Nectarine panna cotta and a question
Delicious nectarine pannacotta
And? What do you think of my cool new Mediterranean background (I always have to use the spellchecker to get that word spelled correctly!)… It’s very very blue… Maybe a little bluer then I thought it would be but I still like it. I had to get a background made that was washed out white for a photoshoot. Couldn’t find anything I liked or was what I needed and since I didn’t have that much time left I had a local furniture maker do it for me. Bit more expensive but loving it! Have been using the white already the entire week sofar!
Now before I go and talk all about this delicious nectarine panna cotta, I need to ask you a serious question. As you know I have been running the Donna Hay Styling and Photography Challenge now for almost a year. Submissions have not been that much and this last one has so far only gotten 5 submissions, which is hardly worth the time it is costing me. So I ask you; do you like the challenge? What do you not like about it? Is it too easy, too difficult, too expensive? Or you just can’t be bothered?
Due to the low responses I am thinking if it makes sense to continue or if I should just devote my time elsewhere. So any input on your thoughts are more then welcome! O and one day left to enter something for August! Can’t believe August is over and September is upon us.
I woke up this morning really early at around 6 am and it was still dark! Is that time already started? I feel like we haven’t even had a proper summer yet and here we are heading full into the beginning of Autumn. I love autumn so no bad words about that but still… can’t we maybe get one or two good weeks of sunshine? Preferably weeks where I am not completely buried under work? Or is that too much to ask maybe? I’m stocking up on good books to read for the longer wintermonths already. I love reading but on any average day I seem to only end up reading cookbooks. Great fun but a proper story once in a while is nice too.
One other reason I noticed that autumn is drawing nearer is the fact that stonefruit has appeared in the shops. Nectarines, apricots, plums; they are everywhere. And I love them although finding tasty ones seems to be increasingly hard. Is that just me or are a lot of the fruits these days much more watery? Less flavor, not so sweet and without doing anything to them some are just plain boring. And that – in all fairness – is what is letting this dish down a little bit too. The nectarines weren’t really very ripe, so following Mona’s example I cooked them before pureeing them in the blender and then passing through a sieve. Still not really good. I sweetened the puree with some sugar, adding a bit of lime for extra punch but still it could have been a lot better I think.
By the time these babies were set it was also getting rather late in the day. In my little studio that means the sun will come out and be annoying on the table so I had to shoot in between the rays of sunlight coming in the room. You can almost see by looking at the shadow what the time of day was! Longer shadows means later in the year…
The panna cotta I used for these little pots was straightforward and tasty but I have had better ones. I love adding a little bit of acidity into my panna cotta’s as that gives them something extra. Adding buttermilk does the trick too, plus it makes it a lot lighter then just the cream.
Nectarine pannacotta
Yield: 6-8
Prep Time: 25 min
Cook Time: cooling time 5 hrs
Total Time: 5 hrs and 25 mins
Ingredients:
-
- 7 leaves of gelatine + 2 extra
- 600 ml single cream
- 220 gr granulated sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla essence
- 400 ml buttermilk
- 4 ripe nectarines
- juice of 1 lemon
Directions:
- Soak your 7 gelatine leaves in cold water for at least 5 minutes prior to making the cream.
- Heat the cream with the sugar, buttermilk and vanilla essence in a saucepan on medium high heat and stir until the sugar is dissolved.
- Stir in the gelatine leaves while taking the pan of the fire and stir until dissolved. Put the mixture through a sieve. Leave to cool a bit and then put in glasses of your choice and leave them in the fridge covered with a bit of clingfilm.
- In the meantime peel your nectarines (carve a cross in the bottom of the nectarines and pour hot water over them, leave to stand and you can peel them like you would a tomato)
- Chop the flesh finely, remove the stones and put the fruit in a blender. Puree until smooth, put through a sieve and press well so all the juice is gone from the pulp.
- Soak your remaining gelatine leaves in cold water and slowly heat your nectarine puree on low fire until just hot enough to dissolve the gelatine. add your lemonjuice and stir to combine. Leave to cool and once cool poor on top of the panna cotta in the fridge and put it back in to set for another 2 hours in the fridge
Adapted from Delicious cookbook
Appetizer
Asian
Bread
Breakfast
Desserts & other sweets
Healthy
Love the background. The panna cotta sounds dreamy, but my favorite are the currants on top
[Reply]
Simone (junglefrog) — August 30th, 2012 at 06:36
Ah yes delicious currants. I am gonna be so sad when they are gone again…
[Reply]
A wonderfully blue background. Those panna cotta must taste just divine.
