Old Food Porn

Okay, it's been a long time, and because I have an important recital tomorrow, I am taking the day off. However, that does not mean that I have to not blog! So, today I am reaching back into the photo vault to display some tasty creations. But before I to that, I want to post this recipe. I promised Sara that I would post this. I hope you are having a safe and fun trip!!!!

I made this without the tomatoes and substituted a small can of salsa and it made an excellent chunky dip. I have to give credit to Faith from the McDougall forum for this find. I don't have a photo, but I am sure that I will make it again!

Aztec Salad
(Makes about 8 cups)
This delicious salad is also a visual feast. It may be made in advance and keeps well for several days. The cilantro may be omitted if you prefer.

2 15-ounce cans black beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup finely chopped red onion
1 green bell pepper, seeded and diced
1 red or yellow bell pepper, seeded and diced
1 15-ounce can corn kernels, drained, or 1 10-ounce bag frozen corn, thawed, or 2 cups fresh corn
2 tomatoes, diced
3/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro (optional)
2 tablespoons seasoned rice vinegar
2 tablespoons apple cider or distilled vinegar
1 lemon or lime, juiced
2 garlic cloves, pressed or finely minced
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon coriander
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes or a pinch of cayenne

In a large bowl, combine beans, onion, bell peppers, corn, tomatoes, and cilantro.

In a small bowl, whisk together vinegars, lemon juice, garlic, cumin, coriander, and red pepper flakes. Pour over salad and toss gently to mix.

Per 1/2-cup serving: 70 calories; 4 g protein; 14 g carbohydrate; 0.7 g fat; 4 g fiber; 235 mg sodium; calories from protein: 20%; calories from carbohydrates: 71%; calories from fats: 9%

Recipe from Healthy Eating for Life to Prevent and Treat Diabetes by Patricia Bertron, R.D.

Now on to the food porn!

Chipotle Cornbread Bake with Black Beans and Squash

Vegan Cinnamon Swirl Hot Cakes and Fruit Salad

Italian Style Baked Seitan with Rice Penne Pasta and Chunky Red Sauce

Roasted Veggies (Carrots, Cauliflower, Turnips, Brussel Sprouts) with French Mustard Sauce and Vegan Potatoes Au Graten

Nephew Videos!

Here are two that I thought I would put up. The first is a video of strong little Nolan maneuvering on the floor at my dad's condo. He will be crawling in no time!



The second is a quick transitions from a candid smile to the classic Nolan "Blue Steel"



The original.

Food coming...

Vegetable Love and Spicy Love!

I'm excited to present my entry for the Vegetable Love recipe contest at FatFree Vegan Kitchen blog. Click on the link to view the rules. Thanks to Susan for inspiring me to create something! I love her blog, please visit it!

When I think of Valentine's Day, I think of special meals. When I think of special meals, I think of wine! I am featuring mushrooms, spinach and tomatoes. Below is my creation!

Spicy Red Wine Love Sauce with Savory White Wine Ravioli


For the Ravioli Filling

1 1/2 cups vegetable broth
3/4 cups bulger wheat
1/4 dry white wine
1 small onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves
1 cup chopped baby bella mushrooms
1/2 teas. thyme
1/2 teas. rubbed sage
1/4 teas. marjoram
1/4 teas. fennel seeds (I left mine uncrushed)
Salt and pepper to taste
1 cup chopped spinach
one package vegan wanton wrappers

For the Sauce:

3 cups of pureed tomatoed (or one large can)
2/3 cup of red wine (I used Sangiovese)
6 cloves of garlic, crushed
1/4 teas. crushed red pepper
1 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teas. salt

As you start: Bring the vegetable broth to a boil and add the bulger wheat. Cook for about five minutes, turn off the heat and let sit until needed.

Sauce: Saute garlic and crushed red pepper in a little bit of water for about a minute. Add the red wine and simmer for about five minutes. Add the tomatoes, basil and salt and simmer, covered, for about 20 minutes.

Ravioli Filling: Saute the onions and the garlic in a little bit of the wine until the onions are translucent. Add the mushroom, the rest of the wine, and the seasonings (except salt and pepper) and simmer until the wine is reduced in half. Then add the bulger and continue cooking. Salt and Pepper to taste and add spinach, cook until just wilted. Remove from the heat.


Building the Ravioli: On a floured surface, place one wonton wrapper and place 1 tablespoon of the ravioli filling on top. Wet the edges of the ravioli and place another wonton on top, pressing the filling to remove any air and sealing the ravioli.

