Smoothies

Last week I started off the new year right by shooting 4 delicious and healthy smoothie recipes for Kiersten over at Oh My Veggies! Kiersten and I have been scheming up ideas together for over a year now and I pounce on every opportunity that we get to work togther.

With the start of this new year some very exciting changes have come to her blog. Kiersten now has 4 awesomely talented contributing writers, Julia Mueller of The Roasted Root, Karen Troughton of Kitchen Treaty, McKel Hill of Nutrition Stripped and Meg van der Kruik of Beard & Bonnet. In addition to Kiersten's recipes and posts, each of these 4 ladies will be sharing their own as well. How exciting!? I can't wait to continue working with this greatly talented bunch!

Get the recipes:

Kare's Pineapple Coconut Smoothie

Julia's Kale-Ginger Detox Smoothie

McKel's Chocolate Mint Green Smoothie

Kiersten's Spicy Mango Mandarin Smoothie

Tea Poetry

VI.

A cup of very berry white tea

Poem: Mrs. C.F. Alexander's "All Things Beautiful"

All Things Beautiful

All things bright and beautiful,

All creatures great and small,

All things wise and wonderful,

The Lord God made them all.

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Each little flower that opens,

Each little bird that sings,

He made their glowing colors,

He made their tiny wings.

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The purple-headed mountatin,

The river running by,

The morning, and the sunset

That lighteth up the sky.

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The tall trees in the greenwood,

The pleasant summer sun,

The ripe fruits in the garden,

He made them every one.

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He gave us eyes to see them,

And lips that we might tell,

How great is God Almighty,

Who hath made all things well.

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.

-

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.