Showing posts with label photo blogs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label photo blogs. Show all posts

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

A photographer who's fabulous with food and friends

It's 1 am and I should be packing up my kitchen rather than sitting here updating my Facebook and Twitter profile pics, but I couldn't help myself after seeing some of the great shots my friend and photographer Quinn Curtis took during our recent SassyScoops.com visit to Farnsworth Farms. I knew she was good with food since I'm always catching her recent food-related photo shoots on her Limelight Food Photography blog and I knew she was good taking photos on site at our SassyScoops reviews, but I never realized what an all-around talented photographer she is. She can do anything! She can even make a rainy-day hay ride look fabulous!

Here are a few collages of her photos from the Farnsworth visit:

SassyScoops @ Farnsworth Farms

SassyScoops @ Farnsworth Farms

SassyScoops @ Farnsworth Farms

SassyScoops @ Farnsworth Farms

SassyScoops @ Farnsworth Farms

SassyScoops @ Farnsworth Farms

Okay, so the last one was of food and sort of a given that it would look amazing, but don't you think the rest are just as wonderful! Quinn has not only changed the way I look at food but also inspired me to learn more about photography. I even got brave enough to played around with the manual settings on my point-and-shoot camera!

To see what all my fuss is about you simply must view Quinn's portfolio. You can find her "sweet" photos by visiting LimelightFoodPhotography.com. By the way, you'll want to have a napkin handy to wipe the drool from your chin! Consider yourself warned! --Emily

Wednesday, August 13, 2008

please pass the ketchup packet!

I'm not even sure how to introduce today's featured site for wonderful web wednesday. Perhaps it needs no introduction, so here goes! You must visit the Condiment Packet Gallery for what is quite possibly the largest collection of condiment packets the world has ever seen, or as the site says "an archive of flexible portion control condiment packets."

From Arby's famous sauce (packet #20) to Miele Praconi honey (packet #616...I think it's in Italian) you'll recognize a few favorites and discover toppings you never knew existed in packet form, or never even knew existed for that matter! Check out the Cheetos Chester ketchup and Disney's Minnie mustard packet. The gallery is up to a total of 724 packets so far.

The collection includes chili and soy sauces, salad dressings and vinegar. Who knew we were missing out on so many mini-me's of the condiment world! Sadly I didn't see a single chocolate sauce packet. Guess I'll have to continue chugging it straight from the bottle. --Emily

Friday, May 2, 2008

Cupcakes Take the Cake

The other night my mom and I watched an episode of Throwdown with Bobby Flay. I hardly ever watch TV but since Mom was in town it was a good excuse to see what the Food Network had to offer. The episode featured Auntie Em's Kitchen, a bakery famous for their red velvet cupcakes (and a variety of other cupcakes for that matter!). Our mouths watered just watching customers dive into Auntie Em's delectable cupcakes, top heavy with frosting and oh so moist. Yes, even though we weren't watching in HD we could tell those cupcakes were to die for!

Watching this episode of Throwdown reminded me of a blog I came across a while ago called Cupcakes Take the Cake. If you're a cupcake lover (and what I-refuse-to-grow-up grown up isn't?) you'll want to sink your teeth into the posts on this site. The site, which has received a plethora of press, features all things cupcake from recipes to Flickr photos of fab cupcakes to cupcakes in the news. You gotta love the YouTube video of the Zappos staff's cupcake eating contest! Cupcakes Take the Cake also has an extensive list of U.S. and international bakeries. Who knew South Africa and Malaysia had cupcake aficionados?

With thoughts of cupcakes dancing in your head I leave you with the red velvet cupcake recipe from the other night. Enjoy!

Red Velvet Cupcakes

Cupcakes
15 1/2 oz all-purpose flour
1 1/4 tsp baking soda
1 1/4 tsp salt
1 1/4 tsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 c vegetable oil
13 oz granulated sugar
1 1/4 c buttermilk
3 eggs

2 T plus 2 tsp red food coloring
1 1/4 tsp vinegar (white or apple cider can both work)
1 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
1/8 c water

Cream cheese frosting

1 1/2 lbs cream cheese, room temperature

1 lb butter, room temperature
2 lbs powdered sugar, sifted
1 T vanilla extract

Preheat oven 350 degrees F. Sift together flour, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder into a bowl and set aside. In a mixer fitted with paddle attachment, mix oil, sugar, and buttermilk until combined. Add eggs, food coloring, vinegar, vanilla and water and mix well. Add the dry ingredients a little bit at a time and mix on low, scraping down sides occasionally, and mix until just combined. Be sure not to over mix, or the batter will come out tough.

Line a 16-cup cupcake pan with paper liners, scoop the batter into the liners and bake at 350 degrees F for 20 to 30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool.

Whip the butter and cream cheese together until creamed. Gradually add powdered sugar and scrape down the bowl as needed. Add the vanilla and mix until combined. Use right away or refrigerate up to a week. Frost cooled cupcakes with the cream cheese frosting.

To kick off what will hopefully be a cupcake-filled weekend, I leave you with this haiku from Cupcakes Take the Cake:
sunny day cupcake
is it moist or just humid
spring into summer

Friday, April 18, 2008

simply smitten with Smitten Kitchen

Just try and say that title five times fast! Now that you're tongue's tied in a knot, on with today's post! Instead of a recipe for our food for thought friday I wanted to share a food-related site that not only offers great recipes but makes for great reading as well. Smitten Kitchen has won numerous accolades from a profile in the Boston Globe to a mention on Martha Stewart's show, and I can see why.