When all the ravioli are constructed, bring a pot of water to boil and add the ravioli, cooking for 4 minutes. I found it worked best to use a slotted spoon to remove the ravioli from the water, and I placed the cooked ravioli on a cooling rack to let some of the excess water to drain. Serve with some sauce and a glass of the wine that was leftover!

Enjoy!

Thanks to Kat for coming over to taste test!

Next weeks menu!

Lazy Saturday! (I wish!)

First of all, I have to report that the menu making was successful! I stuck to it, and did not spend an extra penny on food! (I had one americano, and one ice tea, but those are beverages.) I guess my anal retentiveness paid off.


Before we go on to week two, to the left is my tasty dinner I had last night. I love steamed brussels sprouts and broccoli, and the bulger sauce was pretty good, although I could just add the bulger to a better sauce recipe and I think it would be better!

On last week's menu, I never had to make the Curry Tomato Soup. I have to many leftovers! So this week, I will try make less of each recipe, so I can keep the variety and have less leftovers!


Weekly Menu

Sunday

Lunch: Left over Potato with a garden salad
Dinner: Experiment new recipe for the Valentine's Day Contest . It's a secret!

Monday

Lunch: Salad and leftover experiment food!
Dinner: Hummus with veggies and crackers (I will attempt to make home-made Monday Morning before I hit the gym!)

Tuesday

Lunch: Freezer leftovers and with veggies
Dinner: Dijon Mustard Baked Potatoes from the McDougal MWL Cookbook

Wednesday

Lunch: BBQ Beans Salad (I'll adapt this a bit) with salad.
Dinner: Rustic Cabbage Soup

Thursday

Lunch: Leftover Cabbage soup and Bean Salad
Dinner: Freezer dinner with Salad (A night off! Hooray!)

Friday

Lunch: Leftovers
Dinner: Sweet potato and black bean burgers
I'm going to make a bunch of these and freeze them for lunches.

Saturday

Leftovers and Clean out the fridge.

Note: I am also going to see Andrew Bird on Saturday, so I might treat myself to a yummy dinner at Yoshimatsuaz, we'll see what Kat thinks!

Mushroom Barley Soup with a side of Sweet and Savory Kale!

Mmmmmmmmm, that was good, especially the awesome Kale recipe! The soup was good, but only after I seasoned it up a bit. I added twice the thyme, a generous pour of garlic powder (I should have just used fresh garlic at the start), and about a tablespoon of tamari.

I went a little prep crazy, mostly because I had work to do, and wanted to get everything cooking right away.











The the kale was so tasty, even though I did not add the slice almonds mentioned in the recipe. It was maybe even a little too sweet, and next time I will probably cut the sugar in half (I used raw turbino sugar). Also, I cut the recipe in half, which I won't do next time because I can probably eat the whole thing!

Enchi-la-las

I took the plunge and adapted Sunny's Breakfast Enchiladas. This was going to be a dinner recipe, so I left out the eggs entirely (and they are not vegan!)

I made the Sauce and the refried beans exactly like the recipes on the site, but I left out the oil in both cases. I wasn't a fan of seeding and chopping 10 Roma tomatoes, so next time I'm sure I'll just use a big can of chopped tomatoes. Both turned out great, especially the beans. I think I found my new favorite refried bean recipe!




Now, adapting the turkey sausage part was a challenge, but I really loved the result. Here's what I did:

Instead of turkey I used:

1 large zucchini, chopped
2 cups cooked brown rice
1 cup frozen corn

I cooked the jalapeno, garlic and zucchini with water until the zucchini softened, and then I added the chopped tomatoes and all the spices from the recipe. I only had dark brown sugar, so I added only 2 tablespoons of that (I also used dried sage and thyme, so I cut the amounts in half). When everything was well mixed, I added the rice and some more water, just so the mixture was moist. The end result was a savory and spicy winner! I wasn't even close to what I would call sausage, but the flavors were great!

I think what really did it was the the combination of the savory (sage and thyme), sweet (brown sugar), and spicy (dried red pepper flakes and cayenne pepper). Even with the rice and zucchini, the flavors held nicely. I'm sure this would be awesome as a seasoning for a version of baked seitan.

Then I lined a 9 x 13 baking dish with corn tortillas and added the beans. On top of that, I added the 'sausage' mix, and then some more tortillas. Finally, I poured the sauce on top and baked it all in the oven at 375 degrees for 25 minutes.



The end result was very tasty, even though it was a little dry. However, I think I like the flavors better by themselves, so next time I will just wrap the 'sausage' mix in tortillas and bake with the sauce, and eat the beans on the side.

