Photo Fridays 365…WEEK #1

This new Friday feature comes from a fellow food blogger Lindsey of Lindsey’s Kitchen, a wonderful and personable future Chef that I met this summer at TRU Restaurant at our Foodbuzz Community Table event.

Her sister suggested that she take a single picture everyday of 2010 and Lindsey sent the word out to the Food Blogging community. I decided to participate to keep me focused on my photography and my blog for 2010.

Merci beaucoup, Lindsey…!
(The PHOTO FRIDAY 2010 HEADER is her creation...she graciously allowed those of us to participate to use it.)

Here is my first effort…some feedback is very welcome...

Merci beaucoup in advance.

1 ~ A Yummy New Year's Desert

2 ~ Vintage Tablecloth Embroidery


3 ~ White-out Snow Storm

4 ~ Winter vegetables ready for roasting in olive oil and Greek herbs

5 ~ Ice Curtain on my balcony

6 ~ Chef Mickey helps me in the Kitchen

7 - Savoy Cabbage under my Chef's knife...!

8 ~ Saganashkee Slough in the Palos Hills Forest Preserve near my home this afternoon.

I hope that you all enjoy this Friday Photo feature...

happy new year...!

To all my wonderful readers...

I wish that your New Year be filled with peace, happiness, health and good things to eat...!

I will be back soon with more pixel feasts.

Bonne Nouvelle Année…!

my gift to you…

In the spirit of this Holiday season, I send to you, my faithful readers a beautiful poem about a small Christmas tree by my favorite poet.

little tree
by: e.e. cummings (1894-1962)

little tree
little silent Christmas tree
you are so little
you are more like a flower
who found you in the green forestand
were you very sorry to come away?
see i will comfort you

because you smell so sweetly
i will kiss your cool bark
and hug you safe and tight
just as your mother would,
only don’t be afraid

look the spangles

that sleep all the year in a dark box

dreaming of being taken out and allowed to shine,

the balls the chains red and gold the fluffy threads,

put up your little arms

and i’ll give them all to you to hold

every finger shall have its ring

and there won’t be a single place dark or unhappy

then when you’re quite dressed

you’ll stand in the window for everyone to see

and how they’ll stare!

oh but you’ll be very proud

and my little sister and i will take hands

and looking up at our beautiful tree

we’ll dance and sing
“Noel Noel”

wordless Wednesday…Christmas at Tiffany’s...

Gifts of time and love are surely the basic ingredients
of a truly merry Christmas.

I wanted to share the stunning simple beauty of Tiffany’s
Christmas décor at their store in Oak Brook, IL.

shameless self-promotion…

Christmas is not as much about opening our presents
as opening our hearts. - Janice Maeditere

Being jobless once again after a flurry of temp free-lance work, I decided to do a little shameless self-promotion of my TWO brand new 2010 Calendars.

The “in my sister’s garden” Calendar features images that I took over several months in my beautiful sister’s stunning garden.


Naturally the “feasting on…pixels: a food lovers calendar” is a collection of the best of my food photos that have appeared here in this humble blog over the past year.

I chose 14 special images for each Calendar (that's one for each month and a front and back cover photo.)
I hope that you click on over to my ZAZZLE GALLERY and at least take a look at my photo Calendars, Holiday and everyday note cards.
I am very proud of th eowrk that I have produced this year and here's hoping kind readers that you will like some of it as well.

Merci mille fois in advance...!

Christmas at the Mill…

"Remember, if Christmas isn't found in your heart,
you won't find it under a tree."

I apologize to all my readers for being absent from this blog for a few weeks.
I have been up to my neck in work, but since I am free-lancing, I have to grab every bit of work that I am offered.

One of the events that I photographed took place at Old Graue Mill in Oak Brook, Illinois called “Christmas at the Mill".
They had their annual Artisan Boutique with handmade items from select local Artisans.
Beautiful hand-pieced quilts, scrumptious warm hand-knitted items, stunning pottery, unique jewelry, one-of-a-kind ornaments, cards, Christmas figures and other gift items were on offer.

Carolers sang Holiday melodies and Santa was there hear your list of Christmas dreams. A team of beautiful Haflinger Draft Ponies gave sleigh rides around Salt Creek to children of all ages. (I went twice...it was a blast...!)
I wanted to share some images with you of this wonderful event. It was a perfect day and a great way to start the Christmas Season, sipping some cider, meeting Santa and sharing the day with lovely people.

The handmade items were displayed on all three floors of the Old Graue Mill and in the the historic Frederick Graue House up the hill from the Mill. It was a good time to get to know the local artisans as well as explore all the corners of the beautifully restored Graue Mill.
The Mill is closed for the season, but you can still pick up some of their ground cornmeal for yummy winter recipes if you call ahead to Graue Mill at (630) 920-9720.

Belle and Bess, Haflinger Draft Ponies are all decked out in sleigh-bells pulling the candy cane sleigh from A Zoo to You

vitamins from Brussels…

This time of year, eating fresh greens gets harder and harder for me as my garden goes to sleep for the winter. But the saving grace is that Brussels Sprouts are in season. As a child, I hated Brussels Sprouts with all my might, as they came to the table boiled to death and ghostly grayish-green.

Now that I know that there are dozens of tasty ways to prepare them, keeping them fresh tasting and green, I try to keep a stalk of them in my cold pantry all winter. They are easily available on a stalk all over the US at you local Fruit and Veggie market.

Brussels Sprouts on my "Martha Stewart green" French button chair

I found these interesting facts about Brussels Sprouts and I wanted to share them with you, especially if these are not your favorites. This may encourage you to give Brussels Sprouts a whirl this Winter.

15 Facts About Brussels Sprouts

1-Brussels sprouts are native to northern Europe.

2-They are part of the Brassica family of vegetables, which also includes cabbage, broccoli, kale, and collard greens.

3-They get their name from the fact that they were widely cultivated around Brussels, Belgium during the 16th century.

4-They were introduced to England and France in the 19th century.

5-According to a 2002 survey, Brussels sprouts are the most hated vegetable in Britain.

6-French settlers in Louisiana introduced Brussels sprouts to America in the 1800s.

7-Commercial production began in 1925 on the Louisiana delta.

8-By 1939, Brussels sprouts were being produced in central California.

9-Today, almost all U.S. production of Brussels sprouts happens in California.

10-Other top Brussels sprouts producers include Canada, The Netherlands, England, and Germany.

11-Like broccoli and some other members of the Brassica family, Brussels sprouts contain something called sinigrin, a glucosinate that may prevent colon cancer according to research.

12-One cup of Brussels sprouts contains 1,122 IU of Vitamin A.

13-That same cup also contains 669 IU of beta carotene.

14-A cup of cooked Brussels sprouts contains about 60 calories.

15-1/2 cup contains 80% of the RDA of Vitamin C.

These are 15 great reasons to eat your sprouts;
one more is that each sprout has only 10 little calories…so eat up…!

My two favorite ways to enjoy them is steamed and tossed with a lemon vinaigrette.
Made this way they taste fresh and light.

During the cold months, I love to roast Brussels Sprouts in the oven. Cut sprouts in half after washing. Toss them with a fruity olive oil, salt and pepper and roast at 400 degrees, turning after 10 minutes until caramelized (about 15-20 minutes).

These are very sweet, pungent with out any cabbage-y flavor and pair very well with winter braised meats and that Turkey you may be cooking for you Holiday table.