The Composer’s Cat

The sun has put me into a writing frenzy. Bella is enjoying a different experience with this sunny Saturday morning!

Mvt. IV – First Draft

It’s been a while since I last shared, but I swear that I’ve been working! Click below to see the first draft of Mvt. IV:

LM#4

Mvt. 6 Final Score

Type setting is mostly completed…needs some more expression editing and page editing (for printing), but otherwise…

LM#6

Mvt. VI Completed

Seven large handwritten manuscript pages and 128 measures…and it only took three months (nearly to the day) to get it all on paper! Movements five, six, and seven are now completed; now time to finish the first four movements.

 

The Last Matinee — Mvt. V

Here it is; the first draft:

The Last Matinee — Mvt. V

Still working on getting audio to y’all! 🙂

The Last Matinee – Mvt. V Completed!

Hard at Work on Mvt. V

The Last Matinee – Mvt. VII

The finished first draft of Mvt. VII of The Last Matinee, a buddhist requiem (for orchestra, choir, and cantor), a setting of the poem by John Nizalowski.

The Last Matinee – Mvt. VII

Showing Your Work

Sketch and “map” for Mvt. VII.

 

When I began this blog a few years back, I always intended to make it about more than my creativity in the kitchen.  For the next 50 days, I will primarily be posting about composing music (with hopefully a delectable picture of a luscious meal or two).  I’ve been working on a piece for nearly three years, and it’s time to pull it from the constant loop of my brain and place it to rest on paper.  Don’t get me wrong; I have been working on it – I swear!  I have several notebooks full of musical sketches and research.  I have multiple first attempts at sections, but only about 1/5 completed.  So, I’ve set a due date – June 15th, 2014.

In the meantime, I’ve been reading Show Your Work! by Austin Kleon; a lovely, quick read!  In it, he suggests putting your work “out there”, so I’ll be posting photos and some audio (eventually) concerning my new “requiem” for full orchestra, chorus, and cantor based on the wonderful poem The Last Matinee by John Nizalowski.  The piece is in seven movements; over the past few months, I have hobbled away time to complete Movement VI (though greatly in need of a rewrite), and have large portions of Mvts. I and II completed.  Today, I completed Mvt. VII: “In Buddha’s temple I break forth…” (for double chorus, humming bowl, djimbe, and cantor).  Here’s a couple shots of the completed score.

Enjoy 🙂

The Alchemist Returns to the Kitchen

Chicken Tortilla Soup

I don’t think there is any way to correct a life that seems out of balance without spending at least a little bit of time in the kitchen.

Work has been great.  My family and friends are doing well.  Life has been good.  But it has been eleven months since my last visit to my digital kitchen, and there’s a good reason for that – I haven’t been in the literal kitchen much at all lately.  Which translates to: “I haven’t been taking very good care of myself lately.”

I had lost interest in making great food for a while, but preparing the feast for a big holiday party recently rekindled my cooking spirit.  So, here I am, back in the kitchen – both literally and digitally – working on taking better care of myself and keeping life more balanced.

 

Chicken Tortilla Soup

Earlier this week, I turned in my final grades and officially began my lengthy winter break.  I have been looking for the right recipe to get me back into the kitchen, and right after finals I had a hankering for chicken tortilla soup.  I searched for recipes and finally decided to combine a couple of different recipes from the Food Network site.  One of these recipes, created by Emeril Lagasse, included a great seasoning for the tortillas simply called “Emeril’s ESSENCE Creole Seasoning”.  I suggest clicking the link and mixing yourself up a batch before you make the tortillas – well worth the addition!  Enjoy 🙂

Chicken Tortilla Soup

2 Tbsp. olive oil

1 small onion, diced

4 cloves garlic, chopped

1 poblano pepper, seeded and chopped

1 1/2 tsp. salt

1 1/2 tsp. ground cumin

1/2 tsp ground coriander

6 cups low-sodium chicken broth

1 (15-oz.) can fire-roasted diced tomatoes

1 (15-oz.) can black beans

3 chicken breasts, boneless and skinless

1 (15-oz.) can unsalted corn kernels, drained

2 limes, (juice 1 1/2 limes, and cut the other half into wedges for garnish)

1 cup roughly chopped fresh cilantro leaves

2 Tbsp. olive oil

1 8-inch flour tortillas

1 avocado, pitted and sliced

Tortilla Strips with “Emeril’s ESSENCE Creole Seasoning”

1.) In a dutch oven, heat the oil on medium-high heat.  Add the onions, garlic, peppers, salt, cumin, and coriander until softened (about 5 minutes).  Pour the chicken broth, tomatoes, and black beans into the pot and bring to a boil. Once you reach the boil, put in the chicken breasts and reduce heat to a simmer.  Cook the chicken for 25 minutes.   Remove the chicken and shred (when it’s cool enough, obviously).

2.) Return chicken to soup and add corn, lime juice, and cilantro.  Leave soup on low heat while preparing the tortilla strips.

3.) Heat oil in small skillet.  Working one at a time, fry up tortillas until golden and crispy.  Sprinkle both sides with “Essence” seasoning; and using a pizza cutter, cut into strips.

4.) Ladle portions of the soup into bowls.  Top soup with tortilla strips and garnish with lime and avocado.  Enjoy 🙂