I had a whole list of things to work on yesterday since I was under the weather most the week.  But as 2pm rolled around, something called me into the garden.  I found myself grabbing my camera, leaving the computer and to-do list behind, digging for a Macro lens (a lens I rarely shoot with) and wandering into my garden.  There was no goal, no objective, no assignment; I just found myself standing there wanting to experiment, expand and play.  These are a couple of my favorite!

Pop Quiz for my CONFIDENCE ladies!  This Dahlia photo was shot at a f-2.8, but the flower in the background looks way more buttery, blurry than a f/2.8!  Tell me why ladies?!  What makes that background flower so extreme in blur?! 

I used the SONY Macro 100mm lens / f-2.8.  I fell so in love with the results of this lens that I named the lens “Lush” (short for Luscious!).

This next one is my favorite!  The colors, the lines and curves, ooooh, makes me crazy!

I started a game on Facebook yesterday, and you are all invited to play!  It ends at 4:15pm today!  This artichoke image is in need of a name or caption, post your idea(s) on my FB page along with the other comments and someone will win a $10 GC to Starbucks!  The game was totally random and just for fun, but as of last night at 8:48pm there were 43 comments–with some of the most fabulous ideas for captions or titles! Come join us!  CLICK HERE!

xoxo,

m

p.s. Only ONE more spot left in the Sacramento Workshop!  (it’s next weekend! woo hoo!!)   CLICK HERE to grab it!

p.s.s. Listen for the invitation to wander with your camera this weekend.  You never know what you may capture!  If you’d like, share it on FB with me!

We got home from a great week of camping last night. I know Me Ra’s got a lot of great images and stories to share this week, but I’ve been really excited to share my own original “Disappearing Blackberry Peach Gluten-Free Crumble” recipe that I created last week. Being tired from returning late last night, Me Ra enthusiastically agreed to let me write today’s blog.

Last week Me Ra, the kids and I decided to try out a new bike route. Our neighbors told us about a fun route called the Interurban trail starting in Auburn. We ended up riding 26 miles, looking for the restroom that was supposedly three MORE miles away. Yes, I said 26. And that’s NOT Kilometers. I can’t believe Pascaline rode the 26 miles. When we got home later, Pascaline insisted she wasn’t tired. But for some reason she just leaned against the car for a L O N G time.

The highlight of the bike ride was the 2 mile long blackberry patch lining the trail. This is where we took a little break on the way back to the car. We left the patch with a ton of Blackberries and a little boy who looked like he’d been painting a house purple.

Me Ra had the great idea that we should make a Blackberry Cobbler when we got home. I jumped up and volunteered for the task. I LOVE Summer Blackberry desserts (or really any kind of dessert)!!!

The only problem is that I can’t eat anything with Gluten any more. We recently found out that Gluten keeps me up at night with a form of insomnia known as Restless Leg Syndrome. Ever since I stopped eating Gluten, I’ve been able to fall asleep. (For anyone who doesn’t know, Gluten is the protein in Wheat and Oats. So basically I can’t eat anything with Wheat or Oats in it. Talk about a pain, especially for a Swedish roots boy who has great respect for dessert!)

And then I saw my Gluten-free diet problem as a fun challenge. How could I go wrong with a bunch of sugar and butter? So I searched the net for the yummiest Blackberry Crumble recipes. Then I searched for Gluten-Free Blackberry Crumble recipes for the best wheat substitute ideas. Finally I went to our local yuppie grocery store for more gluten-free flour substitutes. I added a little sweet tooth twist and this is my very on original “Disappearing Blackberry Peach Gluten-Free Crumble” recipe:

INGREDIENTS

• 4 Cups Fresh Picked Blackberries (You should probably rinse these off first)
• 1 Large Fresh Peach
• 2 or 2 1/2 Cups Organic Sugar (This depends on your sweet tooth. I recommend 2 1/2 Cups.)
• 1 3/4 Cups Gluten Free All Purpose Backing Flour (I used Bob’s Red Mill)
• 3/4 Cup of Sweetened Coconut Flakes
• 2 Sticks of Room Temp/Softened Butter
• Few Teaspoons of Lemon Juice
• Few Dashes of Cinnamon
• For a little more gourmet flavor I might add little Vanilla, Cardamom, Nutmeg or other tasty spice next time

1. Coat 3 Quart Baking Dish with Butter
2. Put Blackberries and Peaches into the 3 Quart Backing Dish
3. Splash a couple teaspoons of Lemon Juice over Berries and Peach (It think this is for more than flavor, does anyone know?)
4. Sprinkle a portion of your Sugar (about 1/2 to 1 Cup) over Berries and Peaches
5. Mix Butter, remaining Sugar, Flour, Coconut Flakes and Cinnamon in BIG bowl (I softened my butter in Microwave)
6. Spread Crumble Mix over Berries
7. Bake Blackberry Peach Crumble for 35-45 Minutes at 350°

Serve warm with Vanilla Ice Cream, and this is what you get!!!

