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

If 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.



Related Posts:

• Food Photography: Chocolate Mousse with Strawberry Sauce
• Dessert Costing: Banana Strawberry Torte
• Food Photography : Banana Strawberry Torte

I've Been Schmapped! Northwest Photo Short-list 1

Apparently I have been Schmapped! Well I just checked my flickr mail and look what was inside:

Hi Amber,

I am writing to let you know that one of your photos has been short-listed for inclusion in the second edition of our Schmap Northwest Guide, to be published at the end of this month.

Clicking this link will take you to a page where you can:
i) See which of your photos has been short-listed.
ii) Submit or withdraw your photo from our final selection phase.
iii) Learn how we credit photos in our Schmap Guides.
iv) Browse the first edition of our Schmap Northwest Guide.


While we offer no payment for publication, many photographers are pleased to submit their photos, as Schmap Guides give their work recognition and wide exposure, and are free of charge to readers. Photos are published at a maximum width of 150 pixels, are clearly attributed, and link to high-resolution originals at Flickr.

Best regards,

Emma Williams,
Managing Editor, Schmap Guides

This is the photo that they wanted :





Wow, that's kind of cool. My Northwest Flavor is traveling the web :) This is a picture of the Fremont Bridge in Portland, OR.
The Fremont Bridge is a steel tied arch bridge over the Willamette River located in Portland, Oregon. It carries Interstate 405 and US 30 traffic between downtown and North Portland where it intersects with I-5. It has the longest main span of any bridge in Oregon and is the second longest tied arch bridge in the world (after Caiyuanba Bridge across the Yangtze River, China).^[1]
The bridge was named for John Charles Frémont, though one of the connecting streets was previously named Fremont Street in honor of the same individual.
The bridge has two decks carrying vehicular traffic, each with four lanes. The upper deck is signed westbound on US 30 and southbound on I-405. The lower deck is signed eastbound on US 30 and northbound on I-405. - facts Via Wikipedia

This photo was taken with my little point and shoot 3mp. It was raining and stormy when I took it - I kind of manipulated it a bit with contrast which made it grainy and added some deeper concentration of color. It is best viewed larger.

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.

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.

The Sweet Melissa Baking Cookbook Giveaway - Deadline is TODAY! 2

Which 5 RANDOM contestants will emerge victorious and win the ultimate prize? A FREE Cookbook? We will find out Tomorrow!


Thanks to everyone who participated! The contest is going smoothly. If you haven't entered The Sweet Melissa Baking Book Challenge yet, you need to do so before Midnight 04/30/2008 , tonight!

To enter the contest - just bookmark http://abstract2collective.blogspot.com (click on the links) to : (stumbleUpon ) (add it to del.) (Digg it!) (add to technorati favs ) or (blogroll it) . You can also see the original post.

Once you have added Renaissance Culinaire to any one of these 5 sites, email me at renaissanceculinaire [at] gmail [dot] com with :

1. your name
2. user name on the bookmark site you used

There is a link at the bottom of this post, which reads "contact me" -you can also use that.

All contestants will be assigned a number, and those numbers will be entered into a processor at random.org to create truly 5 random winners.

GOODLUCK!



Related Posts:

• Contest : Cookbook For 5 Lucky Random Winners

• Review: Sweet Melissa Baking Book
• Hot Pepper Gingerbread Muffins with Orange-Maple Butter

Soul Search : Saturday Food Poetry 15

In an effort to reawaken my poetry writing, I will be featuring a food photo that inspires me, then let the words that stem from that image fall onto the page. Enjoy! Comments welcomed and appreciated.

Thanks ericmcgregor for use of this photo.

Muscular and artistic hands -
weaving the magic we call presentation.

I see the art,
fashioned of edible sculpture.

Your formulations
are
the
holy scripture.

you are profit of the palate,
to
your
unwavering congregation.

cutouts of cake, bases;
the pulpit
from
which
you preach
your decadent wisdom.

Dripping, oozing
thinning sauces.

Prepping, squeezing;
till heavenly visions
are realized.