What's for Supper?

Cooking for one person is difficult. Don't you think? Cooking for one person who is trying to lose weight by eating a vegan, whole grain, and vegetable diet is really tough. It is so easy to pick up something horrible on the way home. The solution: make recipe plans, and stick to them. Now, this was easier when George was here with me but I'm sure I can do it. Two years ago lost a ton of weight on the McDougall plan. Why did it come back? Well, I'm a lazy SOB for starters, but in reality I got off it because I didn't keep up with the planning part. I've lost ten pounds since New Year's Eve, but I already got off track last week when I stayed up in Phoenix for AZ Opera, and went into panic mode when I took my orals, and just started eating take out. Well, to get back on track, I'm going to start this feature: The Weekly Menu!

This way the recipes are recorded here, and I can posted reviews of the menus as I make them. Let's see how long I can keep this up.

The After Super Bowl Menu

Starchy: Sunny's Breakfast Enchiladas (This will be a major adaptation, Keep posted on how I transform this into a yummy low-fat vegan dinner!)

Soups: Barley Mushroom soup
Old School Curry Tomato Soup (Will post my adaptation when I make it1)

Veggie Entree: Steamed Veggies with Bulger Spaghetti Sauce

Veggie side:Sweet and Savory Kale (this will take some adaptation)

Grain or Potato Salad: Black Bean Potato Salad

Dip: Hummus

Tenitive Menu

Monday
Lunch: Raw Veggies w/Hummus and Spinach salad
Dinner: Enchiladas

Tuesday
Lunch: Freezer leftover and Veggies with Humus
Dinner: Leftover Enchiladas with side salad

Wednesday
Lunch: Large Raw Salad
Dinner: Mushroom Barley soup with side of Kale

Thursday
Lunch: Leftover Soup with salad
Dinner: Roasted Potatoes and Freezer leftovers

Friday
Lunch: Hummus (if there is any left) and Black Bean Potato Salad
Dinner: Bulger Spaghetti Sauce with Rice and Steamed Veggies

Saturday
Lunch: Large Salad
Dinner: Old School tomato Curry soup with Rice with side of Kale

Sunday
Lunch: Fridge Clean Up!


-Wish Me luck!

BACK!

Well, I'm back. After a year of being distracted by facebook, I am back to the blog. So, what have I been up to? Well, I have been singing a bunch, passed my comprehensive and oral exams, and I am bout half-way through writing my proposal for my lecture recital. Here is what I have coming up:

1. Finishing my lecture recital proposal.

2. Get my job applications out.

3. Sing AZ Opera Guild preview for Don Giovanni

4. Perform Haydn's "Creation" with TCA

5. Recital at La Zarzuela with Swara Sonora Trio

That should keep me busy!

Some Arizona Opera pics from L'elisir d'amore:
(you see a couple videos from the production here)




P.S. I'm also going to use this as a way to keep track of my weekly menus. It's something George and I started after the new year, and I already got the recipes in a file on my computer, but I thought it might be helpful to put links to the sites I find the recipes (or food blogs) so I can find them. Sort of an online cooking journal, or, I guess, a food blog. I don't have to worry about boring anyone, because nobody reads this anyway!

L'amico Fritz

Well, nearly a week has past, but here it is!


Last week concluded a successful run of the opera at school. Dad and George came to town to see the show and a good time was had by all!

Dad flew in on Friday and we hung out during the day at my house. Friday night was my opening, and although it wasn't fantastic, it went very well.

Saturday, dad and I drove down to Sonoita to do some wine tasting. We started atDos Cabezas and then continued on to Canelo Hills where I gave my dad a tour of the grounds. Photographic evidence:








We concluded our trip by heading over to Callaghan Vineyard.

Full of wine tasting, we drove back up to Tucson to pick George up at the airport. Then it was dinner and off to the opera, this time to watch the other cast. You can see photos of their dress rehearsal here.

Dad and George enjoying coffee


Sunday morning Dad and George came to church we me, and then it was off to the opera again. Dad had to leave after the first act to catch his flight, but George was able to stay for the whole thing (Score: Dad 2 1/3, George 2). Sunday's performance went much better, and I was proud of everyone!

Back from Santa Barbara

First of all, many thanks go to Ken, Karen, Chris and Christine for making my trip to Santa Barbara so enjoyable! I had a great time!

