Tag Archives: food photography

Apple Crisp

Posted on September 21, 2010 by zoomyummy | Leave a comment

apple crisp recipe with step-by-step images

The early fall is truly magical.

These days I love to revel in all the pleasant impressions that this time of year evokes in me.

I love the calm… as if everything is coming to rest after all the hard work.

I’m excited when I see first signs of the glitter party that nature is going to throw soon.

Also, I love to go for long walks and enjoy the nice and warm days.

And if I didn’t sleep so late I’d definitely enjoy the crisp and cool mornings.

Hm, you can’t have everything, I guess.

But most of all, I enjoy the fruits of this season.

Like apples, for example.

In my world, there’s nothing more wonderful than the smell of apples and cinnamon coming out of the oven.

That’s why I end up making all sorts of apple-cinnamon creations these days each year – Apple Crisp being one of my favorite.

Yum!

apple crisp recipe with step-by-step images

The ingredients are simple and economical.

And that’s great.

Now I invite you to have a look at what crazy stuff was going on in my kitchen…
apple crisp recipe with step-by-step images

1. First, I preheated the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).

2. I placed all the ‘topping’ ingredients into one bowl – namely the flour, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, butter, salt, oats and walnuts.

Okay, maybe it wasn’t that crazy.

apple crisp recipe with step-by-step images

3. Using a fork, I combined them all just until this crumbly mixture had formed and no large pieces of butter were visible.

The topping is finished.

Easy!

apple crisp recipe with step-by-step images

4. Then I grabbed six medium apples.

These are Golden Delicious.

Also Empire, Gala, or Braeburn are especially good in this recipe.

apple crisp recipe with step-by-step images
5. I peeled, washed, cored and sliced them.

apple crisp recipe with step-by-step images

6. And then I cut the slices into 1 inch (2.5 cm) chunks.

apple crisp recipe with step-by-step images

7. To make the filling, I placed the apples, the lemon zest (I used dried lemon zest) and the sugar in a larger bowl…

apple crisp recipe with step-by-step images

8. …and tossed it to combine.

Mmmm… can you smell that?

Instant home!

apple crisp recipe with step-by-step images

9. I am brushing a dish with vegetable oil here.

Instead, you can butter the dish or just spray it with some cooking spray.

Also, although I used a slightly larger dish, I recommend to use a 9 inch (23 cm) deep dish pie plate or an 8 x 8 x 2 inch (20 x 20 x 5 cm) baking dish.

apple crisp recipe with step-by-step images

10. Fill the dish with the fragrant apple filling.
apple crisp recipe with step-by-step images

11. And, using your fingertips, spread the topping evenly over the apples.

apple crisp recipe with step-by-step images

12. Pop it in the oven and bake for about 30-40 minutes, or until bubbly and the topping is golden brown.

13. Remove from the oven, place on the cooling rack and let cool for about 30 minutes.

Then dig into it with a spoon and check whether everything is all right.

apple crisp recipe with step-by-step images

And if everything is perfectly all right, and it definitely will be, proceed to another step – fill a bowl with some more spoonfuls of this flavorful, juicy and crispy wonder.

Add a nice, fat scoop of vanilla ice-cream.

Or two.

Or four.

apple crisp recipe with step-by-step images

And have a great time!
If, by any chance, you end up with some leftovers, refrigerate them and reheat them before serving.

apple crisp recipe with step-by-step images

Enjoy!

Posted in apples, dessert, desserts, recipe

Tagged apple, apple crisp, apple crisp picture tutorial, apple crisp recipe, Apple Crisp recipe with picture, Apple Crumble, apple pie, baking, butter, cinnamon, Cook, cooking, Flour, food, food photography, food styling, fruit, Fruits and Vegetables, Golden Delicious, Home, Shopping, sugar | 13 Comments

Tuna Sandwich

Posted on September 16, 2010 by zoomyummy | Leave a comment

tuna sandwich recipe with step-by-step images

I’ve been carrying an idea to prepare a tuna sandwich in my head for quite some time.

Cause I love tuna.

It’s my favorite fish of them all.

Maybe because that’s the only one I eat, actually.

Anyway, recently, when making this delish Potato Soup, I ended up with one unused celery root and was looking for a dish that would incorporate it somehow.

Things have come full circle when one of the first recipes that I came across was actually for a Tuna Sandwich.

There was no question about the celery root any more.

Task completed.

Case solved.

What needs to be done, has to be done.

When I searched some more I also found out that people have produced about a zillion Tuna Sandwich recipes throughout the history.

It looks like it’s some kind of a popular ritual that we all share and enjoy.

Okay folks, I wanna play this game too and this is my addition…

tuna sandwich recipe with step-by-step images

Please, meet the ingredients.

They are yummy.

tuna sandwich recipe with step-by-step images

Let’s start with this handsome buddy, if you don’t mind.

It’s a celery root aka celeriac.

