Food, Podcasts Elizabeth Fuller Food, Podcasts Elizabeth Fuller

Food, Product and Commercial Photography…. “Let’s get into it!”

Episode 16: I took notes so you didn’t have to….We talked about the following in this episode….Today we are answering all of your photography questions from professional to amateur and so much more with the incredible David Patiño!

We have the one, the only, the incredibly, David Patino. He’s an AMAZING and talented creative who you should know and contact. He’s got a youtube channel with tons of awesome information, his instagram and of course he had a podcast called “Office Hours” with A TON of great photography conversations. I know what you’re thinking….”Why is there a picture of La Croix? What does that have to do with food photography?” Great question! It’s a nod to one of my closest friends, photography mentor and my guest this week. He pretty much only drinks La Croix, once and awhile will branch out to San Pellegrino but almost always drinks La Croix and his favorite flavor….Hi-Biscus! So that’s why!

Photo Props:

Anything can be used as a food prop. You would be so surprised what you already have in your house. First though, think about the shoot, conceptualize this and figure out what you need. Ask your friends, family and see what you can borrow but honestly they probably will let you keep it because it’s just collecting dust at their house. And then I love go to antique stores, garage sales, good will and other local stores. You don’t have to spend a lot of money props and a little goes a long way. And let me tell you, it’s a slippery slope of when you start “collecting” photo props and you blink….BAM your whole house is filled with photo props!

Backdrops:

Personally, I feel like everything can be used as a backdrop! From floor tiles at Lowe’s or Home Depot that look like “marble” counter tops to stick on tiles that you can put on foam board for backsplashes. For more editorial or colorful backdrops you can use seamless paper or large color aid paper sheets. Removable wallpaper, cool textiles, textures of larger cloth napkins. Don’t limit yourself!! Be creative my friends!

Photography Tips:

  • With photography, it’s lighting, lighting, lighting! You can have the best camera and the lens on the market but unless you really understand lighting the photos you are capturing could just be “luck” or not be conveying the emotions you are hoping to. The emotion you are capturing in the photo is really what sets the tone of photo. Play around with lighting as much as possible and don’t be afraid to ask questions to figure out “how” someone created that photo.

  • Get close! David says, “Don’t be afraid to lead the viewer…” You want to don’t need to show the entire burger or steak to get the viewer to understand what they are looking at. Sometimes less is more.

  • For equipment, you don’t have to buy brand new. Buy used equipment from a trusted source or even better, if you are looking to dive into some new equipment maybe rent the gear first for a week or two. Play around with it and see if it’s what you really want. You are most likely going to spend more money on lens in the long term than camera bodies and you will most likely keep those lens for years longer than you will camera bodies. Companies we have both used in the past are KEH and B&H and I also personally love a local store here in New England called Hunt Photo. Whatever you get, really do you best to learn how to use the camera and lens. You can get BEAUTIFUL shots with not expensive equipment.

  • Lenses…for food photography…you really want something like a 50mm, 85mm or if you can afford it, the 100mm Macro is where it’s at. A wide angle lens is ok in a pinch but as David says, “It’s going to distort some of the edges”. But spend the most amount of money you can on the lenses as you will most likely keep them forever.

  • Read your manual and again don’t be afraid to ask questions to your people!

  • Don’t forget to take time to still make photography “fun” for you. When you transition this to being a career there are lot of more things you have to deal with and picking up a camera can be such a small part of doing this full time so make time to play around with your camera and photography. Share them with the world! When you do this for a living your “style” may start to take a backseat so again find your balance.

Let’s switch gears a little bit and let’s talk about smoking meats!

When it comes to a grill or a smoker…you can actually do this in your grill if you want to just buy a smoker box. The bonus to buying a smoker is you can control the temperature which is kind of key when it comes to making a good juicy brisket. Honestly if you spend $200 - $400 on a decent smoker and you take care of it, it will last you years but not a lifetime.

Wood chips…certain wood chips go better with certain foods. The lighter flavored woods like apple, cherry, maple, pecan go with foods that are more delicate like fish, veggies, pork and chicken. The stronger flavored woods like mesquite and hickory go great with beef. The point of the wood is to enhance and impart flavors and notes but you still want to taste the protein or the veggies. You don’t want to over power the foods. But play around with it and maybe you like that more smokey flavor.

