Busy Bee

 

As mentioned yesterday, I participated in a food blogging workshop this past Saturday.  It was a lot of fun and inspiring learning from Christina Peters and Amy Paliwoda.  We learned about lighting, lensing, composition, and food styling/propping tricks.  Not to mention, Christina gave us some helpful PhotoShop tricks on color correction, optimizing images for the web and my new favorite filter - the unsharpen tool.  I sort of forgot about this tool but it really helps to add some crispness to your images.  

Christina and Amy provided us with a selection of food items and props to choose from which was great - I think it helped me focus a lot more on the photography aspect instead of worrying about where to find my next recipe!  So many cookbooks, so little time.  :-)  The products ranged from lovely French macaroons, rustic breads, jams, vegetables, cheese, etc. 

My love for peanut butter and honey sandwiches rivals that of Elvis (I like it with bananas too but didn't include them in the shot) and thought it would be a fun challenge - especially since I wanted to capture the honey pouring onto the bread. 

Thanks again to Christina and Amy for making this such a wonderful class.  I'm hoping to sign up for another one and highly recommend it for anyone looking to gain more experience shooting food.

Here's another link to the class information:  http://www.mdrphotographyclasses.com/

Breakfast of Champions

 

Given the new year, I've been trying to stock up on healthier options for breakfast.  I've gotten bored of the usual muesli cereal that I buy and I think I tend to eat too much of it.  Same goes for bagels and I've cut that down to a once-a-week indulgence.  So I recently came across a few gluten-free options that are tasty, filling and can be found in the cereal aisle of most grocery stores.  The images above are of cooked buckwheat that I like to dress up with some kind of chopped nuts, ground flax seeds, fresh fruit and a dash of maple syrup or honey.  Bob's Red Mill also sells a plethora of hot cereals and another one I've tried is the gluten-free "Mighty Tasty Hot Cereal."

Anyway, if you're looking for other options on a cold winter day, give the buckwheat or other hot cereal variation a try.  Nice change of pace from oatmeal too.

Food Fanatic

A few months ago, I was invited to participate in a Weekend Food Styling Workshop led by two food stylists I've worked with and an LA food photographer.  Denise Vivaldo and Cindie Flannigan are industry veterans who've done everything from catered to the stars, consulted on cookbooks and styled commercial food shoots and tv shows.  Their partner in crime was local food photographer Matt Armendariz.  Food bloggers may be familiar with his ever popular blog called Matt Bites.

The workshop was a boot camp of sorts that focused on how foodies can make the most of their blogs by learning how to prepare and style food for the camera.  The first day focused on styling techniques and the second day was devoted to shooting our chosen recipe.  There were about a dozen participants with interesting backgrounds - the former Bon Appetit food editor, a few caterers, a photographer and even a food scientist.

I learned some great techniques and secrets to styling and it was great fun to peruse the photographer's amazing stash of props.  Matt had every color and kind of dish, pot, linen, napkin, spoon, cutting board and knick-knack you could imagine.  I was in heaven.

I decided to keep in simple and bake some scallion biscuits from a recipe I found in Gourmet Magazine.  Some of the other participants were a bit more ambitious and chose more complicated recipes like baked salmon, salads with edible flowers, sushi, etc.

I wanted to keep the image rustic as I imagined these biscuits would be served on an old farm table accompanied by thick slices of bacon and fried eggs.   Anyway, so here's the recipe along with a photo of what I shot on Day 2.  I've also included links to the stylists and photographer in case you're interested in their work or future classes.

Scallion Biscuits

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• Scant teaspoon salt
• 3/4 stick (6 tablespoons) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 1 cup chopped scallions
• 3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon whole milk

Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 450°F.

Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. Blend in butter with your fingertips until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add scallions and 3/4 cup milk and stir with a fork just until a dough forms.

Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead 6 to 8 times, then pat into an 8-inch square (1/2 inch thick). Cut into 16 (2-inch) squares and transfer to a buttered baking sheet, about 1 1/2 inches apart. Brush with remaining tablespoon milk, then bake until golden, 12 to 15 minutes.

 **I found that cutting the dough into 16 squares resulted in very small (and not particularly photogenic) rocks, so I cut them into about 8-10 larger biscuits.

http://www.foodfanatics.net/

http://www.mattarmendariz.com/

http://mattbites.com/