Imperrfections

Molten Chocolate Cake for 2

meg.kat.art@gmail.com (Meg Kat) — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 13:00:00 +0000

It may be Sunday, but it's still the perfect day to enjoy this sinfully delicious chocolate dessert.

A rich fudgy exterior with a warm liquid chocolate lava center. The angels will be singing as you eat.

Ingredients:

1/2 C Nestle semi-sweet chocolate chips
4 TBS butter
1 egg
1 egg yolk
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 C powdered sugar, sifted
3 TBS all-purpose flour, sifted

This is all you need to achieve heavenly bliss:

Preheat oven to 425 F and microwave butter and chocolate chips in a microwave-safe bowl for 45 seconds on high, then whisk until smooth.

Add egg, egg yolk, and vanilla and whisk again.

Add in sifted flour and powdered sugar and - you guessed it- whisk.

Pour into a small and VERY VERY VERY well greased dish.

Bake for 13-15 minutes, just until the top looks done but the insides are jiggly.

Let sit for 1-2 minutes then run a knife along the edges. Put a small plate upside down on top of the bowl and flip over. If you do it right, you should have a perfect looking upside chocolate cake that oozes chocolate when you crack it open.

If you're doing it for a blog post something will inevitably fail and the cake will break open onto the plate in a very un-photogenic way.

But it will still be delicious.

Saturday time wasters

meg.kat.art@gmail.com (Meg Kat) — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 13:00:00 +0000

My weekend mission to scour the internet searching for the best places for you to waste your precious Saturday hours as you relish doing absolutely nothing productive.

(Pass along any sites you're convinced are totally awesome and I may feature them in future posts)

1. The Best of Crigslist - Just take a look and enjoy.

2. Pogo.com - tons and tons o' games.

3. Grooveshark.com - I hate to call this one a timewaster because it is AWESOME. Listen to music for free. Simple. Beautiful.

Chicken Pot Pie for Two

meg.kat.art@gmail.com (Meg Kat) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 14:01:00 +0000

I really love pot pie, but I don't always want to make a giant pan that will end up having to be eaten for at least one meal everyday for most of the week (by myself, because Matthew somehow does not share my love of pot pies).

So today I thought, "Hey! I have two cute little dishes, let's make individual pot pies!". It's perfect for a couples dinner one night, or enough for me to eat only two days in a row (much more enjoyable).

You could even bake just one and freeze the other for another night.

Any way you do it, it will be fabulous, trust me.

Ingredients:
(This makes two small pot pies, each dish is 5x5x2 and enough for 1-2 servings, depending on how hungry you are :)

Crust:
1 C flour
1/2 tsp salt
3 TBS butter
3 TBS water

I totally forgot to take pictures of the dough, probably because it's very quick and fairly boring.

In a bowl or food processor, mix flour and salt together and cut in the butter until it resembles coarse crumbs. Add in water to form a dough then wrap up and refrigerate while you cook the filling.

Filling:
1 large (or two small) chicken breasts
3 TBS butter
1 carrot, diced
1/4 onion, diced
1 celery stalk, diced
1 small potato, cubed
6-8 mushrooms, sliced
1 tsp parsley
1/2 tsp oregano
salt & pepper
3 TBS flour
1 C chicken broth
3/4 C milk

This is all you really need besides a little chicken - some vegetables and a few spices.

Preheat oven to 400 F then cook the chicken in a skillet with a little oil, salt and pepper (about 4-6 minutes per side). Cube and set aside.

Have the vegetables ready to go before starting to heat the skillet on medium heat.

Melt 3 TBS butter in a cast iron skillet and add the carrots, onion, celery, potato, parsley, oregano, salt, and pepper. Stir occasionally and cook for 5 minutes before adding the mushrooms. Cook for another 5 minutes.

Add the flour and stir continuously for 1 minute, then mix in the broth and milk and cook until bubbly.

Once thickened, stir in the cooked chicken.

Ladle filling into both dishes.

Just the perfect amount!

Roll out dough between two pieces of plastic wrap (great trick so it doesn't stick to anything). Discard plastic wrap, top each dish with half the dough, and form a little raised crust along the edges.

Don't forget to make 3 slits in the crust to allow steam to escape!

Bake for 30-40 minutes until crust is lightly browned and filling is bubbly (it may overflow a bit but it's just fine)

Ignore the bare whiteness of this bite while excusing the fact that I didn't put a colorful little piece of carrot in there, and just think "YUUUUUUMMMM!!!"