First of all, my audition went very well. I really felt that I sang close to the best of my ability, and that's no small feat at an audition where you have 5 minutes to impress. Unfortunately I did not impress enough to get a call back! I did not get to sing for the fabulous Marilyn Horne, but Warren Jones was heard my audition. He didn't look bored during my audition, at least I had that going for me.

The rest of my time in Santa Barbara was spent hanging out with Chris and Ken. Ken gave me a tour of the town, and we had lunch outside. This was follow by a fabulous dinner cooked by Ken and a long evening in the recording studio with Chris.

I had a great time and I'm looking forward to tech week for L'amico Fritz. (Check out an article about it here. More about the opera to come.)

Here are a couple of photo from my trip. You can see many more here.

Off to Santa Barbara!

Greetings all!

Well, good news from the old pueblo (or Tucson, whichever you wish to call it). I survived my cold, countless hours of research and my audition this morning. The audition was for the University of Arizona President's Competition. Each area of the music department (voice, piano, strings, and woodwinds/brass/percussion) hold audtions to pick a student to represent them at the President Concert, held at the end of January. The winner gets to perform with the orchestra, so essentially it's a concerto competition.

So I auditioned with a set of songs by American composer (and native of Wisconsin) Lee Hoiby. And I won! It's very exciting, and I'm really looking forward singing the songs with the orchestra.

Now I'm in rehearsal for the opera, and will be flying to Santa Barbara for an audition with Music Academy of the West. My audition is tomorrow afternoon, and then I fly back Sunday for another rehearsal here in Tucson...

Busy me!

Voting Day

Yes! I remembered to vote today!!!!!! Of course, I would have totally forgotten if it hadn't been for my neighbor Rachel. As I was leaving for the day, she was pulling into the drive. I starting to pack my car, and she asked me if I knew where we were suppose to go to vote. I thought for a moment, and said, "I have it on my fridge!" And so I did. So, I was reminded to vote, and I even got a sticker for my time. I always feel really good after I vote, like I did something important. Which, of course, I did! I was sad to see all of the empty lines on the voter register. I hope everyone in Tucson gets out to vote before 7:00!

I'm happy to report that the concert went very well on Sunday. There was a great crowd and I feel pretty good about how I sang. Like I went 3-4 with 2 RBI and also drew a walk!

Sorry I don't have any photos, but if you go over to Canelo Hills Blog, you can see my ugly mug!

Upcoming Performance

When I started this blog last year, I intended it to be an account of my travels and performances. Sort of an open diary for my family and friends. In the past year, I think I have done a pretty good job at posting my whereabouts. However, I seem to leave out important information; the music I am performing, when and where the concerts are, and so on. I usually just post non-performance related things, like; "I'm in Somewhereville, look at the funny building."

I have wondered whether or not to start a separate blog, one in conjunction with my website I am trying to get going. For now, I'll keep it like this and if there is ever a time when I need to expand, I will!

So... that leads me to announce what I have coming up:



Yes! It's Gilbert & Sullivan with the University Community Chorus. Dr. Schauer was kind enough to ask me back to join the chorus and a fine group of student soloist to partake in this joyous occasion. "Trial by Jury" was Gilbert and Sullivan's first full collaboration, and started them off on their merry way as a librettist/composer duo. (if you haven't seen Topsy-Turvy and like G&S even a little bit, you must see this movie). I play the part of the Judge in this concert version and end up with the girl in the end!

I wish you could all be there to see me!

Windy

Well, my heart goes out to all of the people in Southern California, especially my friends Todd, Nishi, Tim and Karen. I spent some down time reading about the fires, hope you and your friends make it through okay!

On a lighter, but not completely unrelated, note; here are two silly videos from my trip to Wilcox. You can't hear a damn word either Kathryn or I say, but you can see you beautiful it was there, and see how windy it was.


I explain of the varieties of pumpkins:


Kat's Southern Arizona inspired version of Oklahoma:

Hard Day on the Farm

There comes a time in a man's life when he must brave the elements. When he must roll up his sleeves and get his hands dirty, enjoy the dirt under his nails, the sun on the back of his neck... yes; a man must break a sweat to find find nourishment. Or go to Trader Joe's, whatever is easier, really.

Today I wanted to investigate where the food actually comes from, and have a bit of fun picking my own! Kat and I drove to Wilcox (about 90 miles) today to visit Apple Annie's Orchard and Produce Farm (which are actually located in two different places!). Despite the windy weather (dust!) and the crowds, it was a great day. I came away with a big bag full of apples (about 4 pounds of mostly Fuji and Granny Smith), one awesome pumpkin, and bag full of tasty looking fresh veggies.... so many photos!!!














Some more photos here.