i made this delicious riced cauliflower one-pot make-ahead meal for lunch last week and it was so yummy, i just had to share the recipe! i love experimenting with random things in the fridge!
i’ve been really into using riced cauliflower as a replacement for grains and it does a wonderful job as an understudy. 😉
riced cauliflower has a great texture and maintains it well during the cooking process. i’ve purchased it both fresh and frozen and they both seem to hold up just fine.
i made this dish as i was trying to use up some leftover ingredients such as frozen asparagus from another recipe. i also had some frozen jalapeños that i grew last year and wanted to use.
so this is what i came up with {amounts are “ish”} :
heat some butter or oil of choice on medium heat and toss in riced cauiflower. cook slowly until al dente. add in asparagus and jalapeño, cook until slightly tender then throw in black beans and corn and cook for another minute or so. sprinkle in hot sauce and spices and toss together. keeps well in the fridge for a few days. can be frozen for future consumption.
organic chicken or grass-fed ground beef makes a nice addition to this recipe. i made this one vegan because i like to eat vegan at least once a week… not for any particular reason other than keeping things in balance 😉
and i just-so-happen to love cumin! it’s one of my favourite spices… do you like cumin?
i’ve been getting my fill of delicious organic asparagus!
it is a marvelous food to eat in spring because it is very cleansing to the body and blood. asparagus is also in season during the spring, which just further proves how awesome and intelligent nature is! 🙂
i like to enjoy asparagus raw or lightly sautéed in grass-fed butter with a dash of himalayan pink salt and black pepper. sometimes i like to add it to risotto with wild mushrooms. when i lived in the mountains years ago, i had a lot of fun foraging for asparagus because it grows wild on the western slope of colorado. pretty cool, huh?!
a tip for keeping asparagus : treat it like fresh-cut flowers. keep the ends trimmed and leave them in a little water in the fridge until ready to use.
do you love asparagus? how do you like to prepare yours?
just another reminder to stop and appreciate the flowers.
everyone knows i love to cook.
for the most part, i keep it super simple when making meals. and my philosophy is :
quality in = quality out.
in other words – if you start with good ingredients, you generally end with a good meal…
i have only recently begun experimenting with spices in my cooking. i have been collecting spice jars over the last few years, as i was gypsy-ing around the country… and when i settled in a place i feel at home in, i felt super excited to finally display my spice jars.
i received these cool 3-tiered bamboo spice racks as a christmas gift, and i was so eager to get my spice jars out of the cabinet and onto the counter.
it’s the little things, right?!
something about seeing this beautiful rainbow collection of spices just makes me feel so happy inside. and it’s really been fun to experiment with the different aromas/flavours.
of course, in true audrey michelle form, i alphabetized my spices.
here’s what is in my collection :
on sundays i like to do my meal-prepping for the week. i have lots of containers and jars for storing my dry goods as well as my make-ahead meals.
here’s what i created to eat last week :
do you like to make your meals ahead of time? batch-cooking has been something i’ve adopted into my lifestyle over the last few years and it’s really helped me save money and keep my diet in check.
i’m having a lot of fun fotographing corporate headshots, lately. miss k took me on a pleasant walk around north carolina’s state campus on a warm but crisp afternoon.
here are some of my favourite shots :
i think miss K sort of resembles hillary swank… would you agree?!
we both agreed that these were our two favourite shots of the day… at least for what she wanted to use the images for. i am always very pleased when a client is happy with their results. particularly when they are a tad bit nervous in the beginning.
i am so humbled to have recently welcomed my 1500th{+} follower on this cherished little blog of mine!!
thank you to all of those who have stuck around all this time. and thank you to the newcomers – i want to extend a warm welcome to all of you who chose to hit that ‘follow’ button and come play along as we talk about yummy food and pretty things, whilst taking pictures of it all!
as a reminder, if you don’t already – please follow me on instagram for the most recent updates on all things food&foto related. {you can also find me on facebook and pinterest.}
i appreciate all the love and support i’ve received over these last 6 years of blogging. i look forward to more adventures to come!
the most sincere appreciation to all of you, from the bottom of my heart.
—–
just a little update on the garden… my posts are not in “real time,” as it were… i’m several weeks behind in keeping up with what’s going on, currently.
for example, most of what you see in the following fotos, has been pulled from my plot. we are straight up in the heat of summer here in NC, and my tomatoes are just about all that remain. i pulled up all my broccoli, because i didn’t get it in the ground soon enough and it never formed a head. i harvested one beautiful cabbage that i’m currently making sauerkraut with. my cilantro is done… as is my dill and basil, but i planted more of both. i pulled my kale and planted arugula in its place. and my cucumbers are on their last limb, but i must’ve harvested around 200 of them this season. i have pickles for days! 😉
july will be focused on tomatoes. then in mid august, i will plant more cabbage and cucumbers and perhaps try again for more peas later in the month or toward september. i really enjoy making {and eating} sauerkraut, so i intend to plant a lot more cabbage for fall.
meanwhile, here are some pics of what late may/june were like in my plot :
so pretty and ALIVE!
still fascinated by pea tendrils… and i made lots of pesto with my basil!
oh kale, yeah!
harvest!
my beautiful cabbage! Continue reading
i bought a new camera!
i have to admit, i felt slightly guilty about it at first, but i also don’t treat myself enough. and although this is a “treat,” it is also an investment.
my other camera is about 10 years old at this point. it is still reliable and does the trick, but it is definitely slower and much heavier than this new one. photography is a funny field in that you can invest as much or as little as you want into it. these days, our smart phones have just as many megapixels as some “professional” cameras. however, it is my belief that no amount of equipment or money can truly substitute for a good eye.
