Erica Blinn and The Handsome Machine

Last week I hung out with the awesome Erica Blinn and her band for a band/promo shoot. I photographed Erica a couple times before but she's got a new record coming out soon so hopefully they'll find something from all of the pics I shot that they can use for the cover!  We had a great time. Sometimes Erica performs solo or with just one or two of her bandmates so we shot a bunch of different combinations to suit all of her needs. Here are a few of my favorites from the day...

Above: Mark Nye (bass), PJ Schreiner (drums), Erica Blinn (lead vocals, guitar, harmonica),
Greg Wise (guitar)

These guys are ridiculously talented...just a really great, American rock band. If you want to hear learn more about them or maybe cath a show, check out the website or find them on Facebook.

The Stimmell Family~

I've known Ania for about 8 or 9 years now....she's one of my favorite people in the world. And to see her so happy---married, with a gorgeous family, just fills my heart with joy. So when she asked me to photograph her family...with these two adorable little boys...I jumped at the chance!

Meet the Stimmell Family!

FINE ART PRINTS!!! ~ONE DAY SALE~

I was looking for one thing and found something else--- all of these Fine Art Prints! If you buy TODAY... your prints will be mailed on MONDAY so you should receive by the end of next week.  I am only accepting PAYPAL for payment....but you can use a credit card to make the payment, even if you don't have a Paypal account!

These prices are good TODAY ONLY!  All prices include shipping.  All photos are printing on Kodak Endura Professional paper and are LIMITED EDITION, signed and numbered.  Fine art prints make the PERFECT Mother's Day gift (just ask my mom!) so don't delay...and buy now!

1.  Empire State Building #1 - 11x14, $15

2. Empire State Bulding #2 - 8x12 - $12

3. Empire State Building #3 - 8x12 - $12

4. St. Louis Trees #1 - 12x18 - $20

5. St. Louis Trees #2 - 12x18 - $20 **three available!!**

Also... 8x12 - $12

6. SET of St. Louis Trees - 12x18 each - $30 for set!!

7. NYC Buldings #1 - 11x14 - $15

8. NYC Buldings #1 - 11x14 - $15

9. SET of NYC Buildings - 11x14 each - $20 for SET

10. St. Louis Trees with pond - 11x14 - $15 -- SOLD!!

11. Fall trees #1 - 8x12 - $12

***Also - this image is available as a 12x18 for ONLY $18 -AND- if you buy this I will throw in a FREE BONUS PRINT that's not pictured here. But it's the same size, same color scheme and theme and will look great if hung near the below image!

**THE 12X18 PLUS FREE PRINT IS SOLD!!**

12. Fall trees #2 - 8x12 - $12

13. SET of Fall trees - 8x12 each - SET for $20

If you are interested in any of these prints, EMAIL me at chantalstone10@gmail.com with the following information:

-Your name

-# and name of print that you want (size if applicable)

-Shipping address

-Email address to send PAYPAL invoice

David ~ Class of 2013

It's so nice outside today.... Spring has officially hit Ohio!  And today is the perfect photo shoot weather-- warm, not too breezy, a bit of cloud. I love it so much. If you're in the market for a portrait session, now's the time to book!!

A few weeks ago I was able to take advantage of one of the not-so-freezing days we had here and I did a Senior portrait session with David.  Despite what you may think, it's not too late for a Senior session, even if you're graduating this Spring.....and it's certainly not too early for Juniors to start making appointments!

Here are a few of my favs:

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Easter Dinner

For Christians, Easter is the celebration of the resurrection of Christ.  But in addition, Easter is the celebration of Spring.  It's the perfect metaphor, really...the resurrection of Nature: a pass from the cold hibernation of winter into the rebirth of the trees and flowers and birds and animals.  It's a new beginning.  And traditional Easter dinners usually represent all that is new and fresh in the season.

My Easter dinner menu reflects the traditional foods of the season...with my own flair, of course.  And since I'm making the same thing this year as I made last year...it's already been photographed and blogged (on a different and very short-lived other blog). Which is great because I get to share all of my recipes with you the day before.  I'm copy and pasting the whole thing, with only a few minor edits (like removing the corny commentary)....but this is exactly what I'll be cooking tomorrow. The only thing that I'm doing differently is that I'm using fresh spinach for the risotto this year, and I'm doubling the recipe for the white bean & cherry tomato salad.

