My version...

Let’s just do another easy one, I thought to myself when going through one of Donna Hay’s cookbooks. It should be a simple recipe but enough of a challenge in getting it right. Well… if only I had thought about that a little better.. I failed, I failed miserably in recreating the original that you will see below. It seemed fairly straightforward but the trick in this particular image is not so much the recipe as that is real simple, but the angle of the photo.. You’ll see what I mean soon! In the meantime we are already on the 6th version of the Donna Hay Styling and Photography Challenge and I loved all the entries from last month! I would say spread the word..

Photo; Con Poulos

Above you can find the challenge recipe photograph by Con Poulos. it’s from the cookbook Seasons and let’s face it; it doesn’t scare you just by looking at it, does it?  But wait until you analyze this a little further. First of all there is the issue of the size of the props. If you compare the size of the bottle with the size of the bruschetta then it can’t be very big and they appear fairly close together. The tricky part for me however is that the bread in the foreground is big. There is a lot of focus on that plate of food so it is prominently featured in the frame. However I tried to place it and however I changed my lenses I could not – for the life of me – get it right. I’ve tried a wide angle and going in really close but that didn’t give me any blurred background. I tried placing the plate in front and the bottle in the back and using a telelens (which makes objects appear closer together) but then I only got a small piece of the bottle in the frame. I tried so many things I forgot to pay attention to the actual position of the bruschetta but ok…

Plate is too small in the frame here

My plate is probably bigger too or maybe the bread in the original is bigger. It’s shot on a round table and I didn’t have a round table obviously but still I just failed completely in getting it right. I know you are all eagerly awaiting the next challenge so postponing it until I got it right was not an option so you’ll have to do with my failed attempt. Can’t wait to see what you come up with! And please, please let me know how you did it.

Wrong again

I tried it with a smaller plate above (only had a little christmas plate at hand..lol) but again not good! The light in the original is coming from above right and is mildly strong. I had a beautiful clear day and so much light that it was a bit too much but I gave up and just did my own version, which you see as the first picture. Rather different but still with the same elements mostly.

I will try again but also curious what you come up with! Good luck on the challenge! You’re gonna need it (or maybe it is really simple and it is just me..lol)

Feel free to change the recipe to suit your needs and/or allergies/preferences. If you’re vegetarian you can use maybe some slices of eggplant or courgette and if you’re glutenfree, change the bread etc. All options are allowed! The rules are below the recipe.

Bruschetta with mozarella, prosciutto and rocketpesto

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Serves:	4
Prep time:	None
Cook time:	None
Total time:	None
Meal type:	Appetizer, Bread
Region:	Worldwide
From book:	Seasons

Ingredients

• 8 slices bread
• 1 clove garlic (halved)
• extra virgin olive oil (for sprinkling)
• 3-4 pieces bocconcini (in small slices or you can use regular mozarella)
• 8 slices prosciutto
• black pepper (coarsely ground)

Arugulapesto

• 1 handful basil
• 2 handfuls arugula (rocket)
• 1 handful basil
• 40g pine nuts (roasted)
• 20g grated parmesan
• 1/4 garlic clove
• 60ml extra virgin olive oil

Directions

For making the arugula (rocket) pesto put arugula, basil, pine nuts, parmesan and garlic into a foodprocessor and puree roughly. While the motor is running add the olive oil and mix until it is a thick, rough substance. Don't make it too fine. Chunks are ok to have.

Heat a gridlepan and bake both sides of the bread golden brown and crispy. Rub this with half a clove of garlic and sprinkle with some olive oil.

Put some of the slices of mozarella on the toast and liberally cover with the pesto. Top this with a slice of prosciutto and finish with some salt and pepper.

• Once a month (on the 3rd of the month) I will give you a recipe plus the accompanying photo out of the Donna Hay magazine. I will try to make it seasonal but can’t promise anything.
• You have that same month to produce your post. You can post it any day you like just as long as you finish it before the end of that month at the latest.
• You have to  produce that recipe, alterations to the recipe are allowed to make sure any dietary restrictions are met. But only minor changes!
• You have to cook and STYLE the recipe trying to replicate the photo as best as you can. If you think you can do a better job then the original photo, by all means feel free to make your own changes to the styling.
• Shoot the dish and then write a blog post about it. It would be great to add notes on how you took the photo and how you styled the dish,  so that other people can learn too.
• Link back to this months blog post about the challenge and link back to the Donna Hay Challenge page here
• Leave a message on the post that is up here for that month, saying that you completed the challenge and link to the post on your site so others can find it too.
• If you want to use the original photo in your blog post as well as the recipe be sure to link back to the Donna Hay website plus the photographers website. They will both always be mentioned in the monthly challenge posts.

