Click on the photo to view it full size, and save it as a wallpaper if it strikes your fancy. Simply right click, select “Set as Desktop Background,” and choose the “Stretch” option to properly fill your screen.
Category Archives: Photography
Down on the Farm
All the News That’s Fit to Veg
No longer hot off the presses but still just as pertinent, I’m only just flipping through to the final pages of the May/June 2011 issue of VegNews. So thickly layered with juicy tidbits about vegan weddings, travels, and newsworthy items, along with the usual enticement of new recipes, this is not one to rush through. If you did, you would risk missing such ideal summer party nibbles as the Sardinian-Inspired Crostini:
Or perhaps that spicy little Asian-fusion number, the Korean Tacos with Pear-Cilantro Slaw:
Which I can testify, are every bit as distinctively delicious as they look.
In light of the recent VegNews stock photo scandal, I feel that it’s necessary for me to clarify a few things here. I for one am glad that issue was brought to light, because things will only get better from here. Mistakes were made, acknowledged, and hopefully corrected. Moving forward, VegNews has pledged to use only vegan photos, and always accurate photos for the recipes published, so it sounds like a win-win situation if there ever was one. Better yet, you can rest assured that many of those recipe photos, such as those above, will be coming from my kitchen and my camera, so you can feel confident that you’re getting the real deal- no bull.
And of course, you can still expect my column every other issue, so prepare yourself for a serious sugar rush in the upcoming July/August issue… It’s gonna be a scream!
Friday Freebies
The time has come, the walrus said, to pick a cookbook winner! …I’m pretty sure it goes something like that, right? Close enough for me, let’s get down to it.
Yes, you, all the way in the back there, commenter #240- Jenessa, who likely have something with chocolate or lemon brewing very soon!
Congrats, and expect to hear from me soon, Jenessa! Don’t fret if today wasn’t your lucky day- I wouldn’t dream of leaving so many enthusiastic hopefuls hanging, so there will definitely be another Vegan Desserts giveaway in the near future.
Maybe it’s because the end of the world draws ever nearer, complete with the fun promise of both a slow, painful death and a zombie apocalypse, but I’m feeling particularly generous today, and I don’t want to send anyone home empty-handed. With that in mind, I definitely want everyone to try at least one thing from Vegan Desserts before “judgement day,” so the recipe for Poppy Seed Kumquat Scones, posted on CTBites, is a very good place to start.
But that’s not the only goodie I have squirreled away… If you’d rather just a soothing, pretty picture for now, I can accommodate that request as well.
Click on the photo to view it full size, and go ahead, save it as a wallpaper if it strikes your fancy. Simply right click, select “Set as Desktop Background,” and choose the “Stretch” option to properly fill your screen. One size fits all.
Happy Friday, folks! See you on the other side… (of the weekend, of course.)
Delicious World, Part Two
Please click each image for a description and larger view. If you missed part one, check it out here.
*Please note, there is no meat in this photo, the slices are Field Roast brand vegan deli slices.
Free for the Baking
Releasing a cookbook out into the wild is much like what I imagine sending off your child to their first day of school would feel like. Anxiety is the first feeling that flutters in my chest, because they’ve never been on their own before. Without the conscientious oversight of their mother, who knows what might come flying out of their mouth, especially given their rapidly expanding vocabulary? And what if the other kids don’t see what a loving parent does, and can’t accept them for both their gifts and flaws? What if they face rejection, and can’t make friends?
Of course, a book is not something that needs to be consoled after a bad day on the shelf, nor will it come home beaming with a winning smile, bubbling over to share all of the wonderful adventures and exploits it went on with new buddies. That, my friends, is where I need you. How is my baby doing? Is it minding its manners? Making positive contributions to the class? I sure wish they printed these things with blank progress reports included.
In an effort to continue gathering more opinions, and above all else, spreading the sweetness, I can hardly keep from handing out my whole personal stash of hard copies. So I won’t fight it; I want you to have my book, in your hands and your kitchen! No follow-up reviews are required of the winner, but certainly would be appreciated.