Cheers,
Rosa
[Reply]
Simone (junglefrog) — August 30th, 2012 at 06:35
Thanks so much Rosa!
[Reply]
That panna cotta looks divine Simone! I adore nectarines.
As for the Donna Hay challenge, I’m sorry it hasn’t been as successful as you hoped. I think for me, one of the reasons I didn’t join until now is that I felt that in awe of the talent of all the entrants that I just couldn’t compare. I also think some of people might have been put off by the latest challenge feeling that they had to have the stainless steel background used in the original photo. I really appreciate you hosting the challenge, but I completely understand if you decide it’s not worth your investment of time.
[Reply]
Simone (junglefrog) — August 30th, 2012 at 06:35
Thanks for your thoughts Jennifer. I do always try to make it clear that it is allowed to change aspects of the photo in either ingredients r props used to accommodate what you have. But I’m guessing that is not always clear…
[Reply]
hi – i love your photos and i think the challenge is a great idea – i just had not known about it before now. I am an aspiring food photographer and just drool over all of the fantastic photos that you and others post. sincerely jealous.
would also love to know where you got those adorable pots/jars in this post.
thanks -
[Reply]
Simone (junglefrog) — August 30th, 2012 at 06:37
Thanks Janet! I think a lot of people think the challenge is a great idea but between the idea and the actual participation seems to be a large gap!
[Reply]
Simone (junglefrog) — August 30th, 2012 at 06:48
O and those little jarsa are a gift from a friend but I think they are originally yogurt jars…
I’m with Jennifer…I never participated because I could not compete.
The blue is GORGEOUS and very summery…. *sigh*
We did not get too much sun or summer here too but I am always happy in Autumn.
Cool brisk walks by the sea and rosy cheeks with warm cups of tea afterwards watching the lashing rain
agains the windows xx
[Reply]
Simone (junglefrog) — August 31st, 2012 at 23:18
Yeah I’m an autumn girl by heart. No probably more of a seasons girls. I LOVE all seasons and especially the beginning of each new season fills me with anticipation! I’m gonna change the challenge a bit for next month so you might be able to join in then!
[Reply]
This sounds great Simone!! And I like the blue
I think for the challenge, it’s likely an issue of time for people since it involves making a recipe, looking for props, setting up the photo and then executing it. It certainly is for me, ever since little girl came along well, you only have to look at my own blog to see I haven’t had much time for cooking and photographing lately
Maybe for going forward, on suggestion would be to take a theme/idea from a DH photo but leave the recipe to the participant’s choosing? Then more people might be able to incorporate the photo challenge into something they would already be making which might encourage more engagement. Just throwing out ideas…
[Reply]
Simone (junglefrog) — August 30th, 2012 at 15:53
Thanks Jenn. Maybe I do need to rethink the whole process and see what I can change or have to change going forward to make it easier to participate… I need to think about it a bit more!
[Reply]
I love receiving the challenges, but I do not have a blog and I don’t like writing enough to create one. So I was eliminated right off the bat. It seems the challenge is for food bloggers and I’m just a food photography gal wishing to get better at it.
[Reply]
Simone (junglefrog) — August 30th, 2012 at 15:50
Hi Debbi,
Well that is not entirely true. We’ve had people participating who do not have a foodblog either. As long as you can post the pictures somewhere on the internet you can enter in the challenge. No need to have a blog at all! Hope you will participate maybe next month?
[Reply]
Simone–I’ve only recently started following you, so I was unaware of the DHSC, however when I clicked on your DHSC link in the post the page displays for a few seconds, then bails, followed by an error message: “AW, SNAP! Something went wrong while displaying this page. To continue, reload or go to another page. If you’re seeing this frequently, try these suggestions.” ["these suggestions" is a non-functioning link.]
I’ve tried reloading, even rebooting my new iMac, but the same thing keeps happening. Thought you might like to know.
Ken
[Reply]
Simone (junglefrog) — August 30th, 2012 at 15:49
He Ken, thanks for letting me know. However I am not sure where it goes wrong as the link is correct and I can’t seem to recreate the same issue. Does the same thing happen when you click the link directly (it is in the menu as well under DHSPC) Thanks!
