Amsterdam Refresher

No, it’s not pot!

With our 1000 lb. city bikes under us, we set out for the museum district of Amsterdam. Getting lost just outside of the last canal, we rode thru a quiet neighborhood and found a corner café… A perfect place for a snack on a warm day in May.  Before our Panini arrived we were served a simple, refreshing dink of sparkling water, fresh mint and lemon. It was served with a muddler! Fantastic idea. We squished the mint and lemon together and sat there thoroughly enjoying it along with the sunshine and the wonderful architecture.

This is a very simple drink to make.  Just some carbonated water, ice, a wedge of lemon and some mint.  What is different from what we get in the states is a muddler. The muddler allows you to continue to reactivate the mint and lemon flavor in the drink.

Our corner cafe.  And we really don't know where this is!  Somewhere in Amsterdam?

Our drink inspiration!

Fresh ingredients

Beverage set, obviously the camera sees differently than your eye.

#phaseone

Summertime Peach Pie

Three delicious pies later Priscilla made this. Let’s shoot it!

Seeing Peaches at the farmers market triggered memories of my Mom's and Grandma's summertime peach pies. Priscilla had a peach tree in her backyard in California and loved to eat them fresh. Those triggers were all that Priscilla needed to recreate a delectable summer pie.

We set out to create the aesthetic for the pie… I drew a scene on a napkin (just like we used to get from art directors) and we proceeded to get props and ingredients. Priscilla did the baking …

Our dog Charlotte loves food!  Especially pie!

In the scene with real whip cream.

Behind the scenes...available light but always controlled.

Peach Pie Recipe

This peach pie recipe was given to me by a friend who likes to look at the food blog site called “Smitten Kitchen”.  It is a lovely recipe and I have played around with it through a few pies now.  I just made one adjustment because of personal preference. Instead of doing the boiling process to remove the skins from the peaches, I just peeled the skins.  I found that boiling the peaches make them too mushy by the time the pie is baked.  I guess if you have really firm peaches this process would balance out the firmness of the peaches. But I wanted a firmer peach in the pie. The recipe did say if you wanted a sweeter pie you could use 1/3 cup each of white and brown sugar.  I found that this amount of sugar was just right.  And in the making of the crust I added 1/4 cup of vegetable shortening. To finish I make a wash made of egg and cream and brush it on the crust and then sprinkle large coarse sugar on pie.

Crust—yields two 9 inch 

2 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour

1 Tablespoon of granulated sugar

1 Teaspoon of table salt

3/4 Cup of butter

1/4 Cup of vegetable shortening

4 Tablespoons to a 1/2 cup of ice water

Filling

Approximately 6 to 8 peaches

1 Tablespoon of fresh lemon juice

1/3 cup of granulated white sugar

1/3 cup of brown sugar

1/8 Teaspoon of ground cinnamon

A sprinkle of nutmeg

1/8 teaspoon of table salt

And I used the 2 Tablespoon of minute tapioca ground in my coffee grinder (which the recipe suggests).

To finish

2 oz of cream

1 egg

Coarse granulated sugar

WATERMELON SALAD

Living in Colorado for more than over 30 years, finding excellent food while traveling in the Rocky Mountains, except in the expensive resorts, was a challenge.  Well that is no longer true!!  We went to a Spanish restaurant in Basalt Colorado called Tempranillo and had the most exquisite Summer salad. Cubed watermelon with shredded basil, sliced heirloom tomatoes, feta cheese and balsamic vinegar (reduced) drizzled on top.  It’s just the most interesting and refreshing flavor combination.  Yummy!!

Final studio photo done from above to highlight the primary colors and graphic presentation.

Original inspiration at Tempranillo, Basalt Colorado. (Shot on the iPhone.)

#tempranillo #basalt

Adding the balsamic in the studio

Close up of a great bite!