No. 12 Cider House

         Apologies for the absence! Photography among other things has been on the backburner lately as I've been doing quite a bit of ballet and taught myself how to play the guitar. But I have lots of interesting things coming up! 

        The parents of my longtime best friend are some of the brains behind a new cider operation just outside of the cities. They had a small tasting event last weekend at their orchard in a beautifully decorated barn and although I'm not  of drinking age, when my family was invited I jumped not only at the chance to see my friend but to do a little portfolio-building work in food photography. Here's the result!

Tuesday Photo Diary //

Spent the evening in at a friend's house making ourselves dinner. It was one of our many cooking endeavors over the years, and one of the most successful. We made up some recipes for bruschetta-topped fettucine and sautéed bell pepper salad with garlic and enjoyed it out in the backyard.

Hello Again

       I realize it's been quite a while since I've posted, but I figured I'd update any of you who are still here with some of my latest photography. 

       Winter is finally coming to an end, and I think I might be able to feel my motivation coming back along with the springtime. It's all easier said than done of course, but the warmer weather and longer days really do seem to be making a difference in how I feel!

        I might have a post soon with some drawings I've done; I've filled up a couple pages of a sketchbook with pen doodles during my drivers' ed class. But for now, enjoy my end-of-winter photography: a small, chilly photoshoot in a parking lot, another self-portrait inspired by a Bastille song, and some Paczki day treats. (I still love food photography so so much).

Afternoon

        It definitely doesn't look or feel like a typical Minnesota December. The snow is gone and has been replaced by light rain and the grass had barely browned. We've had barely two days of sun this month, which usually bothers me but today the neighborhood was so moody and beautiful. The weather made me feel alive. 

        I went out to a local coffee shop with my sister and our friend, who of course scorned and rolled their eyes at all the pictures I took of the food, but it was totally worth it; coffee shop photoshoots are my dream. We then walked around the neighborhood and I kept marveling at the moody lighting and taking as many pictures as I could. I'm very proud of the images that resulted from the day. (And yes, this was in the afternoon- it was this dark by 4:00 PM. Shoutout to 45 degrees north).

Salted Butter Caramels

      For some odd reason unbeknownst to me, my mom prefers cheap, bad caramels over the real good ones. And after many an argument with her as to why I'm right, you bet I had soft, salty, buttery caramels on the brain. So when I saw this recipe, which looked pretty simple, I knew I had to make it. 

      I'm on a short break/holiday from school since the entire state gets a four-day weekend so I set out to make some delicious hunks of pretty much pure sugar and fat.  

      I'll hand you off to A Beautiful Mess for the recipe, since that's where I found it, but enjoy a few pictures of the process- but forgive my kitchen for being terribly un-photogenic. And I'm smart enough to know that when making something as time-sensitive as caramels, photography shouldn't be one's first priority. 

      I used half and half instead of heavy cream since we didn't have any around, and I think I cooked them just a tad too long, so they're a little tough. But they taste absolutely delicious!

Chia Seed Pancakes, I Guess

Why do bad things happen to good people?

Because they care more about getting a good picture of their food than it actually tasting good.

Blueberry Cupcakes

 I initially found this recipe on Pinterest about a year ago. 

  I was bored and home alone while my family was at my sister’s volleyball tournament, so I tried to find a recipe that I could make with what was in the house. I found this in a pin with thirty other recipes, and I was kind of thrilled I had what I needed to make these, since I’m a sucker for any blueberry-related desserts. Unfortunately, I couldn't find the site that originally posted it, but here is the pin. 

note: I've adapted the recipe a bit to work with what was in my pantry.

Blueberry Cupcakes with Maple Brown Butter Frosting Recipe
Yield- 12 cupcakes


Ingredients:

Cupcakes

• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 stick of butter, melted
• 1 egg
• 1 cup milk (The original recipe said 3/4 cup buttermilk and 1/4 cup regular milk, but we never have any buttermilk around).
• 1 cup blueberries (I've used frozen both times I've made these since it was winter, but I have no doubt they'd be even better with fresh berries!)

Frosting

• 1/2 stick butter
• 1 1/2 cups confectioner's (powdered) sugar
• 1/8 cup milk
• 1 to 2 tbsp maple syrup

Instructions

Cupcakes

1. Preheat oven to 320 degrees.
2. Melt the butter and mix it with the egg. 
3. Add the milk (and buttermilk, if you chose to use it), to the egg mixture.
4. In a separate bowl, mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. 
5. Add the milk and egg mixture to the dry ingredients and mix thoroughly.
6. To prevent color from bleeding, especially with frozen blueberries, coat them in a tablespoon or so of flour and then add them to the batter.
7. Bake for 20 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

Frosting:

1. Melt butter in a saucepan on medium heat until golden brown. 
2. In a bowl, add butter to sugar.
3. Add milk and syrup and beat until smooth. 

*note: I cut the frosting recipe in half because I found the original one made far too much for 12 cupcakes. 

*other note: the frosting is supposed to be far less thin than in my photos because I accidentally used too much milk.