Showing posts with label photography challenge. Show all posts
Showing posts with label photography challenge. Show all posts

Friday, January 31, 2014

Grilled Asparagus Appetizer

I hosted my first Thanksgiving this past November, and it was a lot of fun. One of the appetizers I put out for the fam was grilled asparagus wrapped in pancetta. It looks fancy, but is a sinch to make.



I prefer thin asparagus to thick, so was really happy to find these tiny babies at Trader Joe's. Wash and snap the ends off your asparagus, set out the pancetta (prosciutto works well too), and get to rolling. I took about 8 spears for each bundle, but 3-4 of average sized asparagus would be fine. Wrap the pancetta around the bundle snugly but not too tight, as the meat will shrink up when it cooks. Continue until your whole lot is wrapped - I like to place them on a cooling rack or cutting board when they are ready. Next spray with some olive oil, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. For grilling, I like kosher salt as it sticks better than table salt. 

Once you have everything prepped, just pop them on the grill on med-high heat, turning a few times to make sure the meat cooks evenly. Cooking time will depend on your asparagus size, and your desired doneness. I like my asparagus on the more firm side, so these bundles only took about 5-7 minutes on the grill. If you aren't a fan of the outdoor grill, a grill pan on the stove top, or even a regular skillet will work just fine. I did these in a cast iron grill pan on the stove.

Wow your guests with your fancy offerings, and remember to eat these with your pinky out.

Sunday, May 19, 2013

May Photography Challenge - Days 11 - 17

May Photography Challenge

This batch of photos was taken completely out of order. Such is life, but I still got them in! I'm loving the creative challenge and practicing with a lot of different subjects.

Day 11: A Smile


Flowers at work from my bestie 
See the rest after the jump

Monday, May 13, 2013

Wednesday, May 1, 2013

May Photography Challenge

My husband sent me this link this morning, and it was excellent timing. I think a photography challenge is just what I need right now. Get out your cameras & camera phones and start snapping. 

The weather in Seattle has been sunny lately (shhh, don't tell anyone), so it feels good to get outside and capture some great shots and enjoy the great lighting for indoor photos too.



May photo a day challenge list
Photo courtesy of http://fatmumslim.com.au/may-photo-a-day-a-challenge-that-will-change-your-life/

Sunday, February 24, 2013

Day 7 - a day late

Bellini's in San Francisco. The drink is cold, but the sun is warm.
I hope you have enjoyed the mini photography challenge. It helped me remember to take my camera with me and get practice whenever I can.



Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Family

Here is the newest member of my family, and the subject for my Day 6 photo.


The Mister


Time for ME!

Yesterday, I treated myself to a pedicure. Things have been crazy busy at work and with family, so it was nice to carve out an hour just for me. I had the best massage and got to just unplug for a while.


Day 6: self portrait
Sometimes, when I feel like I have the least time for myself is when I need it the most.



Monday, February 18, 2013

Photography Challenge: Day 4

Today's Something Cold photography challenge comes to you courtesy of our broken freezer. The appliance repair man is on his way, so I wanted to get some of the non-essentials out of the freezer. Since I was pulling out the mugs, I thought I might as well enjoy a delicious cider.


Day 4: something cold

Sunday, February 17, 2013

Kind of Like Cassoulet

A few months ago, my husband and I had a nice dinner at a restaurant in our neighborhood, Betty. I had the Three Pork Cassoulet and fell in love. The flavors were so rich and developed; it was like nothing I'd ever tasted before. Definitely a great Winter/Fall dish to warm you up.

After we left, I kept thinking of that dish in the back of my mind, and have tried to make something similar at home a few times. Here is my Kind of Like Cassoulet recipe. The best thing about it is that you can substitute based on your preferences and/or what you have in the kitchen.



Crochet Infinity Scarf

I've been on a big crocheting kick lately, and am especially loving cowls and infinity scarves. While searching out interesting patterns on Pinterest, I stumbled on the Pavement Infinity Scarf from Fiber Flux. This pattern is perfect for the Bernat Softee Chunky yarn I just bought, and the my new set of big hooks. Since the pattern is based on double crochets, working it with a chunky yarn and a large hook works up really quick! 


Day 3: Something soft 
This cowl is so soft and full of texture. I used an N hook and 2 skeins of the Softee Chunky yarn in Grey Ragg. It is a great length for wearing long or wrapped around your neck twice. Cozy!

This project also happened to work out for my Photography Challenge prompt for Day 3. I know I should have been on Day 2 (something delicious), but that's the great thing about a mini challenge -- just do what works! So I will find my Day 2 photo today instead.


I took this photo when I was stopping for gas yesterday. The light was great, and I just bunched up the cowl in front of my car door too get the dark background. I took it with my Cannon T31 and a 50mm 1.8 fixed lens. The camera was on aperture priority at 1.8 to get the great blur in the foreground and background, and this is SOTC (straight out of the camera).


I would love to see your challenge photos as you take the, so please share a link in the comments.


Happy crafting!




Friday, February 15, 2013

Photography Challenge

When browsing the web for more photography tips and tricks, I often find people participating in photography challenges -- 365Project, monthly photo challenges, etc. The perfectionist in me has a hard time picking one up mid-month since I'm not doing it completely right. Ugh. So, here is my answer to that conundrum:




That's it! Hopefully this mini challenge will get us in the habit of taking regular photos, so that some of the longer projects won't be so intimidating. 

For extra credit, upload your photos to Facebook, Pinterest, or Google+ and share the link in the comments. 

Here is my photo for today:



Day 1: A good friend brought me some flowers at work to brighten my day

~Day 3~