Last week I got to photograph Julia Mueller's bibimbap recipe that's up today on Oh My Veggies. I had never had bibimbap before this and I was really excited to make it and eat it! I love that Julia's version has sweet potatoes in the dish, it makes the whole meal really hearty and satisfyingly filling.
Go check out the recipe on Oh My Veggies!
Driving down the winding roads surrounded by woods, I was excited and antsy to arrive at Lauren's home in New Hampshire. Last summer I was assigned to photograph Lauren's work space for the current issue of, Where Women Create.
Lauren is a fabulously talented felter and painter. She lives by herself in the most beautiful setting- a small little cottage nestled in the middle of the woods, located right next to a pond that is home to a large family of beavers.
As we drove up Lauren immediately greeted us at the door and offered us a glass of wine, some locally brewed beer and the most delicious locally made breads and cheeses. Hospitality at its finest. She gave us a tour of her sweet little space and showed us all of her felted creatures and artwork. I don't know how she does it but each one of her animals that she felts have their own personality gleaming through.
She took us on a short walk through the woods and to the pond. Leading us, barefoot, in the damp woods, I got a wonderful sense of Lauren's connection that she has with the animals and land. I learned where all of her inspiration comes from and saw first hand how her surroundings have influenced her art. Her door is often kept open so chipmunks can come inside and eat sunflower seeds out of her hand. I have never seen anything like it. It's as if I met a real life Snow White.
Ever since this day when Lauren gave us a peek into her life, I have been dying to go back and learn more about this wonderful woman. I am so honored to have spent the day in Lauren's little cottage witnessing her talent and serene lifestyle. Read her full story in the current issue of Where Women Create, you will love it.
Sometimes you have one of those months where it snows 10 inches in one day which makes your roof start to leak, bad, and it doesn't get fixed for 2 and a half weeks. Meanwhile, at the same time, the kitchen sink starts to grow a leak of its own and is out of use for 2 days. (I was actually having withdrawal symtpoms from not being able to wash dishes- never thought I'd see that day). This was my latter half of January. Fun, right!?
Needless to say, we tried to make the best of a bad situation by watching this video non-stop and by taking a trip to Eataly to buy a nice big bag of sunny citrus. They have the freshest fruits and veggies there and these seasonal, bright beauties helped make this cake which was a much needed pick-me-up. This chocolate orange cake was seriously a ray of sunshine in this snowy and leaky chapter of our lives.
I'm always amazed at how well chocolate and orange pair together and I hope to take advantage of it more so in the next few weeks, starting with this delicious and tangy chocolate cake with an orange frosting.
Chocolate Orange Cake
3/4 cup butter, softened
1 2/3 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup sour cream
2 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 cup buttermilk
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour two round 9-inch baking pans. Beat butter, sugar, eggs and vanilla in a large bowl until light and fluffy. Stir in sour cream. In a separate bowl, stir together flour, cocoa and salt. Combine baking soda and buttermilk in a medium bowl; add alternately with dry ingredients to butter mixture. Beat for 2 minutes on medium speed. Pour batter evenly into prepared pans. Bake for 30 minutes or until toothpick inserted into certain of the cake comes out clean. Cool in pans for 10 minutes then remove from pan and let cool completely on a wire rack.
To Frost:
Combine 4 cups powdered sugar, 1/2 cup melted butter, 1/4 cup orange juice, 2 teaspoons vanilla extract and 1 teaspoon freshly grated orange peel in a medium bowl. Beat until smooth. Makes about 2 cups. Frost as desired.
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:
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.
-
Each little flower that opens,
Each little bird that sings,
He made their glowing colors,
He made their tiny wings.
-
The purple-headed mountatin,
The river running by,
The morning, and the sunset
That lighteth up the sky.
-
The tall trees in the greenwood,
The pleasant summer sun,
The ripe fruits in the garden,
He made them every one.
-
He gave us eyes to see them,
And lips that we might tell,
How great is God Almighty,
Who hath made all things well.
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)!
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.
