salsa

I really like the composition of this salsa picture that I took but the salsa was in the shadows a but and wasn't the star.

So I took it to photoshop and adjusted the light and brightened the salsa.

Now you can see the salsa.

Summer Barley Salad

So with summer coming I am very excited for the return of all the summer fruits and vegetables like corn, tomatoes and the like.
This recipe I found on pintrest and changed the dressing and such to suit my tastes.

I did not include this in the picture but I would usually serve this with grilled chicken or fish.

  

Summer Barley Salad

3/4 Cup barley

2 ears of corn

1 Cup grape tomatoes

4 slices bacon

1 lrg avocado, diced

1/2 tsp salt, plus more to taste

4 tsp lemon juice

1/4 Cup red onion, diced

3 Tbsp Olive oil

1. Prepare the barley according to the package directions and set aside.

2. In a skillet cook the bacon. pour out most of the fat leaving behind just enough to sauté the corn.

3. Slice the tomatoes, set in a colander over a bowl. salt the tomatoes and let drain. press lightly to get mote juice.

4. Make a dressing from the tomato juice, lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper.

5. Combine the barley, corn, tomatoes, crumbled bacon, avocado and red onion. Toss with the dressing. Season to taste and serve.

strawberries in the gutter

My sister Sarah had the ingenious idea to plant strawberries in a rain gutter suspended from the overhang on the garage. It's great. The berries avoid rotting on damp ground and eaten by slugs as so often is the case here in the humid south. Already they have a bunch of strawberries in the works and the kids will have so much fun picking them.

This was one of the first pictures I took with my new lens for the camera. It as a larger aperture getting all the way down to 1.8 f stop. The large aperture gives that nice blurred background, hence even though the wall of the garage is less than a foot from the strawberry is has a nice soft blurred appearance while the strawberry and leaf are in sharp focus. So fun! 

Bread

So I was trying to come up with my own basic bread recipe to use and I based it on what I have learned. The first one did not have enough salt and was really bland the second was much better.

This is my first time editing my photo in Photoshop. I shot the pictures in raw format so I could do more with them. I was able to adjust the color slightly as well as darken the background and lighten the loaf. It also allowed me to sharpen the look of the loaf. There is so much to learn and even some stuff I was trying and didn't figure out.

Kumquats

So we had a tree that had a small orange fruit that we knew was edible and i think we made jam once or twice but people are always getting them mixed up with another fruit. Loquat is the fruit we had and they are small like a grape tomato bit they are fuzzy like a peach. They are often grown ornamentaly. People like to call them kumquats which is another fruit entirely. They look like an orange only shaped like a grape tomato. They can be eaten whole. I found some nice looking ones at the grocery store and wanted to take some pictures.

I read that back-lighting is great for brightening up the citrus slices and the one in the middle really does get a glow from the light coming in the window.

Skillet Enchiladas

So still not the best photo of skillet enchiladas. The day was rainy and cool and left blueish tones to the light. Better than the crazy orange light from the kitchens on earlier attempts. I can do better and I will next time they come up for dinner again. Very yummy though. All the flavor and texture of enchiladas without all the dishes and effort of rolling each individual enchilada.

Skillet Enchiladas

10 fresh corn tortillas, sliced 1 inch thick
Vegetable oil
1 Onion, diced
1/2 Bell pepper, diced
1 Clove Garlic
12 Tbsp Flour
1 Cup Chicken broth
1 Can Enchilada sauce
Salt and pepper
1 1/2 Cups Shredded chicken
4 Green onions, sliced
1 4 Oz Can diced green chilies
3 Cups Shredded mexican cheese
Cilantro

1. Heat 3tbs oil in a cast iron skillet and fry the tortilla strips until beginning to crisp. Remove.
2. Add the onion and bell pepper to the skillet, sauté until tender. Stir in the garlic, sauté until fragrant.
3. Whisk flour into the vegetables and oil, cook out the rawness to make a roux. Slowly whisk in the chicken broth.
4. Pour in the enchilada sauce, chicken and diced green onions, 1/2 of the tortilla strips and 1 cup of the cheese. Stir well then cover with remaining tortillas and cheese. Place under the broiler until golden and bubbly. Top with cilantro and serve.

White Chicken Chili

I really had fun. I went shopping for props and found the best looking poblano I could. This was the same shopping trip that I get the radishes but I had to get motivated to put the effort to get the recipe up with the photos. I think the portrait one is the best.

The recipe was from americas test kitchen and although it is a little work it is a very yummy chicken chili.

White Chicken Chili

3 lb Bone in chicken breasts or theighs

Salt and pepper

1 Tbsp Vegetable oil

3 Jalapeno

3 Poblano, seeded and diced

3 Anaheim, seded ans diced

2 Onions, cut in large pieces

1 Tbsp Cumin

6 garlic cloves, minced

1 1/2 tsp Coriander

2 16 oz cans Canellini beans, drained and rinsed

3 Cups Chicken Broth

3 Tbsp Lime juice, 2-3 limes

1/4 Cup Minced cilanrto

4 Scallions, sliced thin white and green

1. Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Heat oil in a large Dutch oven. Add chicken skin side down until golden, brown the other side. Remove and discard the skin.

2. Remove seeds from 2 jalapeños, mince. In food processor pulse the peppers and onion in batches to the consistence of chunky salsa.

3. Pour off all but 1 Tb fat from the Dutch oven, and reduce the heat to medium. Add the jalapeños, chili mixture, cumin, garlic, coriander and 1/4 tsp salt. Cover and cook stirring occasionally until softened. Remove pot from heat.

4. Transfer 1 cup of the cooked vegetable mixture to an empty food processor. Add 1 cup of the beans and 1 cup of the broth and process until smooth. Add the vegetable bean mixture, the remaining 2 cups broth and the chicken to the dutch oven. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Cook until the chicken is cooked through.

5. Using tongs, remove the chicken to a plate. Stir in remaining beans and continue to simmer uncovered until heated through and thickened.

6. Mince the remaining jalapeno. Shred the chicken and throw away the bones. Stir in the shredded chicken, lime juice, cilantro, scallions and the jalapeno and return to a simmer. Serve.