The Shapes of Summer

The days are changing. I looked at the sunlight in my studio just the other day and I saw new directionality in the light streaming in. With the added milestone of Labor Day behind us, schools are back in session and people have returned to their full-swing things, signifying Change. I will volunteer and say that I am not ready for autumn, as much as I love its crispness and soft, worn hues. Autumn is actually my favorite time, but I am stuck in love with the heady ripeness of summertime's flavors and shapes - bright and bold, each so easy to love.

Here is a collection of amazing-tasting things I managed to prepare in recent days. Thankfully, much of the bounty of the season is still available at farmer stands, so you still have time! I hope that once you pour over the images, you will be inspired to try your hand at one (or all!) of these. They are - almost entirely - surprisingly simple to make, and the return on flavor is well worth it. Enjoy!

                                                                                                                                                               

 

 

Please let me know if you try your hand at any of these. I'd love to answer questions should you have any, or just hear how much you enjoyed a recipe you shared with loved ones!

Birthday Celebrating

Now a little while ago already (where does the time go??), I made sure to celebrate my birthday this year properly, by making trips to two of New York's most fantastic and specialized markets, back-to-back! Smorgasburg on Saturday, and The New Amsterdam Market on Sunday, my special day. Smorgasburg was with my dear friend D. In the sultry sun, I didn't want to make a big deal of taking pictures so the series is shot completely on my iphone. Sunday was with my sweet man, and he was kind enough to be the official camera chaperone when I didn't feel like shouldering it. :-)  As you'll see there was lots of good eating to be done between the two. I am so lucky to call New York my home with this incredible bounty of interesting foods.

The most incredible avocado ice cream (really!) from La Newyorkina

 

Neill with the goods at Bon Chovie

The lawn, looking out onto the East River

Toothsome organic pastas from Flour City

The impressive menu from I8NY - seriously tasty

It was a bright, sultry day

New Amsterdam Market, at the old Fulton Fish Market in lower Manhattan

 

Heirloom fruits at Flying Fox Fruiterer

We took home a wonderful sunflower rye loaf from Nordic Breads

 

Stone Barns' vegetable harvest

The Dumpling Diva and her poffertjes

poffertjes, with a smear of butter and confectioners' sugar

Pour-overs from Blue Bottle Coffee

The ice block at People's Pops

Sampling the hay (earthy, honey, yummy!) and basil ice cream from Early Bird Cookery

Summertime! Hamptons Magazine, The New York Times, and More

I've been eager to share these images with you all for a while now - a series I shot at the end of June for the Hamptons Magazine. It's for the Soft Serve Fruit Company - healthy, actually, and quite a tasty list of offerings (as you can see)! Having fun photographing melting things is some of the most spontaneous creativity out there. :)

For more fun with food, I photographed a new still life for The New York Times, which appeared in last's week's dining section.

For the still life, I sourced from friends. My good friend Jon is an expert on all things delicious, and a few years ago he shed new light on what a good mussel is. He over-nighted 5 pounds of these plump, sweet, and sustainably grown mussels, harvested from the nutrient-rich waters of Puget Sound. The carrots and beans are from the well-tended gardens of none other than Susan Orem, who runs a yoga & retreat center in heart of the Catskills. I am (as ever) eternally grateful to these folks. Wisdom, friendship, and great food! What more can a girl ask for?

As you might guess, I had a good bit of leftovers and so got to cooking. I hope you'll adore these preparations. Rather different from one another, equally outstanding in flavor.