Tag: Cooking
With sunny weather here, I’m looking forward to eating lots of fresh veggies grown locally and was excited when Ontario Greenhouse Vegetable Growers reached out to me about a food styling session — featuring their delicious veggies, of course, to help me and you #SpringIntoFlavour!
Now, if you like me have never heard of OGVG, it’s a not-for-profit organization all tomato, pepper and cucumber growers in Ontario. So this includes the seedless cucumbers, tomatoes on the vine and red, yellow and orange peppers that I buy regularly and also mini and cocktail cucumbers, specialty peppers, beefsteak and specialty tomatoes. I especially loved to hear that the OGVG farmers are less than a day’s drive from the majority of markets they serve plus that it’s real farm families here in this province who own greenhouses that have been around for several generations.
I know I will have a whole new appreciation going forward for the tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers I buy that are from OGVG. If you need a brief refresher on the health benefits and why you should include more OGVG veggies in your diet:
Tomatoes:Hello, lycopene! This antioxidant can reduce risk of some cancers and the effects of the sun’s UV rays. You’ll also get vitamins A, B6, magnesium and more.
Peppers: You probably think of citrus fruit when it comes to getting your vitamin C but peppers actually have 250 percent more C by weight. They, too, boast some of the same vitamins and minerals as tomatoes and also potassium.
Cucumbers: Hydrate your body with seedless cucumbers — they’re 90 percent water and also an excellent source of vitamin C, magnesium and silica.
Now as for how to style and take better photos of food? You have to start with great looking, unblemished veggies, of course. And a handful of the other tips from the session:
When featuring a recipe, style your photo with ingredients that have been used in the dish. Add in lifestyle elements to help create a mood or tell a story, too.
Blanch or undercook veggies to tender crisp; this little old best in photos.
Using a spray bottle filled with water and glycerin, spritz veggies so they look dewy and super fresh.
In a professional food shoot, they’ll use a stand-in plate as he shot is set up and only swap in the actual plate once they are ready to shoot (so that the best plate isn’t exposed to the lights, etc., until it is go time).
Ultimately, you’re trying to control how the food will look. So pie is amongst the hardest foods to style since it is hard to control how the crust will crumble, or how the fruit will ooze out, for example.
Use tools including inexpensive mirror card (or you can even use foil), black card, white card and even a cheap white shower to help you manipulate and create the lighting you want for your food photo.
If you’ve got a Toronto library card, you’ve got complimentary access the lots of free online photography courses on lynda.com. Yes. Free.
(I hope my friends are ready to hold up some foil the next time we go for dinner so I can get the best lighting for my shot! Just kidding…)
I hope these tips have been helpful to the foodies among you. The pics in this post are of the two dishes I styled while at this session, and I’ll be putting these tips and tricks to use going forward…but not to the point that I’m sacrificing taste or having a good time. I’m not shooting it for a client, after all, and ultimately it comes down to eating the delicious and nutritious tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers and enjoying a great meal with friends and family. I’m already thinking of and craving all of the simple dishes I can make using OGVG veggies such as Greek salad, bruschetta, fajitas, Pimm’s cup, stuffed peppers and more. Bon appetit!
For more about OGVG and to #springintoflavour, visit www.ogvg.com or find them on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ONgreenhouseveg.com.
(This blog post was sponsored by Ontario Greenhouse Vegetable Growers but the opinions are all my own.)
May 31, 2016
Lay’s sent me a “mystery box” of ingredients to inspire me to experiment with some different cultural flavours, which called for getting out some pots and pans and tying on an apron. But I do like to cook (and I love eating even more!) so I used their recipe for Thai sweet chili dipping sauce and pulled out the ingredients below from the box and added a few fresh ones from the market.
To go with the sweet and garlicky dip, I made some fresh spring rolls (some vegetarian, some with shrimp and “crab”), which are impressive looking but are actually super simple to make, just takes some time to put together and you have to work with the delicate rice wraps carefully so as to not tear them. I think these cold spring rolls are actually Vietnamese cuisine but there’s nothing wrong with doing a mash-up of cuisines, right?
A way easier way for you to explore some different cultural flavours is to vote for your World Favourite in Lay’s Do Us a Flavour. There are 12 World Favourites to choose from divided into three categories, and the top vote-getter in each category will be chosen the winners. So three flavours will make it onto Canadian stores.