Almond Pound Cake

meg.kat.art@gmail.com (Meg Kat) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 18:30:00 +0000

I know I said I'd be posting about how to turn this cake into simple petits fours, but I completely and totally FAILED with the glaze today because I tried making it without corn syrup (does. not. work).

But I'll be making a "Part 2" to this post soon, with more photos and a proper glaze.

For now, just have some yummy pound cake.

Ingredients:
(makes 1 loaf)

1 1/3 C white sugar
1 C butter (2 sticks), room temperature
3 eggs
1/4 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp almond extract
2 C cake flour (or replace with 3/4 C all-purpose flour and 1/4 C cornstarch)

My beautiful new ("refurbished") 5 QT Artisan KitchenAid mixer before it's Pound Cake christening

Step 1: Preheat oven to 325 F and separate the eggs - place the whites in the Kitchen Aid bowl and set aside the yolks in a small bowl.

Step 2: Whisk those suckers to a stiff peak and set aside in a small bowl.

whipping those egg whites like nobodies business! No more hand whisking for this girl, uh-uh!

I really went to town on these whites. They were past the point of "stiff peaks" but I kept and used them anyway (don't do that - restart with new whites or the cake won't rise like it should)

Step 3: Cream together the butter and sugar then beat in the egg yolks.

Step 4: Mix in milk and extracts then add flour 1 C at a time.

the batter before folding in the egg whites

Step 5: Fold in the eggs whites.

Step 6: Spread evenly into a well greased 9x5x3 loaf pan.

Step 7: Bake for 50-60 minutes then move to a cooling rack for 10 minutes before removing from pan.

Step 8: Allow to cool completely before slicing and/or pouring on a glaze

The Singing Christmas Trees

meg.kat.art@gmail.com (Meg Kat) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 01:22:00 +0000

Last winter Matthew and I went with his parents to the annual performance of The Singing Christmas Trees at First Baptist Orlando.

Finally, almost a year later, I got around to editing some of the photos.

(The following were taken with a 70-300mm f/4-5.6. Considering how difficult it turned out to be shooting with almost no light and no tripod, I think they turned out pretty successfully)

Here are my favorite 10 from the night (I have 26 total to view on my facebook fan page - Meg Kat Photography & Art Fan Page)

I'm making this one super small so you will be forced to see the larger version, which I think is much awesomer at 900 pixels wide instead of 600

SO VIEW THE BIG VERSION - http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2429/4075994035_405f1c1814_o.jpg

P.S. Tomorrow: POUND CAKE PETITS FOURS RECIPE!!! :)

Chili - Plain & Simple

meg.kat.art@gmail.com (Meg Kat) — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 20:54:00 +0000

Sometimes you just need a really simple bowl of chili to warm you up and make you feel all cozy.

This is a no-frills easy-peasy one pot meal you can throw together when the nights are cold and the pantry is near empty.

1 lb ground beef
3 tsp chili powder
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 onion, chopped
1 (8oz) can tomato sauce
1 C water
1 (16oz) can kidney beans, drained
1 (16oz) can chili beans (do NOT drain)
1 1/2 tsp oregano
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp salt

Heat a large pot on medium heat and add the ground beef and chili powder. Stir often, and just as the meat begins to brown add in garlic and onion.

Cook another minute or two until the meat is almost burnt, then add tomato sauce, water (I just fill up the empty tomato sauce can and dump in), oregano, cumin, and salt.

Simmer for 20 minutes and then you're ready to eat :)

P.S. I love to eat this with the ultimate in cheap and tasty corn muffins - Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix. You can't really beat 6 muffins for less than $1.

Vegetarian Sausage & Cheese Mini Biscuits

meg.kat.art@gmail.com (Meg Kat) — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 16:14:00 +0000

These are a holiday favorite in my family and a "must have" on Christmas morning. I grew up eating a version with regular pork sausage but have found vegetarian sausage to be just as tasty but without all the fat and greasiness.

If Bisquick baking mix isn't available where you live, you can give this homemade version a try - Homemade Baking Mix. And experiment with this meatless sausage in other recipes. It's a great low fat replacement for pork that has enabled me fool many a meat-eater :)

Ingredients:
(Makes about 45)

1 (14oz) package Gimme Lean Ground Sausage
1 TBS oil
8 oz cheddar cheese, grated
3 C Bisquick baking mix
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp thyme
2 eggs
1/2 C milk

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Heat 1 TBS oil in a large skillet and cook the sausage until crumbled and lightly browned. Pour onto a plate and set aside to cool.

