The Weekly Dozen Vol.1

As if one photography challenge a month wasn't enough to take on, I've decided to participate in another.  Cyd from The Sweetest Occasion has set herself a challenge after she recently upgraded her camera.  I'm a big fan of Cyd's blog so when I saw that she was doing a photography challenge called The Weekly Dozen I thought I'd give it a go myself.  

I got a few tips last week from my yarnista friend Evi who is also a professional photographer,  so I'm carrying my camera around a lot more and practising whenever I get the chance.  The challenge only runs until September 15th but I may end up continuing as my photography interest is rapidly increasing.

I'm hoping that as the challenge progresses so will my photography skills. I'll be the first to admit that my confidence levels can be pretty low when showing people my work.  But what I like about putting a challenge like this on my blog is the fact that I (and you) can see how my skills develop.

Don't expect Max Wanger or Bonnie Tsang levels of work, I have a very, very, very long way to go before reaching their incredible ability.  But since this is the first time of shooting without just using 'auto' I'm kinda happy with the results.  

Here is the first instalment of my Weekly Dozen...

The first image is an ode to Evi as this was taken in her urban knitting store Gather.  The crocheted hat was designed by Renaissance who is the owner of Raghouse International.  The pattern will be available to purchase on Ravelry in the next few weeks.  The second image is my current yarn-a-long project: the Medano Beach Bag.  I think the photo really captures the true colours of the bag.  More images of the finished product coming soon!

I love to make a fuss over weekend brunch in our house, and it most often involves eggs in some way like a frittata or pancakes.  Last weekend, I was gutted because we only had one egg left (bad planning) so instead I rustled up a quick pasta using Farmer's Market ingredients.  

We took Mr Theo Curran and his brother out to a BBQ las weekend.  We don't have a back garden yet so when we go somewhere that does, he really likes to takes advantage.  You can see more pics of Theo on Instagram search for #theocurran.

PC and I have a weekly ritual that developed pretty much as soon as I arrived here in November.  Where every Tuesday we take a trip the local Farmers' Market.  We often stop by the fish stall to pick up some clams for linguine vongole but this week I made an East Coast special... New England Clam Chowder. Now this dish is particularly tricky because PC is originally from New England so he has had some of the best chowders you can possibly get your hands on.  As it happens the East Coast boy was pretty happy with the results, especially because it was served in a sourdough bread bowl.

I'm in a bit of a baking stint at the moment too on Sunday I made a blueberry pie.  It's ages since I've made my own pastry but I have a good recipe from one of my Mum's books that never fails her.  It tasted like flakey buttery shortbread, clearly super bad for you but comforting on a dull Sunday.

I have a friend in town next week so with a few days out, hopefully I'll be able to pick up some more good snaps for next weeks Weekly Dozen.

Happy Friday! 

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4th July 2013 and Recipes

It seems like such a long time since I sat at my computer to do some blogging.  The good news is that I've been knee deep in work so I just haven't had the time (totally breaking all blogging rules I know).  I thought I'd share some of my cooking photos from my first Independence Day which we celebrated here last Thursday.  We had a few friends over including my lovely friend Dana who I met at Blogshop LA and who blogs at Queen and Crumpets.  We had a BBQ and I made some festive cupcakes for the occasion.  I also made some coleslaw which I love to make and haven't done so in a while.  Recipes below.

What you'll need

1/2 Small white cabbage | finely shredded

1/4 Small red cabbage | finely shredded

2 Medium sized carrots | peeled and grated

1 Lemon

1 tbsp Dijon mustard

1 tbsp red wine vinegar

5 dessert spoons of mayonnaise

How it's done

Combine all the shredded and grated veg in one large bowl

Using a fine grater, grate the lemon zest into the bowl and combine thoroughly

For the dressing, mix together the mayo, mustard, vinegar and 1 tbsp of lemon juice

Add the dressing to the veg and mix well.

I sometimes add a handful of mixed seeds (sesame, sunflower and pumpkin) or chopped walnuts but this time I kept it super easy and simple.

Vanilla Cupcakes

For the cupcakes I used a good old Delia Smith recipe for Vanilla Cupcakes.  I have converted the recipe into cups below.

What you'll need

110g | 4oz | 1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened at room temperature
110g | 4oz | 1/2 cup caster sugar (I used brown cane sugar)
2 free-range eggs, lightly beaten
1 tsp vanilla extract
110g | 4oz |  1 cup self-raising flour
1-2 tbsp milk

How it's done
Preheat oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4 and line a 12 hole muffin tin with cases. I used silver foil ones for the occasion.