Each month a winner will be picked who will be featured in the Hall of Fame page. If you like you can add a badge to your site saying that you are taking part in this competition. The badge is featured below and should link back to this page.

Above all this challenge is about having fun styling and photographing a dish by taking Donna Hay as our great example. You can join all months or whenever you feel like joining in. Using an example of the great photographers that Donna works with, I always find that it is a good learning experience to see how did they light the scene, where does the light come from and how did they manage to make it look so beautiful. Try and analyze all of that and then come up with your own version.

While taking food photos is all about finding your own style and certainly not copying anyone else, it does help to analyze how your hero’s do their job. It’s about learning to light and style a scene properly. In no way am I trying to suggest you copy another person style. Find your own unique style! This challenge is just a tool to help you along the way..

Related Posts:

• Sage and prosciutto corn cakes – Donna Hay Styling and photo Challenge #4
• Donna Hay styling and photography challenge #1
• Apple and caramel dumplings, I think
• Gnocchi with garden peas
• Trapani rigatoni and limoncello trifle

salad ingredients

The indecisiveness is driving me completely insane… While I thought I had made the final decision to get rid of my studio, every time I go there for work or something else, I get sad… really sad.. So now I am starting to question my own decision. Maybe there is another way to make it work and where on earth to I keep all the things I collected over the years that fit fine into a 120 square meter space, but not so fine into a 10 square meter space that will be all that I have left… *Big sigh and pulling my hair out*

What I did do today is go to my landlord and just tell him my problem. That I don’t WANT to leave but that is has become too expensive for the amount of time I am there and well, basically I asked him if he would rent it for a little less.

So healthy!

He didn’t say no right away so that is the good news. He will need to discuss it with his brother and business partner, so the story continues. I don’t even know what I’m doing anymore it feels like. My mind jumps from decision to decision; one minute I think ‘Yeah it makes sense to give it up.” and the other minute I get all desperate and wonder where on earth would I be able to do my job?? Ofcourse there are pro’s and cons that I can think about all rationally but in the end it is my heart that is the biggest problem. I love that space; it is so me. I’ve been there for almost 4 years, we decorated it ourselves and build it up from scratch.

As if it had to be I was contacted today by someone who wants to rent the studio every now and then. That would help although the problem with things like that is that there is no certainty. But if the rent would go down a bit plus this man would rent the studio every now and then, I could maybe, just maybe, keep the studio… We’ll see… time will tell! I have till the end of March to make the final and definitive decision, so I have some more time to drive myself insane.. Yeah!

Still some poppyseed left!

Now on to this lovely salad; I’ve been really good these last few weeks. Tom and I have taken on the habit of going for a walk together every day after work, we’ve been eating very healthy, no snacking in between and no wine other then in the weekends… (a girl’s gotta have some fun!) For a lot of our grocery shopping we now walk to the store instead of taking the car (saves on gas too) so all in all, we’re doing good. The result is that I lost 8 pounds so far (as you can see from the little badge on the right) and while still a long way to go, the beginning is there!

I made this delicious and very quick salad while I was in the studio this morning and I had it for lunch. It’s a bit too light with only 138 kcal so I did have some bread later. No need to starve myself, but this is delicious and adding a bit of bacon maybe would make it a bit more filling too.

This salad is also very fitting for Mona’s Living Leaner as this is literally made from leftovers we had in the fridge and cupboard! So cost for extra was 0 and I prevented wastage!

Lettuce, chicory and apple salad

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Serves:	6
Prep time:	15 minutes
Cook time:	None
Total time:	15 minutes
Dietary:	Vegetarian
Meal type:	Salad, Side Dish
Misc:	Serve Cold
Region:	Worldwide
Website:	BBC Good Food

Ingredients

• 100g mixed salad leaves
• 1 head white chicory (trimmed and separated into leaves)
• 1 piece apple (cored and sliced)
• 25 g toasted pistachio
• 25g sunflower seeds
• 75g cherry tomatoes (halved)

Dressing

• 2,5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 2,5 tablespoons Honey
• 2,5 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1/2 tablespoon whole grain mustard
• 1 teaspoon poppy seed

Directions

Arrange the salad ingredients on a large plate or big salad bowl. Put all the ingredients for the dressing together in a jar or bowl and shake or stir until well combined. When ready to serve sprinkle some of the dressing over the salad and toss together.

