varied and not only that but he was surrounded by classical chamber music, Jewish liturgical and klezmer music, and the new tango of Astor Piazzolla. Something that caught my eye was that the composer attended University of Pennsylvania and studied with George Crumb.
I studied and learned about George Crumb in 20th-century composition class in college and even though the style of music was not my favorite, I learned to appreciate it. I was very curious how his style would influence and come across Mr. Golijov’s opera.
We were seated in the balcony dead-center in the theater so we had a great view of all the dancers and performers. Most of all the opera singers were making their debut at Opera Philadelphia. The soprano, Ms. Montenegro sang one of the title roles, Margarita Xirgu. All her high notes were so beautiful and clear and the trills that were in the music were gorgeous. The plus in being able to tweet everything that was going on was that I could understand the singing. Even though there were English subtitles the Spanish enunciation was clear from where I was sitting.
The mezzo-soprano, Ms. Pardo, sang the role of the poet, Federico García Lorca. Yes, a female sang what is known to be a “pants role” which is seen a lot in Mozert’s operas. Her overall tone and role were well-performed and very dramatic indeed. I loved hearing her low register or low notes.
While I enjoyed listening to the women sing, my real favorite parts of the opera was the music, Alfredo Tejada, the flamenco singer, and the dancers. While this all might be my Latin side, I think ANYONE watching this opera would love the rhythms, the dancing, and the images in this production.
I have only had one or two chances to see flamenco dancing while in Spain and it has been such a long time, but I would take lessons in a heartbeat if I had a chance. The dancing is so mesmerizing and graceful. My late fraternal grandmother loved everything Spanish, not only because she had Spanish blood, but there were a lot of influences in her home.
Flamenco singing is another realm of vocal performance in my opinion. I looked over to the other lady sitting next to me, after Mr. Tejada performed, and we both agreed that we could hear him sing all the time. He was so passionate with his declarations as he came on stage so it was no surprise he has won a lot of first prizes back in Spain.
If you have not attended an opera before, this would be a great option to attend seeing it is only 80-minutes long, but not only that. The performance will keep you constantly engaged or dancing in your seat.
Check out the gallery to see the singer’s costumes.
Here are the dates for the rest of the performances. If you are in town, it is imperative you go watch this fantastic performance. The set is magical and the music is glorious.
VENUE:
Academy of Music
240 S Broad Street, Philadelphia, PA 19102
PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE:
Wednesday, February 12, 2014 at 7:30 p.m.
Friday, February 14, 2014 at 8:00 p.m.
Sunday, February 16, 2014 at 2:30 p.m.
Want to check out my tweets on the performance? Check out the #lorcaopera on Twitter and @singerinkitchen for all my tweets from the live performance.
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