Category Archives:  blog

winter is coming*

* Disclaimer: this post title is brought to you by George R.R. Martin and his ‘A Song of Fire and Ice‘ series. So shush!

There’s a chill in the air that wasn’t there before. The light coming into the garden is coming in at a different angle. The car is covered in dew when I get ready for the day. Winter may not be quite on its way yet, but the summer is definitely trying to make way for autumn.

But what a summer it’s been!

I haven’t been updating the website or facebook in what feels like forever, and it’s been glorious. In between major projects, lovely clients, and a healthy dose of insanity at work, I’ve found time to hang out with friends – new and old – on local patios, visit farm stands, and read, read, read. I couldn’t have asked for a better 2011, truthfully.

This summer, the School of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies brought me on for images for their viewbook and website after viewing my work with Schulich Graduate Studies in the winter. Many thanks to Wes at SGPS and Janelle at Schulich!

I had the opportunity to photograph a local restaurant, Mykonos, and their tasty dishes for their new website which is still under construction. Best part – I got to test out some of the food and it was delicious. Thank you to Colin and all of the lovely folks at the restaurant for a great afternoon.

I worked with the immensely talented (and funny) Mark Payne on the photos for his newest album. Mark’s most recent release contains selections from the production of “Simply Grand” featured at the Starbright Summer Theatre Festival in August of 2011, at the Imperial Theatre in Sarnia, ON.

And last, but certainly not least, have been the lovely friends and family who have trusted me with their maternity, baby, family, graduation … and wedding photos. This weekend I had the pleasure of photographing the wedding of two dear friends. Since the day was structured in an unusual manner, I got to pop home before the ceremony to print and edit a couple of photos and surprise them with a quick print.

Many, many thanks to everyone who has made 2011 such a great year.

And finally, what’s up next…..

That’s right, 3,200km of road trip fun with my bestest friend… and her kid brother, who we’re driving up to college in Thunder Bay. After we dump – er, I mean drop – him off, we take off for our own adventure around Lake Superior. Wish me luck – I hope to come back with many memory cards full of beautiful photos.

If you’ve made it this far, you totally deserve a cookie :) Come by any time and claim your prize.

grzybek

It’s been a little longer than I thought since my last posting; I’ve been absolutely swamped with work, both good and bad, while still managing to find time to test out the choicest patios in town with friends.

Since I’ve been taunting people with an old family recipe for GIANT pancakes I thought I’d better pony up and post the recipe before people start showing up on my doorstep.

We’d always called them grzybki (mushrooms, plural – grzybek is the singular); my paternal grandmother, Babcia Jadzia, would make them for my Dad and his brothers in post-war Poland. They were big and filling and easy to make with limited rations, since they called for simple ingredients in small quantities.

(L) Babcia Jadzia on the balcony of the family home, (R) Dad (middle) and his father and brothers.

Her recipe called for called for 1 egg, 2 “measures” AP flour, salt, and 1 “measure” of buttermilk, with the measures turning out to be tablespoons. Her variation never worked for me so  I have to admit Mom’s update is way better.

my first successful grzybek - emailed to my mom as proof!

Since the growing season in southwestern Ontario is finally upon us, I’ve been eating strawberries from Heeman‘s to the point of insanity. Last night I decided on topping one of these monster pancakes with fresh strawberry sauce, courtesy of Foodland Ontario. I’d like to say I shared it… but I’m an only child and I’m simply not built that way.

Last night's dessert

gryzbek (aka the proletariat pancake)
Print
Recipe type: Breakfast, Brunch, Dessert
Author: Barbara & Sylvia Mioduszewska
Prep time: 3 mins
Cook time: 6 mins
Total time: 9 mins
Serves: 1-2
Giant pancake: easy to make, perfect for one or two to share.
Ingredients
  • 2 large eggs
  • 6 TBSP all purpose flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder (or up to 1/2 tsp more)
  • 1/8 tsp salt
  • buttermilk
Instructions
  1. Heat a small (7-8″) skillet on medium heat. Grease the skillet, if need be.
  2. In a 2 cup measuring cup, beat eggs with a tablespoon of buttermilk.
  3. In a separate bowl, mix flour, salt and baking powder .
  4. Add wet ingredients into dry, and add enough buttermilk to bring the mixture to the one cup line (mine usually comes to less than a tablespoon) and mix until just blended.
  5. Turn skillet down to medium-low, and pour in the batter.
  6. Cook for 3 minutes or until edges are set and the bubbling has left little holes throughout the top of the pancake. Flip and cook for an additional three minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean.
Notes

- You can skip mixing the dry ingredients separately, but it doesn’t rise as much.

- Your pan is at the perfect temperature when a few scattered water drops dance on it (just right) without evaporating (too hot) or just pooling and simmering (too cool).

- I let the batter rise for 3-4 minutes, but it’s not necessary

- You can add a teaspoon or two if your toppings aren’t very sweet, or you can mix in savoury ingredients as well.

