Tags: aspen, audrey michelle, autumn, beauty, colorado, eyes of the aspens, fall, food and foto, iphone photography, iphoneography, life, nature, photography, shake-it app, silent sunday, snapshots, trees, weekends, whatever
Tag Archives: food and foto
{foto friday : “snake melon”}
17 Oct
have you ever seen such a thing? i sure hadn’t… but thanks to my awesome new job, i have been exploring all kinds of new produce. this is called a “snake melon” but also formally known as an “armenian cucumber.” the one i bought looks kind of like a question mark… yeah?
these interesting melons can grow up to 3-feet long! and did you know that all cucumbers are melons?! i sure didn’t. something else new i learned, recently. makes sense, though – right?!
😉
this cucumber was more like a melon, for sure. had a similar texture to an english cucumber, but with a little less “crispness” and a much sweeter flavour. not too sweet, but noticeably different than a regular cucumber. i totally chowed down on some! i hope you all get the chance to, as well! 😉
{homemade sauerkraut}
13 Oct
i’ve been wanting to try to make my own sauerkraut for a while now… as i’ve mentioned in the past, i’ll get on these kicks where i’m all like, “i can make that!” and i think that i can make TIME multiply and have more of it so i can actually MAKE all the stuff i say i can make… silly me.
anyway, luckily this whole sauerkraut making process is super easy and not nearly as time consuming as one may think. well, the actual “making” of it takes a little while, but preparing it does not. it’s quite fun, too. you get your hands involved and you get to “play” with your food, which i always enjoy. 😉 plus, it’s oktoberfest!! and i’m part german, so it’s high time i learn how to make this amazing stuff so every october i can eat it. just kidding, that’s not my only motive. sauerkraut is one of the oldest fermented foods out there. and it’s one of those things that is actually pretty inexpensive to make on your own, but for whatever reason, can be kind of expensive to buy. this small batch didn’t cost me much. i had the salt at home, and this head of organic cabbage was $2. it’s loaded with probiotics and because it’s cabbage, it naturally contains a prebiotic as well. it’s just really awesome stuff. we should all eat more sauerkraut… in my humble opinion.
i digress.
as i said, the process is very simple. and so are the ingredients :
– one medium head of cabbage {organic, if possible}
– 1 1/2 tbsp salt {i chose himalayan pink salt}
– large glass container or fermenting crock {as clean as you can get it}
begin by quartering cabbage and then chopping into “ribbons.” add salt and begin to work in the salt using your hands. this is the fun part. you can literally {with clean hands, of course} squish and squeeze the cabbage all around. this will eventually cause the cabbage to wilt from working the salt in.
it’s quite amazing how it works, and it’s just oh-so-fun. Continue reading
{foto friday : for the love of leeks}
10 Octi recently had a random and brief discussion with a stranger about leeks. he mentioned that leeks are prominent in french cooking, which i found intriguing. he also said something like, “they have a lot of some magic property that is super good for you…” which made me giggle… and which i later discovered was polyphenol – the super antioxidant we all love so much.
i’ve always been attracted to leeks, though i never really cook with them much. i want to start using leeks more often in the food and foto kitchen.
i plan to add them in a frittata… yum! which actually, i do believe i’ve done before…
{fall is for…}
4 Oct
wearing beanies…
{crazy over-exposure!}
and aspens… !
and buying yourself flowers…
and eating tomatoes…
and squeezing in final trips to the farmers market…
and seeing snowfall above 10K feet…
and enjoying breezy landscapes…
and making {chicken tortilla} soup…
and eating {chicken tortilla} soup!
🙂
hope you all have/had a terrific weekend!
{fried green tomatoes}
1 Octhappy october! are you loving the fall colours where you live?! this is my favourite time of year – i just love autumn! it’s also when i was born, so i feel most alive during this season. i’ve also been feeling very lethargic and sleepy… but i suppose that just comes with the change in season and light. i kind of wish i could just hibernate all winter… snuggle with callee more and eat tons of comfort food.
i’ve been wanting to make fried green tomatoes for a while now… what, being born in the south and all, it only seemed fitting. i can’t believe i had never tried to make them before! have you?! when i spotted these perfect tomatoes, i was inspired and excited. so – i practiced the KISS method :
oh.so.simple.
and beautiful.
AND delicious!!!!
i fried my green tomatoes in real sweet cream butter after slicing them about 1/3 inch thick, then dipping them in flour, then egg, then bread crumbs with a little S&P. i finished the ‘maters off with a topping of freshly-grated parmigiano reggiano. super simple, super easy, and super yummy!
{i’m lovin’ it…}
27 Sep
…this random hash with onion, garlic, potatoes, bacon, tomatoes, and kale.
…this. *giggle*
…subtle reminders.
…these $5 birks i scored at a thrift store in moab – never been worn!
…fresh halibut – worth the splurge!
…fishin’ somewhere near paonia.
…creating farm-to-table meals with elk meatballs, wild boletus mushrooms, sauteed swiss chard, fresh salad.
…my new job.
…a perfect tomato from a friend’s garden.
…making wishes at the wishing tree.