Cream the butter and sugar together in a bowl until combined into a paste. You shouldn't be able to see any lumps of butter.

Beat in the eggs a little at a time and add the vanilla extract.

Fold in the flour using a large metal spoon, adding a little milk until the mixture is of dropping consistency.  Spoon the mixture in the case until half full.

Bake in the oven for 10-15 minutes or until golden-brown on top and a skewer inserted into one of the cakes comes out clean.  Set aside to cool.

I made the first batch this way but felt that the mixture should have been doubled to suit the size of my cake cases. So for the second batch I doubled the mixture but added 2 tablespoons of cocoa powder to make these into chocolate cupcakes.  These needed a little longer in the oven (approx 20 mins).

Chocolate Cupcakes

For the frosting I used Martha Stewart's cream cheese frosting.

What you'll need

8oz | 2 sticks | 16 tbsp Unsalted butter at room temp

12oz cream cheese (I used two packets) at room temp

1lb | 4 cups Icing/confectionsers sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract 

How it's done
Beat butter and cream cheese together until combined and fluffy.  I did it by hand but Martha recommends doing it with a mixer. 

Add sugar 1 cup at a time and mix well.

Finally add the vanilla and mix until smooth.

For the decoration, I spooned the frosting on top of the cakes once they had cooled ensuring it had a smooth even coating.

For the vanilla cupcakes I topped them with one raspberry in the middle then blueberries around the raspberry.

For the chocolate I topped them with 3 blueberries in the centre with one on top and then raspberries all around the blueberries.

Using the double mixture was the best way to go for bigger cupcakes and although they were a little denser in texture than the vanilla, they still tasted great.

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Photo Styling Challenge | Part 1 Food

So the day is finally here where I share my photographs for Part 1 of the Photo Styling Challenge that I'm doing with M from Redesigned by M and Anjana from At the Corner of Happy and Harried. In my true fashion I left this until the very last minute to do... i.e. yesterday morning, whilst hungover, mid June gloom heatwave (97 degrees) and before I had to leave to go to a Luau party.  The subject matter is super close to my heart as I love to eat and love to cook and love any excuse to try a new recipe.  So for this challenge I just had to make the food myself.  I chose to make roasted strawberry and black pepper scones from the Hairy Bikers. 

What you'll need

For the Strawberries
- 400g/14oz small strawberries, hulled and halved
- 2 tsp caster sugar
- 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper

For the scones
- 500g | 1lb 2oz | 4 cups self-raising flour, plus extra for rolling
- 50g | 2oz | 1/4 cup caster sugar ½ tsp fine sea salt
- 100g | 3½oz | 1/2 cup cold butter, cubed
- 300ml | 10fl oz full-fat milk
- 1 egg, beaten

How it's done

Preheat the oven to 120C | 250F | Gas 1/2

Place the strawberries on a baking tray lined with greaseproof paper. Sprinkle over the sugar and lots of freshly ground black pepper.  Roast in the oven for 1 and a half hours.  Once cooked, removed and set aside to cool.  Tip: use a couple of layers of greaseproof as I only used one layer and it stuck to the tray because of the sugar... the tray is now in the bin!

Increase the temperature to 200C | 400F | Gas 6

Put the flour, sugar, salt and butter into a large mixing bowl and add a good few grinds of black pepper.  Rub the butter into the flour until you get a breadcrumb-like consistency.

Add the strawberries and mix thoroughly.  Next add the milk and stir around with a wooden spoon or spatula until all the milk is combined and the mixture comes together to forma dough.

Turn out onto a well floured surface and knead lightly.  Flatten out to 2cm | 3/4 inch thick and cut into rounds using a biscuit cutter or cup like I did.

Place the scones onto a prepared baking tray and brush the tops of the scones with the beaten egg.

Bake in the centre of the oven for 15 minutes or until well risen and golden.

Best served with jam and clotted cream.  I don't like jam so I just served mine with Bonne Maman mixed berry preserve. :)

So back to the challenge... I'll be totally honest, my head was suffering from hangover hell that not even an everything bagel and veggie cream cheese with bacon could fix, so my mind was super not into the challenge. Would much rather have been vegging out on the sofa with PC and the puppies watching The Killing.  Not one to be defeated I ploughed on through to make the scones.  This was a new recipe for me and it's always tricky knowing whether it'll work out or not.  Luckily for me they actually turned out really well.  The roasted strawberries alone would be an amazing topping for cake or ice cream.

In preparation for the challenge I went out on Saturday to a few thrift stores to gather up some props for the shoot.  I picked up a few plates, teacups and fabrics for super cheap, some of which originally came from the UK so that was fun!

