I discovered a second nasturtium bloom! Just one and inspiration enough for this small spring salad of pea sprouts, red onions and tomatoes dressed with a bit of olive oil, salt and pepper. 😉
Posts Tagged ‘food’
guess what
Posted in Inspiration, Kitchen Inspirations, tagged colors, edible flowers, flowers, food, food photography, healthy eating, indoor gardening, Inspiration, nasturtium, pea sprouts, Photography on March 29, 2016| 2 Comments »
strawberry red and dark chocolate brown
Posted in Inspiration, Kitchen Inspirations, tagged brown, chocolate, colors, food, food photography, fun, Inspiration, Photography, red, srawberries on March 8, 2016| 4 Comments »
Photo inspiration: One morning a friend kept forwarding all of these dark chocolate recipes. One recipe was for a dark chocolate souffle and I remember thinking, “I don’t want to make the souffle, I just want to eat it!” In the end, I went to the refrigerator, found a lingering bar of dark chocolate, and decided to cut up one strawberry on top. I took the photo and set the plate aside thinking I’d leave this little treat for someone else but amazingly enough by the end of the day, the plate was empty … and my craving for chocolate was satisfied. 😉
strawberry and avocado
Posted in Inspiration, Kitchen Inspirations, tagged avocado, breakfast, colors, food, food photography, green, Inspiration, Photography, red, strawberries on February 29, 2016| 3 Comments »
red
Posted in Inspiration, tagged colors, design, food, food photography, fun, Inspiration, Photography, red on February 23, 2016| 1 Comment »
After working with words all day, all I wanted to do was play with food all night.
Red onion, roasted red tomatoes, sausage, and sprinkle of fresh parsley.
drying sage
Posted in Branches, Inspiration, Kitchen Inspirations, tagged abstract, food, food photography, herbs, Inspiration, Photography, sage, textures on January 26, 2016| 7 Comments »
a salad in sequence
Posted in Inspiration, Kitchen Inspirations, tagged beauty, food, healthy eating, indoor gardening, Inspiration, photo essay, Photography, salads, sprouts on January 3, 2016| 5 Comments »
gifts of the season
Posted in Inspiration, Kitchen Inspirations, tagged clementine, colors, food, food photography, gifts, Inspiration, memories, Photography, storytelling on December 20, 2015| 7 Comments »
A friend traveled to Turkey and returned with a gift, a hand-painted bowl. The bowl inspired me to change my tablecloth from paisley to red to accent the bowl and then the colors of the bowl inspired me to buy clementines. Cherries came to mind as well except I don’t really like cherries. This morning, with light filling the bowl, I was able to reach for the fruit. As I ate the fruit and the air filled with the scent of oranges, I thought of gifts. My aunt told stories of post-Depression Virginia where her Christmas present was an orange and peppermint candies. Of late I’ve been on the cusp of worrying about all the Christmas cards not mailed, the presents not bought but as I held the fruit in my hand I let go of a bit of the guilt.
I’ve received lots of gifts this late autumn edging into winter. A shell from a young man as I walked along Revere Beach. He saw me stopping to collect and inspect and occasionally photograph, and so he came over to me and held out a speciman and simply said, “This one is beautiful.” I agreed. He kept standing there, shell in hand. “Is this for me?” I finally asked. He nodded. I took it. We separated and spoke no more.
A woman I’ve met on occasion, who can come across as rather brusque, she stopped to talk with me. As I helped her make a purchase, I admired a bracelet she wore. “It’s tiger agate,” she said, sliding it off of her wrist. I held it and then tried to give it back. She refused. “It is yours, “she snapped. “See? It does not match any of the other jewelry I wore. Clearly God made me wear this today for you. You are a tiger.” I must say, I’ve been called many things, but that may have been the first time I’ve been called a tiger.
Gifts come in many forms. I will treasure the bracelet but mostly because of the memory it will evoke. I will treasure the shell, and all the shells given. And, of course, the bowl and the oranges and other fruits it will hold, and the memories that rise with their fragrance.
soul food love, a review
Posted in Inspiration, Kitchen Inspirations, tagged African American history, black history, book review, cookbooks, cooking, culture, family, food, healthy eating, Inspiration on December 17, 2015| Leave a Comment »
The recipes are good. They are simple, elegant and refined, like the family sharing its history through food. The preface describes the book as telling the story of five kitchens and three generations of women. “Mother-daughter duo” Alice Randall and Caroline Randall Williams use the book to share stories from the kitchen, a place that could be both forboding and a place of great calm, depending upon one’s generation (e.g. slavery) and one’s location (e.g. north vs. south). Traditional, mostly southern recipes, are reworked. Flavoring agents like bacon dripping, ham hocks, and butter are replaced by olive oil, or no oil at all. But fear not. As I told my big brother, a traditional southern cook, flavors have been retained if not indeed heightened with the liberal use of spices. My favorite recipes were the simplest like the Warm Onion and Rosemary Salad, Herb-Roasted Salmon Fillet, Fiery Green Beans and Links Salad composed of green beans, green peas, cucumber and basil.
There’s a Homemade Peanut Butter recipe. The authors describe peanut butter “as a bass note that can carry a wide variety of top notes” and encourage users, once comfortable with the basic recipe, to add spices. Be creative. Set no limits. It’s a sentiment that fits the family.
Many of the book’s recipes from Mama’s Tequila Ice to Eggplant Tower with Mashed White Beans open with brief headnotes that describe the family connection to the dish. Whether its a variation on a meal served while hosting parties during the Harlem Renaissance or a reworking of a meal had as family members traveled overseas in Yugoslavia, each recipe clearly has meaning.
While its an eclectic mix of recipes, overall the book is quite a culinary inspiration. The recipes don’t begin until page 80. Those first seventy-nine pages are a poetic examination of five kitchens, and American history, beginning with Minnie Randall (1897-1976) through Caroline Randall Williams (b. 1987). Reviewing the book has reawakened my desire to ask family members about their memories of food past and what they’d like to cook in the future. You don’t need to be of African American heritage to enjoy this book. It’s an American experience that can be shared, quite deliciously, by all.
I received this book from Blogging for Books for this honest review.
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raspberry black walnut sauce
Posted in Inspiration, Kitchen Inspirations, tagged black walnuts, cooking, creativity, food, food photography, Inspiration, Photography, raspberries, recipes on December 15, 2015| 1 Comment »
This is what happened when raspberries accidentally got crushed in my house. They’d bounced around a bit too much in their packaging on the way home. Steve took a look at them, rubbed his chin and then with a faraway look in his eyes said, “I have an idea.”
The next morning there was a sweet scent in the air. I made my way into the kitchen, and there on the table next to the plate of hot buttered toast sat a small bowl of warm red sauce. His recipe, more or less: crushed berries cooked with a little butter and brandy, sweetened with a touch of sugar, and flavored with half a teaspoon of crushed black walnuts.
It’s a recipe that will continue to evolve. If we accidentally or on purpose crush anymore raspberries, he’d like to try maple syrup in place of the sugar. And maybe toss in a different nut like crushed hazelnuts. I’ll try any variation on the theme so long as there’s time to photograph the results. Have a good day. 😉
a little book of food
Posted in Books I Love, Inspiration, Kitchen Inspirations, tagged beauty, books, colors, food, food photography, Inspiration, photo books, Photography, Yozo Hamaguchi on December 14, 2015| 6 Comments »
Words + Images 