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Thank you to all who have inquired about the latest workshop I posted. It is the last before Fall for Chef Ondo and myself as Charleston gets unbearebly hot after May. We are excited to have you join us and spent one on one quality time with you and sharing everything we can! And yes, there are still spots available! May is so gorgeous this time of year and hopefully the water will be warm enough for a couple of dips in the ocean (although there is a pool at the beach house!)

It feels like every where I turn these days, where it to be Instagram, Pinterest or blogs, everyone has Spring fever. And rightly so. Except for us here in SC,

It feels like we had two weeks of winter in between Spring and Spring. Fall? I have no idea what that is around here! We’ve had a mere couple of weeks of winter it seems and now it already feels like summer. My socks have been relegating to the bottom of the drawer and the box of summer clothes is about to cramp up our bedroom space soon. 

I feel torn about it – I like the milder temperatures that our winter brings. I like the ability to layer, put on a hat, wrap myself in a warm blanket or a comfy scarf. I like the long simmered stews that screams winter comfort to me. On the other hand, I can’t wait for Spring and Summer produce, long dinners al fresco with our friends, juicy peaches and nectarines, and colorful fresh salads.

 

I am about to embark on a short trip to Kentucky to wrap up a cookbook shoot and while I try to stick to good eating habits while on the road, between the crazy schedule and the fatigue elements, I am never sure of what the days will be like food wise. It seems like wine always find a way to make it to dinner though… Joke aside, I have been filling up on lots of veggies and greens over the last couple of weeks in between editorial and cookbook shoots.

I am happy to share with you two of my go-to salads. Easy to prep, shock full of flavors and they can easily accommodate the addition of a protein if you feel like it.

I often make the Fennel and Celery Salad as a quick lunch with a soft or hard boiled egg to go along but it would be great with a side of chicken or fish. The more robust Roasted Root Veggie Salad is loaded with beets, turnips, carrots, farro and chopped carrot green (tops). It’s a favorite alone but the cumin blood orange vinaigrette makes it a flavorful side for grilled fish or pork chops. Pomegranate seeds are now available pretty much all year long thanks to nifty little packaged cups while the blood oranges in the vinaigrette can easily be subbed for part lemon, part oranges (half and half) making it easy to have year long.

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Super happy to announce that I will be teaming up with Chef John Ondo for a food styling, photography & cooking workshop in Charleston SC, in a beautiful beach home located on the Isle of Palms, May 16th-20th 2016. The 3 day workshop will be geared toward food, prop styling, photography, cooking demos and lots of hands on practice.

I will focus on my photo, composition and styling processes, from basics natural light manipulations to more advanced ones. Cooking sessions with Chef Ondo will punctuate the mornings and afternoons where he will share his love of Mediterranean cuisine and creativity cooking with locally sourced ingredients.

Together, we will guide you to create an edible narrative with your photos, and share current food styling and propping trends, etc… Nothing is off limits with questions, from how to pick ingredients, how to cook them, how to manage your cooking/photo time efficiently, knowing about photography for blogging or professional work, cooking for photography, photo as a hobby or how to get started in the business.

All this right by the ocean.

 

The workshop will start by a casual meet & greet at the beach home, followed by dinner prepared by Chef Ondo. Three days of photography and cooking follow.

Attendees will have a morning free to wander about Charleston get some personal work done or just chill. A trip to the docks to get fresh fish and a visit to a favorite antique store are also on the itinerary. 

The workshop includes:

3 days of photography, composition, food styling and cooking sessions

4 nights accommodations 

One on one photo sessions with Helene

Cooking demos with Chef Ondo

Breakfasts, lunches and dinners

Refreshments and snacks

Most rooms are shared – there is opportunity for single rooms on a first sign up basis

To register, please go HERE.

Workshop is limited to 8 people.

Fee is $1850 (does not include travel fares to and from workshop)

There will be no refunds for this workshop – please know you can attend before registering. Full payment due at time of registration, no deposit required.

 

Lunches are most often not that elaborate at the house during the week and they most often turn into brunch during the weekends. I am more of a nosher from morning til dinner if left to my own devices but Mama Ruth isn’t. Though not complicated or demanding, she can’t graze all day long. It’s mostly soups and big salad with a little protein. A big plate of crudites and some hummus while editing pictures or responding to emails. Always good but nothing that requires multi pans preparation.

However, once in a while, I get a wild hair and make us something special. Especially if she saw something in a magazine and found it "inte-resting". She pauses on the word like so when she clearly thinks "unusual" or "weird". It makes me smile everytime. It’s like the challenge is on for me to make her discover new things.

I got to say most of said interesting dishes were received with lots of "hmmm this is good". Thai green curry, Char Sui, ramen noodle soups, bouillabaisse, ratatouille, etc… Tacos are still on the undecided camp, mostly because they are not as easy to eat. Food falls, liquids end up all over your hands. They’re messy. So while we roll them up, she eats them open faced. Still with a smile of satisfaction.

These Salmon Tacos with Avocado Cream were very warmly received albeit for the "it’s messy, isn’t it?" comment. At least not a crumb was left and they are now on rotation at the house so I must be doing something good!