Cold smoke verse hot smoked salmon…both are fun to try to make, I love them both and both need to planned ahead a little bit. Here’s a great link for cold smoked salmon and here’s a link for hot smoked salmon.

What to bring to a friend’s house:

Patino’s Next Day Brisket Sando:

DONE!

Now go forth and cook some amazing food!!

Beth Fuller is a Boston based Food, Product and Lifestyle Photographer. One of the best ways to support the podcast and Beth is to write a review wherever you listen, like the podcast on your favorite platform and please keep Beth in mind for any photography projects as a gal has got to pay her bills!

If you have a question and want it to be featured on the podcast please email either the question or a voice memo to letsgoonafoodadventure@gmail.com. Are you on instagram? Tag me in your food adventures, @letsgoonafoodadventure. Do you want to work together with food and product photography, drop me a line here!

xoxo

Beth

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Food, Podcasts Elizabeth Fuller Food, Podcasts Elizabeth Fuller

Gardening 101 with Shannie from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds

Episode 15: I took notes so you didn’t have to….We talked about the following in this episode….Today we are answering all of your gardening questions with Shannie from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds

When it comes to keeping plants alive and growing plants, well….let’s just say I personally have room to grow in this department and many things to learn, Pun intended! No really, I have the best intentions when it comes to my house plants and gardens but man oh man I just can’t seem to get the right mix of sun, water and shade because yours truly has killed many a plant in my life time. But the best part is, I don’t give up! I really do want to be a good gardener and grower of things and I feel like after talking Shannie I am hopeful for my garden this year.

Shannie and I spoke about a lot of things but one of the most important was how they are doing more of the underserved communities nationwide. If you know a community who really would benefit from their help or if you have some great ideas of more ways they can be involved in the BIPOC Community please contact them at, seeds@rareseeds.com. Also it’s not too late to order your seeds for your own garden from Baker Creek!

We touch on the Seed Saving Community a handful of times in our talk. The seedsavers.org website describes seed savings as, “Since 1975, Seed Savers Exchange has protected the biodiversity of our food system—and our planet—by preserving rare, heirloom, and open-pollinated varieties of seeds in our seed bank at Heritage Farm and encouraging gardeners and farmers worldwide to grow, harvest, and share heirloom seeds as well as recount the inspirational stories behind them.” If you’d like to learn more about it or want to be apart of it you can find more information here.

Shannie has so much incredible information with all things gardening. You can really hear the passion come through when she’s answering all of your amazing questions. From what she said throughout the podcast it sounds like the following would really help make a “recipe” for success when it comes to our gardening…

  • Figure out your first and last frost dates for your town which can be found here on the Farmers Almanac.

  • Take a look at where your garden will be in your yard or porch. How much sun does it get daily? Take note of what kind of sun you are also getting..i.e. direct or slightly shaded…

  • Invest in good soil and compost, maybe look to a local farm to see if they might have some for sale or a local garden center.

  • READ THE SEED PACKETS!!! Turns out there’s a lot of information on those little suckers and rather than just tossing the seeds in the dirt and hoping they come up, read the seed packets. And then plant the plants according to the information on the packets.

  • Don’t over crowd your garden space. This is my biggest problem. I get SO excited about growing so many things that I ALWAYS overcrowd my garden in hopes to get as many veggies and herbs as possible. I also do this when I order any type of asian take out. I always want a bite of everything and then ALWAYS order way too much. I just get so excited! Anyway, back to gardening.

  • If you are using raised beds make sure they are nice and deep about 18” if possible.

  • Companion Planting is a big deal and super cool! What plants go with what and even help each other! There is a ton of information on there but I think the Farmers Almanac does a nice job here of explaining it more.

  • You can do succession planting, “In agriculture, succession planting refers to several planting methods that increase crop availability during a growing season by making efficient use of space and timing. ... Two or more crops in succession: After one crop is harvested, another is planted in the same space.” from Wikipedia. The Spruce does a great job of explaining this more here. If you have a smaller garden to work with this is a great way to get more out of your space.