Tuiles, chocolate decorations;
An offering
of snap,
of crispy symmetry;
Oh lovely visual revelations.

Is it enough to paint those lines,
to chase perfection
to gain
culinary
holy ground?

© All Rights Reserved. 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.

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.

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.

Vintage Photog : Baker and Staff 4

I found this while browsing flickr. I love this photograph, and I intend on asking john if he would have it copied for me, I would pay him of course, and then have the picture sent to me.

Baker and Staff, originally uploaded by mrwaterslide.

This is what he had put under the photo :

One day at the hotel I had all my work finished and I asked the chef if I could
leave early. It must have been about three o'clock. I got in my car and drove
madly down the interstate, and then turned off on a state road, heading towards
Lake of the Ozarks. Every time I came to an antique store or flea market I
pulled over, ran inside, and scanned the stock hurriedly. I found this photo at
my last stop of the day (it was almost five o'clock, when most everything
closes). It's marked $4.00 on the back, so I suppose that's what I paid for it.

I would say that is a pretty cool find.

Foodie links/photog : Red Currant Mini Cakes 2

Wow. What a beautiful picture, I found this while browsing the flickr group I manage : Artisan Artistry , a group for photographs that feature handmade breads/confections/desserts. SO far there are 122 members.

Red Currant Mini Cakes, originally uploaded by La tartine gourmande. 

Here are the most recent group stats:

La Tartine Gourmande  has a tantalizing photo stream.

Visit the food blog for luscious Recipes ---
Red Currant Mini Cakes can be found here .

Flickr has over 4,500 groups which are food related. Yikes...foodie heaven or hell ? You be the judge...

Photog : of a dried berry | Reverse Macro How To 4

By adding a traditional 35mm film lens in reverse, in front of my digital lens, I was able to capture the details of this dried berry. This was the natural coloring. I thought it was quite beautiful.

Reverse Macro of a dried berry, originally uploaded by Amber *.

To Create your own reverse macro:

1. Select a digital camera with at least 4mps. One with a larger lens opening than a standard "point & shoot" camera - when I mention point & shoot I am talking about the cameras with very small (dime - nickel sized) lens holes. I didn't have an DSLR with standard 35mm equivalent to use (my camera has a 28mm equivalent which worked great). The bigger lens hole will enable you to capture the light given off from the 35mm lens. To make this kind of shot, a built in flash is worthless, because the added length of both lenses creates a tunneling effect. It also helps to have a zoom power greater than 3, my camera has 10 optical zoom and 8 digital.
2. Find a telephoto 35mm lens (you can experiment with different sizes and ranges), I used a [55mm - 117mm ] Pentax telephoto. It should have a lens lip or hood of at least 1/4 inch (this is found at the protruding end) or wider. This lip will allow you to hold the two lenses comfortably in one hand, but also position your lens close to the 35mm lens, and at the same time create a light barrier. A smoother, slide roll type barrel extender works better here too -- as this enables you to use light touches to adjust the magnification (i.e zoom) of the 35mm lens.
3. Find a place to photograph your macro. It should be flooded with natural light (fluorescent lights or ambient light will not produce good results) a good time of day is in the early morning, or around 4 p.m, on a bright day. There should not be any object to create and caste shadows.
4. Find your subject. This technique allows you to magnify the finest details --- like dust particles or tiny ridges, so find something that isn't necessarily interesting on it's own --- but would be neat in magnification.
5. Position your subject. A box below your subject will prop it up so you aren't lurching over your subject. Try to position it in full light.
6. Getting Ready For the Shot. Get situated in a comfortable stance, as this will take several shots and lots of adjusting to get it right. Position your hand around the bottom of your digital camera lens so that it is cradled in your hand. Make sure only half of your hand (i.e pinky and ring fingers) is touching that lens, as the rest of your hand (i.e middle, pointer and thumb) will be holding the 35mm telephoto lens steady in front of your digital lens. A safe spacing between the two is 1/4 "- 1/2 inch. DO NOT let your lenses touch each other --- as this will lead to scratching!! Position the lenses and then position the camera and lenses in front of your subject.
7. Focus, focus , focus. The trick is to learn to focus your digital to pick up on the finer adjustments of the 35mm telephoto lens. I zoomed in with my digital half way, then I would move the telephoto to magnify more and more, all the while gently focusing with the telephoto. You will need to shift around your subject to create better shots. Try different distances and zoom.
8. Practice, practice, practice. Get a feel for your camera and the two lenses working in sync. Try a variety of subjects and light strengths --- this will take a lot of shots and trial and error, so have your memory card handy.