If you’re interested in securing yourself a free copy of Vegan Desserts, just visit this thread on the PPK boards, wherein I’ve posted the full listing of included recipes. Browse through the titles at your leisure, and tell me: What is the first thing you want to bake when you get the book? What catches your eye? Is it the ever-popular Mint Chocolate Macarons?
Or perhaps one of my favorites, the Watermelon Bombe?
Whatever it is that strikes your fancy, just tell me about it in the comments! Please, only one comment per person, on THIS POST and not the PPK boards, left before midnight EST, May 18th. There is to be one winner, to be announced shortly thereafter. I’m very sorry to put a limit on this one, but since I can’t spring for international shipping with such a heavy book, I’m afraid that the contest is restricted to residents of the US only.
Age is Just a Number
Aside from the benign lumps and gently clouding eyes, my darling puppy really isn’t showing her age, and is greeting the oncoming years [for the most part] with grace, just as any mature woman should. If you ask me, she doesn’t look a day older than 8. One would never guess that my little sweetheart has just turned 14 years old a few days ago!
Can you believe it? Supposedly, that’s 98 in dog years; Quite the milestone, indeed. While I would have loved nothing more than to make a big to-do about the event, and fuss over some elaborate treat for the birthday girl, that was simply not in the cards this time around. Between the book release, final exams, and a couple new projects still up my sleeve, it’s been challenging just tending to Isis’s everyday needs (such as letting her outside and then inside 50 times straight, refilling her water dish, and repeating that cycle over and over until the sun goes down.) However, I couldn’t let the day pass without some sort of special snack…
Think of a popsicle without a stick, made especially for the canine palate, and you’d have the Pup-sicle! Peanut butter-flavored, with a sprinkle of ground flax seeds for nutrition, this is one chilly treat that will be even more of a hit in the hot summer months. I can’t share the recipe just yet, as it has something to do with one of those upcoming projects I mentioned… So stay tuned for more details!
Ever cautious, Isis took a few preliminary licks when presented with this birthday gift…
…And quickly deeming the frozen biscuit not only edible, but highly tasty, she happily wolfed it down in a few large bites.
Happy Birthday, Isis- We’ll just have to celebrate the next one twice as much!
Toe the Line
Delicious World
[Please click for larger sizes]
It began as my midterm project, but may become a photo series to be continued. Which is your favorite, and which would you like to see next? (For anyone who’s curious, I got an A-!)
Kosher Cooking with Levana
Every day is a different job, making it rather difficult to explain exactly what I do when meeting new people. Truth is, I’m not quite sure I have the whole story straight myself- Am I a student? Photographer? Author? Restaurant cook? Blogger? Well, to make matters more confusing, it seems I’m about to add another descriptor to the list: Food stylist.
Food styling is something that is par for the course for food bloggers, but in the world of professional photography, the person wielding the camera is rarely, if ever, directly involved in plating and arranging that delicious subject seen through the viewfinder. The ability to artfully display edibles comes naturally to most food enthusiasts, or anyone who spends enough time eating out and seeing how the experts do it, but it’s not a job that one stumbles into with little real experience… Unless you’re me, apparently. Never had I flattered myself by assuming it was something I could do beyond my own kitchen- Most jobs clearly state that the stylist have a solid culinary background, a degree from an esteemed cooking school, and experience up the wazoo. So getting that last minute call from my publisher, saying that a kind woman in Brooklyn would love my assistance, was quite the shock.
And can I tell you something? I had a blast. Challenging at times and a definite learning experience all the way, but thankfully, Levana Kirschenbaum was every bit as warm and welcoming as promised, and we hit it off immediately. Two long days of fussing with greens, swabbing plates obsessively with q-tips, and a just one minor pâté fiasco later, and we had dozens of beautiful images (thanks to the camera work of Meir Pliskin) to add into her upcoming cookbook, The Whole Foods Kitchen. [Please note, though this isn't a vegan cookbook, there are many vegan options.] I still couldn’t help but pick up my camera a few times, though bear in mind that these are not the images going into the book. Just a few of my favorites, and a little sneak preview to whet your appetite!
Steel-Cut Oat Soup
Lemon Pudding
Steamed Dumplings
Pasta Salad
Roasted Fennel and Endive
Chocolate Steel-Cut Oats Pudding
