After a summer of bursting fresh heirloom tomatoes, peaches with juices that dribble down your chin, corn so sweet it might be better than candy and discovering summer squash, I am ready for the next phase of vegetable eating. Bring on the broccoli and the roasted cauliflower. A taste of asparagus? Yes please! And Brussels sprouts … oh, yes!

Are you ready for the turn of season?

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Kristen over at Dine and Dish recently organized the second Adopt A Blogger event. Experienced bloggers “adopt” new bloggers and offer advice, ideas and assistance to help them navigate the blogosphere. I’ve adopted Carmen of Carmen Cooks.

Last week, Carmen mentioned that she is really interested in improving her food photography. She mostly cooks and photographs at night, so it’s a big challenge to capture good colors and resolution in the artificial light. Boy, have I been there. Until recently, night time was my only opportunity to cook and photograph too. And it’s certainly a huge disappointment when you make a fantastic meal, but cannot capture a good shot.

Now – full disclosure – I am still learning about taking the best photos myself. But here are a few notes on photography to help you along.

Lighting

It goes without saying that natural lighting is always best. It brings out the richest colors. But, if you cannot use natural lighting, then a photo studio in a box is a good alternative for the beginning to intermediate photographer. The good thing about units like this is that you can pack them up and put them out of sight when you aren’t using them. Further, they provide even results every time.

If you aren’t ready to invest in a photo studio in a box though, some people simply use colored posterboard for background and prop it up on a laptop or books. This creates the same even background.

Avoid the Flash

Avoid using the flash that comes on most cameras. Notice how the indents and texture of the cupcakes above are white in the flash photo? The white of the flash catches on shiny surfaces like this and creates the glare and distortion that you see. It ends up being a lesser shot. Read the rest of this entry…

Hello, food karma? Is that you? Cause I don’t know what I’ve done to piss you off, but I am really, really sorry and I swear it won’t happen again. Really. It won’t.

I had a great day today. Happy, productive. All the things I like to have in a day.

Then I started dinner.

Have you ever had one of those days where something just isn’t working? Well, that was every dish I tried to make. First, there was the fantastic idea of sauteed Swiss chard with apples … turned out like green applesauce. Ew. Then there was the first attempt at cinnamon chipotle sweet potato fries. Too much chipotle. Too little cinnamon. And why did they shrink up like that?!? Not good at all. Then, there was my failsafe — the preseasoned pork roast. I thought if nothing else, that had to be good. I should have known I was in trouble when the darn package had instructions for chicken instead of pork . . .

So, everything was bad. Every-stinkin’-thing.

Yes, it does happen to me too. It’s like that one time when I had a party and made lemonade, except forgot the -ade … in other words, I left out the sugar. Yea. I make mistakes too. And they are usually pretty bad ones.

So, spill it. What’s your worst kitchen disaster?

NOTE: Updated with new photos and slight edit on the recipe on 5/2/2011

I am not apologizing for this. I thought I would come on here and tell you how I rarely use prepared anything. And then I would discuss how I love starting our meals from fresh, whole ingredients and seeing then mix and meld together to form new and exciting dishes. Then I would talk about how I love the act of creating.

I thought I would tell you that I am so, so sorry to pass along a recipe that falls under the semi-homemade realm. Well, guess what? I am not sorry. Not one stinkin’ bit.

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As my friends can attest, there was a time in my life where I could down a whole box of macaroni and cheese. In the days before organic, eating local and slow food became buzz words, I was all about the quick, easy and accessible. That was also before I (and most people) ever laid eyes on the world wide web. Back then, my metabolism could, um, handle that.

Things change. I still have a soft spot for Kraft’s obscenely orange powdered cheese, but I rarely indulge in it. More often than that I opt for tortellini tossed with some lemon olive oil, Romano and sea salt. As children do, Will loves macaroni and cheese — so does Paige, and Shawn for that matter. And I have learned that homemade food can be equally as accessible as convenience food. Read the rest of this entry…

Ever since Will was just a tiny baby, I wanted him to be involved in the kitchen. But when I cook, it’s over heated burners and in hot ovens. And prep-work often involves razor sharp knives, so it’s not always that safe.

