Embarrasing Lighting Setup Tom Kha Gai

Ok, I guess I can’t talk my way out of this one.. I was so hungry when I did this shoot that I totally forgot to take a photo of the lighting setup. I remembered just as I was eating the last bit, so the setup is missing the actual subject. But I guess it’s pretty good marketing for the soup, which you can see here.

This is my first food shoot with my new lamps, the Lowel Ego Lights. I really like these, they’re handy and not so powerfull as my 600W softboxes, which enables me to use smaller apertures. They are 5500° K (daylight) color temperature, with a CRI (color rendering index) of 90+ and function well without any other flashes or light sources. They are pretty reasonable priced too so I would definitely recommend them if you’re into food or product photography.

Tom Kha Gai Soup

I fell in love with this soup the first time I tried it. I think the combination of fresh lime, ginger and lemongrass and the smooth coconut is fantastic, so I had to try and make my own version of it. Here it is:

Serves four

8 dl (27 fl oz) chicken stock
15 g (0.5 oz) ginger, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 stalk of lemon grass
1 red chili, seeded and chopped
4 chicken filets
100 g (0.2 lb) green beans
1 red bell pepper
6-8 small mushrooms
2 tbsp fish sauce
juice of 1,5 lime
1 can of coconut milk

Bring chicken stock to a boil with ginger, garlic, lemon grass and chili. Let boil a few minutes while you cut the chicken in bite size dices, then add the chicken. Let boil for about 3 minutes and add the rest of the ingredients.

Serve with rice and fresh cilantro.

Skateistan Project

Skateistan

Originally uploaded by Velocity Girl

I haven’t blogged much lately, the main (and non-food related) reason for this is that I am decorationg skateboards!
I don’t know a whole lot about skating, but I felt that I had to help out when I read about the Skateistan project. In short it is a skating school in Afghanistan, founded by two Australian guys. The boards I’m working on will go on auction and the money they (hopefully) bring in will go to the school. I won’t bother you with all the difficulties the materials have been causing me, but I can tell you that getting photo paper glued to a skateboard is more difficult than it sounds:)

If you read Norwegian, this is a good informative post to read.

Black Bean Chili Con Carne with Rice, Guacamole and Cucumber Salad

When determined to eat more healthy it’s hard to ignore beans and lentils. Especially after reading this article about the health benefits, which are pretty impressive. I have never been a fan of neither beans nor lentils, but I like to cook and I have found that when prepared right, most things can taste great so I have decided to give it a go. So far I have been pleasantly surprised; I love the spicy bean spread and will definitely make another batch this week, I also liked the lentil soup and today I made this black bean chili con carne that also turned out really good.

I hope you’ll feel inspired and try it too!

This recipe serves 4 persons

Chili Con Carne

Ingredients:

1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper
1 red bell pepper
500 g ground beef
200 g mushrooms, sliced
2 cloves of garlic, pressed
1 red chili, chopped
1 green chili, chopped
2 cans of tomatoes
1 small can of tomato puree
200 g black beans
1 tsp cayenne pepper
3 tbsp soy sauce
pepper

Prepare beans unless using cans. Rinse dry beans, cover with cold water, and let soak overnight. Drain, transfer to a large saucepan, and cover with fresh water. Cover and simmer for about 1 hour, or until tender. Drain.

In a large skillet, brown the onion, pepper, ground beef, mushrooms and garlic in oil. Add the tomatoes, tomato puree, chili peppers, and seasonings. Cover and simmer for 1 1/2 hours, adding a little water if needed to keep from sticking. Check and stir frequently. Add the cooked or canned beans and heat through.
Serve with rice, guacamole and cucumber salad.

In case you need a simple guacamole recipe:

Guacamole

Ingredients:

4 ripe avocados
4 tbsp lime or lemon juice
2 cloves of garlic
salt
pepper

Mash or blend all the ingredients to a smooth paste.

To avoid the guacamole from turning brown, you can either save one of the avocado seeds and stick it in the guacamole or drizzle some lime juice or olive oil over it.

Spiced Coconut/Lentil Soup

Soup

Originally uploaded by Velocity Girl

4 servings

Ingredients:

2 tsp olive oil
2 cups chopped onion
1 tsp minced peeled fresh ginger
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1/8 tsp ground cinnamon
5 garlic cloves, minced
3 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1 cup dried small red lentils
1/2 cup water
1 cup light coconut milk
3 tbsp fresh lime juice
1 tsp ground tumeric
1 tbsp sweet mango chutney
2 tbsp shredded coconut
1/2 tsp salt

Preparation:

1. Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and cook until golden. Stir in ginger, cumin, coriander, cinnamon and garlic. Cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add broth, lentils, and 1/2 cup water and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer until lentils are tender, about 20-25 minutes.