In a large bowl mix together the baking mix and spices, then add the cheese and toss to coat with flour mixture.

Beat two eggs in a small bowl then pour into flour/cheese mixture along with the milk. Add in the cooled sausage crumbles and stir everything until completely mixed (will be pretty sticky)

Roll into tablespoon sized balls and place at least 1 inch apart on a baking sheet. Bake for 20-25 minutes and enjoy!

Upcoming recipes

meg.kat.art@gmail.com (Meg Kat) — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 01:16:00 +0000

I've been enjoying our first day back at our apartment after 4 weeks of house sitting at my parents place. About 10 minutes ago I remembered I needed to post something today and I'm managing to pick up someones wifi for a few minutes to do it...SO

Soon you'll be seeing:

- The BEST Beef Chili (simple, but the best)

- Vegetarian Sausage & Cheese Mini Biscuits

- Pound Cake Petit Fours

- White Sandwich Bread (sounds boring, but everyone needs it and I'm sick of paying $2-$3 for one loaf so it's time to try a homemade version)

- Something with coconut flour

- Baked Samosas with Tamarind Dipping Sauce (reeaaalllyy looking forward to eating those)

- Bubble Tea (including home made flavorings)

And here's a favorite from today's Post Secrets:

Awesome blossom!

meg.kat.art@gmail.com (Meg Kat) — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 13:26:00 +0000

I just discovered this morning that my Pumpkin Blossom Cookie recipe is featured on the front page of Saveur.com!!!

Saturday time wasters

meg.kat.art@gmail.com (Meg Kat) — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 13:00:00 +0000

Little does and happy tigers

meg.kat.art@gmail.com (Meg Kat) — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 18:42:00 +0000

I've been going through old files and rediscovering photos:

Doe, a Deer

Into the World

Zen Tiger

P.S. IT'S HEEEEEEEEEEEERRRRRRRRREEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Crispy Rosemary Chicken and Potato Wedge Fries

meg.kat.art@gmail.com (Meg Kat) — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 12:00:00 +0000

Alright, I've decided there's no time for a pity party.

I don't care if someone stole all of our grocery money and I'm left with few ingredients to work with, I AM going to post some recipes. It may be a challenge but I'm steppin' up!

This one was a complete winner. Not only did it take few ingredients, but it was also super simple, baked in one dish, took little prep, tasted awesome - basically perfect.

And because it all cooks in the same pan, the potatoes get coated with all those yummy chicken juices that makes them To.Die.For. DROOL!

Crispy Rosemary Chicken and Potato Wedge Fries
Adapted from allrecipes.com

4 chicken breasts, bone-in skin on
4-6 medium size red potatoes, each cut into 8 wedges
1/4 C extra-virgin olive oil
2 TBS fresh rosemary, chopped
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp garlic powder
salt & pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 375 F.

Toss potatoes and chicken with olive oil and arrange on a large cookie sheet (with sides).

In a small bowl mix together the rosemary, oregano, garlic powder, salt and pepper and sprinkle liberally on potatoes and chicken.

Place in oven and bake for 45 minutes then use a pastry brush the baste the chicken with some of the pan juices.

Bake for an additional 15 minutes and serve. Ta-da!

It's all just a little bit of history repeating

meg.kat.art@gmail.com (Meg Kat) — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 18:22:00 +0000

Alright, the most recent poll has been boring, slow, and predictable.

Only 30 votes so far, and I'm guessing it's because if people aren't commenting, they're probably not going to vote on anything either! Results:

So, here's a new poll. Give me some feed back and I may try and focus more on what you like. Maybe. :)

Also, I'm sorry to say there won't be many recipes again this week, and I'll tell you why.

See, we're still house sitting at my parents, but Friday we went back to the apartment for one night. While there, for the FIRST TIME IN MY LIFE, my wallet somehow fell out of my purse without me realizing and we went back to my parents Saturday morning.

Matthew found it Monday when he stopped by, just lying in our driveway where we park and where it must have fallen as I was getting out of the truck. Everything was still there except for our $100 of grocery money :(

(Thankfully, they didn't take my license or my Etho's gift certificate!)

What irks me is that I pretty much NEVER have cash in my wallet except when I'm about to do our fortnightly grocery shopping. It is the highlight of my week because I get to find a way to stretch our budget to the penny so I can get all sorts of yummy ingredients for new recipes.

Matthew had just given me that grocery money...and now someone else has it. I guess they needed it more than us. And hopefully not because they "needed" more drugs or alcohol :/

Anyway, we'll be eating a lot of peanut butter sandwiches and I probably won't get to do any pretty recipes for a bit longer.

