27 December 2009

Women Geared Scholarship Empowers & Puts Pro Camera Gear Into Your Hands 36

For most food bloggers, showcasing their food images is a thing of pride and mostly of beauty. People have a love affair with food and photography.

plated desserts 035Throwing scone dough onto the bench.I like polished shots (my pic on upper  left), but I think I get a real kick out of food in action - such as motion blurs from the act of creating scones (my pic on bottom left), or a mixer in a hardcore whirling motion.

The act of creating food, sparks my interest maybe more that tasting it. I love to see the way that true culinarians immerse themselves in their work - it is something very magical, echoed in the expressions and precise movements of their hands and in their body movements.

I acquaint it to a dance. Working in close quarters among a crew in  a commercial kitchen or bake shop, it takes the best choreography,  to make time most efficient and productive.

But when you are able to capture those flashes of  creativity and of proficient knowledge, the outcome of your photos become all that more interesting.


If you are a woman aged 21 yrs or older (regardless of your foodie status) , living in the US, and have ever dreamed of taking your blog or picture taking abilities to the next level - the SOAR! Scholarship from ME KA ROH Photography can do just that.
The three SOAR! recipients will be given thousands of dollars of camera gear, services and mentoring. But throughout the next twelve months, they will also be given something you can’t quantify. They will be given the gift of guided challenge—challenge to CLIMB heights they have never imagined. They will gain strength which will lead to empowerment. When they have made the leaps of risking over and over again, our goal is that they will be empowered to catch the wind. And we will not only witness them take flight, but we will see them SOAR!


Imagine being a winner and having not only pro photography gear put in your hands, but tons of professional software (like photoshop CS4), pro classes and training, mentoring and your own PR - see the whole list of prizes.

For me this would be a dream come true, I would love to delve into professional photography, and have all the expensive tools and be empowered to use them.

There will be 3 grand prize winners chosen on January 1st, 2010. The winners will have an intensive 12 month schedule aimed at sculpting them into photography business pros.

All you need to apply is fill out the application, then submit a 2 minute video on "why you are worthy of receiving the SOAR Scholarship"

You can learn more about contest rules/regulations, by visiting http://www.soarwithmera.com/ .


21 August 2008

Stand by Your Brand - Forget Deals and Buy Eco-Friendly 19

Mannequin in the market by antwerpenR
Mannequin in the market by antwerpenR
I am constantly pricing everything. Constantly doing a price comparison. When you are a parent that is a given. When the economy has taken a bit of a turn you will expect most people to do this also. In general everyone loves to get a deal.

Besides the deals then comes a responsibility. Do I forget deals and purchase brands or with merchants who are eco-friendly? As time goes by I am thinking further about mine and the merchant's global impact on the environment.

I am not the only one - green products and services are at the fore front of most retailers minds as this eco-friendly mindset continues to grow into a global movement.With such emphasis on finding ways to be eco-friendly, shopping for name brand companies that are known for quality products that also have eco-friendliness in mind is a definite plus.

simply, alone by batintherain
simply, alone by batintherain

Beautiful Camera by Evil Erin
Recently I have been looking into products that I can feel better about purchasing. One of these searches has involved pricing cameras. I am looking to purchase a new camera because my old one has been having issues and possibly the sensor is broken. I have thought long and hard whether buying a more advanced camera is worth the investment. I feel that it is the right decision.

I am very passionate about photography and I am more inspired by food when I have pictures. If I am to start seriously food blogging, a good camera is worth it's weight in gold.

One of the sites I found through pricing cameras is Super Warehouse. As I looked around at the other products they offer, I was pretty impressed at the site in general. There are some great prices on electronics. You can easily navigate throughout the site , there are both a dynamic drop down menu sorted by categories, and text links plus a logo directory of your favorite brand name products. There are consumer buying guides on the site to help you make the most of the site.

Super Warehouse prides itself on featuring the largest selection of big name eco-friendly electronics such as Apple laptops , HP scanners , Brother laser printers and a vast variety of other color laser printers. Boasting 50,000 retail products available to consumers 24 hrs a day 7 days a week.

On further investigation, I found out this company was started in 1997 by Russell Schneider out of his 2 bedroom apartment. Russell wanted to provide customer service that would go above and beyond what customers expected. 10 years later and 16 warehouses strong, his business can deliver to most places in 1-2 business days.