The Menu:

Glazed Ham

Spinach Risotto

Roasted Asparagus

Potato Salad

White Bean & Cherry Tomato Salad

Enjoy....and I hope you have a very Happy Easter!

***

WHITE BEAN AND CHERRY TOMATO SALAD

I actually got this recipe from my dear friend Natacha.  Here’s the link she sent me.  I followed the recipe -sort of- the dressing I just kind of made up as I went along.

Dressing

1/2  cup Rosemary infused Olive oil (I infused last night and let it sit over night using 3 springs of rosemary and 2 cloves of garlic)

juice from 1/2  a lemon

2 tbs grated parmesean cheese

salt & pepper to taste

I blended it all together and tossed with 1 can of white beans,  a pint of cherry tomatoes (cut in half) and about a half cup of chopped Italian parsley.  I’m letting it refrigerate for a few hours before we eat it!

***

POTATO SALAD

Potato Salad is one of those things that I can’t just eat anyone’s.  I’m particular, and everyone I know makes their’s a bit differently.  I actually never liked Potato Salad until I started to make my own.

I like it tart, so I use DILL relish and not sweet.  And I like it crunchy, so I use a lot of celery, and I like it a little wet (not soupy) so it will seem like there’s a lot of ingredients other than potatoes— I like it like that.  I often overcook my potatoes–though not on purpose.  But a lot of the time I’m doing other things, chopping my veggies or just screwing around, so I lose track of time.  Over time, I’ve begun to like my potatoes this way.  I guess I just got used to it.  Be careful though…the WORST thing you can do is UNDER cook them.  I like my crunch to come from celery, not under-cooked potatoes!

And since it’s Easter… I just use the eggs that my kids have cracked during their egg hunt!

You can also add chopped red apples or carrots for extra crunch, some color, and a touch of sweetness.  My dad would chop some green olives and add to is as well….very yummy.

Potato salad

4lbs potatoes, cubed

4 lg celery stalks-diced

3-4 green onions-roughly chopped

¼ c chopped Italian parsley

4-5 hard boiled eggs – chopped

3/4 cup  dill relish

1/3 cup yellow mustard

1 cup mayonnaise - NOT MIRACLE WHIP *gag*

salt & pepper to taste

You can substitute one small yellow or red onion if you don’t have gr onion.

Mix all ingredients together and chill!

***

GLAZED HAM

My Ham is actually a few steps so I’ll update as I go…

Most hams you buy in the store are already fully cooked (some are only partially cooked to read the label—you don’t want to eat undercooked ham and get sick!!), so all you really need to is heat it up, and this is when you add your glaze or whatever you need to make it taste the way you want.  Be sure to heat it thoroughly.

I prefer a spiral Ham… I like the way they cook and they’re already sliced, so that’s WIN.  Any bone-in ham will do though.

I start with the Ham, take it out of the package, and put it in a pan with a whole sliced onion.  I sit the ham on top of the onion.  As it cooks, the onion infuses the Ham and gives it a yummy flavor.  I then coat the ham with 1 cup of Coke (Dr. Pepper will work too…or Pepsi if you’re not a Coke drinker) mixed with 1 tsp of ground cloves.  Then I cover COMPLETELY and place in the oven at 250°.  A good rule of thumb for cooking a ham is to cook for 20 minutes for every pound.  You don’t want to overcook, as this will dry out your ham.

Glaze

1/2 cup orange juice

3/4 cup spicy brown mustard

1 cup brown sugar

1/8 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp ground cloves

Mix together in a saucepan and let simmer on low until all sugar is dissolved.

*Note: most Hams come with a glaze packet- you can use this if you want… but blehhh, they usually don’t have much flavor.  I usually just toss it.

After the Ham is almost done…like when it has about 15 minutes left…. uncover and add the glaze, then put back in the oven to finish.