If anyone wants to hurry the process along, you can always buy something from my Etsy shop so we can get more food and thus, post more recipes ;)

meganlee.etsy.com

5 Etsy Shops you should be watching

meg.kat.art@gmail.com (Meg Kat) — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 15:46:00 +0000

I wanted to put together a list of some of my favorite Etsy shops. Some I've been a fan of for ages, others I've just discovered in the past few days.

I hope you enjoy looking at these shops as much as I did. I'll be putting together another list to share soon so pass along any Etsy links you think I should feature :)

1. IreneSuchocki.etsy.com - Photographs that are little poems for the eyes.

2. TickledPinkKnits.etsy.com - Fine Handmade Knitwear & Accessories

3. Antige.etsy.com - One of a kind steampunk jewelry made of antique watches

4. storybymia.etsy.com - Beautiful paper goods

5. tkane9.etsy.com - Awesome illustrations by Tommy Kane

Excuse this half-hearted post

meg.kat.art@gmail.com (Meg Kat) — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 21:40:00 +0000

I keep putting off blogging today because I'm working on a few somewhat involved future blog posts, plus recipe finding, plus...I've been sucked into True Blood.

I've been hearing things about it for awhile but it's on HBO and I've never gotten that channel. Anyway, last week out of the blue, I decided to download some episodes to watch with Matthew (FYI - this link is gold watch True Blood online).

We have since watched every episode up to the Season 2 finale which we're saving for tonight after he gets off work. It is crazy and weird and funny, and WE HAD NO IDEA YOU COULD SHOW THAT MUCH SKIN ON TV. The language surprised us too, but mainly the multitude of naked and semi-naked bodies.

So if you're easily offended, skip the show, but if you're into crazy vampire stories, you'll probably like it.

The story line is really interesting and I'm enjoying all the character development. Despite almost every character making bad choices and acting scummy, you still can't hate them. In fact, you still really like them. It's weird, but fun.

Oh, I also have found a bunch of old photos that I'm playing with. Here are some random ones I've edited:

A house near where we used to live that I fell in love with. It always reminded me of an old movie
View it larger - http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2645/4048164838_09d46482c8_o.jpg

from my birthday road trip last year

a friends couch back in 2006

from our trip to the zoo last November

Chocolate Chip Cookie Oatmeal

meg.kat.art@gmail.com (Meg Kat) — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 16:33:00 +0000

I've cut way back on eating sweets for the past two weeks but the other morning I needed a little bit of a sugar fix.

I have a long-standing love affair with cookie dough so the most logical thing for me was to make oatmeal. Well, oatmeal that tastes like chocolate chip cookie dough.

Don't get too scared though, this isn't that bad - only 1 tsp of sugar and 1 tbsp of mini chocolate chips per serving.

And it is so so SO good.

1/2 C oats
1 C milk (skim, 2/%, soy, whatever you like, just don't use water)
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp brown sugar
1 TBS mini chocolate chips
1 TBS chopped walnuts

Microwave the oats, milk, and salt for about 6 minutes at 50% power (or cook on the stove top until desired consistency).

Remove from microwave and stir in vanilla extract then sprinkle brown sugar, chocolate chips, and walnuts on top. Enjoy!

P.S. If you're looking for another amazing oatmeal (that's a little bit more like a dessert than breakfast) head over to Good Life Eats for her Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal recipe.

I made it a few days ago too and it is YUM.

Saturday time wasters

meg.kat.art@gmail.com (Meg Kat) — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 15:20:00 +0000

My weekend mission to scour the internet searching for the best places for you to waste your precious Saturday hours as you relish doing absolutely nothing productive.

(Pass along any sites you're convinced are totally awesome and I may feature them in future posts)

Conveniently, each URL for these time wasters is self explanatory.

1. AwkwardFamilyPhotos.com

2. PassiveAggressiveNotes.com

3. TextsFromLastNight.com

A litte of this, a little of that

meg.kat.art@gmail.com (Meg Kat) — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 00:10:00 +0000

Apologies to those readers that are only here for food, or only for photography/art, and to those who are here only for stories about my life (I'm pretty sure you're the minority)

I'm currently working on getting the domain and web hosting for my own site that will have separate sections for each of these subjects so you can go specifically to ONLY recipes, or ONLY photography, or ONLY life stuff.

For now though...you're stuck with it all. Sorry, suckahs.

