Tag Archives: #photography

triple ginger cookies

Posted on December 19, 2011 | 2 Comments

These cookies are not for the faint of heart…they are heady, complex, and spicy with three different kinds of ginger-fresh, ground, and candied-so if you don’t like ginger, it’s probably not for you.  However, if you love ginger like I do, then these cookies won’t disappoint.

They are labor intensive, and if they weren’t my favorite winter cookie, I probably wouldn’t bother.  At a time of year when gingerbread and ginger cookie recipes abound, these are a different sort.  The bite of the cookie is complemented by the lemony frosting.

triple ginger cookies

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 tsp. ground ginger

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp. ground cloves

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp white pepper

1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, softenend

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 egg

1/4 cup molasses

1/4 cup candied ginger, minced

1 Tbsp fresh ginger, minced

turbinado, or raw, sugar

icing:

2 cups powdered sugar

2 Tbsp powdered egg whites

1 Tbsp milk

zest of 1 lemon

Juice of 1/2 lemon

Whisk flour spices, soda, salt, and pepper together in a bowl, set aside.  Cream butter and both sugars with a mixer until smooth.  Add egg, beat until incorporated into butter and sugars.  Add molasses, candied ginger, and fresh ginger.  Gradually add flour mixture, mixing until just combined.  Chill dough until slightly firm, about an hour.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.  Scoop or roll dough into large balls, approximately 2 1/2 inches. Coat with turbinado sugar and place on cookie sheet, spacing  about 3 inches apart.

Flatten the balls with the bottom of a measuring cup.  Keep some water in a slightly larger measuring cup or a shallow dish.  Dip the cup you are using to flatten the balls in the water  every 3-4 cookies or you will want to kill me the cup will stick to the dough.

Bake 15-18 minutes, or until set.  Let cookies cool for 5 minutes before transferring to a rack to finish cooling.

Whisk all ingredients for the icing together until smooth, then spread approximately a Tbsp of icing on each cookie.

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Posted in Dessert

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on being thankful…

Posted on November 25, 2011 | 2 Comments

Not to be a Debbie downer, but consider yourself  lucky if you are off for Thanksgiving.

I have to work…my choice.  A trade off so that I can be home on Christmas and New Years Day.   It’s left me feeling a little sorry for myself as the holiday draws near, my husband’s short work week grinds to a halt, and he prepares to take our kids to his parents’ house in Cambridge for a Thanksgiving overnight visit while I stay behind.

So…

What have I done this week to console myself, you ask?

-I’ve done this to my house,

 

 

 

 

 

 

-I’ve listened to this while I’ve done the above mentioned,

 

 

 

 

 

 

-I’ve indulged in a bit of this,

 

 

 

 

-I’ve contemplated some of our nuttier holiday traditions

More Cow Bell!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

-I visited this (put on by the hospital where I work)

 

 

 

 

 

and I’ve made myself some comfort food!

Sadly, last week was also the last farm box pickup of the season.  Our take home bounty was overflowing thanks to R.J. Calder and the rest of the generous folks at Breezy Willow Farm.  In addition to the usual assortment of seasonal vegetables, we scored fresh eggs, apple cider, fresh baked bread, and three varieties of apples.

This dish is adapted from a recipe by Heidi Swanson in her book, Super Natural Every Day.  The addition of smoked Gouda makes it creamy, and a variety of mushrooms deepens the flavor to makes it more rich and intense.

I hope that you will try this recipe with the addition of some leftover turkey.

wild rice and mushroom casserole

3 Cups cooked brown rice, or combination of brown/wild rice (I use the brand pictured, so that I don’t have to cook two different kinds of rice separately)

2/3 cups smoked Gouda, shredded

8 ounces mushrooms, chopped-I used a mixture of baby portobello and shitake

1 cup cottage cheese

1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 eggs

1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt

1 tsp whole grain dijon mustard

1 tsp sea salt

4-5 sprigs fresh thyme or tarragon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Prepare casserole dish with butter or olive oil to keep the casserole from sticking.

In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, cottage cheese, yogurt, and mustard.  Set aside.  Heat olive oil in large.  Add chopped mushrooms and cook 4-5 minutes until water starts to evaporate, stirring occasionally.  Add onion and cook until translucent, about 3 minutes.  Add garlic and continue to saute the mixture another 1-2 minutes.  Mix mushroom mixture into the cottage cheese mixture.  Add salt and 1/3 cup of the smoked Gouda and mix well.  Pour into prepared dish.  Sprinkle the remainder of the cheese on top.

