Fresh Fall Bruschetta for lunch.

All the ingredients came from the last post. DELICIOUS!

Within the seed of your desire is everything necessary for it to blossom to fulfillment. And Law of Attraction is the engine that does the work. Your work is just to give it a fertile growing place in order to expand.
--- Abraham

Fresh Veggies

Yea, Lance went to Craig's and brought back some wonderfully colored food from the garden.

Thank you guys.

We are here.

Front

View from front porch

driveway is nice and long

view from back porch

So, We left the inner city and our urban roots for something a bit more spacious and quite. 

There's plenty of work to be done and quite a lot of new noises to adapt to. So I guess you could say we traded the traffic, and noisy neighbors for owls, crickets, and lots of darkness. 

One question, where will our garden go? 

While we are moving...

I thought I'd share this video from three months ago to keep content coming along during our down time.

Calderón Foto recently shot for 4 Tha Sol showing off another one of their many cooking abilities. 
They have a Caribbean style fused with Soul Food, and this night Grilled Red Snapper was on the menu. I had to leave shortly after but I heard it was delicious!

If you are in need of my services or to find out more on Photographer Tania Calderón, visit me at my website calderonfoto.com and be sure to drop me an email. 

bon appétit
http://vimeo.com/23420470 (original video) Higher Res.

Bye-bye, till next time.

In March of this year we started our very first "indoor garden" and it was very exciting to see what we could actually achieve inside a loft apartment in the city.

We grew... 

lettuce

herbs

tomatoes

peppers

After the move into "the green room" the tomatoes really grew taller than my 5'0" body (lol). 

BUT, they didn't produce as much fruit as they should have.  One word, Aphids!

After 4 organic treatments over the course of 2 months we finally made the decision to harvest what we could and say goodbye. 

The decision was bitter sweet, but I'd love to take this time to celebrate the shift that we are experiencing. 

We are moving into a house!!! Between August 27th - Sept. 1st we are moving our nest into a bigger space, 20mins away from downtown Atlanta to a spacious bungalow that feels like a cabin in the woods. 

Growing Within this loft has been a beautiful journey, one of the food we eat, of self-growth, attention, and in spirit. I'm excited to take our passion outside so please check back soon for updates from the garden.

With Love,
Tania & Lance

Lance makes Salsa

 

She's Alive... Beautiful... Finite... Hurting... Worth Dying for.

Discover

"Discover your green thumb and appreciate your ability to grow your own produce." 


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gP9q61Fjlqo&feature=channel_video_title

Food Photography - White Chicken Chilli

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It really nice having the fresh herbs from the garden used in the chilli I made. 

We used organic, free range chicken.  

Updates from Lance

This morning I over-watered a jalapeno pepper plant in hope of  diluting the amount of nitrogen. The blossoms on the pepper plant have been dropping. Researching the dilemma has informed me that it is either getting too much heat, not enough water, or too much nitrogen. The heat could be an issue, but don’t think that it is. Although this one particular pepper plant was started completely under fluorescent lighting and then moved to fluorescent lighting plus sun. So this could be an issue, but it will have to adjust to that, I won’t be moving it again. The not enough water issue, is not the issue, I have kept it well watered and wet. It’s thirst is quenched for certain. That leaves the too much nitrogen thing. I read that if the soil has too much nitrogen, you can clear it out by over-watering, draining, over-water, drain, &c &c. However, the pot the pepper plant is in has a drain built-in that is not detachable, so I decided just to flood it and see if this can dilute the nitrogen some. Only time will tell. The jalapeno plant is the first of all the jalapeno plants to flower, so I have been hoping to see and eat some jalapenos and all their delicious hotness. Mmm… positivity mixed with pro-activity equals hope in the right direction. J

All of our tomato plants are getting huge and flowering. The fruit is coming, and our mouths are watering for them. After growing our own tomatoes and eating them, I don’t think we’ll buy any more tomatoes from the grocery store. The artificially colored red balls they call tomatoes are not even close to tomatoes compared to home-grown fresh ones. There is no comparison!!! Grocery store so-called tomatoes are grown to travel and look good upon display. They are not grown for taste and flavor. That is a shame. If you don’t grow your own tomatoes, go to your local farmers market to buy them. For a tomato purchased from the grocery store is basically the same as plastic fruit on display in your rich aunts home. And the taste is about the same.

We are growing more lettuce in hopes of more lettuce, we’ll see on that. It’s not lettuce growing season, but hey, this whole greenhouse room is meant for growing what we eat and we want to try it all whenever we want. That’s the idea. Oh yeah!

All of the other plants in our garden room are well and thriving. We’re growing more as we go. For as we go is how we grow. J how’s that for some buddha of the day?!

Peace, love and green...

Here are two links to our local farmers markets for those of you in Atlanta. 

http://www.grantparkmarket.org/ (Sunday) 

http://www.peachtreeroadfarmersmarket.com/ (Saturday) 

Herb Bread Storyboard

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Recently I made homemade bread using Paul Hollywood's book 100 Great Breads. 

He didn't have a photograph in the book so who knows... Well this is what I created, and it was good, a bit dry (opps). 

Ingredients:

4 cups white bread flour

1 tbsp salt

1 oz yeast

1/3 cup olive oil

1 1/4 cups water

1 3/4 oz basil

1 3/4 oz cilantro

1 3/4 oz dill

(I added 1 clove garlic that was not part of the recipe.)

Makes 2 loaves

Mix, let rise for 1hr. Preheat oven 425º F, bake 30 mins. 

Note: 

Paul, if you're out there and happen to stumble on my blog, 2 things... 

#1 Thanks for making a book I can understand. 