…a beehive, right by my house!
…the fact that peach season is officially over… i enjoyed one final one for desert after the bronco game.
…my tomatoes are finally taking off.
…tomato bounty!
…glowing sopris… {and the fact that it’s still been nice enough to even wear sandals!}
—
enjoy your weekend!
{moab in fotos : day one}
24 Sepi had the privilege of taking a little vacation to moab last week. i was desperate for a getaway. when i found out moab was only 3 hours from where i lived, i was super excited to visit. of course, after my accident in december last year, i haven’t been able to do much traveling or road-tripping like i like to do. thankfully, i met someone recently who has a similar love for the great outdoors and for adventures on wheels, and we were able to take enjoy a little getaway together…
the first stop was actually near the colorado/utah border, but i’m saving those pics for another time. i just wanna get right to sharing the images from moab.
—
drive-by {foto} shooting 😉
i so wish i would’ve had a sticker to slap on there…
“castle valley”
the landscape in moab looks so awesome in black and white… but the colours are also so bright and vivid. we arrived to our first camp-spot just before sunset. the light from the evening sun casts the most glorious glow all over the rocks. we had a mix of clouds during the time the sun was going down, but i can only imagine how that place lights up with full sun…
i can’t decide if i prefer the B&W images or the colour. what do you think?
———
—
—
{september bounty – eat the rainbow!}
19 Sep
between farmer’s markets, my new job, and cool new people in my life – i’m one blessed {and grateful!} lady! ❤
{mini caprese stacks}
10 Sep
finger food is my favourite! i believe in touching and playing with your food!! 😉
and i’m kind of obsessed with tomatoes… i eat them with almost every meal, it seems. i love the colourful variety of them. little, big, funky shaped, speckled… deep colours, bright colours…
i especially love to make little snacks with tomatoes – any way i can.
and so, i present to you… the most adorable mini-caprese stacks ever. at least by my standards.
{food photography : watermelon radish}
7 Sep
how cute are these?!
i don’t even know what to say about this adorable vegetable. when my new boss {i left the corporate world last week – details to follow!} told me that this looked like a watermelon inside, the first thought in my head was, “well, that would fotograph just perfectly with black lava salt!” 😀
now, i am not the biggest radish fan on this earth, but i do occasionally get cravings for them. i roasted some once, which totally changes their flavour – almost making the “bite” more tolerable. radishes are high in vitamin c and potassium, and they are a very low-calorie food.
these watermelon radishes are so pretty…
and sure enough, are a bright magenta colour inside!
watermelon radish…
so i obviously had to cut them into little watermelon-shaped slices…
sprinkle on some wonderful black lava salt.. for taste, and for effect! 😉
hello, watermelon radish!
nom nom… nom.
{zucchini “mini-me”}
24 Aug
when a friend of mine pointed out this super-cool-looking zucchini squash to me… i exclaimed, “i wanna take a picture of that!” 😉
i always buy the “weird-looking” produce… mainly for this here bloggy blog, but also because – weird is cool.
{artisan salts : black lava}
22 Augperhaps you may know by now, that i have a major affinity for salt. himalayan pink salt being my top pick… in fact, i love salt so much that sometimes people buy it for me or bring it back from france as a gift… {how lucky am i!?}
this beautiful salt is called “black lava” and i recently discovered the most interesting thing about it. apparently, it is simply salt from the hawaiian shore that has been “infused” with activated charcoal… typically from coconuts. WHAT! did you know that??!! crazy! therefore, this awesome salt is also very detoxifying and has been used in spas across the country. furthermore, i discovered that it is considered a “finishing salt”… which i must’ve known instinctively {thanks to my intuitive-eating lifestyle}, because i totally just put some on this delicious tomato the other day and devoured it…
it has a slight smokey flavour and i just love the colour!
definitely nab some up if you find it in your specialty department or store. it’s worth the extra expense, and the trace mineral content is also very high in this salt, which just adds to its awesomeness.
{beautiful and colourful cherry tomatoes}
13 Aug
i can’t seem to get enough of these gorgeous locally-grown organic and adorable cherry tomatoes, lately…
i fotograph and write about these amazing little gems all the time… i just think they are so beautiful! and they are so incredibly delicious! so flavourful and juicy! i just pop ’em in my mouth like candy… nature’s candy!
nom nom…
and i put them in everything – my salads, my risotto, my frittatas, my sauces, my {awesome} zucchini strips…
these little red ones look kinda like strawberries… teehehe
FOOD IS SO COOL!!!!! 😀
{the beach…}
9 Aug
oh how i wish i could dig my toes in the warm sand right now… inhale the ocean air and feel the breezy salty mist on my face… listen to the crash of the ocean waves and the peaceful sound of the ebb and flow of the water… i’m desperately seeking a rendezvous with the big blue! ❤
what have you been daydreaming about?! have an awesome weekend!
{whatever wednesday : wild wild raspberries from the wild wild west}
6 Augi think it’s so cool that so many things grow wild up here… asparagus, morel mushrooms…
…and raspberries!
i am audrey michelle
i am a minimalist
food & foto 