I write about its life story and why it needs your love here.

tuna sandwich recipe with step-by-step images

1. Slice off the skin of the root, wash it and grate it finely.

tuna sandwich recipe with step-by-step images

Like this.

tuna sandwich recipe with step-by-step images

2. Grab one half of red onion and chop it.

It will add a wonderful taste and also a wonderful color to the salad.

tuna sandwich recipe with step-by-step images

3. Let the onion and the celery make friends in a larger bowl.

tuna sandwich recipe with step-by-step images

4. Now break the Chinese cabbage into individual leaves, wash them and drain them.

tuna sandwich recipe with step-by-step images

5. Slice the leaves into thin strips, leaving out the firmer parts.

And I don’t mean fingers here.

Which you should of course leave out.
tuna sandwich recipe with step-by-step images

6. Then chop the cabbage even more finely and add it into the bowl.

tuna sandwich recipe with step-by-step images

7. Drain the tuna and throw it in too.

tuna sandwich recipe with step-by-step images

8. And now the best part (for some of us) – add nice eight heaping tablespoons of mayo.

That amount might sound a little devilish, I agree.

But consider that we are making a lot of sandwiches here – about ten – so it’s kinda all right.

Right?

Are you with me?
tuna sandwich recipe with step-by-step images

9. Season it with the Worcestershire sauce and mix until combined.

10. And then taste it and add some salt if you wish to.

tuna sandwich recipe with step-by-step images

11. Spread the newly made salad mixture on a bread slice and top with another slice of bread.

tuna sandwich recipe with step-by-step images

Then have a bite and enter heaven instantly.

It’s beyond delicious!

Enjoy, dear friends.

(This recipe feeds one smaller army – it makes about 10 sandwiches.)

Posted in recipe, sandwich

Tagged best tuna salad recipe, Celeriac, Celery, Cook, food photography, food styling, Fruit and Vegetable, Home, mayo, mayonaise, Onion, Red onion, Salad, Sandwich, Sandwiches, tuna, Tuna fish sandwich, tuna salad recipe | 11 Comments

Zebra Cheesecake

Posted on September 13, 2010 by zoomyummy | Leave a comment

zebra cheesecake recipe with step-by-step images

My name is Petra and I am… ahem… a cheesecake maniac.

Yes, I dream about cheesecakes.

Yes, I collect cheesecake recipes.

Yes, I’ve prepared many.

Yes, I am sure I have yet many of them to prepare.

No, I don’t think there is a power in this world that would stop me from doing so.

Yes, I’ll be showing you all of them.

And YES, I’ll be more than happy if you had a look at how I made this awesome one…
zebra cheesecake recipe with step-by-step images

Here we have our lovely ingredients, ladies and gentlemen.

Of course, there’s a lot of cream cheese in there. But definitely not too much.

That fact suggests that this cheesecake is a milder one.

Which I definitely can confirm (after eating many, many a slices).

Though it is not as rich as New York Cheesecake, I’d define it as being ‘heavenly’ mild.

A heavenly mild cheesecake.

That’s what it is.

zebra cheesecake recipe with step-by-step images

1. To make it, preheat the oven to 284 F (140 C).
2. Second, using a vegetable oil, spray a 9-inch (23 cm) springform pan.
3. Wrap two layers of foil around the pan. This cake is going to be baked in a water bath and the foil will prevent the water from seeping in.

zebra cheesecake recipe with step-by-step images

4. Place the cream cheese, butter and milk into a metal (or heatproof) bowl.

5. Now place the bowl over a pot of simmering water and – stirring constantly – let the ingredients melt.

If you’ve ever wondered why bowls are sometimes placed over simmering water then I have the answer for you. It’s because the ingredients in the bowl need very mild and gentle heat to melt, nothing too strong. In cases such as these, the steam from the simmering water works best. Otherwise some ingredients might not only melt but also cook and curdle. And who wants that?

zebra cheesecake recipe with step-by-step images

6. After the melted cream cheese mixture has cooled to room temperature, add the egg yolks, the cake flour, the cornstarch (corn flour) and the lemon juice.
7. Whisk the mixture until smooth.

zebra cheesecake recipe with step-by-step images

8. In a separate bowl, whip the egg whites until foamy.
9. Then add the sugar and whip for another couple of minutes until soft peaks form.

zebra cheesecake recipe with step-by-step images

10. In two batches, pour the cream cheese mixture into the egg whites.

zebra cheesecake recipe with step-by-step images

11. Fold the two batters together gently after each addition…

zebra cheesecake recipe with step-by-step images

12. …until they are well combined.

Try to be as gentle as possible in this process, since we’ve worked hard to make the whites light and airy and we definitely don’t want to lose that.