With any meat that you roast, let it rest for about 10-15 minutes after you take it out of the oven, before you slice and serve.

***

SPINACH RISOTTO

My kids love this…and I love it too, but it’s time consuming so we don’t have it very often.  You need to use either chicken or vegetable broth, and I forgot to buy either when I went grocery shopping so I MADE my own vegetable broth.  It’s EASY…

Veggie broth

1 cup chopped carrots

1 cup chopped celery

1 medium onion, sliced or roughly chopped

2 sprigs Rosemary

2-3 cloves of crushed garlic

Add veggies & oil, sauté for 2-3 minutes, add water until pot is almost full, simmer for at least 1 hour. Yer done.

Next-

Now you’re ready for the Risotto…

Spinach Risotto

2 cups Arborio Rice

¼ c extra virgin olive oil

½ finely chopped onion

1 lb frozen spinach, thawed and drained OR 1 large bunch of fresh spinach, chopped

vegetable or chicken broth (a lot)

½ stick of butter (everything is better with butter—-don’t listen to the critics!)

½-1 tbs Kosher salt (to taste)

Add rice & olive oil to pot, stir together until coated, over medium heat until hot.  Add onion, stir together until onions are soft. Add about 3 cups of broth to start.  Risotto is a pain in the ass because you need to stir is CONSTANTLY.  Arborio rice is a short grain rice—which means it’s very starchy and if you don’t keep it moving, it will stick.  So I usually recruit one of my kids to stir.  As it thickens, add more broth.  At some point half way though, add the butter.  By time you’re finished, you’ll have added about a quart and half of broth (or more).  Add salt to taste.

Keep stirring…. Once the rice is tender, add the Spinach.  Cook for another minute or two.  You’re done once the rice is tender and looks like this:

***

ROASTED ASPARAGUS

Too easy too make and yummy.  When my kids were little, my husband told them Asparagus was SUGAR CANE…and they believed him, so they ate it.  Now, this is a favorite in our house.

I started with three bunches of asparagus (about 3 lbs), I chopped off the tough ends, and placed on a baking dish, drizzled with olive oit, and sprinkled Kosher salt & black pepper.

I roasted in 350° for about 10-14 minutes, until asparagus is tender.

***

And viola! My Easter dinner is complete.  Now that I cooked (and tasted) everything, I am now FULL and I can tell you that everything is DELICIOUS!!

French Inspired Sunday Dinner!

Why 'French inspired' and not just French?  Because as I mentioned in the last dinner blog post, I'm pretty horrible about following recipes. I tend to just cook from the hip, so to speak. I see something I like to eat, and I just cook it the way I think it's supposed to be made. Or I'll see a recipe, but tweak things so much to suit my own tastes or whatever and then it becomes something new.  But I love French cooking...it's pretty much the kind of food I grew up on-- hearty stews, roasts, fresh vegetables, breads, chesses.  Of course there's the fancy French cooking that you'll pay a lot for in a restaurant, but my kind of French cooking is the rustic, down-home, "peasant" food that we all love, though most of us don't realize it's French inspired.

Today's menu:

Orange glazed Cornish Hens

Potato & Aspargus Gratin w/ salami and gruyère

Roasted brussel sprouts and carrots

Butter leaf salad with balsamic vinaigrette

Rustic French bread

and for dessert...

Apple Tarte Tartin with vanilla ice cream

I'm live-blogging so check back often....I'll be updating periodically throughout the afternoon. Also... my husband is on a NBA 2K13 marathon. If anyone wants to try to challenge him....lemme know, I'll hook you up. His s/n is ManofStone on the Playstation network.

--

Remember a few years ago when bread machines were all the rage?  Shamon gave me one for Christmas one year and I still use it. I absolutely love it.  I don't bake anything in it anymore really...the rectangle shape of the insert pan is too weird for me, but it's great for kneading dough and I use whenever I make homemade breads or pizza crust.

Rustic Crusty French Bread

1 cup warm water, 105°

3 cups all purpose flour

1 tbs sugar

1 tsp salt

1 packet Yeast (the regular kind, NOT fast-rising)

Put all ingredients in the bread machine and set on the dough setting...my machine takes about 90 minutes to knead the dough and let it proof. 

