Egg and Mushroom Appetizer ~ A Food Photography Challenge

Eggs... protein packed, vitamin rich, and an empty palate waiting to be dressed, these little orbs are nearly an every day occurrence in the Liv Life household.  Be they scrambled, over easy, over medium or simply hard boiled, the versatility of the egg makes them ideal for nearly any meal, or in this case, an amazing appetizer.

February's Inspired Plate Challenge titled "Eggs" had my heart soaring with possibilities, but looking to step up our photo from the average Breakfast Burrito (that was our last post), the Mushroom Bocadillo provided interesting shape and texture along with a tasty result.  Featuring only a few ingredients this appetizer works nicely into a party menu with its ability to be made ahead of time and served at room temperature.  Quiche-like minus the crust and creamy calories, the dish is baked, cooled and then cut into handy little squares which are just perfect for a cocktail napkin.

Filled with sauteed mushrooms and onions, a touch of Parmesan cheese adds a slightly salty finish and the fresh basil brings a market-fresh flair to the plate - or napkin.  While this recipe will most definitely be saved for our next neighborhood gathering, I must admit that these particular Bocadillos made a lovely brunch after our photo shoot, especially when topped with a dollop of salsa and a few slices of fresh avocado.

Returning to my favorite white background I chose a simple style for our shoot attempting keep the focus on the Bocadillos without distraction.  I've found that my lack of photography props forces me to become creative while trying to create a scene or some sense of a story in the photo, hence using ingredients as props has become my styling choice.  Filling a measuring cup overflowing with freshly grated Parmesan and adding a small branch of basil the shoot was set, and as our hemisphere slowly but surely returns to the warmer seasons I'm relishing every extra minute of beautiful morning backlight. 

And now won't you join me as we travel close to my hometown in Northern California.  Please allow me to introduce The Inspired Plate's newest member, Jayme Franklin.  Jayme is a mom to two adorable little blondies and works as a photographer in the Belmont, California area.  Lets see what sort of eggs she has brought to the table!

Roasted Mushroom Qunioa Salad - A Food Photography Challenge

The New Year brings new ideas.  And while I'm not much for resolutions,  my holiday season of "I so totally deserve that" indulgence has found me turning to more healthy options as I avoid some of those carb-loaded baked treats.  While the thought of our recent Peanut Butter Cookies smothered with that decadent Peanut Butter Ganache makes my heart race, it's heart-healthy quinoa that my heart actually craves.  As luck would have it, my Inspired Plate Food Photography and Styling Challenge for January is.... Healthy.  And, Quinoa = Healthy.

Posts on quinoa here on Liv Life are nothing new.  From salads to protein filled Warrior Breakfasts to quinoa kissed cookies, quinoa is where I turn when I feel the need to fuel myself with nutrition.  Though my family hasn't quite embraced the seed as much as I have, quinoa finds its way into our menu plan usually every week, and leftovers find their way onto my lunch plate in place of my beloved PBJ (with extra PB...).

Glancing at a December email from Whole Foods, their recipe for Quinoa with Roasted Mushrooms leaped off the page.  Overflowing with many of my favorite ingredients, quinoa, mushrooms, pears and balsamic, I amped up the flavor even more with a touch of rocket... or arugula, giving this salad a nice peppery spice when contrasted with a crumble of cheese sprinkled over the top.

Photographing said salad, however, brought a bit more difficulty.  Trying to zest up the photo as much as I did the salad, I opted for a bowl I had picked up months ago and not yet used.  They only had one left on the clearance shelf at  Pier 1, I knew one day I would find the right dish to photograph it with.  While I'm not sure this salad matches the prop perfectly, it did bring a sense of the spring season that I'm so longing for, and when combined with morning light the photo also brought a sense of brightness to my winter table.

