McBride - Martinas kitchen mix: my recipe playlist for real life

MARTINAS KITCHEN MIX

My Recipe Playlist for Real Life

Martina McBride

MARTINAS KITCHEN MIX

My Recipe Playlist for Real Life

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

Ive been singing since I can remember and making records since 1992. I love it! Its been a huge part of my life and who I am and I dont want to stop doing it anytime soon. But I also have a passion for cooking for my family and friends. After such a long career in music, the fact that I am now writing a second cookbook really blows me away. Im so grateful to have another opportunity to share some of my favorite recipes with you.

Over the years, Ive noticed how much cooking and singing have in common. When I make something delicious, I want to share it, which is a lot like sharing my music with an audience. I often say that cooking is my love language. I enjoy it because Ive seen how it makes the ones I love happy and content. In return, it makes me feel like Ive taken good care of them. Its the same way I feel when I walk offstage after a performance.

This book is called Martinas Kitchen MixMy Recipe Playlist for Real Life because it takes you inside my kitchen and shows you what Im cooking right now. My cooking, like my music, is always evolving. I still have so much to learn! Honestly, Im finally to the point as a cook where Im comfortable making up recipes on my own, tweaking recipes I find that I want to try, or fixing a recipe that didnt work the first time. It takes lots of practice and not being afraid to experiment or make mistakes, but the more I cook, read about food, and try new things, the easier it is to be creative.

When I experience new flavors or ways to use herbs, spices, or other ingredients, I start imagining all the different ways I might incorporate them into my cooking. Its a lot like making records where, as you go along, you learn about different instruments. Until you know what each one sounds like, theres no way to imagine how to use them to enhance your music. I had been making records for about seven years the first time my producer mentioned using a bouzouki on a song we were tracking in the studio. Its a Greek stringed instrument that has a really cool sounda little like a mix between a Dobro and a mandolin. At the time, Id never heard of it, so had no idea how it sounded. Once I did, its sound was in my repertoire and I ended up using it on several records. An ingredient is a lot like that bouzouki in my mind. Until youre familiar with it, its impossible to imagine how to use it or what it might add to a dish. After youve tasted it, you start imagining all the ways it can liven up and personalize your cooking.

I dont think Ill ever stop learning, nor do I want to. As health and nutrition continue to be important topics of conversation, it seems like new ingredient options are in the spotlight every dayalmond milk, cashew butter, nutritional yeast. My oldest daughter often shows me how to incorporate these healthier alternatives into my cooking. (If you know and use them, feel free to apply them to the recipes in this book.) Today, we have Google and YouTube and so many powerful resources at our fingertips, and I learn so much by researching, watching videos, and reading cookbooks by amazing cooks around the world. Im always trying for balance in life. I believe in moderation, not deprivation, when it comes to food, but I also agree with the old saying, You are what you eat, and believe that high-quality, nutritious food is imperative for good health. In other words, I try to eat healthy 90% of the time, but sometimes I just want cheese or something else creamy and comforting. So when those cravings hit me, I pay attention, and try and satisfy them. Usually, allowing myself just a little bit of whatever it is Im craving does the trick and then I dont overdo it.

Recently, I was looking through my old journals and it surprised me just how much my ideas about food have changed. My travels as a performer have exposed me to a variety of foods and that has influenced the way that I cook. The focus on organic foods and healthy diets has changed the way we cook and eat at home. As a matter of fact, we have basically cut out fast food and processed ingredients in our house. After eating mostly fresh, nonprocessed food for a few years now, my taste buds have changed and I find that fast food just doesnt taste as good to me as it once did (ok... with the exception of In-N-Out Burger... that always tastes good!).

When I was growing up on a farm in Kansas, nutrition hadnt become the cultural phenomenon it is today. I had never seen any bread other than Wonder white bread (we ate it slathered with margarine at every meal), and our dinners (or suppers, in Kansas farmspeak) consisted of mostly meat and potatoes. We had a big garden and always had fresh tomatoes and vegetables in the summer (literally farm-to-table), but we didnt have a big supermarket within a 90-mile radius, so when fresh vegetables were out of season, they just werent available like they are now. Therefore, we ate mostly commercially canned fruits and vegetables. Having access to fresh organic produce year-round is a big advantage, health-wise.

When Im cooking, my imagination lets loose and rarely do I stick to a recipe as writtenif Im using a recipe at all. Ive become an intuitive cook who knows what a dish needs to suit my tastes. It was important to me to create recipes for this book that were versatile enough for you to do the same. I even include ad-lib tips to give you ideas for inspired riffs you might consider. Its meant to encourage you to start thinking about cooking outside the lines and to be unafraid to experiment or tweak a recipe to your liking. Thats what Ive been going for in my own kitchen. Its what makes cooking fun!

Ive included several family favorites and memories from my childhood with the Dont Knock It Til You Try It recipes. Every family has quirky or special recipes that have been handed down. I wanted to share some of mine with you.

I hope you enjoy this book and cook from it often. Its my biggest wish that a few of these dishes will make it onto your list of new favorites. Thanks for reading and for following along on my culinary journey.

My grandma had this in her kitchen and from about the age of 6 or 7, I would read from it, as our prayer, before each meal. When I moved away she gave it to me and its been in every one of my kitchens since.

CAST OF CHARACTERS

I talk a lot about my family in this book. Im proud to have raised three girls who love healthy food and love to eat! Fans of my music most likely know about my family because, well, with social media, how could they not? For those of you who have picked up this book because you heard about it from a friend or the cover caught your eye, let me introduce you to my family.