After the 90 minutes are up....I take the dough out of the machine and form into the shape of a French loaf on a floured surface. You can also divide the dough in half and make two smaller baguettes. Place the loaf on a greases pan and let rise for another 45-60 minutes.

Bake loaf at 375 for about 30-35 minutes or until golden brown.

--

Orange Glazed Cornish Hens

I made a marinade earlier this morning-

Orange marinade

2 cups orange juice

1/2 cup lemon juice

1/2 cup honey

1/4 cup olive oil

1 tbs minced garlic

1/4 dijon mustard

1/2 yellow onion

2 tsp salt

1 tsp black pepper

1 tbs dry thyme

1 tbs orange zest

1 thinly sliced orange

I puree everything in a blender until mixed well and pour over 4-5 thawed Cornish hens. Mix in orange slices and refrigerate for at least 4 hours. 

About a half an hour before you're ready to cook the hens, take them out of the fridge to bring to room temperature. Then drain from the marinade.  Stuff each hen with 1 spring of fresh rosemary and the orange slices from the marinade.  Arrange on baking sheet, spray lightly with non-stick cooking spray (I do this to a lot of roasted meats for a rich, baked skin without adding too much extra fat or oil). Sprinkle salt & pepper to taste and dry thyme over each hen. Roast for about 45 minutes to an hour at 350 degrees.

Orange glaze

1/2 cup raw honey

1/4 cup water

1/4 cup orange juice

zest of one orange

1 tsp brown sugar

Allow to boil for about 10 minutes to cook down the water.  About 10 minutes before the hens are finished cooking, take them out, and coat each hen with the glaze.  Return to oven to finish roasting.

Allow to rest for about 15 minutes before serving.

--

btw... today's wine selection:

La Ferme Julien, white.  Much like a pinot grigio, it's light, crisp and dry.  I've only seen this wine at Trader Joe's for about $6-7 a bottle. They make a really great red that I love as well.

And I'm listening to the Les Miserables soundtrack right now.  I saw the movie several weeks ago in the theater but the dvd just came out on Friday so I watched it again with the kids. If you haven't seen this film yet.. GO SEE IT NOW!  It's a cinematic masterpiece.

--

Apple Tarte Tatin

This is actually an upside down apple tarte and it's delicious....but in the 5-6 times I've made this...I've screwed it up at least half of those times. Fingers crossed that all works out well this time... (baking is realllly not my thing)

Apple Filling part:

6 large golden delicious apples (or 8 small)

3/4 c white sugar

3/4 stick butter

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp butter

I cube the butter and spread evenly on the bottom of an 8-9 inch baking pan. Today I'm using a spring-form pan---if you use this then make sure you line the outside of the pan with foil when you put it in the oven.  Sprinkle the sugar & cinnamon over the butter. Peel and slice the apples and arrange neatly in a cirlce over the butter & sugar.

  

Bake for about 40 minutes at 400 degrees. Transfer pan from oven to stove top and cook over medium-high heat until butter and sugar caramelize (15 to 20 minutes). Remove from heat...and top with crust:

Crust

1 to 1 1/2 cup flour

6 tbs COLD butter

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp sugar

a little bit of ice cold water (3-6 tbs as needed)

Cut butter and dry ingredients together until it resembles coarse crumbles. Add water a little at a time until you are able to form a stuff ball.  Add flour as needed and roll flat, then top the apple filling.

Bake for another 15-20 minutes, until crust is golden brown.

When done, remove from oven and allow to cool for about 10-15 minutes. Then flip pan onto a serving plate.  If some apples stick to the pan, simple pull off with a spatula and place on top of the tarte. Finish cooling and serve for dessert with whipped cream, crème fraîche (if you want to go authentic French) or Ice cream.  Or just alone....it's delicious!

