Basket of Flowers
We love going on walks in this family… I probably do especially. It’s a little confusing though, figuring out a good time of day to go on a walk. It’s often to chilly to take the kids out into the weather, or much too hot… as the case has been these last few days. We decided to take just a short walk to get it out of our systems, and encountered this amazing little field of flowers. Small, but compact with beauty… of course I had to plop down into the flowers and nab a few photos… because it was like a bit of heaven waiting to be captured.
Mignon Kitchen Co
I’ve been playing with a lot of photography on my own at home recently (I guess it’s really taken me some time to step out from Thomas’ shadow and enjoy taking photos for myself). I’ve just been snapping photos of the kids and whatever I fix for us to eat, dabbling with depth of field and experimenting with manual settings. And I suppose that’s pretty common for us “mommy-bloggers” to focus on our home-lives, but what other better subjects do we have? 
…I’ve never had many pretty things to even take pictures of… Little by little, I’ve been acquiring nicer things to decorate our home with (Apple, our scratch-happy kitty does not help in the slightest). Anyway, I’d like to start collecting some kitchen pretties as well, and ones like these from Mignon Kitchen Co are juuuust right… Basic, elegant and timeless.
Spring/Summer 2012 Collection for SK
Wow, I’m pretty late in the game this year. Well, my Spring/Summer 2012 LookBook fought me hard this round, nevertheless I was victorious! Check out the new lookbook, with some fancy dresses and some familiar faces…
I love You, Mocha Pot
If you haven’t noticed the endless references to my abnormal addiction to lattes before, you’ll soon learn that I am obsessed over a good cup of frothed milk and a single shot of espresso… with a bit of caramel and whipped cream on top, and a sweet cake or pumpkin loaf to go with? I’m set (As you can imagine, I have strict diet of eating healthy…. annnd, que recorded audience laugh here). When I was drinking up to two cups a day and making late-night runs for coffee (and my son would ask, “Mommy, are we going to Starbucks tonight?”) I realized enough was enough, and I had to start making my own lattes (you didn’t think I was going to say it was time to start cutting back now, were you?)…
So I did a bit of research. Actually, I did a lot of research on “how to make a latte from home”. (Here is a helpful little video) Yes, I have one of those latte-making-machines, but it really doesn’t compare to the lattes from a good ‘ol coffee house (is it just psychological?). Furthermore, upon my intense studying, I found that in Italy where lattes were magically invented, they did not/do not use machines… but rather, a handy little tool called a Mocha pot.
It’s a simple device – fill with water, place ground coffee in the center compartment (the filter) and put the pot on the stove-top for a couple of minutes on low-medium. The water boils, bubbling up through the filter and coffee grounds, thus creating… espresso. Then take it from the heat right away before it goes bitter.
Now, for the milk. Traditionally, milk is not frothed but simply added to the espresso after being heated up (and served as a breakfast beverage). You can heat the milk (about one cup of it) on the stove-top (do all this while your espresso is going) and use a thermometer to check the temperature, which should reach about 160 degrees. DO NOT LET YOUR MILK BOIL, or it will also become bitter.
…Or, another option would be to put the milk in a microwave-safe container in the microwave for about 1 minute. Check the temperature just the same and cook a little longer if necessary, until it reaches the 160 degrees or just before a boil.
…With that said, I’ve grown accustom to milk being frothy in my lattes, and if you prefer that too then there are a couple way to go about it without an espresso/steaming machine. You can use a hand whisk very quickly, an Aerolatte or a glass milk frother just as efficiently. Another more amusing method would be to put the milk in a bottle and just shake it up. Use your method of choice until the milk has a good foam on top, then gently tap the cup down onto the counter-surface to remove any bubbles.
If you like flavor in your latte like I do, add it to your espresso just before you add the milk. Just a spoon-full or so, of chocolate syrup or caramel creamer/sauce and mix it. Then pour the milk into your espresso (3/4s of milk to 1 ounce of espresso), and pour quickly so that the froth is on top and you can make a cute little design at the end.
…now I think I’ll go make a latte, or possibly a Mocha Frappuccino… hehe.
French Cuisse – Art of Food
I’ve recently been very much drawn to food-photography (I guess that’s not really uncommon for this era), especially (you guessed it) images of sweets and deserts. It’s sort of a challenge, getting an aesthetically pleasing image of an edible, and I’ve always been attracted to a good challenge – so I can only assume that is why it’s my latest interest. I just love how food-photography often has vast amounts of “negative space” and strategic arrangements such as these pictures by French Cuisse.