Smitten Kitchen gives readers tasty recipes, helpful tools and resources (did you know light cream is 18% butter fat?), and seriously engaging copy (check out her search for purple potatoes). Plus the fabulous photos, often step-by-step, help those of us who may need a little hand holding while experimenting with flourless chocolate walnut cookies. (Who says you have to celebrate Passover to enjoy a decadent flourless dessert?)

Recent recipes also include a lemon yogurt anything cake--just try and keep from drooling when you see the finished product! I'm not big into lemon but that's not going to stop me from trying this cake. By the way, I'm a pretty good cook but not a big out-of-the-box thinker when it comes to recipes so I absolutely love the list of substitutions and suggestions she included with this one. Extra details like those are why Smitten Kitchen is beloved by so many readers. The recipes and writings put gourmet cooking within reach of expert macaroni-and-cheese chefs like myself. --Emily

If hunger makes you irritable, better eat and be pleasant. --Sefer Hasidim

Monday, March 24, 2008

the color of spring

Don't you just love color? Color can invoke a mood or a memory. Sometimes you can even tell whether a person is happy, sad, shy, or outgoing, just by the colors they choose. Yep, color is a powerful thing.

Blue Iris happens to be THE color for 2008 according to Pantone, which is a complete contrast to 2007's Chili Pepper Red. If you're wondering what other colors are going to be big for 2008, check out Fashion Trendsetter or, COLOURlovers blog will show you the latest trends. Although these are the hottest colors for Spring, I like what the author of COULORlovers says about following your intuition;

The Color Of You
Blue and green are excellent colors, and they pair well with one another. I’m sure the professionals that study color trends know more than I do about the direction color is heading. As an artist, however, there is a deep-seeded belief that wants to rebel against mainstream ideas and icons. Colors that easily become accepted metaphors without the aid of outside visual stimulus are useful in society. Breaking down familiar metaphors to establish new forms, and to continue to challenge the boundaries of culture is also necessary to avoid becoming stagnant.
No matter the color of the year, follow honest, intuitive ideas. Trends come and go. Passionate art is potentially infinite.


My intuition says I'm thrilled to see that blue is big this season! It's calming and alive. That could be a motto to live by for 2008.--LeShan

Wednesday, January 16, 2008

New York Nitty-Gritty

I have never been to New York but it is definitely on my list of things to do very, very soon! Until then I've enjoyed checking out this really cool photo blog called New York Nitty-Gritty. I'm no photographer but I think the photos are truly artistic and capture a wonderful sense of the city's different personalities. Plus, photo blogs are a nice change from the standard text-heavy ones. So for wonderful web wednesday check out New York's photogenic side and visit New York Nitty-Gritty. --Emily

Wednesday, January 9, 2008

beauty comes in all shapes and sizes

Last night my husband stumbled upon a link on Digg showing a mother's belly during and after her pregnancy with triplets. (The link was here but has been temporarily removed.) That link led me to the site The Shape of a Mother. I went to the homepage of the blog and was impressed with its message:

It occurred to me that a post-pregnancy body is one of this society's greatest secrets; all we see of the female body is that which is airbrushed and perfect, and if we look any different, we hide it from the light of day in fear of being seen. …It is my dream, then, to create this website where women of all ages, shapes, sizes and nationalities can share images of their bodies so it will no longer be secret. So we can finally see what women really look like sans airbrushes and plastic surgery. I think it would be nothing short of amazing if a few of our hearts are healed, or if we begin to cherish our new bodies which have done so much for the human race. What if the next generation grows up knowing how normal our bodies are? How truly awesome would that be?
I haven’t had a chance to browse through the site very much but wanted to share it with all you mothers out there who are way too hard on themselves (me included). We all need to learn to love the skin we're in, even if it's been stretched beyond recognition. I find The Shape of a Mother a poignant reminder that Heidi Klum is the exception, not the rule. --Emily

Note: Hundreds of women have submitted their pre- and post-pregnancy photos and stories, some of which show nudity (pride goes out the window in labor and delivery). Just wanted to give you a heads up (or heads down, in this case...).

Wednesday, September 26, 2007

peace and tranquility--it's an attitude!

As women and mothers, peace and tranquility are sometimes just an illusion, a pipe dream, our castle in the sky. In fact as I type this I have one of my 3 year olds sitting on my lap, and Curious George blaring in the background to buy me time with my other 2 kids. Not exactly conducive to any work environment. But as I sit here staring at my planner, trying to figure out where to begin on today's To Do List, I catch a whiff of my son's freshly washed hair and get a sense of tranquility. And as I hold him in my arms I get a feeling of peace, knowing that for now all is safe and well. If that isn't working, try taking it out on a large bowl of halloween M&M's. It is all in the attitude...easy said!

Speaking of Peace and Tranquility, check out the artist of our new Mama Lisa tee, Mike Bradshaw. Mike has loads of experience in graphic design, but where his real love lies is photography. His photos will send you on a journey, and you'll see beauty in the mundane (kind of like doing laundry). You'll feel like you had a mini vacation at your computer! Mike was fabulous helping us turn our concept of Mama Lisa into reality, and putting up with two, possibly unbalanced, moms. Having him as a brother-in-law has its perks! --LeShan