Hearty, sweet yet savory, and oh, so healthy... This Roasted Mushroom Salad most certainly fits the bill.  Ready for more healthy food photography?  Join me as we whisk off to Michigan where my fellow Inspired Plate member, Jennifer Grant (an Editorial Food Photographer and Stylist) brings beauty to the healthy photo.

Beef and Barley Soup with Mushroom

Winter means different things to different people.  Me?  I'm not good with the cold.  That frost on my lawn combined with the ice cold ground on my bare toes in the early morning is enough to send me straight to a steamy shower to rid the chill.  Admittedly, if I had thought to put on shoes before taking the dogs out it might not have been so bad.  Here in San Diego I've heard word that people know it's winter because the girls wear UGG Boots in place of flip flops with their shorts... (Note... I personally have not worn shorts in months!)

Counting my blessings that most days will bring mid-day temps into the high 60's (or maybe even the mid 70's!), our daily walks at the beach bring sights of surfers (full wet suit season), beach volley ball and soaring birds.  The gardens at Magee Park are flush with the growth of new blooms on the the rose bushes, and I'm taking that as a strong signal that spring is just around the corner.

Winter in Carlsbad, CA

However... around 4 PM that brilliant sun making its way low across the horizon dips below the hill behind our house and the chill returns.  Living in San Diego, the house builders felt no need to install pricier windows that might actually hold out the cold, hence as temps dip outside, the inside temps dip right along with them.  On occasion, one sitting close to a window will actually feel a draft enough to move their hair.  That's when we turn up the heat... and that's when we put soup on the stove to warm up our chilly bones.

Having turned up her nose to soup for the first 12 years of her life, Liv has discovered that some soups are indeed good food.  Lentil was a surprise favorite at a local restaurant recently and an Italian Ministrone has also received two thumbs up.  Thinking I had another winner for her I stewed up one of my own favorites, Beef and Barley with Mushroom, and I couldn't wait to get it to the table.

Simmering the beef and mushrooms in the afternoon I had two diverse opinions to the aromas wafting through our drafty house.  First appeared my son with a comment of, "Ewww!!  What is that smell??".  To which I responded, "Well... looks like it's not going to be your dinner."

Liv appeared moments later with a big smile on her face and an exclamation of, "Wow!!  What is that awesome smell??".  Describing my simmering brew, her face kept its smile and she walked away looking forward to dinner and eager to discovering barley.

Running a last minute errand, I put the soup on hold.  Coming home however, I noticed a somewhat guilty look on my positively starving girl's face, and peeking into the beef and mushroom simmer I found my soup had become mostly a mushroom soup as "someone" had stolen most of the tender beef chunks which had been patiently waiting for the barley.  She looked up and mentioned something about the beef being "awesome" as I added the barley for the remaining simmer.

Some 40 minutes later, the tender barley filled the pot along with tons of mushrooms and the few remaining chunks of beef.  Ladling up our steaming soup we sat down to dinner and discovered that while Liv loves the beef part of Beef and Barley Soup, the barley part is not a favorite.

My husband and I on the other hand, found the soup to be a wonderful treat, and one that indeed warmed us to our chilly toes.

Beef and Barley Soup with Mushrooms
Adapted from one of my all time favorite cookbooks, Great Food/Great Beer, this is one of the recipes I return to time and again.  Altering it a bit each time with different ingredients we happen to have on hand, the beef simmers to tender perfection, and if you can keep the teenager away from her beloved beef, you will be rewarded with a fabulous hearty bowl of Beef and Barley Soup.
adapted from The Anheuser-Busch Cookbook: Great Food, Great Beer

2 Tbs olive oil
3 cups sliced cremini mushrooms (About one 8 oz package)
1 onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
12-16 ounces lean beef stew meat
2 cups beef broth***
water
additional sliced mushrooms - about 1 cup (optional)
1/2 cup carrots sliced into rounds
1 tsp dried thyme
1 cup pearled barley
freshly ground pepper
chopped parsley for garnish

Place a large Dutch Oven on the stove and heat the olive oil over medium-high heat.  Add the beef, onion, and garlic, cooking until lightly browned.

