Tag: food

Harvest :: Geometric Cake

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What is a geometric cake you may ask? Well let me show you, or rather, let pastry chef Caitlin Freeman show you:

Clay McLachlan

Food isn’t only about nourishing our bodies and concerning ourselves with where our food has come from and how processed it is.  Its also about what we do with the ingredients and what it looks like when we’re done with our creations.

I admit that I like to bake, but this cake design completely daunts me.  My layer cakes never come out quite like they do in the picture but they usually taste ok.  I won’t go into my mom’s birthday cupcakes from a couple years ago- let’s just say that mini cupcakes were good in theory….

I digress from the video.  It’s colorful and fun and it makes a very daunting cake design look a little bit easier.  Anyone care to try?

Harvest :: Family garden

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Brad Hiebert

There’s something to be said about knowing the source of your food and definitely some satisfaction of growing your own-  but who really has the time?  If a family living in the outskirts of L.A. can accomplish this, it makes you wonder what we could accomplish in other metropolitan areas…

Harvest :: Bread Flour

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I know, bread again.  A few months ago I talked about the Tartine Bakery in San Francisco in a film about the bakery itself.  This time however, the film I want to share is not about the bakery and the break making process itself, but about the importance of the flour source.

David Sampliner

There is something to be said about getting your food from a local and fairly natural source.  So much of what we eat is trucked across the country or processed beyond recognition.  This film makes the bread look good and sustainable at the same time.  Yes, I am one of those people that likes to live as sustainably as possible and part of that, to me, is eating as wholesomely and as locally as possible.  I’m not a big fan of processed and chemical laden foods.  This film makes me hungry just looking at it.

I wouldn’t say that this film has anything outstanding about the technicalities of its creation. But, I will say that I appreciate the message that it sends and proves that there are places that preserve the food culture of the area of origin and are making an effort to bring people natural and local food.

Gathering Season

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I’m sure you saw it coming- at least one month that highlights food.  Can I really help talking about food?  It’s only what sustains us and that our lives ultimately revolve around.  Even if we don’t grow our own food or enjoy cooking it, everything we do in some way or another leads us back to food.

sept-harvest

I love this time of year.  The weather is still warm, but slowly cooling down in the evenings and the light has changed to a golden glow throughout the day- no more of that overly harsh and bright light that we have during the summer. It’s almost like the sun’s dimmer switch has been turned down.  The perfect light for filming without having to use a lot of lighting equipment to dull or brighten the scene.

This is also the time of year that we gather in our food to get us through the winter months.  Could I be any more obvious about how I chose my theme for this month?  Probably not, but I’m not apologizing.  I love the variety of produce in the farmers market and the idea that things are winding down slowly from summer.  As much as I love summer, I’m always ready to pull out my fall sweaters and soon it will be time to do just that.  But for now, I will enjoy my last few weeks of playing out doors in lighter layers and feel thankful for the harvest that is being hauled in from the fields- even if I’m not physically doing it myself.

I love food in all of its complexities and now seems the perfect time to celebrate this all important element of our lives.

Handmade :: Coffee is My Medium

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Sorry to disappoint if you thought I was going to reveal how to make the perfect cup of coffee, I’m not that caffein obsessed.  Actually I have to confess that I don’t even like coffee but you sure can’t do the following with a cup of green tea.

by Tumblr

This just proves that anything can be the perfect art medium.  It just takes the right person to take advantage of it.  I don’t know if there is anything that stands out to me more in this film as the subject matter.  Much of what I create lasts for as long as I want it to- or even longer depending on where its posted or screened.  This is a whole other kind of art that I marvel at because of the enjoyment time is so limited, so kudos to someone who has the patience to create something so detailed and beautiful, only to see it melt away a few minutes later.

Handmade :: Sourdough

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I love making bread.  I originally started because I thought was “fun” after reading Little House on the Prairie and American Girl’s Kirsten books.  Yes, I was one of those people who wanted to try out the “pioneer ways of life”.  I’ve come a long way since then.  Now I love trying out new combinations of grains, seeds and herbs – and the texture and density has improved significantly from when I first started.  I’m not saying that my bread is by any means anything like this

Image from TARTINE Bakery, SAN FRANCISCO

but it holds its own and actually tastes good.

The bread I aspire create to is pictured above and made by the good people of the Tartine Bakery in San Francisco.  The point of all this prattle about bread is that 4SP Films made a short documentary about the bakery and I would like to share it with you (click on the the sliced bread below to watch the film)

Image from Tartine Bakery, San Francisco

Why share a film about a bakery with you? Well there are several reasons

  1. The graphics in this film inspired the graphics that I created in “Out of Print,” so obviously I like the use of graphics.
  2. I like the use of light and the camera work.
  3. Although bread could seem like a dry subject, it’s actually brought to life as its own character in this film- almost like the live sourdough starter that creates this famous bread.

So now that I’ve made you hungry for artisan bread, go find a loaf you love and enjoy!