That’s why involving young kids in the kitchen is an outside of the box activity. They can’t stir over the hot stove or chop an onion, but they sure can pour ingredients from measuring cups and locate ingredients in the cupboard. If it’s something important to you, it’s about making it work.

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Kristen over at Dine and Dish has a busy life. With three adorable kids, a thriving work at home business and a great blog, you’d think she never sleeps. With that in mind, I have no idea how she found the time to spearhead the second Adopt A Blogger event. Experienced bloggers “adopt” new bloggers and offer advice, ideas and assistance to help them navigate the blogosphere.

Well, I’ve adopted a blogger. (Longtime readers may remember that I adopted Rachel from Fairy Cake Heaven last go around.)

This time I am helping out Carmen of Carmen Cooks.

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It was a blast today at The Martha Stewart Show. Did you check out my live blogging? It was a tiring endeavor, but worth every second. It’s interesting to go back and see my stream of thought too. (Did you know that Martha herself blogs? She does. Pretty cool.) If I could have had one more segment, it would have been one focusing on how to get the best photos. You can never get too much photo advice.

Now, onto the food.

Shawn’s birthday this year might just win a record for longest duration — 16 days. His birthday happened to fall on Labor Day, which would have been a cinch for celebration if the universe wasn’t conspiring against him. He works in retail and late night after late night kept pushing back our usual family get together — until this past Monday. And it was still another day before we had the (second) special meal I planned for him. See? The universe is up to no good.

Now, on his actual birthday, he requested teriyaki steak and mashed potatoes. I made it, he was happy, done. It might seem like a simple meal – it is – but it’s something he loves that I seldom make. I think that might relate back to the ‘simple’ thing…

For the family get together I decided to make another dish he loves. This recipe is a family favorite here. Good sharp cheddar rolled into a thin chicken breast. A salty strip of bacon rolled tightly around it and the sweet tang of honey barbecue sauce kissing the outside. Shawn calls this my ‘signature’ dish, so I’m officially calling it Chicken Ala Caron . . . shameless, I know.

I was all ready to make it: the chicken was out of the freezer first thing in the morning and defrosting. The bacon was unopened and ready to go. I even high-tailed it over to the grocery store for more cheddar. For a side dish, I consulted with other food lovers on Twitter to decide on rosemary roasted potatoes. Ready to go.

Unfortunately, the universe wasn’t having it. When I went to cook dinner that night, the chicken was still frozen solid. That has never happened to me before. Ever. I was in shock. The potatoes — already diced — went into a Ziploc with water and into the freeze. The chicken got its own Ziploc. No chicken for us. So, pizza it was. (I don’t like to use the microwave at all, let alone to defrost, so that wasn’t an option for me.)

That meant on Tuesday this had to hit the table. It did, and everyone inhaled it . . . I think we may have finally finished celebrating Shawn’s birthday. Until next year, that is.
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Hey everyone,

I am over at Mad About Martha this morning. Martha Stewart is having a show full of bloggers today and I am in the audience. Look for me on the right side in pink and follow along as I liveblog the experience on Mad About Martha.

For Labor Day weekend, the plan was a fun picnic in the park. We were ready to go. Then the dogs went missing and blew the whole plan out of the water. But last weekend, I was determined not to let it happen again.

Last Sunday was a beautiful day. After torrential rains Saturday and overnight, that came as a welcome relief. I prepped the kids for our exciting picnic and packed the cooler: water, ice, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers. Then we hit the farmer’s market for fresh bread. My bread man had these San Francisco sourdough baguettes that looked amazing. Of course, I am usually not a sourdough fan, but I decided to give it a try anyway.

Let me just say — Mmmmmm! Read the rest of this entry…