I like this photo because it gives the two perspectives of looking in the rear view mirror and look forward. The image in the rear view mirror looks like it is bursting out of the background.
Armed and ready to shoot
June 8th, 2006 § 1 comment § permalink
In between baking and writing about music, my other passion is photography. My good friend, J.S., recently captured me shooting while we were walking about Alameda. I got my first digital SLR camera earlier this year and I love it. It is a Nikon D50 and no, I have not given it a name, yet. What I find most amazing is the ability to control how the photo will look. I still have much to learn about my camera especially adjusting the settings for various light but I am having a great time.
Banana Bread & Strawberries
June 6th, 2006 § 0 comments § permalink
This week’s treat is very yummy banana bread. I decided to plate a few slices, garnish them with strawberries and take a few photos.
The banana bread recipe is adapted from the Fanny Farmer Pumpkin Bread recipe.
Banana Bread Recipe
1 1/2 cups (210g) flour
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1 cup (200 g) sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup (1/4 L) banana purée
1/2 cup (1 dL) canola or vegetable oil
2 eggs, beaten
2 tablespoons honey
1/4 cup water
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup (1 dL) chopped walnuts (optional)
Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Sift together the flour, salt, sugar, and baking soda. Mash the bananas into a puree and be sure to leave it a little lumpy. Mix the banana, oil, eggs, 1/4 cup of water, honey, and cinnamon together, then combine with the dry ingredients, but do not mix too thoroughly. Stir in the nuts (optional.) Pour into a well-buttered 9x5x3 inch loaf pan.
Topping
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
Spread liberally over the banana bread dough before placing in the oven. The aroma will make you want to hurt someone!!! Bake 50-60 minutes until a thin skewer poked in the very center of the loaf comes out clean. Turn out of the pan and let cool on a rack. Makes one loaf. Can easily double the recipe.
Thanks to Bakesale Betty for her guidance and mentoring on this yummy recipe.
Puppy Love
May 21st, 2006 § 0 comments § permalink
My Apprenticeship – Part 1
May 19th, 2006 § 2 comments § permalink
This photo was from my first night apprenticing at Bakesale Betty. My personal goal is to sharpen my baking skills. Also, this is a far cry from being a computer geek. It was a lot of work but very fun. More photos here.
My task for the evening was prepping rhubarb pies. Betty started me out cutting out dough in circles and pressing it into the pie tins. Next, I prepared the rhubarb filling which consist of 25 pounds of rhubarbs, sugar, freshly squeezed orange juice, and orange zest. I mixed the rhubarb filling in a very large steel bowl with a large paddle which was like an oar. I rowed through the mixture and poured it into the pie shells. I took a dinner break and feasted on Betty’s pasta with portobello mushrooms (very yummy!) then she showed me how to make the lattice to cover the pies. I had never made a lattice before. It was much simpler than I expected but it took me a couple of pies to get the hang of cutting away the extra dough. The final touch was brushing the lattice with cream and spreading sugar on the top of each pie. I loaded each cookie sheet of pies on the rack and placed the rack into oven. I prepped a total of 13 pies. I learned from Betty that it is not about speed but quality when baking.
Betty’s oven rack is amazing. The rack spins in the oven so the baked goods cook evenly. Here are the finished pies:
Betty gave me a couple of the pies I made and some other baked goodies to take to work with me. My co-workers loved everything and asked that I give Betty their thanks. Thank you to Betty and everyone at Bakesale Betty for a great experience. I definitely look forward to doing it again.
Bon appetit!
Fresh Fruit
April 2nd, 2006 § 0 comments § permalink
I really like this photo.
I used flickr toys to combine these photo together in this mosaic. I took these photos on Saturday at the farmer’s market in Oakland. It definitely brightens up the rainy days we have been having lately. Bring on the sun!
A splash of color
March 28th, 2006 § 0 comments § permalink
This is another photo from my photo adventure on Sunday. I originally took this shot with my camera set on the auto settings. The colors were a little pale because of the reflection of the sun. I learned by underexposing this same shot, it made the colors more brilliant as you see here. Fun stuff!
Well Cleaned! Well Pressed! Well Dressed!
March 28th, 2006 § 0 comments § permalink
I was coming back from a photo adventure with a friend and saw this sign on the way back. I love classic neon signs and definitely had to add this one to my photo collection of neon signs. It is from Broadway Cleaners in Redwood City, Ca.
I just got my first digital SLR, a Nikon D50, so there were will be lots more photo adventures this year. I got a chance to play with some of the features that allow you to control how the image will look. I have a lot to learn about the camera but it will definitely be fun.
Bakesale Betty
March 21st, 2006 § 1 comment § permalink
Delectable baked goodies from Bakesale Betty located at 51st Street and Telegraph Avenue in Oakland. I usually stop in there and get some of their really yummy banana bread. They have all kinds of bake goodness. Stop on by.
Fire hits Oakland eatery, market
February 3rd, 2006 § 0 comments § permalink
By George Kelly
CONTRA COSTA TIMES
A two-alarm blaze in Oakland has damaged a grocery store and restaurant, a city fire official said today.
Firefighters responded at 6:54 a.m. to an alarm call at a strip mall in the 200 block of East 18th Street, said Oakland fire department Lt. Melinda Drayton. A second alarm was called in at 7:01 a.m.
The fire was placed under control at 7:19 a.m. No firefighters or civilians were hurt.
The site contains an Albertson’s supermarket, which Drayton said suffered some damage, and the Merritt Restaurant and Bakery. No damage estimate was immediately available, but Drayton said she believed the restaurant was not likely to open anytime soon.
The city health department is also investigating, as is standard procedure for restaurant fires.
UPDATE: Merritt Restaurant and Bakery reopened the next day for business.