food things

12.22.14 = Miscellaneous Monday Okay, okay, I'm getting slack for some people wondering why I haven't posted in a few weeks. No excuses really, I just haven't been out shooting much lately and I don’t have any new images I felt were "post-worthy". I'm a lot more discriminatory now on the images I do post vs. 2009 when I started posting. I actually posted a photo of biscuit on a plate in 2009; I would never post that image now. I think it was more about quantity vs. the quality of the image back then and now it's just the opposite; Quality vs. Quantity. ANYWAY, what I have decided to do is, to go back through my image library and post images that I've never used. Literally, there are tens of thousands. So this image was a quick shot of an Italian soda I made myself. It looked too pretty to drink, so I had to shoot it first and then drink it. I shot this back in August and thought I might use it for something at some point, now is as good a time as any I suppose. Hey, it's much better image than my biscuit photo from 2009! Yummmm! "I believe when life gives you lemons, you should make lemonade…and then try to find someone whose life has given them vodka and have a party." Ron White

03.17.14 = Happy St. Patrick's Day! Wishing you a rainbow For sunlight after showers, Miles and miles of Irish smiles For golden happy hours Shamrocks at your doorway For luck and laughter too, And a host of friends that never ends Each day your whole life through! ~ An Irish Blessing

03.18.14 = Remains of a Party "Never be the first to arrive at a party or the last to go home and never, ever be both!" David Brown

01.01.14 = HAPPY NEW YEAR! I don't know about you, but I have a feeling that 2014 is going to be a very good year. I don't know why, it's just a feeling. Here's to 2014! "Cheers to a new year and another chance for us to get it right." Oprah Winfrey

08.29.13 = Got Milk? Just lovin' on these old milk bottle caps. Remembering the days of the Milk Man and all the local dairies… "Get off your horse and drink your milk." John Wayne

08.15.13 = What to do with Lemons "I believe that if life gives you lemons, you should make lemonade…And try to find somebody whose life has given them vodka, and have a party." Ron White.

01.09.13 = Baked Goods So I guess the Holiday’s are officially over and it’s time to get back in groove of our daily routines. Bummer. I’ll need a Birthday as an excuse to do any more baking, otherwise the guilt is too much to bear. Baked goods are a definitely a weakness of mine. Why do you think they call them baked “goods”? “There’s a thin woman inside me just dying to get out but, I can usually shut the bitch up with a cookie.”

06.20.13 = College girls + Wine = Empty "Close friends contribute to our personal growth. They also contribute to our personal pleasure, making the music sound sweeter, the wine taste richer, the laughter ring louder because they are there." Judith Viorst

06.11.13 = S'more Fun For several years now, I've been developing my philosophy on life's most perfect foods. Some of you have had the misfortune of hearing me ramble on about the perfect sandwich or the perfection of pizza. (Sorry Suzette!) But what I have discovered is that some of my favorite foods, have only a few very simple, yet key ingredients, such as the s'more. Chocolate and marshmallow, sandwiched between two graham crackers. So simple but you get that warm melty goodness of the chocolate and the marshmallow and little bit of crunch in the graham cracker…yumm. You always go back for s'more! "I don't want to spend my life not having good food going into my pie hole. That hole was made for pies." Paula Deen

06.18.13 = Bearing Fruit "Love is a fruit in season at all times, and within reach of every hand." Mother Teresa

10.24.12 = Oh Mary! “If life hands you lemons, make lemonade; if life hands you tomatoes, make Bloody Mary’s!” Unknown, but I know this is something a Dunlap has said.

10.23.12 = Knowledge and Wisdom “Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is fruit. Wisdom is knowing not to put it in a fruit salad.” Unknown, but it sounds like something a Dunlap would say.

07.04.12 = HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMERICA! Picnics, cookouts, parades and fireworks! What a great day! We’ve all earned the right to celebrate. Oooh! Ahhh! “We must always remember that America is a great nation today not because of what government did for people but because of what people did for themselves and for one another.” Richard Nixon

06.18.12 = Knee Deep in June “You know it’s just about Summertime when the strawberries begin to ripen on the vine…”

06.25.12 = Shoot it first Just a quick shot of the dinner my sister made me the other night. It was too pretty to eat, so I shot it first and then ate it. It was as good as it looks. I think I may need to eat at her house more often! “One of the very nicest things about life is the way we must regularly stop whatever it is we are doing and devote our attention to eating.” Luciano Pavarotti

04.10.12 = Sweet & Sour I’m really starting to dislike Holidays that involve candy; Easter, Valentine’s Day, Halloween… You see where I’m going here. They are all wonderful BUT, after that special day has passed what’s left over? The CANDY! It’s hard to pass up 75% off chocolate peanut butter eggs. I mean come on, really? “Everyone must choose one of two pains: The pain of discipline or the pain of regret.” Jim Rohn

