Re-thinking this blog….
Splendid Sustenance
Archive for Photos
day 14 ~ fun with Photoshop
Pete and I took an amazing trip to Durango, Colorado while I was pregnant with our first son. There is a train that runs between Durango and Silverton that I highly recommend you take if you find yourself in that area. It meanders up into the San Juan mountains, the whole experience smells of nostalgia. Anyway, the reason I am telling you about this is I was messing around with fake tilt-shifting in Photoshop this morning. Tilt-shift is a trick to make things look almost toy-like. I had a hard time finding photos that work, you really need a specific type, typically taken from afar and looking down on the subject works best. I think this shot of the Durango-Silverton train worked fairly well…
…here is one of my piano that I am not sold on, but maybe a little?
not really, the train works better but I clearly need to practice technique…
I think I will plan out some shots with tilt-shifting in mind. And here is the Flickr pool if you want to waste some time looking at neat examples of this.
day 13 ~ Rocks
We emerged from the recent deluge of rain today. That is one of the things I love about the Pacific Northwest, it can rain unforgivably then it breaks and you get the most spectacular treat. We took advantage and headed to a local park for some (relentless) rock throwing. What is with boys and rock throwing? They seriously could have spent a couple more hours chucking rock after rock after rock into the lake, sorry…but… YAWN! Lucky for them I was just glad to be outside…
Stuff yer onions here!
went to the farm recently where we were able to buy a gazzilion raspberries for next to nothing, I also picked up some Walla Walla onions which I stuffed with yum (why do I want to make a lewd Build a Bear joke here?) Anyway this recipe is adapted from The Splendid Grain which I highly recommend you own.
4 large onions
2 tbls oil from sun-dried tomatoes in oil
2-3 crushed garlic cloves
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes in oil, julliened
1 cup cooked grain of choice, I used millet
1/4 cup packed fresh basil
salt and black pepper to taste
Preheat your oven to 350˚F
Take your mild onion of choice and peel the outer layer. Slice a bit off the top but leave most of the roots on the bottom, just try to flatten them a bit. Take a spoon and scoop out some of the innards, not too much or your onions will go flaccid, set innards aside to use. Put your onions in a steamer basket over boiling water and steam them for 10 minutes until they are sturdy but softened. Drain them on paper towels upside down while you assemble the rest.
In a saute pan heat your oil and then add the onions, garlic, and red pepper flakes. Saute for about 5 minutes, until onions are translucent. Add the sun-dried tomatoes. Cover and cook for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and add the grain and basil, stir. Season with salt, to taste.
Pack the mixture into your onion shells mounding the mixture slightly. Pour water into a dish large enough to hold the onions without crowding, to a depth of 3/8inch. Place the stuffed onions in the dish, cover with foil, and bake for about 40 minutes until very tender and heated through. Eat.
This dish was so hard to photograph for me, I think I needed a black bowl to show off the onion correctly. Doesn’t matter so much though, it tasted damn good.
……….
Pete has been on vacation all week. We have stuck near home for the most part, we did make it to one of my favorite beaches around here though. If you get the chance you really should get to Ebey State Park on Whidbey Island. I’ll let the pictures do the talking…
Ahhh…
…
This is what I am reduced to, my favorite pans. There are so many changes going on here at home for me personally. I am on a new food/weight loss journey, I am weaning my youngest son, I am actually not getting out of bed at night for said son. I’m sure there is more. My brain feels a bit funny, sort of fuzzy and grasp-y. I feel like I need to find and fill a little niche somewhere, but I have no idea where/what that is. I told Pete last weekend I needed a project. I just can’t figure out if that project is building a chair, cleaning the baseboards, reading War and Peace, doing an oil painting, or solving the mystery of Amy Whinehouse. I am scattered to say the least. For now you can feast your eyes on what’s going on in my yard via my macro lens…
Tada!