2. Remove from heat and blend until smooth. Return pureed mixture to pan. Stir in coconut milk and remaining ingredients and cook over medium heat 2 minutes.

This recipe is originally from myrecipes.com, I just modified it a little bit and added more spice.

(No lighting setup for this, I just used natural light).

Lighting setup for Spicy Mung Bean Spread

Lighting setup

Originally uploaded by Velocity Girl

The simplest of all, using only natural light and a white reflector.

Spicy Mung Bean Spread

 

My family has been here on a short visit from Denmark, so I haven’t had time to blog the last couple of days. It was really great to see them again and show them more of Oslo.

I’m planning on eating more healthy, and since I live in Grønland (eastern part of Oslo) where there is a wide selection of exotic fruit and vegetable shops, I will experiment with ingredients I haven’t tried before. I usually don’t like beans too much, so I’m trying to find ways to camouflage the bean flavour. Today I am making my own Spicy Mung Bean Spread:

150 g (5.3 oz) mung beans
½ yellow onion, chopped
2 tbsp Ajvar
1-2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 green chili, seeded and chopped
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp crushed coriander seeds
2 tbsp lemon juice
4-5 tbsp olive oil
salt
pepper

 

Rinse the beans throughly and soak in water over night. Drain, boil for about 20 minutes, rinse in cold water and blend to smooth paste with the rest of the ingredients. If the spread is too dry you can add a little water.
The spread can be eaten right away, but letting it rest in the refrigerator for a couple of hours really brings out the flavor.

Besan Pancakes with Mozarella, Sambal Oelek and Cucumber Salad

This is my own Indian-inspired recipe for besan pancakes. It serves 2 persons.

Here I chose to fill the pancakes with mozarella, but they could be filled with anything. I think I will try some spicy minced meat next time.

I really like yoghurt and mint sauce, but since I’m on a diary-free diet (from cow’s milk anyway) I tried to find something else to mix mint sauce with. I found that aïoli works ok.

Pancakes:

2,5 dl (1 cup) gram flour
2,5 dl (1 cup) white rice flour
1 tsp salt
2,5 dl (1 cup) water
1 tsp caraway seeds
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp ground tumeric
1 tsp ground coriander seeds
1 tbs finely chopped green chili
4 tbs finely chopped leek
oli for frying (I prefer chili oil but any oil suited for high temperatures will do)

Filing:
1 buffalo mozarella in thin slizes

Cucumber Salad:

1 cucumber
rice vinegar
salt
sugar
mint leaves

Garnish:

Sambal Oelek (chili paste)

Mix the gram flour, white rice flour and water and whisk until smooth and lump free. Add the rest of the ingredients and let the mixture rest for 10-15 minutes.
Heat a little oil to medium heat in a nonstick pan, add a couple of spoonfuls of the mixture and cook it the same way you would cook a regular pancake. When the pancake is almost done, add thin slizes of mozarella, fold the pancake and cook on each side until golden and the mozarella is melted.

Shred the cucumber and add rice vinegar (about 1-2 tbs), salt and sugar to your flavour.

Diary-free and Milk-free Oatmeal Cookies

I was surfing the web to find recipe for diary-free and wheat-free cookies. I found some but I ended up making my own:

Ingredients:

250 grams (8.8 oz) rolled oats
200 grams (7 oz) sugar
300 grams (10.5 oz) diary-free margarine
1 egg yolk

Melt the margarine and mix it together with the rolled oats and the sugar.
Add the egg yolk and roll the dough into small balls.
Put the dough balls on a sheet of paking paper and press them flat with your hand.
Bake the cookies in the oven at 190° C (374° F).

Lighting Setup for Bondage Duck

Lighting setup for bondage duck

Originally uploaded by Velocity Girl

I placed the duck on a white acrylic board to get some discreet reflections under it. The board is placed on a white piece of paper, which is attached to the wall to get the seamless white background.
One softbox is placed paralell to the wall behind the duck to overexpose the background and avoid unwanted shadows. The other softbox is placed to the right in front of the duck to make the colors pop and get a soft, even light.