Add one cup of the beef broth to the pan, scraping the pan bottom to loosen any browned bits stuck to the bottom.  Add the 3 cups sliced mushrooms, then add another cup of broth and the dried thyme.  Add water to cover, and heat to a nice simmer.  Cover, and keep an eye to make sure the soup does not boil.  Simmer until the beef is very tender (we simmered ours for about 2 hours) adding water if necessary.

Stir in the barley, additional mushrooms and carrots, adding additional water or beef broth as needed for a nice soupy mixture.  (As the barley cooks, you will most likely need more liquid).  Cook until the barley is tender.

Ladle into bowls, top with freshly ground pepper and a sprinkle of parsley.

***Liv Life Note:  For my family, I try to reduce salt, hence we only use 2 cups of beef broth in our soup.  If salt is not a concern for you, you may use all beef broth in place of the water.   

Additional Note - I happen to love mushrooms, and add the second batch towards the end so we have some very tender cooked mushrooms and a different texture of the not so cooked mushrooms upon serving.

 

Grilled Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms with Quinoa and Sun-Dried Tomatoes

Photo styled and captured by Liv...

While the rest of the country seems to be bundling up in sweatshirts and scarves, San Diego is providing an absolutely gorgeous fall. With temps in the mid 70's during the day dipping into the frigid high 50's over night, I'm still mostly in summer mode. While I may have put my bikini away, I'm still working on dropping a few of those summer vacation pounds, and I'm obsessing a bit with quinoa.

A native to the Andean regions of Peru, quinoa is truly an "ancient grain" (though it is in reality a seed) with a near 9,000 year history.  Once called "The Gold of the Incas", quinoa is not only high in protein, but a complete protein, meaning it contains all 9 essential amino acids.

In addition to protein, the tiny seed is a very good source of manganese as well as a good source of magnesium, folate, and phosphorus, potentially making quinoa valuable for persons with migraine headaches, diabetes and atherosclerosis. Add the fact that quinoa was used by the Inca Warriors to increase stamina and I think I have a winner.

Inspired by a Bobby Flay Grilled Portobello Mushroom recipe, I've swapped out his panko bread crumbs for quinoa.  Adding a touch of sauteed prosciutto and onion, and combining with pesto, Parmesan, and sun-dried tomatoes, we have a meal in a mushroom.

Looking at my preparations ever so skeptically, my husband casually commented, "So... is that dinner?" as he looked hopefully around for a piece of meat to join the mushrooms on the grill.  Yes, I had fish to go along with his mushroom, and as he did his best to move the mushroom and filling around his plate, I finally asked if he was actually going to taste it.

Taking a small scoop he prepared himself to say he didn't really like it, but a look of surprise flashed over his face followed by a slight grin, and he took another scoop.  And another, and another.

Cleaning his plate, he casually mentioned that the stuffed mushrooms "Might not be that bad after all...", a sure sign of a winner in our household.

Photo styled and captured by Liv...

Mushroom Poblano Quesadillas

Last night Ellie Krieger fell into my bathtub.  (Well, maybe not Ellie herself, exactly, but her book So Easy).  She came out dripping wet and I knew that her well worn pages would warp as they dried, but the page I had marked was no worse for the wear and as always, she provided me with a delightful foundation on which to build tonight's dinner.

My husband is a meat guy.  Except for rare occasions, dinner without meat is really not dinner in his eyes, and quesadillas are definitely not a meal.  Trying to pull off a meatless version of Ellie's Quesadilla for a quick dinner was going to be a tough one, but with most of the ingredients on hand I thought I'd give it a go.  And low and behold... it worked.