--

Potato & Asparagus Gratin

4-5 lbs Yukon gold potatoes

1 lb asparagus

1 lbs swiss & gruyere cheeses, grated ( I used a mix of a swiss and a gruyere & cheddar blend)

1 sliced yellow onion

8-12 oz sliced salami

1/2 cup heavy cream (or half & half)

Peel and slice the potatoes. Par-boil until barely tender when pierced with a fork.  Cut the asparagus into 1 inch pieces and slice the onion; cut the salami into 1 inch strips. Layer the onion, potato, 1/2 of the asparagus, salami and cheese. Repeat. Also sprinkle salt and black pepper over each layer (to taste). Pour 1/2 cup of heavy cream over entire pan and bake for about 45 minutes at 350.

When finished:

--

Roasted Brussel sprouts & carrots

12 oz fresh brussel sprouts

6 oz baby carrots

olive oil

salt & pepper (to taste)

dry thyme

Cut brussel srouts into halves. Slive carrots into 1 inch slivers (otherwise they will take too long to cook). Drizzle with olive oil and toss with salt, pepper & thyme. Roast at 400 for about 10-12 minutes.  The outer edges of the brussel srpouts with caramelize and taste sooo good!

  --

Time for a snack. Refill wine glass and change the music. Were listening to the incomparable Nina Simone.

Buffalo Chicken Dip

(it's not French, I realize....but it's delicious)

2 large or 3 medium chicken breasts, boiled and shredded

2 packages cream cheese, softened

1/2 -1 cup Frank's hot sauce (or whatever they have at Aldi, it's the same thing) the amount depends on how spicy you like your dip. I use about 3/4 cup

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Mix together and bake at 375 for about 15-20 minutes. Serve with celery and tortilla chips.

 --

Butterleaf salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette

I used a bag of Butterleaf lettuce from Trader Joe's and added a sliced tomato, cucumber and red onion. I topped with a homemade vinaigrette.

Balsamic Vinaigrette

1 cup olive oil (vegetable oil can be used to substitute)

1/3 cup balsamic vinaigrette

2 tbs lemon juice

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

1 tsp dijon mustard

1/2 small onion

1 tsp brown sugar

1 tsp dry dill

Put it all in a blender or food processor and puree until all mixed together.

--

So.... dinner was excellent!  If you try any of these recipes, please let me know how it turns out!

 

And the Apple Tarte Tartin with vanilla ice cream and coffee was the perfect way to top off a delicious meal...

--

 Bon Apetit!

Sunday Dinner!

So.... it's Sunday....I'm a little cranky and feeling creatively absent. You know...every now and then I feel like I NEED TO MAKE SOMETHING. Right away!  So I'm going to cook one of my big dinners and blog the whole thing--- cook book style. Pictures, recipes, corny commentary... you get the whole shebang.

It will be all in this one post, updated as frequently as I can without burning anything. So check back periodically. Every hour or so....

Todays Menu:

Puerto Rican Pork Roast

Spanish rice & beans

Corn & black bean salsa

Guacamole

It's all Latin food....a blend of Puerto Rican and Mexican. But we love Spanish food in my house and I cook it all the time....it all goes wonderfully together. 

And since I usually spend one day of the week cooking all day (so there are prepared meals all week long that's perfect for my family's super-busy schedule) I'm also making:

Herb roasted turkey breast

Roasted potatoes

Seasoned green beans

The focus of today's post, however, is the Spanish dinner....but I'll post the recipe for the other meal as well.

I've also got the music palying loudly and a glass of wine. Today's selection: an Argentinian red called Acongo (the big bottle is only 7.99 at Kroger right now! A STEAL for this robust Bonarda-Merlot blend...

 

I love to cook with lots of fresh herbs and veggies and this dinner is a great way to get the kids to eat veggies and beans.

--

Yesterday I had the forethought that maybe I'd like to blog cooking dinner, and I'm glad I did because I actually started yesterday with a marinade for the pork roast.

Marinade:

In a blender, I pureed-

1/2 large yellow onion

1 large handful of fresh oregano

1 medium sprig of thyme                             

2-3 cloves of fresh garlic

2 tsp salt

1 tbs black pepper

2 cups orange juice

1/4 cup lemon juice

1/4 cup olive oil

I poured this over a 2-3 pound pork loin and let it refrigerate overnight.