Super Warehouse is committed to only sell products they can feel good about. I am really impressed about this companies background and their commitment to customer service and the ideals associated with the go green movement.













The views expressed here are mine and mone alone. I wrote this website review while participating in a blog tour  by Parent Reviewers on behalf of Super Warehouse. I received a gift-card  in exchange for my honest feedback. Please read more about Renaissance Culinaire's Disclosure Policy.

13 July 2008

Summer Bursting with Strawberries 20

Summer brings with it an array of many fruits ,vegetables and herbs - each plant basking and feeding off the warm glow of seemingly endless days. With such an abundance of life giving light - is it any wonder that strawberries thrive in these months?







picture courtesy of Bahadorjn

The fleshy sweetness invokes heavenly sighs when coupled with special desserts. Biting into the firm, juicy flesh, your tongue first experiences a tang, but that is overcome by the beautiful sugary blast of flavors.

Strawberries hold a special place in my taste memory. To me they equal the unbridled innocence of childhood - memories of summers long ago , when the sun was ablaze. Summer days as a child with my friends, I would run out into the hills and forests, and creeks or ponds - never a tricky thought clouding my mind, only a determination to experience and cover as much ground as humanly possible - before the sun set below the purple hills. Strawberries were a staple in my house, and more often then not desserts like strawberry shortcake, or just the simple act of dipping a berry into fresh whipped cream, were enough to satisfy a craving for sweetness.


Below is a weight to volume ratio chart for strawberries in their different states:




weight to volume ratio changes if berries are halved, quartered, sliced etc.
(See below)

1 (16 oz.) clamshell package equals approximately:
Whole Unstemmed 18 each 17.2 ounces
3 to 3 1/4 rounded cups
1 cup = 6 or 7 strawberries
Whole Stemmed 15.5 ounces
3 to 3 1/4 rounded cups
1 cup = 6 or 7 strawberries
Halved 15.5 ounces
3 to 3 1/4 rounded cups
1 cup = 6 or 7 strawberries
Quartered 15.5 ounces
3 to 3 1/4 rounded cups
1 cup = 6 or 7 strawberries
Sliced 15.5 ounces
3 rounded cups
1 cup = 6 or 7 strawberries
Chopped 15.5 ounces
3 cups
1 cup = 6 or 7 strawberries
Pureed 15 ounces
1 3/4 cups



link to California Strawberry CommissionIf you would like more info on strawberries, California Strawberry commission offers recipes, health and nutritional info.

They also have a really cute site just for kids aged 5-12 yrs , with lots of kid friendly recipes you and your children can make together, and fun activities on strawberry education, called Strawberryville.

The University of Florida also has a great page outlining different varieties of strawberries and where they can be grown, plus illustrations on strawberry shapes - very interesting.



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31 May 2008

Saterday Soul Search : Food Poetry 21

In my hopes to re-ignite my poetry writing, I try to find food pictures that will inspire me - then in a creative burst, I try to write out the thoughts that come to mind and type them out immediately. Here are some of my plated desserts shots and the words that became of them...


Sugar Garnish detail


Sugar fired ---
extreme degrees render your cube like structure molten.

How you boil into a yellow frenzy ---
Scorching, throwing your strand like tentacles
grasping and attaching

your hot intensity
slips quietly into a more permanent existence ---
Hardening , your exterior smooth,
yet fragile in
your mock
glass sheen.




Garnish detail



Hazelnut Spears HardeningmoreClose up





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21 May 2008

Food Photography : Banana - Midori Strawberry torte 12

plated desserts 010


An oval cookie cutter was used to cut out 3 layers of French sponge. I used a slightly larger size of the oval set and lined it with an acetate strip. I used sliced strawberry to line the acetate , point upward and then added banana mousse. I pushed a layer of the French sponge into the mousse, which distributed the mousse into the areas that weren’t filled by the strawberry. I continued to add mousse then a layer of sponge, and then used a small offset to comb the top smooth. I let this set in the reach in for several hours, then peeled the acetate off.

The dessert was placed on the upper left side, off center. It was garnished with a chocolate design and a half kiwi slice following the line of the chocolate design.

A tempered chocolate fern design was piped onto the plate. It was filled with honeydew-Midori sauce. Descending circles were piped of chocolate on each side of the dessert and strawberry sauce was used to fill the circles.


