Thursday, October 30, 2014

Destinations Oakey -- Spanish Spooktacular!

As always, we had a fantastic time visiting with our friends at Destinations Oakey! Happy Halloween, everyone...We're already looking forward to seeing you all again soon! :)

 

Thursday, October 23, 2014

Recipe: Pumpkin Hummus

It's that time of year when pumpkin recipes abound! -- and one of my favorites is pumpkin hummus. Pumpkin hummus is good with cut raw veggies or plain pita chips, but it's sublime with cinnamon pita chips or cinnamon pretzels. Enjoy!

Pumpkin Hummus

Ingredients:

1 (29-ounce) can pumpkin puree
1/2 cup bottled minced garlic (or 8 garlic cloves, minced)
6 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 cup tahini paste
salt, to taste

Directions:

Combine pumpkin, garlic, lemon juice, and tahini in blender or food processor and puree until very smooth. Add salt to taste.

Thursday, October 16, 2014

Ren Faire 2014!!

We had such a wonderful time performing at Ren Faire this year! We especially want to thank all of our friends who joined us for our performances. It's a real delight to look out into the audience and see a familiar face or two! We're already looking forward to next year's Ren Faire. :) Here's a pic from our last performance, but if that's just not enough dance for you (and we hope it isn't!), check out our Video Gallery. Huzzah!



Thursday, October 9, 2014

Recipe: Slow Cooker Chicken Mole

We're headed to the Renaissance Faire tomorrow! -- and we're excited to share many of our favorite Spanish choreographies tomorrow, so it's no surprise I'm thinking about mole. Mole is one of my favorite Mexican dishes. Given my sweet tooth, that's not surprising: Mole incorporates cocoa powder and sugar. That also makes mole the perfect recipe for Halloween -- a little chocolate in my dinner makes it easier to steer clear of all the candy and treats! I use the slow cooker to prepare mole, which makes this a terrific recipe if you're hosting a party or headed out to celebrate the evening.

My husband was reluctant to try my take on mole because his mother and aunts prepared mole that was more sweet than spicy. Mole is typically a high-fat dish, too. I've eliminated nearly all of the fat, and struck a balance between sweet, spicy, and savory flavors, so my husband and I can both enjoy mole. !Buen provecho!

Slow Cooker Chicken Mole

Ingredients:

1 (1 1/2 ounce) package dried pasilla, mulato, or ancho chiles
1 (15-ounce) can tomato sauce
1/4 cup cornmeal
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
1 tablespoon sugar (or sugar substitute)
2 teaspoons bottled minced garlic
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken tenderloins

Directions:

Remove stems from chiles, if necessary. Combine chiles and tomato sauce in blender, and puree until chiles are well-integrated into sauce.

Pour sauce into slow cooker. Add cornmeal, cocoa powder, sugar, garlic, cinnamon, coriander, and cloves, and stir to combine. Place chicken on top of sauce. Cook on LOW setting 4-6 hours, or until chicken is cooked through.

Thursday, October 2, 2014

Las Vegas Renaissance Faire 2014!!

We're seriously excited about Ren Faire next week, in part because we're looking forward to sharing some exciting new music and choreography with our audiences! Here's our schedule on the Shifting Sands Belly Dance stage:

Friday, October 9th, 3 PM -- "Mediterranean Delights"
Friday, October 9th, 5:30 PM -- dancing with Tribe Al-Wadi
Friday, October 9th, 8 PM -- "Spanish Nights"
Saturday, October 10th, 4 PM -- "Arabic Dreams"
Saturday, October 10th, 5:30 PM -- dancing with Tribe Al-Wadi
Sunday, October 11th, 3 PM -- "Mediterranean Delights"

We look forward to seeing you at Ren!! :)