03.20.12 = Comfort food I really hate being sick. I am admittingly the worst patient ever. All I do is whine and complain and moan and groan. Thank goodness I live alone. I would hate to subject anyone to my misery. The past two nights, Gracie my dog, slept on the sofa to get a good night sleep; all my coughing was even getting to her. I’ll be so glad when this cold is over. My grilled ham and cheese with tomato soup made me feel better for a while. Mmmm. “Tis healthy to be sick sometimes.” Henry David Thoreau

03.13.12 = Golden Goodness For some unknown reason, I can make a mean stack of pancakes. I’m not sure why really, it’s just one of those foods that turns out for me every single time unlike bacon. I’ve gotten a little cocky over the years with my pancake perfection by adding my own special touches to the batter. These are some of my favorites, I’ve added some almond meal to the batter to give them that extra little nutty flavor; (and other things that are a secret) combined with the syrup and butter, yum. I’ve tried all sorts of things in my pancakes. Once I grated some fresh ginger and combined that with some apple butter and a sprinkle of powder sugar; Hello! I felt like a gourmet chef. It’s fun to try new things. To me that’s what cooking is all about; adding your own special touch to something and making it yours. Fabulous or flop, at least its fun to try. “One of the very nicest things about life is the way we must regularly stop whatever it is we are doing and devote our attention to eating.” Luciano Pavarotti

03.01.12 = Fresh Cabbage I told you I had an obsession with shooting vegetables. Seriously, I think I need to see someone about this problem. But it’s just so beautiful right? I think I would rather shoot fruit and vegetables than flowers. I love all the colors in this cabbage; from the bright greens to that purplish color and the best part; You can eat it! “Cabbage has a nasty history of being good for you.” Jane Grigson

02.29.12 = Pick your Pepper What other fruit or vegetable comes in as many colors as the pepper? Hmmm, something to think about on this extra day in February. “Never overcook your vegetables, just threaten them.” Unknown

02.28.12 = Spring Onions “Life expectancy would grow by leaps and bounds if green vegetables smelled as good as beacon.” Doug Larson

02.27.12 = Green Beans Sorry, I just can’t help myself from photographing fruits and vegetables! “Vegetables are a must on any diet. I suggest carrot cake, zucchini bread and pumpkin pie.” Jim Davis

06.09.11 = Kelly Just thinking of my sister today and wishing she didn’t live so far away. She loves strawberries and this just made me think of her. That’s all. “Sisters function as safety nets in a chaotic world simply by being there for each other.” Carol Saline

06.08.11 = The Art of the Chocolate Chip Cookie One of my goals in life is to make the perfect chocolate chip cookie. I know, I know, not one of my more ambitious goals by some standards, but yet, an important one to me. I ask you, what cookie is really better than chocolate chip cookie? It truly fulfills all the essential cookie requirements; flavor, texture, chocolate, goes perfectly with milk and it has a low messy factor. I’ve tried all kinds of recipes over the years, used all sorts of different ingredients and even purchased special pans, all trying to perfect the best chocolate chip cookie. Well…I think I may have done it. I think I’ve developed the perfect recipe for the chocolate chip cookie. I still have a little tweaking to do but, I think I’ve done it! Now if I could only find some volunteer tasters….. “Who’s with me; cookies and milk and a nap at our desks at 3:00?”

06.07.11 = Just peachy “Life is a peach. Once you get past the fuzzy exterior, it’s oh so sweet!” Kristan Dunlap

05.26.11 = Simple I’m done. I just can’t it take anymore. Can someone tell me why we need a two hour show of Dancing with Stars and a two hour American Idol finale? Really? Really? I have a lot more to say on this subject but I just have to let it go and be done. I would hate to waste any more time. “Any intelligent fool can make things bigger and more complex…It takes a touch of genius – and a lot of courage to move in the opposite direction.” Albert Einstein

02.11.11 = I love Photoshop! Those of us who have had a bad experience with Valentine’s Day, find other things to love!

01.17.11 = Backup Backup, Backup, Backup! I’m waiting to hear the verdict on my computer today since it crashed last week. I would say I am about 80% – 90% backed-up on my external hard drive. But it’s that 10% -20% that was on my desktop that is not backed up. If it turns out to be the hard drive, I will lose some things and will have baby home in a day or so. If it’s the mother board, I won’t lose any data but it will take 3 weeks to fix. Hmmm, not sure which is the worse of two evils. “A picture is worth a thousand words but it takes 3,000 times the disk space.”

01.01.11 = The day after "Cheers to a new year and another chance for us to get it right." Oprah Whinfrey