Monday, February 23, 2009

andrew and michelle engaged ...

here's the slideshow set of andrew and michelle's engagement session last weekend ... click here for the slideshow ...

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

noise or no noise ...

while out in chicago this past weekend, shot andrew and michelle's engagement. two shots from it, cropped, processed in b&w, up'd contrast, darkened, vignetted. added noise to second picture, i love both shots, i cannot decide which one i like better, with or without the noise added. each has its own quality.



Saturday, February 14, 2009

chicago self portrait ...

another day, another hotel. intercontinental, chicago. great bits and pieces in the hotel room, particularly the mirror ...





Monday, February 2, 2009

i am addicted to dumplings ...

i absolutely love chinese dumplings, the pork and chives ones. homemade ones though include a lot of bite in the habanero form.

pork dumplings/pot stickers
- 1lb ground pork
- scallions
- cilantro
- ginger
- 2 tbsp hot garlic chili paste
- 5 cloves garlic
- 1 tbsp oyster sauce
- 1.5 tbsp hoisin sauce
- 3/4 cup very finely chopped savoy cabbage
- 2 habaneros very finely chopped
- chopped chives
- pepper
- wonton wrappers (or make your own, takes too long though)

i actually find that putting all the ingredients into a food processor works best (not the wonton wrappers though) and mix. combine in order though, i usually put scallions, cilantro, habanero, ginger, garlic, and cabbage in first to get a properly sized fine chop, then add in the remaining ingredients.

find a comfy seat, with a small bowl of water and some wet paper towels. put about 3/4 tbsp of the mixture into a wonton wrapper and crimp. repeat. repeat about 100 times. when complete, i usually place them all on a tray and put into the freezer to zap them right away, so i can store them (of course leaving some aside to enjoy right away).

to cook, place 6-8 into a small frying pan on high heat. put about 1tbsp of vegetable oil (i use cook spray and a non-stick pan). fry for about 2-3 mins on each side, or until a big brown. add in enough water to fill bottom of pan and cover 1/3 up the dumpling. cover with a tight lid and do not remove lid for 3-4 mins. plate and server with dipping sauce below.



dipping sauce:
- 1/2 cup rice wine vinegar
- 1/2 cup black vinegar
- 1 very finely chopped habanero
- 1tbsp garlic chili paste
- 1/4 cup lite soy sauce
- finely chopped chives, cilantro, and mint too
- 1 tbsp hoisin sauce

combine. yeah, that's all, combine!