Granola

Ah food, how do I love thee?  One simple food that I've been in love with since childhood is granola.  I can eat it dry, on yogurt, with milk, on ice cream, with peanut butter or nutella.  If it's in the house, I'm grabbing it by the handful and snacking while I'm at my desk.  My mother makes delicious granola and a few years back, for Christmas, she gave me about 2lbs worth!  She puts in sunflower seeds, oatmeal, rasins, honey and a little oil.  The great thing about making your own, is that you can add whatever you want to it.  Chocolate chips, nuts, dried fruit, flax seed, peanut butter.  You name it!  Here's a recipe I love for easy granola: 

Chocolate Cherry Granola

Ingredients: 
6 cups rolled oats (not quick-cooking or instant)

• 2 cups mixed nuts and seeds: sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, chopped walnuts, pecans, almonds or cashews (I like almonds and sunflower seeds)

• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, or to taste

• Dash salt

• 1/2 to 1 cup honey 

• 1 cup  chopped dried fruit (I like dried cherries)

• 1 cup chocolate chips

Method:

• 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a bowl, combine oats, nuts and seeds, cinnamon, salt and honey. Place on a sheet pan and put in oven. Bake for 30 minutes or a little longer, stirring occasionally. Mixture should brown evenly; the browner it gets without burning, the crunchier the granola will be.

• 2. Remove pan from oven and add dried fruit. Cool on a rack, stirring once in a while until granola reaches room temperature. Add chocolate chips.  Transfer to a sealed container and store in refrigerator; it will keep indefinitely.

What's your favorite way to eat granola?  What ingredients would you add to make your dream granola?

Summer 2012 Re-cap

I just realized how long it’s been since I’ve blogged.  Time flies when you’re having fun!  This summer has been full of music, food, sun and travel.  I’ve been busy doing shows (CT, DC, PA, upstate NY, and a Spike Hill residency in Brooklyn) and have been writing lot’s of new tunes.  Here’s a live video of one of my favorites …

Summer can be a great time to visit with friends, and eat lots of fresh fruits and vegetables.  I like to make cookies in the summer because they travel well and don't melt in the heat.  I was at a friend's cookout last month and I tasted a delicious cookie.  It was a chocolate chip, cinnamon cookie.  Outstanding!  Here’s a recipe for the delightful treats …

Cinnamon Chocolate Chip Cookies
 
    1/2 pound softened butter
    1 cup brown sugar
    3/4 cup granulated sugar
    2 eggs
    1 teaspoon vanilla extract
    2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
    1 teaspoon salt
    1 teaspoon baking soda
    2 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
    1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
    You can add cinnamon chips as well if you like.  I think it adds a nice texture. 


Heat oven to 350 degrees & line your cookie sheet with parchment paper.  Cream butter and both sugars together until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla and mix well. Sift dry ingredients together and stir in, mixing thoroughly. Add chocolate chips & cinnamon chips to batter and form cookies by using a small scoop or tablespoon.

Bake for 10-15 minutes, or until the edges are golden brown. Let cool on sheet before transferring them onto rack to cool completely. Enjoy!

I'd love to hear about your summer!  What is your favorite memory?  What's your favorite cookie recipe?  

Summer

It was extremely hot today in New York City and the familiar stickiness of summer has returned.  Only thing is, it's still May!  After a very mild winter (I grew up in Buffalo so whenever you don't have a blizzard, it's mild) we've been spoiled even further with an early summer.   Some folks are already complaining about the heat and the scorching sun.  I'm not allowed to complain.  I have a deal with myself - I am only allowed to complain when it's cold.  I'd rather any day to be stuck in the desert sun with no water than to be stuck in the freezing cold. That reminds me of the short story, "To build a fire" where a man gets lost in the woods in the winter.  He spits and it freezes before landing on the ground.  I'll go ahead and fast forward to the end ... he dies, alone, frozen to death. Yikes!  So, my deal is that I can complain about cold but not about the heat.  And besides, summer makes me happy!  I love summer dresses, beaches (including Brighton Beach in Brooklyn), ice cream cones, and eating in the back yard of the cute neighborhood restaurants.  I love LIC Bar in the summer because the live music is outside.  Whether I'm checking out an artist or playing a show myself, it's always very charming and serene.  The best part about summer is that just when it seems I'm getting tired of it, it ends and we move on to the next season!

What's your favorite season?  What's your favorite thing to do in the summer?  

Harmony

I love to sing in harmony!  I think I got so used to singing alto in high school, my ear automatically picks up a harmony when I'm listening to a song.  It's so much fun to sing with someone or several people and intertwine voices with them.  Recently, I've been working on a project with three other ladies (Shelly Bhushan, Theresa Hoffman of Little Embers and Michele Riganese) and it's all about the harmony.  It was a simple suggestion one night while we were all at Rockwood.  One of us said "Hey, we should all sing together sometime!  Another said "Hey, we should do a show where we each take turns singing one of our songs, and the other three girls do back-up!"  Next thing you know, we've booked a show at Spike Hill in Brooklyn to try this thing out.  By the end of the show, our good friend Gus Rodriguez had us booked for our second show, which was at the Living Room. 

Now, we've taken on a residency at LIC bar for May.  This means five Wednesdays in May we'll be performing.  This means lots of rehearsal, lot's of new music to learn and lots of harmony!  I've been working on the harmonica for these shows too.  Something I've been dying to try.  My challenge for this month of shows is going to be: 1. Getting some new songs out there, 2. Stepping out of my comfort zone and trying new instruments (Harmonica, Piano, Electric Guitar?).  I'm feeling up for it, feeling ambitious, excited, and a little nervous!  Here's a song that will be coming up at the residency by three amazing singers who teamed up for an album, Emmylou Harris, Dolly Parton and Linda Ronstadt ...