Throughout June, I did a couple of practice photo shoots for some brunch recipes | Pancakes and Courgette and Gorgonzola Frittata.  It was definitely good to have a go with the camera prior to this shoot and get a feel for the lighting and angles.  One of the main conditions of the challenge is to not touch up any of the photographs, so getting the lighting right is the key.  For me, I found that natural daylight gives me the best results for my photographs and I'm lucky that our apartment has double height windows and roof lights.  I'm not saying that I got the lighting spot-on at all but certainly for this shoot I felt it turned out well.

Our aim was to show a maximum of 5 images and even though I took around 400 photographs there really was only about 10 images out of them that I would have wanted to use.  I think the more I do this the pickier I get which can only be a good thing.  One thing this challenge is doing is making me appreciate the talent of all the many photographers out there. This really is a tough thing to do especially when you don't really know what you are doing :)  I'd love to take a photography course to gain a better understanding of the science behind it.  But for now I'll continue to do the challenge to help try to build my skills.


Next month, Table Setting.  I'm making a pact with myself not to leave it until the day before when I'll most likely be hungover again. :)

All comments on the photographs are welcome and please check out Redesigned by M and At the Corner of Happy and Harried posts too.

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Brunch Recipe | Pancakes

It's weekend time again and here's another brunch recipe to try.  We (us Brits) usually have pancakes on Shrove Tuesday (aka Fat Tuesday) but I don't think it should be saved for just once a year.  It's quick, simple and easy and a change from the usual eggs and bacon.  

Serves 2-3

What you'll need

- 1 Cup/4oz/110g of plain flour

- 2 large eggs

- 200ml/7 fl oz milk

- 75ml/3 fl oz water

- 2 tbsp butter

- Clear runny honey

- Strawberries

- Blueberries

- Lemon

- Butter or oil for frying

How it's done

Sift the flour into a large mixing bowl, this helps get air into the flour to make the pancakes light and fluffy.

Make a well in the centre of the flour and add the eggs.  Whisk with a fork until the eggs and flour are combined.

Combine water and milk then gradually add to the flour and egg mixture to form a batter.  Once all the milk has been added, ensure that all the remnants of the flour on the side of the bowl are incorporated (a rubber spatula works a treat).

Melt the butter in the microwave for approx 30 secs or until melted, taking care not to let the butter boil or burn.  Add to the batter.

Whisk again until all the mixture is combined and the batter is smooth.

Set a pan on a high heat until the pan is hot, then turn down to medium. Add a small amount of butter or oil to lightly and evenly coat the base of the pan.

Add a small ladle full of batter to the centre of the pan then quickly move the pan from side to side to make sure the batter is evenly distributed.  

Fry until slightly browned on one side and then flip over using a fish slice or palette knife, or you could just flip it by tossing the pan (this is where the fun starts).  Be warned, many a pancake has landed on heads/floors/ceilings using this method, but it's by far the best and most fun.  Cook for a few seconds until golden brown and then serve.

Don't worry if your first pancake doesn't quite turn out like you'd expect it, the first one is always a little suspect looking.

Pick out some strawberries and blueberries, squeeze a little lemon and drizzle a generous amount of honey on top.  I like to stack my pancakes up and then add the toppings but you can eat them individually too.  Experiment with toppings! :)

Happy Friday
{Recipe adapted from Delia Smith online}

This post was also aimed to work on photography skills in preparation for the photography styling challenge.  If you don't know about it already you should check it out here.  The first post is going up on Monday.  (I'll let you into a secret... I've not even started it! Ooops.  A busy weekend ahead for me!)

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Brunch Recipe | Courgette and gorgonzola frittata

Whether it's cooking up something hearty to nurse a hangover or taking the time to experiment with a new recipe, brunch on a Saturday is my favourite meal of the week.  I usually get a big pot of coffee on (King's Blend is my number one choice) throw on some music, (if I'm not beaten by the boys to baseball on the TV) and pull out the eggs.  Brunch for me always has to involve eggs, unless I'm really hungover and in which case it's a trip down to Maccy D's for a Big Mac, Fries and a DC (Diet Coke) What? ... we all have our own guilty pleasures!

Last weekend I rustled up this number using some of the courgettes (zucchini) we got from the Farmers' Market.  Check out the recipe below and try it this weekend, you'll not be sad if you do and it's better than hopping for burger, pop and chips down the old Ronald McDonald's.

Serves 2 (generously)

What you'll need:

- 1 Medium sized courgette | Thinly sliced

- 4 Eggs

- 2 Spring onions | Finely sliced

- 1 Handful of gorgonzola cheese | Crumbled

- 2 Handfuls of cheddar cheese | Grated (I hold my hands up, I did use the pre-grated stuff, not my usual preference but that's what was leftover in the fridge from BBQ baked potatoes)

- Salt and pepper for seasoning

- Knob of butter for frying.