[Reply]
would love to participate the challenge…a little confused about how to enter…looks like so many steps…
[Reply]
Simone (junglefrog) — August 30th, 2012 at 15:52
He Wen, Not so many steps even though there is a whole list of things in the ‘rules’ That was just to answer any potential questions people might have but ultimately the only thing you need to do is recreate the recipe/styling and enter the photo through the linky tools tool in the post with the challenge. Almost no work..
!
[Reply]
I would love to participate, but don’t feel talented enough firstly and secondly my business takes up so much of my time and energy. I sit by and watch you put up the most gorgeous photos….
[Reply]
I’ve always wanted to compete but then it got too much. I do enjoy the post though and I say do it for yourself, even if no one else does. It makes you a better photographer. I’m not so much interested in doing what everyone else is doing, but I’m thinking wouldn’t it be fun to allow each person to do their own monthly thing. In other words, they select a photo from any magazine, cookbook etc. and they do the remake. Then the round up is mich for individual and interesting. I would be more up for something like that, because sometimes I worry about google not liking a lot of repetitive things.
[Reply]
Simone (junglefrog) — August 31st, 2012 at 23:19
Well all the text in the separate blogposts are always gonna be different so I don’t think Google would mind so much..
But I am thinking of changing the rules somewhat to make it easier for people to enter. Still working on the details but a thought is forming in my head.. 
Thanks for your input Angela!
[Reply]
Hi Simone, I do love this challenge even though I have only participated one time. I did do the #10 challenge and was going to put it up and then I read this and don’t see the link anymore, LOL. Oh geez, is it over? I can understand. I love your blue background and that panna cotta looks more than delicious.
[Reply]
Simone (junglefrog) — August 31st, 2012 at 07:20
Thanks so much Suzi! I have send you an email too where you can find the link as it is still there!
[Reply]
For me it’s just that I don’t have enough time to do it. I love the challenge and want to do it, but time is …..
It doesn’t matter for me if the other one’s are good, it think it would give me more inspiration.
Pfff weet niet goed hoe ik het allemaal in het Engels moet schrijven, maar ik bedoel dus te zeggen dat andere er juist voor zorgen dat ik het ook mooier\ beter wil gaan doen\ leren.
Ik vind het nog steeds een leuke challange.
[Reply]
Simone (junglefrog) — August 31st, 2012 at 07:20
Haha… dank je wel! O en comments mag je ook altijd gerust in het Nederlands neerzetten hoor.. Snap ik ook..
Ja ik denk dat ik de challenge blijf doen maar wel wat dingen ga aanpassen!
[Reply]
I love that challenge and I wish you don’t stop it. I know I am not bale to participate for the last few times but it mostly because I just couldn’t find the right prop or the back ground. But I think it’s an excellent event. I can understand the effort and time it must be costing you!
As for the dessert .. love desserts in jar .. always looks pretty and panna cotta has been on my mind for a while now. I think I am gonna make this over the weekend.
[Reply]
Simone (junglefrog) — August 31st, 2012 at 07:19
Thanks so much for your input Kankana. I think I will not be stopping it but I will change it to make it more accesible to people or less costly. Even though I keep telling that you don’t need to get any extra props but just be creative with what you have I think people still want to replicate it as best as they can. So I gotta think about how to do that going forward. Got some excellent suggestions so I’m thinking on how to shape it ..
To be continued!
[Reply]
Hi Simone,
I am new to your blog so didn’t know about the DHSPC until now. It sounds like a perfect challenge for me, I love Donna Hay and am always seeking to improve my photography and styling. I also love the fact you can post anytime during the month and not during a set period – it’s not always easy to stick to tight blogging deadlines! I look forward to the September challenge and hope I can join you!
[Reply]
Simone (junglefrog) — August 31st, 2012 at 23:20
He Amy! Good to hear you want to join in for next month’s challenge. I will definitely continue the challenge but it will be shaped a little differently I guess. It will all be revealed soon!
[Reply]
This panna cotta looks amazing and I love the separate layers and the use of the glass jars for serving. So beautiful. I’m featuring this post in today’s Food Fetish Friday (with a link-back and attribution as always). Thank you so much for keeping me inspired with such delicious creations…
[Reply]
Simone (junglefrog) — August 31st, 2012 at 23:21
Thanks so much for featuring me..
