Eggs on Toast

Egg sandwiches for breakfast are very comforting for me. As the weather gets crisper, I find myself craving a hot, home made, organic egg sandwich in the mornings again.

Eggs are not all that pretty. Well, at least not when they are fried up and slapped on toast. This being said, I couldn't help but take a picture of this sandwich. Perhaps because of the beautiful pink plate it was on, or the inviting mug of coffee next to it. I hope you can visually appreciate my eggs on toast at least half as much as I enjoyed eating them!

The Mackerel Who Looked At Me

So I must first provide you with a disclaimer for this posting . . . I promised to deliver pretty, colorful photos of food and this picture isn't all that pretty, artistic, and only a little colorful. However, the photo below reminds me of a moment of true culture shock last week: my lunch stared at me when it was brought out.

Two freshly caught mackerel with steamed potatoes and a carrot salad. Yummy, despite the eyes! I will proudly say that despite my initial surprise, I tucked in and thoroughly (albeit delicately) enjoyed my meal. The mackerel who looked at me also relayed an important message: it's vital to have a connection with our food. Especially when we are eating animal life. I was very aware that these little fish were swimming around very recently and this forced me to connect to my food as something that was alive and not just a cooked up meal.

Thanks for the little lesson mackerel!

Brunch in Portugal

Bom dia! After the culture shock of returning to the U.S. after a glorious eight days in Portugal has fully set in, I am prepared to examine some of the many (excessive!) photographs taken on our trip. Food was a major highlight of this trip, both in beauty and taste.

The most fantastic brunch I have EVER eaten was on our last morning in Portugal. Fresh coffee in antique ceramic cups, delicious mimosas, gorgeous mangoes, nectarines, oranges, grapefruit, and delectable pastries, who could ever ask for more? Oh, well you could ask to be having this brunch on a marble patio overlooking the ocean... done, and done!

The colors of all our meals were exquisite and predominately in the red and orange family. The more I take notice of the color of food, the more I realize how drawn I am to these reds and oranges. Well complimented to this color scheme is cobalt blue, and I took full advantage of this by eating all the nectarines and oranges off of cobalt blue plates.

Clementines in Portugal

Clementine slices in a cobalt blue bowl for breakfast. Clementines have never tasted as good as they do here, sitting out on the marble patio with café com leite. Sea breeze in the mountains has a way of making every moment taste even more perfect.

From Iced to Hot: Beverages that Change with the Seasons

What is more comforting on a cloudy morning than a home-made cappuccino? Well, perhaps there are many contenders . . . some may say hot chocolate, or peppermint tea, or a nice piece of . . toast. For myself, a coffee drinker, hot coffee is delightful on a cool morning and only made better with foam and espresso in place of the normal plain brewed coffee and cream.

This topic unfortunately brings me to the sad subject that summer is drawing to a close. This news is brought to me through the melancholy desire to switch back to hot coffee from my favored iced coffee. While there will still be a few hot days filled with condensation covered cups of icy, creamy, caffeinated beverages, these will begin to be outnumbered by warm, ceramic mugs, of hot, biting, espresso and foamed milk.

The photo below I give to you with bittersweet hesitation . . . while I so love the cool, crisp days of fall ahead, I am not quite ready to put down the iced coffee until next spring. However, plastic cups of tan liquid do not quite convey the same nostalgic beauty that steamy, ceramic mugs of cappuccino do. Thus, I leave you with my first fall cappuccino.

What is the Lavender Spoon?

The Lavender Spoon is an exploration through the flavors of color. Let me explain in more depth: I really enjoy and appreciate food. I also really enjoy photography and art. With this blog I plan to combine food and photography into a flavorful and colorful experience.

Of course the idea of pretty pictures of pretty food has been approached (and executed beautifully) a thousand times before, and I certainly don't think I will be the first to explore the "flavor of color." However, as a photographer I plan to approach this as a fun and delicious photo essay assignment. An edible, colorful, 'synesthesic' photo assignment. I hope you enjoy the coming weeks of musings, colors, textures, and flavor.

As we begin I will leave you with this "Brooklyn Blackout" Cake. A chocolate cake with a fudge layer, a chocolate pudding layer, and a whole lot of fantastically creamy and decadent chocolate.