Note

Quantities and ingredients are adapted from the original recipe to what I had on hand. Obviously you can change nuts and other ingredients to your liking

Related Posts:

• Quinoa, feta and walnut salad
• Tarly salad with orange hazelnut dressing – living leaner
• Lamb’s lettuce salad with feta and tomatoes
• Goatcheese salad with walnuts and pear
• Quinoa, herb and pomegranate salad and the digital age

Goatcheese salad with pear and roasted walnuts

I sit on my chair. Well ok, more truthfully, I lie on the couch. There is still a faint smell of chocolate lingering in the air that makes me slightly nauseous. Too much chocolate in too little time cannot be good for a person. It’s been baking galore here; if not for our selves or for our friends I have been baking cupcakes for a client or shooting other cakes and cookies for another client. And no, not Christmas anymore. We have moved on to spring pictures already. It’s almost as bad as shooting for fashion although for that we are now in fall 2012 season. I can hardly remember what season we really have on hand!

In the midst of all that Christmas chaos I sometimes just need to get away from all the overly sweet or overly festive dishes that tend to dominate the december month. I feel more like eating fruit all day or enjoying a really tasty and simple salad. Because let’s face it; do you really need yet another recipe for a simple goatcheese salad? I always think that everyone already knows how to make a quick (but delicious) salad like this, but in case you do not know; Below is the recipe written out for you.

Goatcheese salad with pear and walnuts

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Serves:	4
Prep time:	20 minutes
Cook time:	15 minutes
Total time:	35 minutes
Meal type:	Lunch, Salad
Region:	Worldwide
From book:	Delicious kookboek by Valli Little

Ingredients

• 150g goatcheese
• 60ml walnut oil (plus extra for greasing the cheese)
• 6 slices bread (walnut bread is really good here, but you can use any stale or fresh bread you have left over)
• 80ml olive oil
• 1 teaspoon honey
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 2 handfuls salad leaves (radicchio is really nice here but use whatever salad leaves you like best. I've used rocket here and lamb's lettuce as that was available)
• 150 g watercress
• 1 pear (make sure it is a ripe pear)
• 60g walnuts (chopped and roasted)

Directions

Coat the goatcheese all around in walnutoil and cut the cheese in 4 rounds and put in the fridge for 15 minutes.

Cut the crust from your bread and cut the bread in 2 cm cubes. Heat the olive oil in a frying pan and fry the croutons keeping an eye on them for about 1 to 2 minutes until they are crispy and golden. Remove from the pan and leave to drain on kitchen towel.

Mix the walnut oil, honey and lemonjuice in a little bowl and add salt and pepper to taste.

Divide your salad leaves across 4 plates. Cut the pear in slices and coat in lemonjuice to prevent discoloration, put the pear on top of the salad leaves and add the croutons and the chopped walnuts

Heat the grill at the highest setting and line a baking tray with baking paper. Put the cheese slices on the baking tray, sprinkle with walnut oil and put the cheese under the grill for 1-2 minutes or until the top becomes golden brown and the cheese starts to melt. Put a piece of goatcheese on each salad plate and sprinkle the dressing over and serve immediately.

Note

Everyone has a version of this classic salad, and there are probably as many variations out there as people but still... this one's good too!

It’s nothing new, but it is incredibly delicious and using homemade croutons does make it better. Making your croutons from walnut bread or a really good sourdough bread will make this simple salad even a little bit more special. You can use whatever saladleaves you have on hand right now. Radicchio would have been nice but couldn’t be found, so we used a combination of rocket, watercress and lamb’s lettuce that we could find. After having lunch with such a delicious salad, I feel lighter, healthier and ready to tackle the next Christmas task at hand; figuring out on how earth to prepare an entire turkey!

Related Posts:

• Mediterranean couscous and lentil salad
• Quinoa, feta and walnut salad
• Lamb’s lettuce salad with feta and tomatoes
• Lettuce, chicory and apple salad
• Tarly salad with orange hazelnut dressing – living leaner

Delicious with Indian spices; courgette with chickpea salsa

If ever there is a season which lends itself particularly well to Indian flavors then to me that would be autumn. I love the spices used in the Indian kitchen, I love the hot curries (well, not too hot!), the garam masala mixes and I don’t think I’ve ever tasted an Indian dish that I did not like. It has such a high level of comfort food! Granted, there is still a lot to be discovered in that area by me,  but I’m trying. One thing that strikes me about the Indian flavors that it is fairly difficult to recreate the same at home. I’ve tasted many gorgeous Indian dishes but when I tried to make it at home, it was not at all the same. This delicious chickpea dish is a recipe by Anjum Anand. And this home version is so worth it!

pistachio and coriander

During our foodblogger connect in London she showed us a recipe of her new book (yet to come out) and I fell in love with the recipe immediately. Anjum was kind enough to share the recipe with us on her facebook page so that we could attempt to make it at home. From previous experiences I have learned (the hard way) that one of THE most important things in Indian cuisine is to use fresh spices. It will definitely make or break your dish, so be sure to use fresh cumin seeds in this recipe. The recipe has quite a few ingredients but it is actually very simple. The biggest amount of work is the grilling of the courgette. I think I could have sliced it a little better (thinner) but it was still delicious.