Now you’re growing things like crazy and need some recipes to use up your veggies! It can be overwhelming when you have a ton of lettuce one day and then the following week it’s just herb city! Shannie had some great ideas of how to use up lettuce when you are burnt out from salads!

For herbs, I am huge fan of freezing them. I have done this in a few different ways over the years and all seem to work. If you are going to put them right in a pan then you can chop them up, maybe even mix some together like parsley, rosemary, sage and thyme or keep them all separate too, which ever you prefer and then place them in a clean ice cube trays, cover them with olive oil or whatever cooking oil you like to use and freeze them. Once they are frozen solid I pop them out, put the cubes in labeled baggies and place them back in the freezer. When you need some fresh herbs just pop a cube out and into the pan. I have also done the exact same thing and used water instead. The only downside to the water method is you do need to let these thaw out before you use them. I like to put the cubes in a small strainer over a bowl and let them melt while I do the other prep for the meal.

I also love making Pesto, Chimichurri, Chermoula, Zhoug and gorgeous Indian Green Chutney! They are freeze beautifully and really brighten up any dish! Especially in those long winter months when you are craving sunshine and warm weather food.

Is fermenting your thing? If it isn’t, well maybe it should be. Lacto-Fermented veggies of any kind are awesome! They taste great and are good for your belly! Check out this website for more information and to get you started on your fermenting journey!

And last but not least…canning! If you are new to canning, here’s a great article on Canning 101. Personally this is something I love to do with friends and family. Get a canning party going, have some drinks, laughs and enjoy everyone’s company. That’s how we do it in our household and for some reason the canned food always tastes better when there’s more love and laughs happening around it. Just sayin!

Oh and one more thing before we go….here’s a link to edible flowers. Like I said I would stick to the ones that are prepackaged in the grocery store in the plastic clam shell style containers that are next to the fresh herbs. Please don’t go and pick your own flowers and here’s an article if you are interested in further reading on the subject.

Now go forth and cook some amazing food!!

Beth Fuller is a Boston based Food, Product and Lifestyle Photographer. One of the best ways to support the podcast and Beth is to write a review wherever you listen, like the podcast on your favorite platform and please keep Beth in mind for any photography projects as a gal has got to pay her bills!

If you have a question and want it to be featured on the podcast please email either the question or a voice memo to letsgoonafoodadventure@gmail.com. Are you on instagram? Tag me in your food adventures, @letsgoonafoodadventure. Do you want to work together with food and product photography, drop me a line here!

xoxo

Beth

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Food, Podcasts Elizabeth Fuller Food, Podcasts Elizabeth Fuller

Traveling the World; No Plan, No Problem....

Episode 14: I took notes so you didn’t have to….We talked about the following in this episode….We are talking the wonderful Joe Buppert about his travels and how the hell he did it without a plan?!?

I love traveling. I truly live to travel. I will work all year to take one or two really exciting vacations every year some where else in the world. I am not the type of person who could get a time share and go back to the same place over and over again. There’s nothing wrong with that at all and as I always say, “You do you”. But to me, time is the most precious thing I have in this world and I want to use it to see and experience everything I can!

My guest this week, Joe Buppert has done more than just “travel”. He has truly immersed himself in the experience and his stories about these experiences are incredible. He had a moment in his life where it all made sense. Leaving everything he knew and that was comfortable, picking his life up and throwing himself out there in the world just to see what happens. He had no plan other than that first plane ticket but knew he wanted to travel for a year, knew he wanted to go to a handful of places but that was it. So he packed a bag (literally 1 bag, I know my mind is blown as well), bought that plane ticket and he was off. Over the course of about a year he traveled to Japan, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, South Korea, Taiwan, Malaysia, Singapore, Greece, Georgia (the country), Armenia, Germany, Amsterdam, France, England, Scotland and back to the US.

There is something that happens when you travel the world and something even bigger when you do it alone. Everyone’s experience is different but for me when I traveled solo it pushed me outside my own comfort zone, it sparked emotion growth in aways I never knew were possible and made me appreciate what I have and didn’t have even more in the sense of love, friends (new and old) and the absolute kindness of strangers who were only strangers for a split second just to name a few things.