Cover tightly with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes.  Remove foil and bake an additional 10-15 minutes uncovered.  Top should be lightly golden and slightly darker around the edges.  Remove from oven and top with leaves from thyme before serving.  Serve with additional shredded cheese, if desired.

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Posted in grains

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Sauteed pear and hazelnut salad

Posted on November 18, 2011 | 2 Comments

No sooner did I snap that photo of that beautiful sugar maple this past weekend, then…BAM!  We pull up to the local home improvement store to see a blow up monstrosity of a Santa in front.  This wasn’t your normal, tacky, kitschy, nylon lawn Santa.  No, this one very likely rose above the lowest roof line on my house.  I like Christmas as much as the next person, but please let’s tidy up one holiday before moving on to the next, shall we?  (Do you think I went a little too far when I posted a photo of it on Facebook with the caption “This is what’s wrong with our country”?)

I’m pretty sure that someone is going to plunk down $250 and that Santa will be making an appearance in some poor sod’s neighborhood.  And before I get comments from all you lawn inflatable lovers out there, please know that I’m not dissing you-just your holiday decorating style.

While that front yard will definitely be too busy, a salad can never have too much going on in my book.  When I saw a pear infused balsamic vinegar in the grocery store, I was both intrigued and excited to make a salad dressing with it.  Wonderful substitutions are allowed in this salad and could include walnuts, goat cheese, roasted beets, or pumpkin seeds.

sauteed pear and hazelnut salad

1 small red onion

olive oil

3 pears

2 Tbsp unsalted butter

3 ounces hazelnuts, halved and lightly toasted

5 1/2 ounces salad leaves  (your personal favorite mixture).  I used butter lettuce, spinach, and field greens

6 ounces bleu cheese, crumbled

for the dressing:

2 1/2 tsp pear infused balsamic vinegar (may substitute with plain balsamic vinegar)

drop of dijon mustard

4 Tbsp safflower oil (hazelnut oil may be substituted)

2 Tbsp olive oil

1 tsp confectioner sugar (or to taste)

Whisk together ingredients for dressing and season to taste.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Halve the red onion and cut into crescent-shaped slices.  Put the slices into a small ovenproof dish, drizzle with the olive oil and season with salt and black pepper.  Roast in the preheated oven until soft with slightly caramelized tips, approximately 20-30 minutes.

Halve and core the pears, then cut lengthways into slices approximately 1/4 inch thick.  Melt the butter in a frying pan and sautee the pear slices on each side until just golden, being careful not to overcook them.

Toss the salad leaves with the hazelnuts, then divide among 6 plates.  Add pear slices and warm onion to each plate and scatter cheese.  Drizzle plates with dressing or serve on the side.

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Posted in salad, Vegetables

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You might be a photographer if…

Posted on November 14, 2011 | 2 Comments

This spontaneous non-food related post is brought to you by the changing season.

I once read a quote made by a professional photographer stating that just because a person takes photos, it does not make them a photographer, it makes them a camera owner.

So, what makes a person a photographer?  As someone who is predominately self-taught (thanks to the internet), I can say that in the past year I’ve personally seen an improvement in my eye for that “great shot”.  I see light as a separate entity.  My eyes frame up landscapes in thirds.  I constantly wish I had my camera along (a habit I haven’t adopted quite yet).

I’ve been driving by this sugar maple on the way to the grocery store the past few weeks.  There are a line of sugar maples along this particular road, but this one was the most brilliant shade of red I’ve ever seen.  Sadly, we had a sugar maple in our backyard that fell victim to Hurricane Isabelle and I’ve missed that tree greatly.  This past Saturday, my husband and I were headed out on a breezy day and I asked him to pull over so I could take some photos, fearing that the leaves would be gone with the wind in the next day or so.  He happily obliged, pulling over on the shoulder of a fairly busy street so that I could jump out, run across traffic and spend 10 minutes shooting the tree up.

So…

The next time you are driving down the street and you see some crazy lady with her face in a tree…

….taking long shots of fences

…photographing a street sign

Yup.  It’s probably me.

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