I don’t buy fresh asparagus all too often. I limit myself to eating it when it’s in season or when I’ve got an incredible recipe that takes full advantage of it. The latter is the case here. In today’s post, I share a recipe for an ultra simple asparagus, tomato, and kalamata olive dish. The entire dish takes about 15 minutes to prepare and is delicious. If you read the ingredient list, you’ll find that there’s not much to it. Beyond what I just mentioned above, the recipe calls for garlic, olive oil, fresh basil, grated Parmesan, salt, and pepper. Like I said, there’s no much to it. Luckily, some of the best eating on earth is simple, so click through to take a look. Continue reading…
Landscape Photography
Landscape photography is one of the most popular types of photography today. Landscapes are plentiful and nearly everyone these days has a camera in hand. It’s simple enough to point and shoot. The thing is, while almost anyone can capture a landscape, not nearly as many can capture a landscape properly. And by properly, I mean in focus, clearly contrasted at night, correctly composed, objects appropriately distanced, etc… In this post, I offer over a dozen tips that are actionable right now that can help the quality of your landscape photography tremendously. I discuss the rule of thirds, scale, distractions, movement, lens filters, night photography, hyperfocal distance, and much more. If you enjoy photography and would like to get better at it, this is one post you’ll want to read and bookmark for later use. Continue reading…
Vegetables & Pasta Au Gratin Recipe
I like rustic Italian family style meals most out of any other type of food. A few nights ago, I happened to stumble upon what appeared to be the perfect recipe for the perfect dish. I found the recipe in my favorite Italian cookbook; it’s a rigatoni, vegetable, and cream sauce au gratin and it was a no-brainer for me to put it together. I have to tell you, this was the one I’ve been looking for. Take a look at the photos in this post and tell me you wouldn’t want to scoop some of this au gratin onto a big plate and have at it. Not only was the rigatoni big and bold, the vegetables mixed with the cheesy cream sauce was out of this world. Click through to take a look at this dish. If you’re into Italian food as much as I am, you’ll love it. I’m sure of it. Continue reading…
Street Photography
I don’t take nearly enough street photography. I really should try to do more, but a guy needs to be at the right place at the right time. Certain opportunities present themselves every so often, so mindfulness is key. Street photography is one of my favorite types though because it can be so raw. The everyday grind is something that appeals to me. In this post, I talk about some of the reasons someone might want to explore this type of photography and then I discuss how to go about doing it the best way possible. The world is full of streets and even if you live on a quiet one in the middle of nowhere, there’s always nighttime and a car passing by at some point. The right camera angle and some patience can work wonders. Click through to check out my post. Continue reading…
Black Bean & Lentil Salad with Cumin Vinaigrette Recipe
Lentils are an excellent addition to just about anyone’s diet. They’re high in fiber, protein, and iron. They also include B vitamins, magnesium, potassium, and zinc. And on top of all this, lentils also provide antioxidants such as Vitamin A and Vitamin C as well as tannins and phytochemicals. Needless to say, lentils are what’s considered a “superfood.” The trick is, you’ll need to cook the lentils and add them to a magnificent dish to obtain the utmost enjoyment from them. Luckily, I’ve got just the recipe for you to achieve that goal. In today’s post, I show you the ingredients necessary and the instructions for preparing a divine lentil and black bean salad. While the salad tastes great, the best part is that it’ll only cost you a few dollars in ingredients. My advice would be to double or triple up on this recipe. There’s no excuse not to. Lentils and beans are super cheap. Click through for the recipe. Continue reading…
Mushroom, Spinach, & Tomato Frittata Recipe by Mary Berry
Frittatas are a staple in our house. We’ve been making this type of food for years and have dozens of recipes under our belts. I’ve learned that the simpler the better when it comes to this dish and that’s what I’ve got for you today – a simple and easy frittata from none other than Mary Berry. Mary’s original recipe called for chunks of bacon, but since I didn’t have any on hand, I substituted with tomatoes. The result was fabulous. This recipe calls for only a few ingredients; mushrooms, spinach, tomatoes, eggs, and Parmesan cheese. The cooking process is straightforward, so there shouldn’t be anything in your way for this one. Click through to check out the recipe for this fabulous dish and to take a look at my photos of the same. Thanks! Continue reading…
Easy Bean Salad with Honey Mustard Vinaigrette Recipe
Bean salads are so simple to prepare, I’m not sure why I don’t make more of them. I was inspired by looking through all my stored beans a few days ago, so I decided to check out a few recipes online. I found one that fit my needs and then I proceeded to make way too much food. I’ve now got an enormous pot of some rather delicious bean salad. This particular recipe uses beans, onion, cucumber, capers, and a honey vinaigrette. If I don’t say so myself, it’s very good. Click through to check out the recipe and some of my fun pics. This is a good one. Continue reading…
Roasted Zucchini, Goat Cheese, & Olive Tapenade Sandwich Recipe
I can imagine zucchini sandwiches as being tasty. But I can imagine zucchini sandwiches topped with an olive tapenade and goat cheese as being a lot more tasty. That’s what this sandwich has – an extraordinarily tasty tapenade paired with goat cheese under some fresh Swiss chard. These ingredients combine wonderfully to make the perfect sandwich. It’s got heft to fill you up and flavor to impress even the most discerning of critics. This is another recipe put out by America’s Test Kitchen, so you know it’ll be good. Click through to check it out. Continue reading…
Depth of Field
Learning photography can be intimidating. There are different types of cameras and lenses to become familiar with, but there are also different functional concepts that you’ll need to understand before getting serious. Most cameras today come with auto modes that can offer stellar photographs. It’s only when you have specific requirements that you’ll need to educate yourself on how cameras truly work. In today’s post, I discuss a concept called depth of field. I’m sure you’ve seen it in action. It’s when either the foreground and background, just the foreground, or just the background, of an image is blurry, while the center remains visibly sharp. These blurry and sharp areas are completely adjustable and many photographers do adjust them. Before they do though, they do their due diligence to learn why there’s blur and sharpness in a photograph to begin with. Then they learn how to manipulate these areas. There are two or three primary factors that influence the depth of field in an image and I discuss them in this post, so please click through to learn all about them. Continue reading…
Linguine with Zucchini & Tomatoes Recipe
It’s not often I eat linguini. It’s definitely one of my favorite types of pasta, but I generally find myself preparing spaghetti dishes, which is strange because I think I’ve got an affinity for fettuccine and linguini more than I do for spaghetti. Either way, this dish is excellent and easy to make. The ingredient list is short and it’s very Italian. You’ll need some dried linguine, some plum tomatoes, onion, garlic, a few zucchini, some olive oil, fresh basil, and a few other minor ingredients. All in all, this dish takes about a half hour to prepare and what you’ll be left with is a dish that satisfies. So if you’re in the mood for an Italian pasta dish, click through to check out the recipe. Continue reading…