i recently read an article that had a quote that resonated with me :
“walker evans once said, ‘people always ask me what kind of camera i use. it’s not the camera, it’s –‘ and he tapped his temple with his index finger.'”
i can’t help but subscribe to walker evans’ approach to photography. it is my belief that no matter what kind of camera or equipment one uses to capture an image – if it is uninspired, that will be evident, and ultimately translate to the viewer. Continue reading
actually, the teeniest strawberries probably grow wild in our back yard…
but i don’t think these are edible… 😉
although spring has officially sprung, and i plan on sewing some seeds in my garden this morning, i still wanted to share these fotos…
while the northeast was getting pummeled a couple weeks ago, we only received a little dusting of snow… and when i say a ‘little dusting,’ i mean just that.
it flurried down during the wee hours of the morning, and quickly melted by noon. i am glad i ran out when i did to snap a few fotos. this is the kind of snow i like – the kind that doesn’t last long 😉
it was just light enough to cover the trees and streets with a glimmering shimmer of white. unfortunately, some of the flowers and blossoms didn’t survive the cold… but nevertheless, it was pretty while it lasted.
whenever i notice any kind of produce is starting to lose its freshness, such as these adorable baby bananas, i know it’s time to bust out the dehydrator.
banana faces 🙂
banana chips make for some great snacks!!
i also love to throw them in smoothies, as an alternative to frozen or fresh ones.
do you use a dehydrator? what are some of your favourite things to dehydrate?
hey gang.
after a nice long hiatus, i have decided to rejoin the social media world.
call me old-school, but i believe we are living in interesting times, in having these social media worlds to get lost in. and i mean just that; we can truly lose ourselves in them. both in an imaginative sense, by finding inspiration or muse in a foto or post… and also in a literal sense, by convincing ourselves that these filtered-versions of life are a substitute for an innate desire to offer and receive a genuine connection with others.
for me, nothing is more worthwhile than sitting face to face with another human being and connecting… reveling in all the energies that swirl around by being present and honest, and sharing a meaningful interaction. however, it is also enjoyable to have a medium like this in which to connect and relate to others.
i guess, for me, the most crucial thing is finding and maintaining the balance.
as a reminder, you can follow me on social media at these accounts :
instagram – @foodnfoto
facebook – @foodnfoto
pinterest – @foodnfoto
thank you to those of you who have continued to engage and inspire me. i don’t know if i can properly convey to you all how thankful i am to have this outlet to express myself and my passions in. i don’t know if i can properly convey to you all how thankful i am to have you as followers, readers, commenters, and friends. from the bottom of my heart, please know that i am thankful for each one of you… sincerely.
there’s just something about the fog that i seem to easily become enamored by… the quietness behind it, the mysterious energy it brings, the coolness in the air that it creates…
a few weeks ago, i woke up early and took a stroll around a nearby lake to snap some fotos of the ambiance from the morning fog. i stood still in awe, and drank up all the delicious energy i felt while enjoying the peaceful and inspiring views.
i hope you all enjoy these images and feel the same sense of peace i experienced during these moments.
i hope you all rang in 2017 with peace and love.
i think it’s pretty cool that the new year fell in line with a new moon… great time for reflecting, releasing, and focusing on things we want to let go of, as well as things we want to invite in.
sending all the best to you and yours as we march boldly into a new year full of new possibilities. to celebrate, i made a vision board, which is kind of a tradition of mine. i don’t like to get too crazy with resolutions, but a few of my “goals” this year include learning to sew, practicing my piano every day, buying a new camera, and keeping a daily journal.
what were some of your resolutions?
i had a truly wonderful time working with mister M and his family last month.
senior portraits are by far my most favourite images to capture. there’s something about working with a graduating teen who is just full of hope and promise and excitement. i love talking with them about their experiences, goals, and ambitions. it make me both nostalgic and inspired.
during this shoot, i also had the opportunity to fotograph the entire family, which was fun. but my main focus was on mister M and he was such a natural! as it turns out, his aunt is also a fotographer and so he was used to having a camera in his face… which made it so effortless for me.
here are a few of my favourite shots from the session.
good luck, mister M! and if you ever need a custom trumpet made, i’ll direct you to the perfect person! 🙂
i love finding produce in its most natural state – like this cool ginger root with the actual root still attached. the shape looks like some kind of animal or something, no?! i found it at the farmer’s market {of course} and i bought it mostly because it looked cool, but also because i just like to keep ginger around to nibble on. a lot of times i’ll make it into a tea with some lemon or just shave off a little bit and eat it after meals to accompany the digestion process.
ginger nutritional fun facts :
ginger is great for stomach ailments such as nausea or diarrhea and can be great for helping keep motion sickness at bay. boiled as a tea, it has tremendous healing properties for common cold symptoms. ginger is also {surprisingly} high in b-vitamins. furthermore, ginger has wonderful anti-inflammatory properties, making it a fantastic support for healthy joints.
check out this cute tiny little pineapple i dropped a whopping five bucks on! haha
i have to say, i think i’ve decided that pineapple might be my favourite fruit.
this one was so adorably cute, i just had to have it!
i obviously ate the whole thing in one sitting 🙂
pineapple nutrition fun facts :
pineapples are totally loaded with vitamin c – tons of it! they are also high in manganese and fiber. furthermore, they help support a healthy digestive track. pineapples are, somewhat surprisingly, a good source of b-vitamins, as well. and don’t throw out that core! – it’s full of fiber and can be tossed into your blender to make an awesome smoothie!
food & foto 