About an hour before I was ready to put it in the oven, I let it sit at room temp. It's in the oven now at 325 degrees for about 2 hours.

I should mention.... I never follow recipes and I have a hard time writing them. Cooking, for me, is very instinctual. My measurements and cooking times are approximate but I'm doing my best today to be as accurate as possible (which still means a bit of this and a bit of that and cook until whenever lol).

And my husband just put on a new record. We are currently listening to Perry Como, Lightly Latin. Yeah, we're old school like that.

 --

I make the BEST guacamole ever. It's true...don't even try to dispute. It's a fact. No seasoning packet, nothing fake, only fresh ingredients.

Guacamole:

4 ripe avocados

1 medium tomato

1 large handful of cilantro, chopped (the more the better)

1 clove garlic, finely chopped

1 handful chopped green onions or 1/2 small chopped onion, today I have green onion

juice from one fresh lime

I dice the tomato and add all of the other chopped ingredients to a bowl. Then I slice and spoon out the avocado and add to the bowl, pour the lime juice over everything and mash all together. Add salt & pepper to taste. I love a lot of black pepper.

Refrigerate for about an hour before eating.

 --

Perry Como ended and we're now listening to Simon & Garfunkel Live in Central Park. On vinyl, of course. One of the best albums ever!

--

 Okay... wine refill and I just had a snack of Trader Joe's sushi.  I'm not a huge sushi fan....but I love the stuff from Trader Joe's. So good!

--

Next up, the corn & black bean salsa. I saw this on the Food Network years ago and tweaked the recipe to suit my and my kids' tastes. They LOVE it, which was pleasantly surprising because I wasn't expecting them to love beans so much.

Corn & Black bean salsa:

1 can organic sweet golden corn, rinsed & drained

1 can organic black beans, rinsed & drained

1 medium tomato, diced

1 handful chopped cilantro

1/2 small chopped onion

handful of chopped green onion

1 small chipotle smoked jalapeno with seeds removed (leave seeds if you like spicy), minced

1/2 tsp cumin

2 tps olive oil

juice from half a lime

salt & pepper to taste

No rhyme or reason....I just throw everything in a bowl and mix it all together. Refrigerate for about an hour before serving. It's great as a side dish, in a fajita or taco, with tortilla chips....however you like it!

--

 Now for the rice & beans...

My secret ingredient for this is Sofrito made by Goya. Any grocery store with a good Latin section will have it. Sofrito is a cooking base made of onions, peppers, garlic, cilantro, tomatoes, and other seasonings.  You can certainly make your own, but I love the Goya stuff so I just buy the jar.  They have red and green Sofrito, but I prefer the red.  It's good in so many Latin dishes, I always keep a jar or two on hand.

Spanish Rice & Beans:

2 cups jasmine rice (you can use long grain, but I like jasmine because it isn't as sticky)

1 can PINK kidney beans - undrained

(a little bit of chopped onion and green pepper if you want--- today I didn't add any)

3 cups of BOILING water (it has to be boiling or your rice will be too mushy)

1 jar Sofrito

2 tbs olive oil

Preheat over to 350. (Mine is on right now at 325...which is good enough.) Heat the olive oil in a pan, add rice and sautee for about 2 minutes. Add sofrito, mix thoroughly. Add pink beans and boiling water. Mix well and pour mixture into oven safe casserole dish.

Cover with foil and bake in over for about 40 minutes (give or take--untill all water is absorbed).

Pour yourself another glass of wine. You're awesome.

--

Okay....we just finished eating, the kids cleaned the kitchen for me, I had more wine, and I'm sleepy-full.  But I gotta finish this post because the food was DELICIOUS...

The rice was done after about 35-40 minutes, and it was perfect.

The pork roast took only about 1 hr 45 mins. The I took it out and let rest for about 45 mins before slicing. With any kind of meat, after cooking, it's best to let it sit and "rest" for at least 20 minutes, to allow the juices to settle, before slicing.  I topped the pork roast with freshly chopped cilantro.

Along with the pork roast and Spanish rice, I love to have peppers & onions.  I simply slice some red & green bell peppers along with a white or yellow onion and sautee in olive oil until tender.