My Recipe : Curried Asparagus 8

This is a tasty side dish. It has gotten raves from my friends and family. It may seem a bit salty at first glance but take into consideration the liquid added washes the flavor out a bit , so there needs to be enough salt to bring out the curry flavors. Enjoy!

Green Asparagus by Gunnar Magnusson

You Will Need:

• a nice bunch of Asparagus (1-2 #s)
• 1/4 - 1/2 of a stick of butter
• a good curry powder (look for these ingredients : coriander seed, chili, cumin seed, fennel seeds, cinnamon, poppy seeds, star anise seeds, turmeric, mustard seeds, white pepper and peanut -- You can buy this mixture at an Asian market, regular grocers tend to have a diluted curry powder lacking depth)
• balsamic vinegar (a splash about 1-2 TB)
• porcini mushroom flavored oil (a bout 1/4 TB
• rubbed sage (about 1/4 - 1/2 tsp)
• onion salt (1/2 tsp)
• garlic salt (1/2 tsp)
• kosher salt (1 tbs)
• water (enough to cover asparagus)

Heat your pan on medium high and allow the butter to melt completely. After washing & breaking the fibrous bottoms off your asparagus stalks -- add them to the melted butter. Add 1 tablespoon of curry to the pan, mix into the butter to form a paste. Sprinkle balsamic vinegar over the whole pan. Drizzle your asparagus with the porccini oil. Dust with rubbed sage. Sprinkle salt , onion and garlic salt (a few shakes , as water will be added later). Stir briskly. Add 1 tsp more of the curry. Add enough water to barely cover the stalks. Cover and allow to simmer.

When done the asparagus will take on the yellow color of the curry, and they will appear slightly wrinkled/wilted.

The Flickr Katrina Auction ---Own one of my prints! 0

Due to the tragedy that has hit the gulf/Southern states, the members of flickr.com felt compelled to do something. We banded together and members from all over the world donated prints to be put up for auction, all proceeds went and are still going to charities which are accepting donations for Hurricane victims.

The first round was very successful --- we raised $11,831.00 All going to American Red Cross or other charities. You can view the final bid amounts & winners for the first round here.


In the spirit of things, and due to the immensity of damages we have hosted another auction which will end Sept. 30th 2005. I have a print up for auction (current bid is $25), Click here for bidding instructions , all prints can be bid on by outside bidders through email :

My thoughts & prayers are with those, victims of this catastrophe.

Professionally printed on archival paper with archival pigment based inks.

Will ship an unframed, signed 8 X 10 matte print to the highest bidder.

Will ship flat in postal envelope.

Bidding closes at 8:00PM EST on Sept 30th 2005



NOT A FLICKR MEMBER? Email your bid! Be sure to include your name and bid amount in the body of the letter.

Please click on the banners above to see what other fine photography there is to offer. There is some nudity--- so be careful if surfing from work. All profits will go to charity!

If you have thought about donating , but haven't yet --- why not take home a print to hang on your wall in the process??

Walnut croissant & French turn overs 5

Walnut croissant & French turn overs, originally uploaded by Amber*.

Some of the pastry I have been making. Tommorow is my groups last day in the laminated dough station. It is also a test day.

It is amazing how ones confidence can soar, once you get a little bench work in.

I have too many irons in the fire as of late, so my writing is suffering. I had tapped into a good vien there for a spell. Now writers block has bruised me, like one big hematoma, I cannot see past the cosmetic details.

My photography on the other hand has been unearthed. I carry my camera everywhere now. I have over 4,000 photos in my flickr account. Go figure....

Announcing My New Photoblog... 0

colour 063, originally uploaded by abstract2concrete.