Have a little patience, folks, as the first one is usually a failure. I call it the test pancake to figure out exactly how hot your stove/pan are, and how long it needs to cook without burning.

And time permitting, I’ll upload some proper photos of the whole process on Sunday, right after I hull and freeze a flat of berries and make strawberry ice cream and.. and.. and.. finish editing the big shoot from May 27, and meet clients for an early evening family shoot and … and … and …

obsessions

As you might have guessed, I have a slight obsession with lemons.

My other delicious obsession is pancakes… in any form. I love fluffy hotcakes, puffy aebleskiver, paperthin crepes. Plain, fruity, cheese filled, it’s all fine.

This morning I woke up after eight solid, glorious hours of sleep and thought it would be the perfect day for pancakes. Ever since my bff bought me an amazing griddle for my birthday, most weekends involve pancakes. But today, I had homemade ricotta in my fridge, and a couple of Meyer lemons. And a wee jar of lemon curd.

What could be more perfect than ricotta lemon pancakes?

As it turns out, nothing. Not only were they absolutely delicious, the whole house smells of baked cheese and lemon.

I’m in heaven.

I have to admit I didn’t put a lot of research into it this morning, and this recipe was perfect just as it was.

But, dear Internet, I won’t send you away empty handed. This is my recipe for perfect buttermilk pancakes, cobbled together from dozens of experiments.

Continue reading →

chocolate chip cookies

Cookies are my nemesis.

I can work through just about anything else, but cookies require far more attention to detail to work with my unabashedly lazy style in the kitchen. I came across this recipe over at the marion house book, and something about Emma’s promise of perfectly delicious cookies made me march into the kitchen.

I’m so glad I gave this recipe a whirl. They’re crispy and buttery chewy and moist all at the same time. Looooooook, you can see the flaky goodness:

chocolate chip cookies

However, all this comes at a price. The sifting of the flour is actually pretty important, as is the timing, almost down to the second. My oven at 350F produces near-perfect cookies at the eight minute mark and not a moment longer.

So head on over to Emma’s blog to check out her recipe, and while you’re there, take a peek around her house. It’s absolutely stunning.

And whatever you do, don’t ask me to make caramel…

the other side: alstroemeria

I spoke too soon. The day after my last post, it snowed. Not a little dusting like I had expected and hoped for, but a solid storm that blanketed the city and remains on the ground to this day. You could feel the collective sorrow of the population of southwestern Ontario when it was still there in the morning.

Spring, come back. We need you!

And another for good measure. We need all the springy-ness we can get.

In case you’re wondering what happened to last week’s food post, there was a flour-related incident and time was not on my side to fix it. Have no fear, this week I bring you delicious chocolate chip cookies!

the other side: daffodil

I realized this week when the warmer temperatures indicated spring was here that I’ve been holding my breath over the last two months. But the pure joy I’ve been feeling is unmistakable. I am SO GLAD this winter is over.

I know every winter starts to feel like the longest one ever, and even though this one was technically short, it really buried me.

Now that leaving the house barely requires a coat – and I’m not one of the crazy people who was in shorts and a tank top as temperatures “soared” to 13°C – I’m busy again and losing the time I had for my weekend projects. They may start winding down as the temperatures rise, and I’ll find something to replace them.

Until then, this is the other side of a daffodil.

the other side: daffodil

This is the flower that sparked the idea for this project, way back in 2006:

daffodil

While my grocery store is Canadian-owned, my preference is always to support the little guy. I buy my flowers from local shops downtown, but I have to admit the quality from the last two shops I’ve frequented has been lacking. It’s getting difficult to justify paying more than double for my pretty flowers when they die two days after they’re brought home.

Hrm.

I think spring will take care of this issue for me.

roasted broccoli

I know broccoli isn’t a very sexy food, but when it’s crunchy and spicy it makes an awesome side dish or a great snack. I think next time I’ll try half broccoli, half kale here and see where I end up.

Roasted Broccoli
Adapted from Martha Stewart

Serves 4

2 large heads broccoli (about 2 pounds total)
4 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon red-pepper flakes
Coarse salt
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice (from 1/2 lemon)
Up to 1 ounce hard cheese, such as Manchego or Parrano, finely grated (1/3 cup) (optional)

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Trim 1 inch from end of broccoli stalks. Cut off florets, and separate into large pieces, the smaller they are, the crispier they’ll be. Thinly slice the stalks and divide florets and stalks between two large rimmed baking dishes or sheets.

In a small bowl, mix the garlic, oil, and red-pepper flakes, drizzle over broccoli, and season with salt. Roast for 20-25 minutes, rotating halfway through, until broccoli is crispy and starting to brown..

Remove from oven and sprinkle broccoli with lemon juice; toss to coat. Serve with grated cheese, if desired.

Still, it’s a strange little vegetable, isn’t it?