Today, I'm telling you about Emma Hack. I discovered her work last night and it is awesome. She does the most amazing and elegant body painting I have ever seen.

You can see loads more of her work on her website: http://www.emmahackartist.com

Riddle me this

meg.kat.art@gmail.com (Meg Kat) — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 19:31:00 +0000

1. Two new prints are up in my shop at meganlee.etsy.com :)

2. I found out some of the links didn't work in a previous post so once again, if you're a fan of any of my work, I'd love for you to:

- join my Facebook fan page
- follow me on twitter
- follow me on blogger
- friend me on livejournal
- friend me on flickr.

3. I've been getting a lot of referrals from message boards and other journals online, and when I go to check them out, I find that it's almost always people asking questions about one of my recipes.

Questions like: "Can I substitute this for that?", "What do these directions mean?", and "Will this turn out ok if I leave out this ingredient?".

What I'm wondering is, since they obviously have seen my blog and the particular recipe they're curious about, why not just comment here and ask me? Am I scary? Do people think I will make fun of them? Ignore them? (I apologize to those I haven't replied to in past comments. I sometimes simply forget to reply)

So I just want to take this opportunity to say "Ask away!". If your curious about something, just ask and I'll do my best to find an answer.

And if you want to help me solve this little riddle, give your answer in the new poll "What keeps you from commenting or asking questions here?", posted here and on the left hand side of the blog.

And here are the results from the last poll:

Herbs, food, and the death bus

meg.kat.art@gmail.com (Meg Kat) — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 21:32:00 +0000

The other night was pretty scary. Matthew came inside from chatting outdoors on his cell phone and couldn't breath or talk.

His lungs were closing shut and I thought I was going to have to call 911 and spend the night in the ER. Since it seemed to be an allergic reaction to something I quickly gave him Apis Mellifica and within 5 minutes he was almost completely back to normal (thank you, homeopathy).

After asking him a few questions I found out he had been standing in the front yard when the county pest control truck drove by (TWICE) while spraying it's chemical mist all over the place.

He drew me this diagram for visual reference:

I believe those are supposed to be hoses covering the vehicle with a hose on the top and rear spraying the bug killer chemicals.

Stick figure Matthew: "Ahhh! Death bus! Run baby(heart)*, lookout!"

Death Bus: "I have no lungs and cannot be hurt! Death to all!!"

Stick figure Megan: "I won't leave you with the death bus baby(fish)*!"

*babyheart and babyfish are sappy nicknames we have for each other

In happier news, Matthew has planted a little herb garden on the kitchen windowsill.

They're growing so quickly!

And I'm sorry for no recipes so far this week! I've been busy working on some recipes that may go into the cookbook.

Possibly these:

and more to come :)

Get ready to drool.

meg.kat.art@gmail.com (Meg Kat) — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 12:00:00 +0000

I was going through my external hard drive the other day and came across these photos from THREE YEARS AGO.

I think this may have been the very first time I ever took food photos at a restaurant with the intention of blogging them (and then didn't because I had just met my future husband and was too busy flirting to even think about doing anything else).

Taken Oct 1st, 2006 with my 7.1 MP Canon A620 and the AMAZING light on the outdoor patio of Seasons 52.

Grilled Tofu, Vegetables, and Tabouleh

Grilled Vegetable Sandwich and Mango Strawberry Green Salad

Grilled Cedar Plank Salmon with Grilled Vegetables

Dessert Tray

Raspberry Chocolate Mousse

From the restaurants website:
Seasons 52 is a casually sophisticated grill and wine bar that invites you to discover the sensational flavors of our seasonally changing menu. Our passion is to serve highly flavored meals that are better for you and focus on the best of each season. We use natural cooking techniques such as grilling over open fires to give our food exceptional taste with fewer calories than similar restaurant meals. To complement the flavor and aroma of your meal, we offer an adventurous international wine list of more than 100 outstanding wines, with 60 available by the glass.

I haven't been back to Season's 52 since this visit but I've been wanting and craving to go back for all these past three years. I need to save up our money for a visit because I want to go even more after seeing these photos again!

The food was so good, so filling, and so FRESH.

Yum. Must go soon :)

How close is too close?

meg.kat.art@gmail.com (Meg Kat) — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 12:00:00 +0000

I hadn't planned on posting anything like this AT ALL today, but last night I discovered something.

I was looking online at the National Sex Offender Registry just to see how many were registered in certain areas nearby.