#2 Need a photographer? (wink) 

Food Photography - Cucumber Caprese Salad

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We have delicious tomatoes, but with the added asian cucumbers from a local garden we have a new twist on the traditional caprese salad. This is something I could eat everyday, so I felt like sharing my recipe with you so that you too can enjoy my good eats. bon appétit!

1 tomato

3 slices mozzarella, halved 

onion

cucumber

sweet basil

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp balsamic 

salt and pepper 

Aren't we pretty?!

It feels so cool to pick something out of the indoor garden and use it in your meal!

Susan Powter's Eggs

This woman is of my own heart. We come from the same people and there are more of us out there so there you go! 
Favorite Quote: It isn't an inconvenience to make food, it's a privilege... The inconvenience is eating their shit!" 

The Healing Powers Of the Dandelion

As Ralph Waldo Emerson once wrote,   What is a weed ?

It is a plant whose virtues have not yet been discovered...

I recently learned how to use dandelion medicinally and thought I'd share what I learned for educational purposes only since this is a food blog. 

Dandelion

Taraxacum officinale

Source
Besides their culinary uses as coffee substitute and salad ingredient, the root and leaf of this pervasive weed of the aster family are also used in traditional medicine. Dandelion is grown commercially in both the United States and Europe.
Traditional Use
Both dandelion leaf and root have been used for centuries to treat liver, gall bladder, and kidney ailments, weak digestion, and rheumatism. They are also considered mildly laxative. The fresh root or its preparations are thought to be more potent than the dried root. The leaves have traditionally been used as a diuretic.
Current Status
Dandelion root and leaf are widely used in herbal medicines in Europe. The leaves are diuretic but also high in potassium, so they help to compensate for potassium lost with increased urination. Bitter compounds in the leaves (and root) increased bile secretion in laboratory animals by more than 40 percent. The leaves are prescribed as a diuretic in cases of water retention and for bloating accompanied by flatulence and loss of appetite.
The bitter compounds in dandelion root help stimulate digestion and are mildly laxative in activity. The roots have been shown to be moderately anti-inflammatory, which supports their traditional use in the treatment of rheumatism. The root is used for dyspepsia, loss of appetite, as a diuretic, and for disorders associated with inhibited bile secretion from the liver.
Preparations
The dried leaf and root, capsules, tinctures and tablets are available in the American market. Extracts (in 25 percent alcohol) are preferred for bile flow stimulation as the active compounds are more soluble in alcohol than in water.
Cautions
The German Commission E monographs on dandelion leaf and root indicate that in cases of gallstones, dandelion products should be used only under a physician's supervision. If bile ducts are obstructed, dandelion should not be used at all. The milky latex in fresh dandelion leaves may cause contact dermatitis. Bitter herbs such as dandelion root may also cause hyperacidity in some individuals.
Actions
Appetite stimulant
Diuretic
Increases bile flow

http://www.allnatural.net/herbpages/dandelion.shtml

Picking Onions

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These came out so beautiful. Lance picked the onions today and before we used them for our grass feed, hormone free, free range, cow burgers I snapped a few picture which I later photoshopped and am now sharing with you. 

Picking Tomatoes

Food Photography - FRESH tomatoes, basil & garlic over angel hair pasta

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We've Expanded

The Garden

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new pot

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new mix 

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There are now 3 racks which we've added wheels to for easy moving should we need to in the future. 

There are also 2 new lights making a total of 6 grow lights adding to the sunshine we receive. 

New pots, bigger post, new professional growers mix, and the tomatoes are ready for picking so really excited about that. 

Time to expand

We are getting too big for these racks

It's time to expand the green room.  

Updates mid June

Tomatoes

Progress

New Buds

A note from Lance... the garden has had to adjust to the new room. the temperatures and the humidity are both higher than where they were initially. the tomatoes have adjusted well and appreciate the new. the peppers are ok, they haven't really shown a liking or disliking. the lettuce doesn't like it. we need to think of a way to get them to a cooler spot. we thought they'd do ok on the bottom shelf next to the cool concrete wall, but it is just too hot. may have to move back into the living room or maybe the cool hallway. right now with the a/c is out in the entire apartment, it is difficult to find the cool spot. so that will wait for now. there are other plants that don't seem to like the heat so much. the onions are droopy. need to move them with lettuce. there is one tomato plant that was only in the grow lights and now has been placed in the sunlight as well. it has had a hard time adjusting to the hot and we're not sure it has fully come around. it may not do well. we'll have to keep an eye on it. but for the most part, the new greenhouse room has provided the extra oomf we thought it would.

Food Photography - Arugula

Arugula

As the season for leafy greens came to an end we picked most of what was left including the arugula.
It was so bitter that I decided to add it to a stir-fry pan with a bit of olive oil, some sea-salt, and a mashed  clove of garlic to give it taste.  It turned out great!!! I also like to make my spinach this way.

Food Photography - Sweet Spring Salad

Food Photography - Open Mozzarella Caprese Sandwich

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I love summer and mozzarella caprese is something I can make and eat everyday. 

I take fresh basil which we always have growing here in our indoor garden, and this year I hope to have the chance to use our own tomatoes as well. 

Tip: Make sure the mozzarella is FRESH. 

Then add a drizzle of olive oil, and balsamic, kosher salt, and cracked pepper to taste. To add something filling layer on fresh deli style bread (homemade is best) cook in oven 10min. at 350º. 

Food Photography - Garden Salad

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Food Photography - My Breakfast

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Good morning me ;) 

If you love food photography like I do start taking pictures of the things you make at home. 

Here I'm able to melt my two passions together, food and photos. bon appétit! 

Italian Night

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Food Photography @ Calderón Foto