I will post the full dessert costing presentation tomorrow.


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20 May 2008

My Photographic Mind 4

Here are some of my pictures. Bits and pieces of what I see. These are shots I have taken, using nothing more than a little digital point and shoot. I like to recall in certain instances, pictures from my photographic mind.

"OH THE SMELL OF DOUGH!"


something uncertain



coming home




Oil on wet concrete



summer rain












Please Remember to Vote for Renaissance Culinaire Best Hobby Blog at the BOBs awards by following the link below and selecting "Abstract2collective" and clicking vote on the voting widget. Voting ends June 2nd 2008

http://www.thebestofblogs .com/2008/05/12/best-hobby -blogvote-here/



Please bookmark the link - you can vote once a day in each category. Support your favorite blogs.

04 May 2008

On Taste Memories and The Economy 2

When I experience something of taste worth noting, I archive it within the catacombs of my taste memories. There it is tagged and filed away - until there is new life breathed into it again, on some chance encounter with my taste buds.

huii 026


My palate has slowly matured. I wasn't always one to remark on how great a microbrew was. But now I appreciate the bold, earthy and spicy undertones contained in the hoppy liquid. I appreciate the complexities of each type of brew. And every now and again these same taste memories resurface like amber ghosts haunting me with unequaled sweetness. I begin to ache for another chance - another dance with this foamy goodness.

My palate of course has not singled out microbrews exclusively, in it's maturity. I have taken on all types of complex tastes and textures not attractive to me in my younger years. This point is my life is very enlightening and I have entered a culinary awareness that rivals anything else I have experienced.

As humans we are drawn toward things we have noted in our brains - things which have left a good impression on our psyche. We cherish the taste memories stored there. And in bad times or discontent we call upon them again to boost our spirits, to remind us of comfort and joy.

A persons palate can only exceed his grasp, and for me living on a family budget means that not all my culinary whims are satisfied. For people who are also attending school this can mean even more cost saving measures. And as the economy becomes more and more disheveled, many of our budgets will continue to grow tighter.

This is a hard reality for me as a food blogger. Mainly from two different perspectives A.) I love food and I am very passionate about the actions leading up to the final product - it pains me to not be able to create more artistic creations at home, due to cost restrictions. B.) Once your blog enters the realm of "foodie-o-sphere" there is an unwritten expectation from readers and foodie peers to create and post pictures of your latest food masterpieces. Also I am unable to participate in all the food community challenges, which leaves me feeling isolated from my foodie peers.

The cost aspect that doesn't affect me however , is that I am not worried about having "trendy" kitchen gadgetry or appliances, I have always been thrifty in that way. I love to thrift shop for tools. I have found high end tools for a few dollars a piece. It is a great feeling to find a $60 tool for that price. The great thing about thrift stores is that people donate kitchen ware they bought on a whim / got as a gift , and never used. So most things are in great shape. I have a source that restaurants donate to, so you get high quality stock pots and stainless tools.

21 April 2008

Food Photography - Ballad of A Foodie 2

I took these shots in the flickr collection noted below (at bottom of this post) in "Ballad of a Foodie"- over a span of 2 years. There is allot of emotional attachment to them. It is about food. It isn't about people who were captured - their poses frozen in time. No, it is about the way I captured these images. I was a newly amateur photographer who was obsessed at getting enough pictures to fill my memory card at the end of the night. I have heard people say "you can't take decent pictures with a digital point and shoot, or anything under 8mp", that opinion is ridiculous.

Ballad of a Foodie flickr collection - see below for links

When I first started taking pictures, I had this little point and shoot digital camera, it had only 3 mp. I got to know the limits of my camera by experimenting heavily in different lighting, conditions etc. I found what worked and I pushed those limits of my little camera, with sometimes amazing results. Then I moved on to a camera with more control, larger lens capacity and full manual functions, a digital with 5 mp. Not all my shots are great, but allot of the subject matter makes them unique. 

I like the irregularities in photographs --- liken it to the cracks and pops you hear when you play a vinyl record. Taking pictures of food is an even harder media to work with. If you are looking for ways to better your food photographs, I suggest you start with the basics --- take lots of pictures of non-food related objects. 

