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Why I’ll Never Be A Food Stylist

by elizabeth on September 3, 2010

As a food blogger, there is constant pressure to include stunning photographs of dishes and ingredients to draw in readers.  We are all visual eaters – we want our food to be beautiful.  I’ve been steadily improving my photography skills, and upgrading my equipment.  But I know one thing for sure – I will never be a food stylist.

Exhibit A: Patriotic Pound Cake – Elvis’ favorite recipe.

At first glance it’s a great photo.  It’s well lit, the colors are well balanced and there are lots of rich textures.  But then you notice that I left the stem on one of the blueberries.  Do you see it?  Is it all you can look at now?  Are you transfixed by the errant blueberry stem.  Me too.

You see, food stylists spend hours perfecting the content before they take a photo.  Spending lots of time painstakingly arranging and nudging and highlighting various components of a dish.  A detail like the blueberry stem would NOT have escaped the careful eye of a food stylist.

Exhibit B:  The Ultimate Fudgy Homemade Brownies

Yummy looking brownies, no?  Trust me they’re tasty.  Though I did put in a little effort to arrange the brownies interestingly, I apparently couldn’t be bothered to wipe the crumbs off of the right side of the tray.  Whoops.

Exhibit C: Edamame Hummus – posted this very week.  You must try this.

This is perhaps the most flagrant violation of food styling code of conduct.  Note the olive oil and kosher salt just to the right of the dish.  A quick wipe of a paper towel would have taken care of that.

At the end of the day, I’m still pretty proud of my food photography skills.  I’m excited to keep on learning about my new camera.  I’m saving up for additional lenses, and once I finish grad school and have my life back, I would love to take lessens.

I’m certainly not beating myself up about these food styling flubs.  In fact, I think they are, to an extent, a badge of honor.  I have no interest in being the type of food blogger who has a mini photography studio set up in my home. I don’t want to spend 30 mins prepping for each shot.  I simply want to make yummy food, snap a few pictures and then eat it.  I admire those who have been so disciplined about their approach to photography, but I’m in no way working towards professional food photography and styling as a goal.

Food is meant to be enjoyed.  My readers get to enjoy what I make by looking at the pictures and reading my descriptions.  I get to enjoy the food by actually eating it or sharing it with friends.  The less time between plating and first bite, the better.  Eating a cold dinner because I spent 40 minutes prepping for photos is not what I’m after.  If it means I get actually enjoy eating my food and still get to share high quality photos with my readers, ccasional styling errors are a compromise I’m happy to make.

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Edamame Hummus

by elizabeth on September 1, 2010

I don’t know about you, but I’m a hummus fanatic. Fanatic I say.  My recipe for simple spicy hummus was one of my first food posts back in early 2009.  That recipe has been featured in the “Ree Recommends” section of Tasty Kitchen, and is my most searched for recipe on my according to my tracking tools.  Hummus is so insanely easy to make at home, I don’t usually get judgey on the blog – but I once waxed on about making your own red pepper hummus rather than coping out with the store bought stuff.

Today I’m sharing a recipe for a unique and tasty twist on traditional hummus.  I was inspired by Gina of Skinny Taste, which if you haven’t visited yet is a PHENOMENAL resource for low cal recipes.  Gina lists nutritional information as well as weight watchers points for each of her dishes, which is just so helpful.

I used Gina’s recipe for edamame hummus and with just a few slight modifications and 10 minutes of active cooking time I had a delicious and healthy snack to bring into the office.

Edamame Hummus
From Gina’s Weight Watchers Recipes on SkinnyTaste.com

Servings: 6 • Serving Size: 1/4 cup • Points: 2 ww pts
Calories: 105.7 • Fat: 6.7 g • Protein: 32.4 g • Carb: 5.9 g • Fiber: 3.0 g

1 1/2 cups edamame (green soy beans) cooked and shelled
2 tbsp tahini paste (sesame seed paste)
1/4 cup water plus more if needed (I used less)
1 tsp lemon zest (I used the zest of a whole lemon)
juice of one lemon (I cut this back by half)
1 clove garlic, crushed (my clove was huge, probably would be more like 1.5 normal sized garlic cloves)
Kosher salt to taste
pepper
2 tsp olive oil (I cheated here a bit. I used one 2 tsp olive oil, and 1 tsp hot chili oil)
black and white sesame seeds as a garnish (optional)

In a food processor, blend soy beans, tahini, water, lemon juice, lemon zest, garlic, salt, pepper and 1 tsp olive oil until smooth. Add more water if needed until consistency is smooth. Place in a bowl and top with remainder oil and sesame seeds. Serve with your favorite vegetables.

I’m excited to have this to snack on with cucumber slices and to use instead of mayo on my turkey sandwiches. It will keep for a week in the fridge, but I doubt it will be around that long.

Are you a hummus fanatic too?  What is your favorite recipe?

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What’s In My Grocery Bag?

August 29, 2010

So last week was Restaurant Week here in San Antonio.  I had an amazing time and shared many good meals with many good friends.  Unfortunately as the week went on, the indulgence started to catch up to me.  Though I enjoyed every bite, by Saturday I just wasn’t feeling like myself.
This week I’m all set [...]

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This Friday I Fancy, Charming Eurotraveler Edition

August 27, 2010

Happy Friday!  It has been far too long since I posted a “this Friday I fancy” entry, and I am so delighted to share this one with you today.
It’s restaurant week here in San Antonio, and I have been eating out for both lunch and dinner almost every night.  I’ve shared some great meals with [...]

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Let’s Get Down To Business

August 24, 2010

Let’s take care of a few items of business here on the blog shall we?
1.  First up – contest winners!!!  Last week I shared my recipe for Gin & Tonic popsicles, along with my dreams for total world domination beginning with a gourmet paleta company.

Since I’ve come to my senses, and no longer need multiple [...]

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