How it's done:

Melt the butter in a large frying pan on a medium heat and add the courgette.  Season with salt and pepper.

Cook for a few mins on both sides until slightly browned but not too soft.

Meanwhile whisk the eggs then add all the remaining ingredients and mix well.

Once the courgettes are cooked add the egg mixture ensuring the gorgonzola is evenly spread around (almost like when you add it to a pizza)

Cook on a medium heat until you can run a spatula cleanly around the edge of the frittata.

Put the grill (broiler) on a high heat

Place under the grill and cook until all the egg has set and the cheese starts to bubble and brown.

Cut into wedges and serve.

You can pretty much eat it with anything... a crisp green salad with tomatoes, some crusty bread and butter or a stack of potato wedges.  We did the simple thing and ate it on it's own.

You wanna know the best part?  Watching the gorgonzola ooze out.  Yum!

Happy Friday!

This post was also aimed to work on photography skills in preparation for the photography styling challenge.  If you don't know about it already you should check it out here.  The first 'proper' post is going up at the beginning of July.  I'm still wondering what I've let myself in for ;)

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Colour Inspiration | Yellow Love

Even though 'June Gloom' is fully under way, the sun is managing to break through and reveal those blue skies.  I keep seeing lots of sunshine yellow accent pieces on my various internet journeys and actually starting to love it.  I've never really been into yellow until recently.  Maybe it's because I see the sun more now than I used to.  Either way it's a great accent piece for brightening up a space.  Here are a few of my favourite finds.

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Collection 13 | Ice Cream

1. Ceramic ice cream bowl | 2. Wooden spoons | 3. Paper cups | 4. Ceramic ice cream cone | 5. Wooden scoop  

Ice cream season is upon us and LA has a couple of cool places to head to for that sweet icy fix.  Mostly known for its ice cream cookie sandwiches, Cool Haus is conveniently located a block away from our house and open until 10pm during the week.  With flavours like Olive Oil and Rosemary | Beer and Pretzels | Balsamic Fig and Mascarpone, I'll probably be going at least once a week.  Sprinkles, which is known for its amazing cupcakes, also does amazing looking ice cream with one of their flavours being Red Velvet.  The thought of Red Velvet cupcake and ice cream has me straight up salivating at the mouth!

If I haven't turned you off the thought of ice cream so far, check out some of the wonderful image links below.  There are so many super talented cooks and photographers out there.  I just hope my images for the photo styling challenge will be as good as these.  Eeeeek!

Oh and P.S. How cute are the ice cream waffle bowls from Anthropologie?

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Collection 11 | Unique LA and Echo Park Craft Fair

1. Throw bed by Hedgehouse | 2. Dip dye rope knot bracelet by Tanya Aguiniga | 3. Teakwood & tobacco candle by Pommes Frites Candle Co. 4. Reclaimed brass and timber wall sconce by MFEO | 5. Ceramic teacups by OK Universe

I have been here for six months already and I'm now starting to seek out some cool places to visit on the weekends.  The past weekend was full of fun craft fairs and flea markets and I headed out to two of them Downtown: Echo Park Craft Fair and Unique LA Spring show.  Unique LA was a lot bigger than the Echo Park fair but both had some really lovely things to offer.  Really made me want to do my own stall of hand sewn things for the house {hmmm really thinking about that now...} Anyway, above are some of the things that really caught my eye. I urge everyone to go out and support your local crafty peeps by buying something as lovely as the things I saw!  See below for where we ended up eating afterwards...

{poster images from Unique LA and Echo Park Craft Fair with thanks}

We started off at the Echo Park craft fair and then stopped off at The Pie Hole for some of their amazing coffee.  I have yet to try the pies from there but they look delicious.  The interior is pretty cool too.  The walls are clad in white painted timber panels that go 3/4's of the way up and then the wall above is painted royal blue.  Sunday was possibly the hottest day I've experienced here so far and we ended up schlepping across Downtown in the 90 degree heat between the two fairs. Not the wisest idea we've had and by the end of it I was 'glowing' in the face and pink on the shoulders.  I've been told the first Summer is the worst but after that you get used to it... I hope so!

Echo Park Craft Fair

Cappuccino from The Pie Hole

White wood cladding and blue walls

By the time we got back to the car we were SO hungry so we stopped off at Wurstkuche where we went for PC's Birthday.  We LOVE that place!!! Brats and beers all round please!

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