Coffee, Chocolate, YES.

This summer I worked with a Swedish coffe and chocolate shop called, FIKA,  located here in Manhattan on some new photos for their website. They're opening up a bunch of new locations across the city- very exciting! One of the benefits of photographing chocolate and coffee is that you get to drink and eat them too :). FIKA uses all natural ingredients and makes everything by hand, from scratch right there. They also have a great breakfast and lunch menu, as well as an awesome assortment of Swedish desserts. It was so fun learning more about the Swedish culture and how chocolate is made from the talented bunch of chefs working there.

See my photos on their new website right here, (meanwhile, enjoy some of these delicious shots and out takes)!

Oh so, Autumn

I have to admit, it's hard for me to get in the Autumn frame of mind after a couple months of summer. But once October rolls around I couldn't be happier that it's here. I was driving in Western Massachusetts the other week and was stunned by the beauty of the changing leaves. Oranges, yellows and reds mixed between all the green- it was breath-taking. This month is one of my favorites and I'm so happy it has arrived. To celebrate, I got together with the lovely Meagan Camp and we put together these fall images at a beautiful farm house in the Hudson Valley that's being renovated by furniture designers Casey & Sam.

Tea Poetry III

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III.

A cup of Bavarian Wild Berry with cream and sugar

Poem: Maya Angelou's "Passing Time"

Passing Time

Your skin like dawn

Mine like dusk.

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One paints the beginning

of a certain end.

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The other, the end of a

sure beginning.

Cucumber-Honeydew Salad with Feta

Green is one of my favorite colors this time of year. Isn't it so fresh and bright!?

This monochromatic green salad with a dash of purple is definitely an extension of my love for this beautiful hue. I was photographing a series of Autumn recipes for a magazine last week and was having a little bit of a tough time breaking away from bright summer-like colors. So I snuck in this salad as an avenue for my desiring of greens!

I was able to get fresh dill, arugula and these delicious red onions at the farmers market in Union Square. While the original recipe doesn't actually call for arugula I thought it added a nice texture to make it more of a hearty salad and it can withstand the tangy lemon/honey dressing. Picking types of arugula to use was a bit tricky...have you ever noticed how many different kinds there are?  I opted for a combination of wild arugula which has a little bit of a more peppery taste and funny enough the second kind I chose is simply called arugula (that's the one with the rounder leaves).

At first glance you might think honeydew in a salad with cucumbers and onion is a bit odd but trust me, it somehow works together really well. Especially with the feta, poppy seed and lemon-y dressing, it's such a refreshing taste. This is a great summer salad to serve at your 4th of July BBQs!

Cucumber-Honeydew Salad with Feta

2 Tablespoons lemon juice

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1 teaspoon honey

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/4 teaspoon poppyseed

1 medium honeydew melon, seeded and balled (about 5 cups)

1 cucumber unpeeled and thinly sliced or peeled into ribbons (about 2 cups)

1/3 cup very finely chopped red onion

3 Tablespoons chopped fresh dill

4 oz. feta cheese, crumbled

Arugula, desired amount

Pour lemon juice into a large bowl and whisk in olive oil in a slow, steady stream until completely incorporated. Whisk in honey, salt and pepper. Add melon, cucumber, onion, dill and arugula. Toss to combine. Just before serving top with feta cheese and sprinkle with poppy seed. Makes 10 servings.

Recipe from Better Homes & Gardens mag.

Tea Poetry II

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II.

A cup of chamomile, spritz of lemon & squeeze of honey

Poem: Edith Sitwell's "Spring"

Spring

When spring begins, the maids in flocks

Walk in soft fields, and their sheepskin locks

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Fall shadowless, soft as music, round

Their jonquil eyelids, and reach the ground.

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Where the small fruit-buds begin to harden

Into sweet tunes in the palace garden,

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They peck at the fruit-buds' hairy herds

With their lips like the gentle bills of birds.

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But King Midas heard the swan-bosomed sky

Say 'All is surface, and so must die.'

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And he said: 'It is spring; I will have a feast

To woo eternity; for my least

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Palace is like a berg of ice;

And the spring winds, for birds of paradise,

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With the leaping goat-footed waterfalls-cold,

Shall be served for me on a dish of gold

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By a maiden fair as an almond-tree,

With hair like the waterfalls' goat-locks; she

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Has lips like that jangling harsh pink rain,

The flower-bells that spirt on trees again.'

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In Midas' garden the simple flowers

Laugh, and the tulips are bright as the showers,

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For spring is here; the auriculas,

And the Emily-coloured primulas

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Bob in their pinafores on the grass

As they watch the gardener's daughter pass.

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Then King Midas said, 'At last I feel

Eternity conquered beneath my heel

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Like the flittering snake of paradise-

And you are my Eve!'- but the maiden flies,

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Like the leaping goat-footed waterfalls

Singing their cold, forlorn madrigals.

Let's make some cheese…

Sprout Creek Farm...

I grew up next to this quaint little working farm in the Hudson Valley. I spent many days here as a child making bread and mint jelly, getting my shoes nibbled on by goats and watching baby pigs run around chasing each other.

And many years later, I still try and visit as often as I can. But it has changed and grown quite a bit since those days...they have tons of summer camps and programs now, some new animals and a big beautiful  creamery. The cheese maker, Colin, is a wonderful guy who can rock a plastic hair net better than most. He loves cheese more than any other person I've ever met and really, it's amazing. Seeing someone as passionate as him about their job is so refreshing.

Colin let me come in and photograph him make their award winning cheese. How lucky am I?

Cheese making is truly an incredible process that requires so much more than we think. And if there's one thing that I learned from this...it's that in many many ways, more so than one...cheese making is NOT for the weak, you guys. I came home reeking of aging cheese and milk with my pants soaked up to my knees...and I didn't even do any of the cleaning or vigorous work that requires those cheese making muscles. But don't get me wrong, it's all still awesome!

To read more about the process, how awesome Colin is, get the recipes below and learn more about Sprout Creek Farm check out my story in the Spring issue of FOLK Magazine.

Colin's Mac n Cheese:

Savory Goat Cheesecake:

Happy Spring!!

Lemon Herb Marinated Chicken Kebabs

My computer is all fixed and has finally been returned to me. After a quick little trip to the beach and some serious, anxiety-induced cleaning and reorganizing of my house I am back to work! I've been wanting to share these lemon herb marinated chicken kebabs with you for a while. Lemon, thyme and basil is my favorite marinade combination. I used it to marinate chicken because lemon and chicken is another favorite combination of mine but this also works great for fish.

If you've never had grilled lemons I have to tell you that you are truly missing out. They hold such a magically sweet, refreshing and slightly tart flavor when you stick them on the grill. Between bites of the chicken I found myself sucking on the grilled lemons, something I could never do with a regular one, my sour tolerance isn't so high. But these were just so good that I couldn't waste any of their juices!

These chicken kebabs make for a lovely, light appetizer at a party, a delicious Sunday lunch with wine or a perfect summer BBQ dish. This lemon herb marinade has lots of tangy, bold flavor, especially if you marinate your meat overnight to really let the flavors infuse.

I'm off to go catch up on editing. Enjoy!

Click for the recipe