Don’t leave out the pistachio dressing as that is a big flavor component in this dish and will make it extra delicious. Now the big news is… it contains feta and I had Tom taste a bite and he actually liked it!! Now that’s a first when it comes to cheese, so I’m quite pleased with that. Maybe – just maybe – he’s getting used to cheesy flavors a bit more.

Griddled courgette carpaccio with chickpea salsa

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Serves:	4
Prep time:	15 minutes
Cook time:	15 minutes
Total time:	30 minutes
Dietary:	Vegetarian
Meal type:	Lunch, Main Dish, Side Dish
Region:	Indian
By author:	Anjum Anand

Ingredients

• 5 courgette (large ones, you can use a mix of green and yellow)
• fresh coriander
• salt (to taste)

Pistachio dressing

• 2 teaspoons white wine vinegar
• 1 clove garlic (small one, peeled)
• 15 pieces pistachio nuts (skinned if possible)
• 2,5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• good pinchsugar
• 2 teaspoons water

Chickpea salsa

• 300g chickpeas (1 can, well rinsed and drained)
• 100g feta
• 1/2 red onion (finely chopped)
• 1 large handful fresh coriander (leaves and roots)
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 3/4 teaspoons cumin powder
• 2 teaspoons cumin seeds (dry-roasted and powdered)
• 1 tomato (medium large, finely chopped)
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Directions

Heat the griddle pan until quite hot. Slice the courgettes on the diagonal into thin slices, no more than 1/2cm thick. Place on the griddle in a single layer and cook, undisturbed for 2-3 minutes or until the base has well-charred lines. Turn over and repeat on the other side. Repeat with the remaining courgettes.

As you stand over the griddle, prepare and stir together all the ingredients for the salsa. Taste, add salt to taste and set aside.

Blend together all the ingredients for the dressing until smooth, I use a good stick blender but a good pestle and mortar will also work. Adjust seasoning and keep aside.

To assemble, place the courgettes on plates, slightly overlapping at the edges. You can do this in lines or in a circular fashion. Drizzle over the dressing to mirror the pattern. Mound the salsa onto the middle of the plate or scatter across, as you prefer and serve.

Related Posts:

• Indian salad – Chana chat
• Superhealthy spicy salmon burgers
• Garam masala
• Punjabi chicken curry
• Spicy bean soup with cuminpoori’s – Living leaner

Delicious greek salad

Every single time we go to Greece the very first meal I order is a Greek salad. There is nothing better then the taste of those gorgeous tomatoes combined with the salty feta and the juicy cucumbers. Yes, even the cucumbers taste better in Greece! And then enjoying that while the only other sounds are the soft clinging together of the boatmasts in the wind.

Greek tiny restaurant by the harbour

It’s been too long really since we last went to Greece. It will always be one of my favorite countries and fairly close too. With the current economic situation not being all too positive I’m not sure what that will do to the touristic site of the country. Will people still go to Greece or will they all decide it is not a good idea? You never know how situations like this will turn out. A lot of people in Greece are depending on tourism to support them. I’m certainly no expert when it comes to economics so I’ll better stick to what I do know and that is food. Obviously; as I have learned since; the food we get served in the majority of the Greek restaurants is really not the best. Touristic stuff, quickly put together. Although that is mostly true about the really busy places you can find really good and fresh food anywhere in Greece if you look a little harder. We’ve had some amazing seafood (I learned to eat fish in Greece after all) gorgeous moussakas and well, the Greek salad of course.

Simple but delicious!

I might not have made it into a traditional Greek salad. I’ve been served raw red onions on top in many cases, but I just don’t like that. I’m not a big fan of raw onions, so I left that out here and just kept to the plan and simple basics that are o so delicious and lightning quick to put together for a healthy lunch!

Greek salad

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Serves:	1
Prep time:	10 minutes
Cook time:	None
Total time:	10 minutes
Dietary:	Vegetarian
Meal type:	Appetizer, Lunch, Salad
Region:	Greek

Ingredients

• 4 tomatoes (Make sure you use really good tomatoes. Watery ones will not do here!)
• 1/2 Cucumber (Seeds removed and sliced)
• 100g feta (crumbled)
• 75g kalamata olives
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• salt
• pepper

Directions

Not much to describe here as it is basically cutting all the vegetables in biteable sizes, toss them together in a bowl, add the crumbled feta and olives, sprinkle with olive oil and pepper and salt and you're ready to go!

Note

Delicious and fresh and just for a minute - makes you feel in Greece again..

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• Quinoa, feta and walnut salad
• Tarly salad with orange hazelnut dressing – living leaner
• Bull’s blood salad with halloumi
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• Lamb’s lettuce salad with feta and tomatoes