From the Kitchen

Some photos of the delicious things that have been going on in my kitchen lately!

Steeplechase Old English Toffee

Last week I was honored to be one of the few that have been invited to catch a glimpse of the inner workings of Steeplechase Olde English Toffee in downtown Waynesville, NC. I spent two days photographing the process of the toffee being crafted, and then photographing the finished deliciousness, all the while cloaked in the heady scent of chocolate, butter, sugar, and other fine ingredients. The thick slabs of toffee stacked on plates on the second day were a spectacular sight to behold, begging to be devoured! If you haven't yet visited Steeplechase Olde English Toffee, run, don't walk. I am told that on mornings when the fog is hanging low and toffee is being made, the scent of this time honored family recipe fills the air in the valley and it becomes an involuntary action of passersby to stop in their tracks and file in. Who could resist? The shop is located at 235 Pigeon Street, and you may find them on facebook here: http://www.facebook.com/pages/SteeplechaseToffeecom/153525426515.

Click to see more photographs from my time at Steeplechase Old English Toffee:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/externalfocus/sets/72157629735065003/

Double Cherry Walnut Brownie

Yum. I mean, seriously: yum. I made these brownies last week, deciding to spruce up a box mix I had laying around. I really enjoy taking food that anyone can get their hands on at a fair price, and making it into something really special. I added in chopped walnuts, dehydrated cherries, and then topped it off with cherry pie filling, which sent it so over the top that my teeth hurt just look at it. Ohboy was it good. I think a lot of people see food as some sort of chore that they have to "get through," or worse, opting to pick up something from a burger joint [if those things even really qualify as burgers] because they don't want to make the time to cook, and it doesn't have to be that way! Your food is only as special as you make it, and you should have confidence in yourself that you can do a good job. Hey, sometimes it doesn't go well; I recall attempting to make a peanut chicken that came out so horribly that I made jokes about it for weeks. It was not edible, and we ended up ordering pizza or something. It happens! But don't give up.

I started getting involved with food at a really young age; I remember baking cookies from scratch when I was maybe 7 or 8 and home alone, and my mom coming home and absolutely freaking out that I could have burnt the house down or wounded myself. For about 5 minutes I don't think she believed I'd actually made perfect Russian Tea Cakes right out of the gate, but I showed her the recipe and the utensils I'd used, and of course the smell of fresh baked cookies was pretty undeniable. It was a simple recipe, and as easy as following the directions. Anyway, the point is, I have always approached food in a very fearless spirit of experimenting and adapting recipes to suit my own tastes and according to what I happen to have on hand. I am never going to be a chef, and that's okay too; you don't have to be one to enjoy cooking and playing in the kitchen. I think a lot of people don't see it in that way, and therefore it becomes the mundane same-menu-every-week kind of affair that would bore anyone.

This year I have also decided that I am going to be trying a lot of foods that I don't have experience with. I began with conquering a childhood aversion to brussels sprouts which have become my new favorite vegetable, I steamed and attempted to eat my first artichoke even though it didn't go very well at all, I have some fennel in the fridge which is going to make a lovely fennel and blood orange salad, and then I am going to try mint in a non-dessert food. After that, who knows? I have raised my children in this same spirit and they are wonderfully open to trying whatever is put in front of them. My 9 year old daughter's favorite tv station is Food Network, so perhaps she will become the chef of our family!

Play with your food!

Brownies are good for you!

Dark chocolate, blueberry, walnut... I mean, this thing is practically health food, right? That's what I told myself on my second helping, anyway! Nothing beats a fresh out of the oven brownie, except perhaps deciding what kind of goodies you want to mix into your recipe. Cherry or walnuts or blueberry or peanut butter chips or macadamia or crushed up toffee; the possibilities are endless and highly habit forming. Forewarned is forearmed!

A chocolatey redesign, and other big changes!

I just launched the redesign of my website and blog this morning, and am loving the way it looks and all works together! It was important for me to pare down my main website because not only do I really dislike having to maintain a big, bulky website, but .... External Focus Photography is becoming obsolete! You may have already noticed that this blog's address has changed to http://emthomasphotography.blogspot.com in anticipation for my new domain name on the website; it's in the works. I've gone as far as I wanted to with that work and branding, and am ready to fully move into the new direction that my photography has taken me.

I am in the processing of forming a new company with two very talented and wonderful photographer friends of mine, and I'm really excited about our future together! This is another reason why I felt it important to put my former site to rest, as well. I will still be maintaining Em Thomas Photography and this blog as my personal portfolio, and it will eventually be linked into our main business, Thomas Artus King Photography. As a creative group, we will be offering a variety of services ranging from wedding and event photography, commercial and corporate photography, as well as family portrait work. Look for us soon!

The redesign of my website and blog are based on a recent photography assignment from our Pro Project 52 group, run by Don Giannatti. Our assignment was based on "chocolate," and I spent half a day photographing and arranging various chocolatey goodies while my family paced in anticipation of a taste. Below are a few of the resulting photos from that day; I hope you enjoy them... and if they make you want chocolate... give in! ;)