 

I also finished the turkey dinner. Here are the recipes:

Herb-crusted roast turkey:

I bought one of those Butterball pre-seasoned turkey breast packages. It was on sale at Kroger the other week and I froze it until I was ready to use. After thawing, I chooped a handfull of each-

-sage

-rosemary

-thyme

I coated the turkey breast with the herb mixture and some salt & pepper. I laid the turkey on a bed of sliced onions and roast for about one hour at 325 degrees.  I let rest for about 20 minutes before slicing.

Mashed potatoes:

So I was going to make roasted potatoes but changed my mind. So I had 6 large russet potatoes, I peeled, diced, and boiled.  Once boiled, I drained and added the following:

3-4 tbs butter

3-4 tbs green onion OR garden vegetable cream cheese

about 1/2 cup milk, warmed

I mashed it all together and added salt & pepper to taste.

Green beans:

Plain boiled or steamed veggies don't go over well in my house. My family loves seasoned vegetables and these are super easy and healthy.  I had a bag of frozen string beans from Trader Joe's.  I love these because they are really skinny and cook quickly. I heated 2 tbs of butter and 2 tbs of olive oil together, added the grean beans, and 1 tbs of minced fresh garlic. I sauteed until tender and added salt & pepper to taste.

 --

Once everything was done, we all sat down to a delicious, healthy dinner. And there are enough leftovers to feed everyone for the week!

The turkey dinner:

 

The Spanish dinner:

I served this meal with flour torillas just because my kids love to turn everything into a fajita. This will pack well during the week when they take dinner to their activities (dance & theatre) and want a quick meal to heat up.  Not shown: guacamole & tortilla chips which disappear way too fast!

 

If you try any of these recipes let me know how it turns out!  These are some of my family's favorite recipes and I hope you enjoy them too! Bon Apetit!

Janelle & Khalid *FEATURED*

I'm so excited that one of the weddings I photographed is featured on the Munaluchi Bride website in the Real Weddings section.  This is such a huge honor for two reasons:

1. Munaluchi Bride is a premier magazine and website providing inspiration for women of color and it features some of the most gorgeous and culturally rich weddings all across the country.

2. Janelle and Khalid are an amazing couple who mean so much to me. Janelle is one of my dearest friends and I love her to pieces. Being at her wedding was incredibly special and it meant so much that I was able to photograph it!

Check out the feature HERE....and some of my favorite moments and details from their stylistic and African-infused wedding below:

I was able to fly into Raleigh early enough to document the rehearsal and dinner afterward. It was so fun to celebrate with this wonderful family.

Every detail was planned to perfection...

The traditional Liberian Wedding Grand March...

• Wedding Dress: Monalisa Royale by Maggie Sottero
• Makeup: Sammy Jo Makeup Artistry
• Ceremony location: Fairmount United Methodist Church
• Reception: Brownstone Doubletree Hotel
• Wedding Planner: Savoir Faire Signature Events

Chicago

Six weeks in to the new year and my plan to blog at least once every week has already failed miserably.  I'm not giving up though... blogging is something I've been doing for ten years now and I love it.  But it's something that requires a bit of habit, and frankly, I'm out of practice.  No worries though, because I have TONS to write about and share so my lack of blogging is not for a lack of material...I'm just short on time!

Case in point:

Two weeks ago I took Sharif to Chicago for the Unified Auditions. He plans to pursue Musical Theatre in college so we started the audition season in Chicago where he auditioned for a few schools and we toured the campus of Columbia College Chicago (which I fell in love with). All of the schools he's applying to are fantastic though, with incredible programs, so no matter where he ends up, it's going to be great!

We stayed at the very small but very chic and efficient Club Quarters on Wacker Drive and enjoyed a fabulous view of the Chicago River.  We enjoyed some Chicago deep dish pizza, visited a couple of museums, walked around in the bitter wind and cold and even went to see Les Miserables (it was so good, I cried like a baby!).

And of course....I brought my camera...

We'll be back in Chicago this summer, so I'm looking forward to shooting more in warmer weather!