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I sympathized with everyone going through the blizzard and snowstorm that hit the East coast by making a few baked goods and giants pots of soup. Sure our temperatures dropped a little but nothing like people up North felt it. No snow here. I lived vicariously through friends posting on social media and the news reports. Winter here is touch and go. It was 70F yesterday. I think I wore a coat 4 times so far. I am not complaining. I know that being freezing cold and shoveling mountains of snow feels old really fast.

Nostalgia kicked in though. During the winter months back home, we would drive up to the mountains near Italy where my family has a chalet and spend two good solid weeks skiing to our hearts' content. I miss those days. I love and miss the silence right after a fresh snow fall. The pure air of the mountains and the cozy feel of a warm cup of soup by the fire.

It also made me crave Nutella. Our favorite snack after a long day on the slopes. And tart. A good tart with Nutella would be perfect to indulge in my nostalgic moment. If you know me or have read this blog for a while, you know that I have a hard time with chocolate and fruit pairing. I simply do not like chocolate and fruit in anything. Especially berries and fruit. Give me nuts, caramel and chocolate any day and I am a happy girl. But a chocolate cake with raspberry coulis and I will pass. Except when it comes to pears and chocolate. Somewhat I am better than good with that association!

I had leftover puff pastry dough that I had used for Galette des Rois during Epiphany so I decided to use it for this Pear & Nutella tarte. I knew it wouldn’t puff as much being re-used but that was just fine this way. The filling is a basic custard with a good amount of Nutella in it. Choose pears that are on the ripe side rather than firm and just harvested.

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Happy New Year! I hope that 2016 is truly filled with all your wildest dreams coming true! While we learn from our experiences, I am not one do dwell on the past much. What is done is done and tomorrow is not guaranteed, so the present is where it’s at. Pretty much. Last year tested me and also enabled me to stretch my wings. There were moments of 2015 I wanted to throat punch with a vengeance and others I wanted to relive in all their deliciousness. It’s what makes a year I guess!

Every year I follow Susannah Conway’s "Find Your Word" online course. I admit, I severely crush on the girl… beauty, intelligence and soul. She’s the whole package. Her Instagram #decemberreflections photo challenge was a complete stretch for me but I am glad I did! I am not one to stay still long enough to retrospect or reflect so this month long challenge was definitely an exploration in sharing thoughts through the lens. Five day into it, I knew my word for 2016. Explore.

Explore the obvious like new places, new projects, new recipes, but also explore my own hesitations, new techniques like calligraphy and video. Explore the senses and the unexpected. I am true Taurus after all and I am looking forward to where it takes me. It’s ok for your word to change. Last year I started with Nourish and mid-way through it, that word evolved into "Let Go". Both fit at the time. But there are so 2015 now…! Time to Explore!

And I need some sustenance for all that exploring that is about to happen. Olive Oil & Walnut Cake seems like a good place to start…

One last thing… There is ONE spot left in the workshop I posted the other day!

 

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Registration is now OPEN for the workshop I am teaching in Charleston, SC next month!

All info can be found HERE.

Being away from Charleston the last three years, I had almost forgotten how much longer the temperatures stay above normal this time of year. I should know better though given that we are in a sub tropical climate… Nevertheless, I was getting antsy to get a bit of a hint that December was upon us. And just like that, a good rain and the temperatures dropped. The air became crisper, the sun shining with a different luminosity, the sky finally wearing that winter blue I love and missed.

All prompted me to head to the kitchen to make a few batches of soups.

My latest love is for a velvety curry carrot soup I made the other day. Vadouvan, turmeric, sumac were my spices of choices, giving depth to the soup. The humble carrot took another dimension and we all went back for seconds. I wanted a crunchy bit in there somewhere so I topped it off with a blend of toasted quinoa, parsley, toasted almond and lemon zest. 

With my studio adjacent to the house, it’s really easy to put a pot of soup on, get to work, and come back in around noon to have lunch with my mother-in-law when the husband is teaching. I’ve come rather fond of our lunch breaks together. Sometimes, we sit quietly at the table and listen to the news. Sometimes, I prompt her to tell for the gazillion time how she met my father-in-law, the story of how they were wed in New Orleans during the war. I love listening to her. We talk about my family, when my parents will come visit next or what we are going to cook for Christmas. Sometimes, we are both deep in our thoughts and appreciate the silence.

 

Lunch is often time a cup of soup and a tartine or a big salad and a croque monsieur. Mama Ruth had never had those before but now I feel like I have creating a monster! When I head to the kitchen and says "lunch in 20 minutes!", she often replies from wherever she is "are we having those nice cheese and ham sandwiches you made the other day? You know, those French sandwiches with all that good melty cheese?" Well yes, I guess we are…!

 

Bailey the older of the two pups usually stays in the house by her side and keeps her company (read sleeps soundly while Turner Classic Movies is on). Tiggy, the younger pup comes with me to the studio and finds a warm spot in the sunlight streaming in. She loves to be there with me, keeping watch over the food on set, getting petted by clients or just watching the squirrels passing by. We have all started to find our comfort zone, our rhythm. It’s nice. It’s really nice.

Sure we have our moments. We don’t always all agree on politics or family stuff but heck, which family doesn’t?! Nothing that a good pipping hot cup of soup and a croque monsieur can’t fix!

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