Whole wheat tortillas filled with hearty (meat-like) mushrooms served as the base for my quesadilla filling and seemed to beautifully absorb the southwestern spices sprinkled over them as they cooked.  Onions, cilantro and poblanos rounded out the filling portion of the recipe and combined perfectly with the melted cheeses wrapped in the tortilla.  Fresh pico-de-gallo spooned over a dollop of sour cream with a sprinkle of cilantro finished off the plate as I put the finishing touches on the meal.

Adding a wedge of avocado for garnish, I held my breath as I placed the quesadilla with a salad in front of my husband.  Sparking a little conversation about the day, he dug into his meal and after a few bites he put down his quesadilla, reaching for water.  Still holding my breath I finally exhaled as he commented, "This is really good."  And then moved on to the next topic of conversation.

He didn't say another word about the meal, and definitely never commented that the quesadilla didn't contain any meat.  Leaving the table he even picked up a small remaining slice from the cutting board - a sure sign of something that he likes.  Smiling he rolled up his sleeves and actually started on the dishes as we cleaned up for the night.

Thanks Ellie.  You've done it again.

Savory Mushroom Chicken Crepes

Simplicity. The more I discover about food photography and what catches my eye, the more I appreciate simplicity.  While I adore gorgeous images of beautifully set tables and of course, of attractively styled food, I truly love the shots that catch the pure beauty of the ingredient itself.

Seemingly fairly easy to take a pictures of a vegetable or a piece of fruit, my last Food Photography Challenge truly caused me to stretch myself with an assignment to shoot a vegetable raw and then prepared.  For my final submission I chose scallions fresh from my Dad's garden - dirt still clinging to the tender, fragrant roots and then our favorite Scallion Biscuits.  Taking less than 10 shots to capture my favorite image, it was the simplicity of the scene that, in my opinion, brought balance to the photo.

Unstyled (the scallions were simply place on a cutting board), natural, and raw, taking such a shot is not always as easy as I thought.  (From our Photo Challenge Group, also see Stacey Siegal's stunning shot of Romanesco, magazine worthy indeed).

The weeks prior to the challenge had me shooting sweet potatoes, grilled onions and fungus... the every popular mushroom.  Taking over 200 mushroom shots, I only found a few achieving the simplicity I was looking for.  The savory crepes created from the mushrooms, though, were a delicious treat that I eagerly polished off after finishing their photos.

A Cooking Light recipe from one of my "go-to" books, Cooking Light Chicken, I used my new favorite crepe recipe from Alton Brown to wrap the creamy goodies, creating a wonderful light lunch.  The tender mushrooms sauteed in chicken broth and white wine, if desired, are mixed with onion and chicken and then lightly "creamed" with a touch of cremé fraîche.  Simple, tasty, and a nice change from the sweet crepe we are used to, these savory wraps have made it to our dinner rotation.

Creamy Chicken and Mushroom Crepes

adapted from Cooking Light, from Cooking Light Chicken

1 batch savory crepes (We like Alton Brown's Savory Version)

1 teaspoon butter 

1 cup vertically sliced onion 

1 garlic clove, minced

3 cups thinly sliced baby portobello mushroom caps (about 6 ounces) 

3/4 teaspoon salt 

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/3 cup dry white wine 

3/4 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth 

2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme

1/4 cup crème fraîche (or sour cream)

2 cups left over chopped chicken

Thyme sprigs (optional)

 

Directions from Cooking Light:  

Melt butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic; sauté 2 minutes or until onion begins to brown. Add mushrooms, salt, and pepper; cook 3 minutes or until liquid evaporates and mushrooms are tender, stirring frequently. Add wine, and cook 3 minutes or until liquid almost evaporates, stirring frequently. Add broth and fresh thyme; cook 2 minutes. Remove from heat; add crème fraîche, stirring until well blended. Add chicken, tossing to coat.

 

Place 1 crepe on each of 6 plates. Spoon about 1/3 cup mushroom mixture into center of each crepe; roll up. Garnish with thyme sprigs, if desired. Serve immediately.