use real butter

Recipe: emily’s grilled flank steak

The first week of NaBloWriMo is done… just 24 more days to go. Wooo!

My house finally got some desperately needed attention today because I had to shoot a recipe and there was not a single cleared surface for me to set my food upon. I hadn’t shot anything in my kitchen for weeks. The tripod had to be disinfected because the last time I used it, I was standing in a field of elk poop (there were also fields of cow poop and deer poop and probably other poops I was gratefully unaware of). But the weirdest part for me was when I tightened the clamp on the quick-release plate of the D200. I’ve been shooting with the new camera for 3 weeks now. Switching back to the D200 (my dedicated kitchen camera), the once hefty body felt like a child’s play toy in my hands. Don’t take that as a slam to the D200, because I still love it to itty bitty bits – it is such a workhorse.

I think we’ve returned somewhat to normalcy here. We’re still busy, but at least we’re busy in one place instead of busy abroad or busy while a moving target. And I’m finally tackling my post processing properly instead of bouncing around looking for the obvious shots to share. Here are a couple from Tuesday of last week’s shoot.

outside of crested butte

looking back on a mere fraction of the largest aspen stand in the world

The recipe I shot today isn’t the one I’m sharing on this post. I can’t share it until next week – it’s the Daring Cooks challenge (and it was soooo good). Today’s recipe comes from my best friend in high school. I didn’t cook so much in high school – I prepped. I loved to use a knife for slicing, dicing, mincing, peeling. Emily, on the other hand, cooked. The first time we prepared dinner for her family, I was making the pasta sauce under her direction. She said, “Add some olive oil.” Like a typical noob, I poured about two drops of olive oil into the saucepan. Emily watched and before I could right the bottle, she pressured the spout of the bottle down with one finger and let about a half cup of olive oil dive into the sea of puréed tomatoes. Thus, Emily taught me that fat makes food taste Good.

slice up flank steak

flank steak, soy sauce, sesame oil, sugar, salt, pepper, garlic powder, tomato paste

**Jump for more butter**

Recipe: prosciutto-wrapped figs

Day four of NaBloWriMo and I haven’t flubbed it up yet!

I’m home at last, and while I love love love exploring the natural beauty of Colorado, I love even more how good it feels to be home. This was an excellent scouting trip – not much of a shooting trip. Jeremy kept telling me that he was sorry this road trip didn’t have much in the way of colors (or even leaves for that matter), but I kept replying, “It’s okay, I got a lot of good opportunities earlier in the week.” I suppose it’s hard to imagine how good it was just four days ago when all of the stands are gray and devoid of color now. Now I can finally sit down to do some serious processing. Beth sent me some of her pics from the shoot. We had such a good time.

hard not to smile when you catch the aspens at the right time (courtesy beth bartel)

We shot from sun up to sun down, in the heat and in the freezing cold, we clambered up steep forested slopes and ate a lot of dust on dirt backroads. I’ve learned a great deal about getting the shot over the past several years and I continue to learn with each season, with each time I press the shutter release. The process is becoming more and more rewarding. I hope you are enjoying some of these captures as well.

aspens seem to make their own light

caught just before the storms

waves of color

Before September became officially INSANE, I shot several recipes to tide urb over until my schedule eased up a little. I’m looking at these pictures and realizing that figs are most likely on their way out for most of us if not completely gone. That’s too bad, but just keep this in mind for whenever you can get your greedy little paws on some fresh figs again.

fresh figs are a gazillion times better than dried figs (i eat those too)

**Jump for more butter**

Recipe: apple galette

I have lost my mind and joined NaBloWriMo again! What is NaBloWriMo, you ask? It’s insanity! But it’s fun insanity, so there I am. Basically, I’m posting every day for the month of October and NaBloWriMo is short for National Blog Writing Month. Insanity…

Oh hey, I was recently interviewed by the Daily Camera (Boulder’s local paper) for an article on food photography. Check out the online version if you’re bored.

The fall colors are getting wacky this year, but I just returned from a 3-day shoot and considering all of the circumstances (dull color, high winds, stripped stands) we managed to get some pretty decent captures.

beth was my shooting partner on the trip – she is awesome

fresh snowfall on the sneffels range

golden mature aspen stands

I’m heading out again Friday for another 3-day shoot. Keep fingers crossed for me that it won’t be a bust! Winter keeps huffing and puffing at Colorado’s doorstep. I think fall will be short-lived this year. That’s both good and bad. Based on my up close and personal interactions with the weather these past few days, it is safe to say that summer is dead to me now. If standing in a shower of gently falling (sometimes violently flying) golden aspen leaves doesn’t make you think summer is over, then 45 mph winds blasting 20°F air and pelts of snow certainly will. And with fall comes apples. Lovely, juicy, crisp, sweet, tart apples.

let’s make an apple galette

peel the apples

**Jump for more butter**