That was YUM MAY!!! So my family told me. Give it a try. I think you’ll love it. I’m going to try and bake another one later this month and hopefully post a picture of it out of the oven before we gobble it up.

I’ve also started making a MEAN Mojito this summer, inspired by Me Ra’s brother Shaun. If you’d like me to post my MEAN Mojito recipe let me know.

Until then, in the immortal words of Julia Child’s, “Bon Appetite!”

-Brian

p.s. Jeramy, don’t leave me hanging by not posting a comment today.

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Want to join us for an upcoming CONFIDENCE workshop? We have a workshop in October that will be in Minneapolis! I don’t think we’ll be able to make it to the East until next Fall, so if you are near Minneapolis or on the East Coast , come join us! If you register before August 31st–THIS FRIDAY, you get 20% off!! To find out more details and get yourself a spot, CLICK HERE!

Want to learn more about Framing, Composition, Blurry Backgrounds and Lighting? Check out our Award Winning DVDs, Refuse to Say Cheese and Beyond the Green Box (They are BACK IN STOCK!! Yeah!!), or discover our popular 101 Kits for starting or expanding a business in photography, click on the titles of your choice!

was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.

~Anais Nin

Happy Monday to all my beautiful blossoming friends. I cherish you all so much.

So I’ve added a new category to this blog called Garden Adventures. I wanted to name it “Watch My Garden Grow” but to many words.

Here’s a little history…Brian and I bought this beautiful, 100 yr. old, English Tudor home two years ago. We were in the thick of wedding season, so we focused on getting moved in. Last year summer came and went with weddings, and we still didn’t do any gardening except my pots on the back deck. But this year is different!

When Pascaline was 9 months old, we backed packed all through England. Brian and I fell in love with English cottage gardens. The landscaping of our house in the backyard is AMAZING! Two levels with a vintage swing set, purple lilacs, hot pink azaleas, Rhodie’s, lime green ferns, cherry trees, an old apple tree, you name it. But the front yard…well this is the front yard and the front side yard. Totally boring!

The Rhodie and Camellia in front almost cover up the whole front of the house. And check out the nasty shrubs in the bottom right corner. Got to go!

The side yard feels like a putting green! The landscapers even mow it with a lawn mower called a “California Mower” which is what they use on golf courses. To perfect and put together for our taste.

So a couple weeks ago, we decided to go at it. Just have fun. Turn the whole side yard into a English type cottage garden. But make it interesting.

Brian said the design almost feels like the feminine meeting the masculine. Thankfully, our neighbors are excited and totally anticipating what’s to come.

Instead of having huge flower/vegetable beds, we thought it’d be fun to leave grass walking paths with a circle at the top. The kids are loving it! They’ve been helping a lot!

We’re having a blast! It feels so good to get out here after work and just plant, dig, shovel compost, until the sun goes down.

For Mother’s Day we got up early and started in the garden at 9am and worked out there until 8pm. Our neighbors kept commenting on how ambitious we are. Little do they know…

The kids and I planted sweat peas, strawberries, corn, artichoke, lettuce, and we’re still thinking about the whole pumpkin idea. Brian and I love Peonies, David Austin roses, Lupine, Holly Hocks, Delphinium, Larkspur and tons of Lavender. We even found a white rose called Pascali and a red Peony called Blaze! The kids are so excited!

The best adventure so far has been Pascaline running up to us and saying she stuck four worms down her gardening glove. She thought she was pretty smart until we told her she had to get them out to keep gardening. Oh boy! That was a pickle of a situation. For TWO HOURS she sat and tried to get the worms out of the fingers in her glove without squishing the worms at the same time. Hilarious! Brian and I tried really hard to not laugh. At the end, she said “Well that’s the last time I ever do something like that again mom. Getting those worms out was worse than a time out in my room all day!”

More Garden Adventure to come!