They have a little map of symbols to help you out and it looks like this:

So, while searching the Winter Park area, this catches my eye:

Now, I'm not very knowledgeable about all the different laws concerning sex offenders, but I know there is one about how close a registered offender can live near a school.

And according to the little map guide, that white box is a "school/park/etc" right next to a red box that is an "offender home" of someone convicted of an offense against children.

Um. That looks a wee bit close to me.

So I decided to dig a little deeper.

First, I looked up the particular law I was wondering about:

(what's ironic is that I found this paragraph in an article titled "Florida's Draconian Sex Offender Residency Rules" on http://knowledgebase.findlaw.com/kb/2009/Jul/32470.html and the author claims 'Florida's Ban Goes Too Far'.)

Now here is the information about the school, the offender, and how close the offender lives:

You read that correctly. A registered sex offender convicted of a lewd lascivious act against a child lives only 116 feet away from a preschool.

In fact, when I looked up a satellite image it became clear that the offenders backyard actually backs up right against the parking lot of the church where this preschool is held.

Is this allowed or overlooked because it's officially a church and not strictly a school? Is this simply something that nobody realized??

How on earth is a sex offender next door to a preschool?

It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood

meg.kat.art@gmail.com (Meg Kat) — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 00:27:00 +0000

Not much to say right now except that today has been a good day filled with:

chilly weather, snuggles, movies, coffee, and photoshop (playing with textures again).

By the way, if you're a fan of any of my work, I'd love for you to:

- join my Facebook fan page
- follow me on twitter
- follow me on blogger
- friend me on livejournal
- friend me on flickr.

Hey, something for everyone!

The more you follow, the more likely you'll be able to see everything I'm up to, including print sales in my shop, the photo tutorials I'll be posting, and the free giveaways coming up.

So, how 'bout it. Want to be my friend? ;)

Saturday Time Wasters

meg.kat.art@gmail.com (Meg Kat) — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 17:32:00 +0000

My weekend mission to scour the internet searching for the best places for you to waste your precious Saturday hours as you relish doing absolutely nothing productive.

(Pass along any sites you're convinced are totally awesome and I may feature them in future posts)

1. PeopleofWalmart.com - A visual documentary of all those *high-class* folks that frequent the scariest store in the nation. (when are people gonna realize - Target is the shiznit!)

2. FailBlog.org - As I looked through the pages I was literally crying from laughing so hard.

3. ItMadeMyDay.com - "Little moments of win"

A quick guide on how to photograph food

meg.kat.art@gmail.com (Meg Kat) — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 15:46:00 +0000

I've had several inquiries lately about how I light my photos, especially for my food photography, so I thought I'd post a few pictures of how I set up for my photos and show that it really doesn't take much to get decent results.

You don't need a studio. You don't need lighting equipment. You don't need more than a window and a camera.

Here are the major things you need to know:

1. Take photos next to a window (but not in harsh direct light). No flash, no lamps, no lightbox, nothing. That's not to say you can't get good results from any of those, but I much much prefer the look that daylight gives food.

2. Use manual settings on your camera and shoot with a large aperture. Play around with shutterspeed until you get the exposure you like (yes, technically you could use AV Priorty which lets you choose a specific aperture value while the camera selects a shutter speed to match...but don't)

3. It's not mandatory, but a tripod will REALLY help. You may not be able to see the slight blur in your shot on the playback screen until you upload the photo, and by then it's too late (because let's face it, as soon as the photo is taken, WE ARE EATING THAT FOOD). Take a precaution and use a tripod to get consistently sharp photos.

Here is the set up I've been using more and more as I've been heading to my parents larger kitchen to cook and use their pretty dishes.

Just their kitchen table.

50mm f/2.8 1/20 ISO 100

50mm f/2.0 1/50 ISO 100

At my apartment I photograph here on my desk:

I'll clear off the desk and put a white piece of mat board behind the food to give a smooth background, but that's it:

50mm f/1.8 1/60 ISO 100

50mm 1.8 1/1000 ISO 400

Or I'll use this setup in the living room:

which is exactly what I did for all my cupcake shots last week:

50mm f/2.2 1/200-1/320 ISO 100

The only time I haven't used natural daylight for a food shot is when I was taking photos at night and testing out my cheap little $30 continuous lighting umbrella kit I found on Amazon.com.

I was pretty happy with the results, although I still love natural light SO much more (and I did adjust levels and color balance a lot in post-processing to get the whites truly white and bright)

50mm f/2.8 1/100 ISO 200

50mm f/1.8 1/125 ISO 200

And there you go! Just start practicing and see what you can do :)

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