The three categories? Iconic Ingredients, Home Cooked Classics and Street Food. Here’s a quick breakdown but you’ll find all of this on the Lay’s DoUsAFlavour site, too:
Iconic Ingredients
- Magic Masala (inspired by India)
- Pico de Gallo (inspired by Mexico)
- Paprika (inspired by Hungary)
- Thai Sweet Chili (inspired by Thailand)
Home Cooked Classics
- Spicy Hot Pot (inspired by China)
- Picanha Steak (inspired by Brazil)
- Cheese and Onion (inspired by the UK)
- Chicken and Waffles (inspired by America)
Street Food
- Ribs on the Bar-B (inspired by Australia)
- Fries with Joppiesaus (inspired by Holland)
- Bacon Poutine (inspired by Canada)
- Chicken Kebab (inspired by Egypt)
You can vote up to three times daily for the flavours you want to win so that they’re the ones that make it into stores (and into your belly!). And voting is open now until March 20, 2016. And what’s in it for you if you go vote (other than getting your fave World Favourites into stores)? Well, there are a total of 245 Lay’s daily prizes to be won!
Ready to vote? Which sound the tastiest to you? I think my votes go to Thai Sweet Chili, Cheese and Onion, and Bacon Poutine (go Canada!). Here’s where you can vote (and don’t forget to vote daily!): DoUsAFlavour.ca
I can’t wait to see which flavours win! Chips are my weakness. If I could, I would eat them daily. But this type of swellness is better in moderation 
(sponsored)
March 11, 2016
THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED. THANKS FOR ENTERING! Congrats to Pam H. of Kitchener (Pam, I’ve emailed you!), you’re the lucky winner of the Philips Pasta Maker!
One of my favourite foods is pasta, and even more so, fresh pasta. Delicate and laced with a delicious sauce and maybe some spicy ‘nduja. Or with some fresh veggies. Or carbonara (with salty chunks of pancetta, mmm)…gosh, is anyone else hungry now??
I’ve made fresh pasta in a cooking class or two, and have had friends make it for me, but have never attempted to make it myself at home. Partly out of laziness (it seems like a lot of work), plus I didn’t know if I wanted to invest in a manual pasta machine. But when I had the chance to try the Philips Pasta Maker (which essentially does all of the work!) I jumped at the chance. I eat pasta at least a few times a month, after all. And with all the running I do, I feel like I’m always looking for carb-y meals to fuel me.
I’ve used the machine over the past month or so and I love it. All you have to do it throw the ingredients into the machine, press start and it mixes them and then extrudes it out (I’ve made linguini with pesto, peas and avocado, spaghetti with buttery mushrooms, and penne with spinach, sausage and roasted peppers — the machine comes with a choice of shaping discs) and you slice it into the length of pasta you want.
I’ve made both the smaller recipe (which serves 1 to 2 people) and the larger recipe (serves 2 to 4), and I swear it only added maybe 10 to 15 minutes to my cooking time, it’s that fast and simple. While the pasta hasn’t come out exactly the texture I had in mind (I think I need to find some semolina flour, rather than the whole wheat flour I’ve been using, to get it to the taste and consistency I prefer), I had dinner ready so quickly and it was still tasty.
I’ll be playing with the machine more to perfect my pasta (and then I’ll start experimenting with making flavoured pastas and other types of noodles!), but for a fresh pasta lover, I am pleased as punch with having this appliance in my kitchen and am looking forward to having friends over for a pasta dinner. The only downside? The machine is a bit bulky and storage in my downtown Toronto condo is limited. And I’d say you have to be eating pasta a fair bit if you’re investing in a pasta machine…
But here’s the thing: you don’t have to invest in the Philips Pasta Maker yourself if you WIN this one that I’m giving away!
You can enter to win the Philips Pasta Maker (retail value $299.99) in four different ways:
- Email me at healthandswellness@gmail.com with your name and address (please put “Philips Pasta Maker” in the subject line).
- Twitter. Follow me on Twitter (@healthswellness) and tweet:
I love fresh pasta! And I want to win this #giveaway of a Philips Pasta Maker from @healthswellness! http://bit.ly/1hjkOQf
- Instagram: Follow me on Instagram (@healthandswellness) and like the photo of the fresh pasta dish I made with the Philips Pasta Maker on Instagram, and tag a friend who loves fresh pasta as much as you do in the comments.
- Facebook: Like the Health and Swellness page on Facebook (www.facebook.com/healthandswellness) and comment on the photo of the Philips Pasta Maker about what pasta dish is your favourite.
This giveaway is open to Canadian residents and you can enter up until 12 p.m. EST, Wednesday, August 26, 2015. The winner will be chosen at random and notified via the method they’ve won. If they do not claim their prize within five days, another winner will be selected at random.
Good luck!
(sponsored)
August 17, 2015
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