Monday, January 26, 2015

Emily

Emily Chu is a Crafter/DIYer who really needs to make a blog soon. Everything she makes and decorates looks like a shot from a magazine or Pinterest, including the award-winning Halloween costumes for her puggle Miley! She is going to be a first time Mama and I look forward to making her Maternity portraits!


P.S. Miley a couple summers ago. I wonder if she knows a little sister is coming her way?


  
 

Wednesday, January 21, 2015

Asparagus + Fontina Tart


Asparagus + Fontina Tart

Ingredients:

1 sheet puff pastry, thawed
2 cups Fontina cheese, shredded (may substitute with Gruyere or Emmantaler)
1 1/2 lbs asparagus
1 tbsp olive oil
salt + pepper
flour for dusting surface

Recipe:

Preheat oven to 400F. On a floured surface, roll the puff pastry into a 16-by-10-inch rectangle. Trim uneven edges. Place pastry on a baking sheet. With a knife, lightly score pastry dough 1 inch from the edges to mark a rectangle. Using a fork, pierce dough inside the markings at 1/2-inch intervals. This is important or else the puff pastry rises up too much. Bake until golden, ~15 minutes.

Remove pastry shell from oven, and sprinkle the inner rectangle with Fontina. Cut enough of the asparagus bottom to fit crosswise inside the tart. Arrange in a single layer over cheese, alternating ends and tips. Brush with the olive oil, and sprinkle on salt and pepper. Bake until spears are tender, 20 ~ 25 minutes.



Monday, January 19, 2015

Nina



Nina is an amazing athlete, always wears the happiest smile and not to mention drop dead gorgeous and incredibly fit! She really deserved to see how beautiful she is inside out. Like most of those who come to me, this being her first photo shoot experience, she came in a little nervous not knowing what to expect and how she would look. I guided her through all the poses so she didn't have a moment to wonder if it was awkward at all. We took clean professional head shots before changing it up to something fun and glamorous. It's not uncommon for girls with monolids to shy away from trying eye makeup and swing their arms up in defeat for not having a visible lid crease. I say embrace what you have and really rock it! Isn't she just stunning with the deep smokey browns and gold? How's that for monolid love! ^_-

I've done a shoot with a professional model exactly once. Right now I'm more interested in photographing real women and have them reconnect with their own beauty what ever their shape and size may be. Having confidence in who we are is crucial in order for our sisters and daughters to believe in themselves too.
 
Every Day Nina / Smokin' Nina











Tuesday, November 25, 2014

Baby Cameron

Still in the editing stages but a few favorites I can't help but share from the recent session with baby Cameron! Baby photography is a new genre I've been shooting by requests and this one really made me consider working towards making it a permanent offering. I don't often shoot in clients homes and fumbled around so much but Diane and Aaron were so lovely and forgiving. Thank you so much for welcoming us into your home and letting me capture some of the most beautiful baby photos I've ever taken!





On the California - Ohio Trip

Excuses are excuses. I'm still reflecting on the 10-day long road trip I went on with Vicky about a month ago now. I saw so much and I'm saddened to see that I could barely capture any of it in my camera. Also, I've been too chicken to really go through the batch. I feel pangs of regret not trying harder, but I know regrets are a waste of time. What happened had happened and there's purpose in that which I cannot see right now. 

I did for sure get some great photos of some of the food we ate once we arrived in Ohio. Tacos from El Tizoncitos truck in a Columbus parking lot and home made ramen at Kaori's, where Vicky is staying until she finds work. I only had one whole day there before flying back to Boston. Wishing that I could stay in Ohio too and being close to my two best friends!

Pastore, Chicharonne, Asada, Pollo Tacos from El Tizoncitos.


Kaori Zinke/Becker is a cooking instructor/blogger of Kaori Cooks (and Confessions of a Cook), specializing in Italian and Japanese cuisine. Her family makes the best chicken soup I've ever had, but it seems to be one of those magical recipes that can't be made "right" unless made by a Zinke. Like that chili story in The Long Chalkboard and Other Stories by Jenny Allen and Jules Feiffer.  Her wacky and crazy talented husband Alan Becker is the creator of the popular Animator VS Animation series as well as Spirited Away Minecraft World.

Triple Garlic Linguine

From the November issue of Saveur featuring "The Glories of Garlic". Using spaghetti in place of linguine. It's pasta looked in chicken broth before being tossed in garlic oil, sauteed and minced garlic, garlic chips and oven-roasted garlic! Hm..that's Quadruple isn't it?

 I bet this would be so good spread on toast.

What I loved about this recipe was that you cook the pasta in chicken broth instead of water, giving the noodles this deep golden hue and richness that you wouldn't expect looking at the photo below.
 
Yes, it looks like the average dish of spaghetti I seem to make frequently, but man what a kick it has!

SERVES 4-6

Ingredients

  • 1 head garlic, plus 10 cloves (7 thinly sliced, 3 minced)
  • 1 cup olive oil
  • ½ tsp. crushed red chile flakes
  • 12 oz. linguine
  • 4½ cups chicken stock
  • ½ cup grated parmesan
  • 2 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
  • 2 tbsp. roughly chopped parsley, for garnish
  • Kosher salt, to taste

Instructions

Heat oven to 350°. Slice garlic head in half crosswise and set cut side up on a piece of aluminum foil. Drizzle with 2 tbsp. oil and 2 tbsp. cold water; wrap into a tight package. Bake until tender, 1–1½ hours. 1. Heat remaining oil and the sliced garlic in a 1-qt. saucepan over medium; cook until garlic is golden, 4–6 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer garlic chips to paper towels to drain; set ⅓ cup oil aside. Reserve remaining oil for another use, if you like.

2. Heat reserved ⅓ cup oil, the minced garlic, and chile flakes in a 14" high-sided skillet over medium. Cook until garlic is soft but not golden, 2–3 minutes. Add pasta and stock; bring to a boil. Cook, using tongs to stir pasta occasionally, until liquid is almost evaporated and pasta is al dente, about 12 minutes. Unwrap roasted garlic and squeeze cloves into pasta. Add parmesan, lemon juice, parsley, and salt; toss to combine. Garnish with reserved garlic chips

Original recipe with photo can be found here.