[Reply]
OMy God in Heaven, Simone! GORGEOUS. Love the blue – well, orange and blue are the perfect opposition on the colour wheel and I do believe the saturation of each of these particular orange and blue choices is the same! Vibration perfection!
But it is the jars and the idea, and the flavours I am in awe of, too.
1. where did you get these jars?
2. where did you get your adorable spoons
3. I am making this!
V
regarding your question – I cannot answer, as I am not involved. But when you say it is costing you a lot, I am confused about that – do you mean the photo shoot and preparation? If that is what you mean, and you enjoy it and are learning from it – with even 5 people it seems to be worth it to me as I enjoy it.
V
[Reply]
Simone (junglefrog) — August 31st, 2012 at 23:24
Haha.. yes it is quite vibrant in color isn’t it? Ok to answer your questions;
But it seems that there are quite a few people out there that enjoy the challenge so I will continue in a slightly different shape.
1. the jars are a gift from a friend to me but basically they are yogurt jars that were emptied and cleaned. I do love them too.
2. The spoons I bought in a storeand I’m trying to remember the brandname now but will let you know if I remember!
3. Great!
And as for the ‘cost’ involved; no it is just my time that I spend coming up with the recipe, making it and shooting it. I love it, so I will continue to do it, but you know how it is with deadlines so with the challenge I try to stick to it and get all worked up to post something on time. And if no one would care then why would I bother..
[Reply]
I enjoy your posts aand learned a lot about photography. Never entered the challenge as I do not have the skills and knowledge.
[Reply]
Actually, I have to confess….this is my first time learning about your styling and photography challenge. I am however VERY interested in it. Please continue the challenge, I would like to continue learning more photography from you. Your panna cotta looks sooooooo good!!!! Beautiful, Hugs, Terra
[Reply]
Simone (junglefrog) — September 4th, 2012 at 06:22
And here I was thinking you had participated in one… Haha. Guess I got a little confused
[Reply]
I lOVE lOVE the blue Simone. Transports me to whites homes and ocean and the blue in the background.. a place I would love to be. The white and the orangish yellow pops pur beautifully against it. I like a slight hint of tart too in the panna cotta and they are the best with some fruity topping just like this one. only if I could have one little jar of yours.
Love the Donna Hay challenge.. even if I have not participated in any but one.. the personal reason for me being the time.. i never cook for the blog. what ever i have everyday is what makes a post, and with my schedule to fit in a something new.. both a recipe and planning and arranging for the shoot often is difficult to fit it. But I always bokmark, come back and draw inspiration from the original and the participants view of it. I am so tempted to do the white on white.. it looks so beautiful!!!!! and fairly easy (i know it is not..they all look that way! ha ha!)..
[Reply]
Simone (junglefrog) — September 4th, 2012 at 06:19
I hope you join in Soma! And yes the whole idea of changing the challenge is to make it a bit easier for people to participate and I know you have white foods…;) Can I just say that I do get quite a few really good comments on your posts on the glazen Vork? On your gorgeous photos!
[Reply]
Totally making this pannacotta tonight!!!
[Reply]
Simone (junglefrog) — September 5th, 2012 at 23:26
Good! Hope you like it!
[Reply]
Simone, I am not a photographer and feel like I could never participate but…. maybe if you replaced it with a photo or styling lesson and a challenge – like attack one little thing at a time (like your all white challenge you more recently posted), gave some tips and pointers and suggestions and asked us to try. I would more likely do that. Like a little lesson then an exercise. How about that?
Meanwhile, we’ve had exceptional nectarines this year AND I’ve been dying to make panna cotta so this is so perfectly timed! And fabulous!
[Reply]
Simone (junglefrog) — September 5th, 2012 at 23:22
Thanks for the tips Jamie! I think – essentially – that is more or less what the new challenge is gonna be all about. Since posting the first one I have also been thinking a little bit more about the next one and how to approach it with maybe giving indeed more tips and behind the scenes looks so people know what to look for. I don’t have all the answers either but I’m sure together we can make it all work!
[Reply]
Wow, this panna cotta looks so delicious! The colors are striking enough you can use your imagination to taste it!
[Reply]
I love the presentation of these! What a cute idea =)
[Reply]