Experiment - go outside, take pictures in the sunshine, pictures of objects with the sun behind them. Take photographs in the rain (not literally - stand under an overpass or porch. Get used to shadows and capturing the right color spectrum. If you have a digital, try using the "live view" LCD , this will help you visually see the way the lens reacts to different angle and light changes. Get accustomed to what situation calls for flash - flash can either make or break a picture. 

Try taking the same picture from different angles and lengths using the flash at different points, then compare what works best. When you have truly gotten to know your camera, then try taking pictures of food. You will now have a reference point to go back to and say - "right, my camera can capture this better from that angle". Then slowly you can introduce props . I have found it is better to take a "on the fly" approach when capturing food production, no props, no special lighting. But then again I like action shots. In the future I will be taking on food photography again -- and this time it will be more "posed" shots.

Amber *'s buddy icon ballad of a foodie

This is my foodie collection on flickr. Mouse over to see Set title. Click on any of the links to View that Set on flickr.

More Plated DessertsPlated DessertsSweet LifeArtisan BreadsBaker behavior
IngredientsEquipmenttartsCake/French PastryEarly Morning
Life of a bell pepperWhat's in your pint glass?Glutenenous motionCake Dec. (beginer)Special Order Cakes



11 April 2008

Food Photo : Chocolate Mousse with Strawberry Sauce 3

11 February 2008

Food Photography : Banana Strawberry Torte 24


kyung of David O'Conner & Lee Photography, in Portland, OR, graciously agreed to set up shop (i.e portable studio) one day after class, to photograph some of my plated desserts --- which were awaiting in the reach-in to be photographed. This was Kyung's first dabble into foodie photography --- as their company works capture more of the traditionally human element.

This dessert was my for my final presentation. It consists of French sponge, brushed with strawberry syrup, filled and finished with banana scented marscapone cheese, then garnished with fresh fruit and a chocolate screen, than drizzled with mango syrup. The plate design was given a stained glass effect , piped on first with tempered chocolate and then filled with honeydew melon -Midori syrup, Strawberry syrup, and mango syrup.

The flavor combination was very good --- the marscapone is so velvety, and it offset the banana wonderfully, and it didn't compete with the buttery layers of the sponge, just enhanced them.

I made all the components from scratch (with real fruit) and used my own recipes and calculated the per plate cost etc. I will post more of this experience in a post to come.

I really like plated desserts --- they are soo fun :)


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05 July 2007

Got Baby?! 1


Got Baby?!, originally uploaded by Amber *.


Well as I said I have been busy. You can click on the picture to read about the birth.

two


He is getting soo big. He is 3 months and 1 week tomorrow. He is the size of a 6 month old! A total opposite of my daughter who was very petite.

01 June 2007

JUNE: What a Foodie Month it is....... 1

Photo : Egg Washing oat loaves on a proofing board.



June is :

Candy Month (National), Dairy Month (National), Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Month (National), Iced Tea Month (National), Turkey Lovers Month, and Papaya Month (National) . First week of the month is National Fishing Week.


June 1: National Doughnut Day (always the first Friday in June)

June 2: National Rocky Road Ice Cream Day

June 4: Applesauce Cake Day

June 5: National Gingerbread Day

June 6: Hunger Awareness Day (US National)

June 7: First day ice cream was sold in the US, June 7, 1786; National Chocolate Ice Cream Day

June 10: Iced Tea Day

June 13: Kitchen Klutzes Of America Day

June 16: Fudge Day; Fresh Veggies Day

June 17: Father's Day; Eat Your Vegetables Day

June 18: Go Fishing Day

June 20: Ice Cream Soda Day

June 21: Summer Solstice - First Day of Summer

June 22: National Chocolate Éclair Day

June 25: National Catfish Day

June 26: National Chocolate Pudding Day

June 29: Waffle Iron Day



12 May 2007

Photography : Blackberry Granita w/ Banana Mouse 3


*Plated desserts. All made from scratch. This blackberry granita in pilsner glass is garnished with banana mouse, raspberry sauce drizzle, two lemon peel spears and fresh blackberries. On the plate are two piped chocolate tears filled with mango sauce and accented with raspberry cloverleafs.
I have been away from blogging and the cyber world for a year....my Google PR reflects that. Ha. Well I am here to tell you I will be sloughing off these feeble embers and stoking this blog into a great foodie fire! VIVA LA CULINAIRE! More to come?!...




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