on slowing down part III

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I have barely noticed a dent in my mound of apples, that are now so happily displayed in a large glass, floating candle bowl.  :) 

Apple tally:  Ashley – 4 Chris – 1

Today, 1 of the apples went in my oats.

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I grated the apple, ~1/2c worth, and added it in with my banana/cinnamon/vanilla. 

Also.  Mama Pea tried the method [that I mentioned yesterday] about grinding steel cut oats to make Scottish oats.  She said it worked perfectly.  Yay :)

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I made Scottish Oats today.  Can you tell??  I can totally SEE the difference between these, steel cut + rolled.  Scottish look so much creamier!

Apple Banana Scottish Oats

  • 1/4c [rounded] Scottish Oats
  • 1 1/4c water
  • 1/4c milk
  • 1/2t cinnamon
  • 1/2 banana
  • 1/2c grated apple
  • 1t vanilla

Topped with

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The apple fluffed these oats up more than normal.  I was super excited.  The same thing happens when you add applesauce.  The flavor was great.  You could definitely detect the fresh apple, which often gets lost when you use applesauce. 

However, as you can see in the photo below, the grated apple made things a bit stringy.  At first, I didn’t mind this but 1/2 way through, I wasn’t really digging it.  It was a texture thing.  I think chopping very small chunks of apple would be better or just grinding into more of an applesauce texture.  The flavor of these was so delicious though!! 

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… on slowing down …

The other day, I was reading a post from Neinke, over at Revel Blog.  If you don’t know her blog, definitely check it out.  She posts about a wide range of things, from life’s happenings, to amazing recipes, to DIY projects, to her stunning cottage wedding, etc.  Her photography and writing always leave me wanting more. 

So, the other day, she went on a photography adventure with her dad.  She said that one of her dad’s famous lines is, “There is a photo in everything.”  I really love this statement. 

It made me think.  It made me pause.  It made me take a little more time with my photos.

I believe that statement is true, however it takes time to develop the eye to find the photo in everything.  The good thing is, it can be learned, through practice.  I love that about photography.  There is always so much to learn.  I started getting into food photography one year ago.  I’ve hunted down the photography oriented food blogs, read photography forums, read about editing photos, read about lighting conditions, etc.  It’s a process.  But a process that I enjoy.  I love seeing how far I’ve come in just one year.

Nienke definitely has an eye for photography.  I love looking at her blog for inspiration.  Some of my other photography inspiration comes from the following blogs [there are more!]:

As I try to take a step back, and slow things down a bit, this is the perfect lesson for me to think about.  I rush through photography most of the time.  I take so many photos in the day.  Sometimes, I should just take photos of 1 thing in a day.  Study what I did, and look for ways to improve next time. 

The other day, while organizing the kitchen, I felt like I found a few photos.  They just clicked in my brain, so I shot away.

1a

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1b

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2a

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2b

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All of my photography towels :)  They looked so pretty all stacked up. 

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Check out Nienke’s blog for a better understanding on what to look for and for giving yourself little photo assignments.  She has some great ideas!!

What’s your opinion?  Do you like 1a or 1b better?  2a or 2b?  Let me know what you think!

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And watch out for Thursday’s post.  I whipped up my best batch of peanut butter yet!!  

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Guess what else??  The kitchen is DONE!!  There will be photos soon.  I am so extremely excited.  I spent so much time organizing things in just the right place.  With our last house, I unpacked the kitchen quickly and said, “I’ll reorganize it later.”  Ha, that never happened. 

I got in a great, somewhat hilly bike ride today.  I am loving this road that runs North/South along the mountains.  It’s so easy to let my mind wander and enjoy the time on my bike, when I have this view to my side.

I feel so lucky.

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Off to be lazy for an hour and then go to sleep :) 

Ashley

p.s. If you haven’t check out Kath’s lunch post from yesterday, you must.  Her husband guest posted on getting your meat + potatoes guy to try and venture to a bit healthier lifestyle.  It’s pretty funny and full of good tips!  A lot of you ask about this topic, so I thought you might find it helpful.