I am speaking in the name of all whipped egg whites in the world here!

zebra cheesecake recipe with step-by-step images

13. Divide the batter evenly into two bowls and add the cocoa powder into one of them.
14. Mix in the cocoa gently.
And let the fun begin…
zebra cheesecake recipe with step-by-step images

15. So this is how the zebra strips are achieved – nothing difficult at all.

Take your sprayed springform pan and place 3 tablespoons of cream colored batter in a circle in the center of the pan. Then take 3 tablespoons of the chocolate batter and place in the center. Keep adding circles and the batter will spread of its own accord.

zebra cheesecake recipe with step-by-step images

16. Find a large baking dish that will fit the springform pan.

Fill the empty baking dish 1/4 of the way full with hot water and place the springform pan inside.
17. Bake in the lower third of the oven at 284 F (140 C) for about 55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.
18. Turn off the oven and leave the cake inside (with the door still closed) for another 10 minutes.
19. Remove the cake from the oven and let cool completely.

zebra cheesecake recipe with step-by-step images

This cake tastes best after it’s been refrigerated for a couple of hours. It becomes slightly more dense and moist.

Enjoy, dear friends.

(This recipe was adapted from Treats.)

Posted in cheesecake, cream cheese, recipe

Tagged baking, Baking and Confections, cake, cheesecake, chocolate, cream cheese, Food blog, food photography, food styling, Home, Zebra Cheesecake | Leave a comment

Gosh, What’s Aperture?

Posted on July 28, 2010 by zoomyummy | Leave a comment

what is aperture, explanation, tutorial with images

I am going to try to keep this easy, all right?

There’s no need for you to close this site, pack your things and flee to a secluded island.

Don’t let the aperture scare you!

Actually, the aperture is a good friend, it can serve your needs quite magically.

If you are using a point-and-shoot camera, you don’t even have to worry about anything – the camera does it all for you. But if you’re a ‘big’ DSLR camera user, then you might want to have a look into the magical world of the aperture.

So, what is that aperture?

Basically, it is the hole in you lens, or the eye of your camera – opening and closing as you wish.

See? I told you it’s not difficult.

And what does that hole/aperture do?

Well, primarily, there are two types of situations when the aperture can serve you well.

First, when the light conditions in the place where you’re taking photographs are not so good (low-light situations) you can open the aperture wide thus letting more light into your camera allowing it to work more effectively.

And the other kind of situation, the one that I am actually demonstrating here with the pictures, is using the aperture opening to influence the depth of your photographs.

Come, have a look at what I mean, there are plenty of examples here…

what is aperture, explanation, tutorial with images

This is where I demonstrate the depth of the photograph (people usually call that the ‘depth-of-field’).

The picture on the left-hand side has the front subject in sharp focus while the subjects in the background are out of focus. This is called the ‘shallow depth-of-field’. It is so aptly named – you see shallow, you don’t see deep.

On the other hand, the picture on the right-hand side can be described as one with the ‘great depth-of-field’. See? It really is deep – the subject in the foreground is almost of the same sharpness as the ones in the background.

And you know what?

It’s under you control to decide what kind of picture you want to take – whether it’s the shallow one or the deep one.

Isn’t that awesome?

And yes, it has something to do with the numbers I’ve pasted into the pictures.

what is aperture, explanation, tutorial with images

The ‘f/number’ that I’ve pasted into the pictures for you is meant to describe the aperture setting I had used while taking the particular picture. In photography, the ‘f’, or ‘f-stop’ or ‘f-number’ is used when the aperture is being discussed.

To practice the control over you camera’s aperture, all you need to do is to search you camera manual and find the little article on the aperture.

Once you find it and learn where that little button is, just do this: go for the lowest numbers (like 2 in my picture) if you want the shallow depth-of-field and go for the highest numbers (like 22 in my picture) if you want the ‘deep’, all-focused pics.

Your lowest and highest numbers might be different than mine since lenses differ in this aspect.

what is aperture, explanation, tutorial with images

So what’s this again?

Petra?

Deep or shallow?

Yes, it’s deep, because I had my camera set at a high number – 22 in this case – making everything from the foreground to the background being in focus.

what is aperture, explanation, tutorial with images

This is another example.

Three happy apples posing just for you.

what is aperture, explanation, tutorial with images

The front apple is enjoying the focal attention while his friends are standing in the background being out of focus.

what is aperture, explanation, tutorial with images

Here, all three apples enjoy being in focus.

I’d call this picture ‘One for all, all for one’.

what is aperture, explanation, tutorial with images

Here, some peas also want you to see what the aperture is all about.

That’s so kind of them.

what is aperture, explanation, tutorial with images

Low number – shallow depth-of-field.

There are times when you want to isolate your subject…when you want it to be in sharp focus while having the background out of focus. Portraits or food photos are good examples of these situations.

what is aperture, explanation, tutorial with images

High number – great depth-of-field.

There are different situations when you’ll definitely want to have as many details in focus as possible. Just imagine taking a picture of a landscape, for instance, with all its trees, animals, hills, river, clouds…everything crisp and clear.

Note: I really need to let you know of this fact – the smaller the f-number the wider is the aperture opening. A little technical detail that you can remember or forget right now. I give you the permission.

I hope this all made at least a little sense and was of some help.

I wish you a lot of fun while playing with your aperture.

Go and have fun!

See you soon.

Love,

Petra