You can find my new photo only blog Recovering The Satellites under favorite links.

I will be posting an assortment of photo art I have taken. This picture is one of my newest groupings. If you would like to subscribe to my photoblog rss feeds, please visit and you will find the scroll-down menu.

I hope to have some feedback on my photos. Alot of you have tried to click on them, but you have to be a Flickr member to view. It is free and I highly recomend the services - sign up here

I have also moved my main assortment of links to my new Culinary Novice Links Page , which you can also access through the sidebar under favorite links.

What Make this Foodie Tick? Interview Brazilian Style.. 0

"I love cooking
and love food in general. I also have a food blog that's rather
successful here in Brazil: Cantina da Laura . I usually like to write about ways of dealing with the kitchen when
you're totally unskilled (and don't want to order pizza!), because I
think the world has enough gourmet writers (even though I fancy myself as one, sometimes!) :) " ---Laura Prado

Laura has a great spirit.She is a fellow Foodie & Food blogger. And a Flickr Member - That's how our two worlds collided, hers' in Brazil, mine in the Pacific Northwest. There are several food related groups on Flicker and I wanted to hear first hand from other food lovers, regardless if they were food professionals or novice. "Tell me your stories " - I asked. And people responded. This is the first in a series of food interviews.

Here she explains her love affair with food, In her Own Words :

" I'm not sure if people believe me when I say I love slicing, dicing and
cutting up vegetables in general. For sure they don't take me
seriously. But I mean it.

I think it must be a common feeling between people who know
how wonderful it is to cook. You just grab something completely and
utterly raw as a cucumber and turn that thing into something that even
cucumber-haters would love (especially if they don't know it's
cucumber). It can become anything you want.

I wanted to become a chef, but I lack the money to go through cooking
school. I also lack the contacts to work in the field without a degree. For a while it made me really sad to think I'd never achieve it. But then I realized I didn't have to be able to cook the perfect pheasant dish to be able to cook. I could just make things up and serve it to my friends.

So that's my cooking verve: everyday cooking. I try to gather easily
available ingredients and make all sorts of new dishes. And that's
what I write about. I found out many of my friends were tired of
ordering pizza and cooking ramen every single day. Most lived alone
and never had time or patience to do stuff in the kitchen. Still, they
wanted to taste new stuff.

So I started teaching them this little things that you could do,
flavors you could combine. It's no big deal, but I feel it's a whole
new world in the kitchen when instead of having ramen with artificial
flavoring, you can have it with cream cheese, olives and nuts. It's
fancy and easy at the same time.

Of course, in my own kitchen, I keep trying harder stuff: souffles,
risottos and other things that require a bit more skill, but I like to
help people realize that the kitchen is a good place to be and that
cooking is not always just an everyday chore. I think I'm just hoping
that people can love food and cooking as much as I do.

I think sometimes I take my food too serious, but that's just because
I love doing it and I pour myself in the preparation.

My husband says my relationship with food is stronger than ours. I hope he's just kidding, but I guess he's on to something... "

I have been Flickr Blogged, YO! 0

Very cooly I checked my Technorati watchlist , for my Flickr Photo Stream and low and behold there were new links. It seems that Jan is a blogger from Hong Kong , who searches flicker for interesting photos which would be perfect for desktop wall paper, then posts them. Here is the Flickr Wallpaper home page. You can find my danish pastry photo here.

Other Blogs which have featured my photos include:

Joaobambu's Weblogic - a 24 yr old living in Decantor, Gorgia . He has many stories to tell & a head full of photographs which seem to materialize from some ethereal existance. .

A Family Of Breath - A blog by russel Higgs - From the U.K , Philosophy isn't dead nor are the inner workings of man . Browse through commentaries from every subject imagionable.

Pastry Life - J.T bloggs his exsperiences & mouth watering photos from The French Pastry School in Chicago. Is it just pastry for him? Find out what makes him tick.

J O A O � S (W E) B L O G ( I C ) 0

I stumbled across this blog. Very interesting photos and entries!

 Link:  J O A O � S (W E) B L O G ( I C )