Those Memories

For more info about this residency and a little interview with all us girls, click the link below.
 Queens of Queens Review


For the official Facebook Invite, click the link below.
Facebook Invite

Do you have any favorite songs that feature lot's of harmony?  Any suggestions for songs we should try?

The interview

I was interviewed today.  Not for a show or magazine, but for my own promo video.  It's challenging to be "authentic" while on camera.  I found my self trying really hard to answer the question right, get the wording right.  Sometimes, I forgot what the question even was and I wrote the questions!  Maybe this is an art form, looking natural while a camera stares in your direction.  Maybe, I'm not completlely comfortable talking about myself.  I'd rather sing about it.  Yes, for the next interview, I will sing all the answers!  :) Ironically, tomorrow I'll be the one doing the interviewing.  My new show "JT's Artist Oven" shoots it's first episode tomorrow.  I get the privilege of interviewing Shelly Bhushan, a powerhouse singer/songwriter based out of Astoria, NY.  She'll be on my couch and then in my kitchen baking her famous apple cake.  I'll post the recipe after the show but I know it's going to be amazing!  I've heard stories about this cake!  Gil Cardon (from Riffslinger.com) is going to shoot the show and I'm pretty sure it's mainly because of the apple cake.  So, stay tuned for more about that.  In the meantime, I'm going to have some tea and think of some questions for Shelly. 

What kinds of questions would want to be asked if you were being interviewed?

Is there anything would you not want to talk about?

Live music!

I play live music quite a bit but it's always a treat for me to go see live music. Especially when I know it's going to be good! I took a trip to LIC Bar tonight to see my friend Kathy Zimmer play with her two back-up singers "The Sugar Bowls" and drummer Chris Binelli. What a treat! Kathy has a smooth vocal style and catchy tunes and the Sugar Bowls sprinkled sugar all over her songs. Their harmonies were often doing something completely different than Kathy's melodies, yet they complimented her perfectly. Chris added some great beats as well that fit in nicely without overpowering Kathy. As I sat listening, I ran into a few friends and we talked about war, food, music and herbs (not herb, herbs). The bar was packed inside and out with people celebrating the summer like weather we've been having here. LIC Bar also has a free buffet on Monday nights so that adds to it's popularity. I left feeling full in a few senses of the word and will be back there to see more shows soon.

What was the last live show you saw? What's your favorite music spot?

What's cookin'?

I can bake just about anything and even make slight variations on the recipe and it usually tastes delicious. Especially when it involves chocolate!

(A cake I made for my friend's wedding)

For me, this did not automatically carry over to cooking. When it comes to savory food and food that can actually sustain me, I am a bit challenged. I assumed that my Italian genes and family history of good cooking would just gift me with the golden spatula. I've surveyed many of my friends and one thing seems to be true across the board: the better a cook you are, the worse you are at baking and vice versa. That gave me comfort. As I get older, and care more about my health and well being, I'm starting to care more about the savory. I've purchased several cook books, including a few Sicilian variations and found that with baby steps, I am getting better! Today, I made seasoned chicken breast with a light brush of balsamic vinagrette (that I made from scratch) and salad with pecans, cherry tomato's and cucumber. Last week, I made a huge pot of soup with chicken, kale, beans, carrots and some other veggies. A health packed meal. I'm finding that the more time I spend learning how to cook, the more I'm enjoying it and the better it's tasting. Maybe the genes didn't skip me after all.

What are your favorite recipes? Are you a cook, a baker or a rare mix of both?

The story song

This is my favorite type of song. It brings you into another world, takes you on a journey. I was reminded of two great story songs recently. The first "Diamonds and Rust" by Joan Baez. When I hear this song, I stop what I'm doing and listen, chills up and down my arm. I feel what she felt. The song is rumored to be about Bob Dylan though she denied this at first and later admitted it. Watch a live version of Joan singing the song. Magical!

http://youtu.be/GGMHSbcd_qI

Another song I was recently introduced to is called "The Band Played Waltzing Matilda". It was performed by folk legend Liam Clancy. It's an anti war song that tells the story of a young man sent off to war. He eventually returns from the war, after having lost both his legs. He watches the parade every year where the war vets march and he wonders what it was all for. Will anyone remember them after they've gone? Granted, heavy topic matter but quite a story to be told within the confines of a song.

I have a few story songs out there and am working on some exciting new ones. What are your favorite story songs? Any stories that should be made into a song?

What to wear?

My Dad's girlfriend dresses him. We used to joke about it but it really is adorable. She'd show up in a sage green top with hand bag, shoes and nails to match. He'd show up in a sage green shirt and black pants. They looked sharp! Now, I must admit, I'm a little jealous. I want to be dressed. I'd like to have my clothes laid out for me everyday with a theme in mind. I end up wearing the same handful of outfits in rotation. Especially on a night where I have a show, I seem to have a fashion meltdown. The outfit I was planning to wear, I will try on, look at my reflection in horror and then promptly toss aside. I'll do this at least four more times before returning to my original outfit and running out the door.

One of my musician friends Shelly Bhushan brought up the same issue at a gig a few months ago. I felt better knowing I wasn't the only one with this dilemma. Maybe it's the nature of being female and wanting to feel "pretty". Or maybe it's as simple as this... I need to go shopping for some new clothes. Maybe, I should ask Beverly (my dad's girlfriend) to take me on as her special project. If you spot me at me next show wearing a sage green ensemble, you know why!

Where do you like to shop? Who are your style inspirations?