In my travels and in Joe’s, we have learned a handful of things….

  • Bring layers, you want clothes that you can layer up or down depending on the changes in the weather.

  • Don’t over pack, you can ALWAYS buy something you need when you are traveling and then, if it’s something you don’t love, donate it when you’re done.

  • For me, an international plug is key, for Joe, not so much

  • Joe loves bags locks, especially if you’re staying in a hostel.

  • Have some money on you in the currency of the country you are traveling too. You don’t need hundreds of dollars but have some. You NEVER know when you’ll need cash but don’t keep a huge wad of it on you as it could catch someone’s eye.

  • Try to blend in, don’t be a tourist. I.e. LEAVE THE SELFIE STICK AT HOME! And have some confidence.

  • Joe loves to bring a jar of Peanut Butter where he goes because in a pinch when you’re hungry…Peanut Butter goes great with everything.

  • No matter where you are traveling to always check with the consulate of the countries to figure out if you need a visa, how long you can stay and what you need to do ahead of time before going to the countries. I.e. vaccines, visas and if there are any other restrictions you should be aware of. I.e. don’t think about bringing gum into Singapore.

Joe decided to do programs like Couch Surfing and Workaway. He also took advantage of these programs in another way, he befriended the people he stayed and worked with. Talking, being friendly and showing other’s kindness will go along way when you’re traveling. I think this helped enrich his experience even more. I know it has for me when I travel. Like for example when I was 19, I picked up everything and moved to Ireland for a summer and I was able to convince a very good friend of mine to come with me.

We didn’t have a plan, didn’t know anyone, didn’t know where we would live or what we would do for work but I knew we could make it work. We originally planned on living in Dublin. But the country was in the middle of, what they now refer to as, The Celtic Tiger. In Dublin at that time finding a flat (apartment) was impossible. The economy was in a massive boom period and jobs were being created and taken instantly, flats were near to impossible to find at any price let alone a decent one and time was ticking. So we were sitting in a pub one day trying to figure out our next move and someone mentioned a town called Galway on the west coast of Ireland. We hopped on the first train the next day and went to Galway. Got out of the rail station and (We both smoked at the time), lite up a cigarette and just looked out at the city in front of us. A girl, about our age, asked me if I had a lite. I lit her cigarette (this is one of the times that smoking worked out for me) and she asked what we were doing here. If you know anything about me, you know I LOVE chatting with people. So I explained everything and when I was finished she said, “My boyfriend and his flatmate are looking for two roommates! You should come by tonight, have dinner with us and look at the flat!” Just like that, we had new friends, a place to live and all because I was friendly and a smoker. No really, it was because I was friendly, don’t smoke, it’ll kill you. So the moral of the story, be kind and always carry a lighter.

Ok back to Joe! So let’s talk about food. Joe and I talk a lot about his travels through Southeast Asia and both of ADORE the food from this region of the world. There is something so special about it so we wanted to include some recipes below that we both really like and hope it inspires you to go cook something yummy, travel to this region of the world and above all else SHOW SOME KINDNESS AND SUPPORT TO ANYONE IN THE ASIAN COMMUNITY!!!!! Speak up and support the #StopAsianHate, Support your local Asian Markets, Food Bloggers, Cookbook Authors and show some love! Hate and fear has no place in my world, be the best human you can be in this world. Support and uplift everyone around you.

Below is written by Joe:

I like to have fermented products around and one that I really enjoy is Kimchi. And besides just eating it plain I find it super versatile. A favorite snacking dish that its great in is Kimchijeon (Korean Pancake) I ate a lot in Korea. There's many versions of it often with seafood, pork or just kimchi in it. You can literally eat it all time of day. Make a big batch the night before reheat the next morning like a waffle with an egg and avocado or have it for lunch. Here's an iteration of it that I like to make. If your snacking on it at night try some Makgeolli (not fruited version and drier if possible)

https://www.koreanbapsang.com/kimchi-jeon-kimchi-pancake/

-Seafood or meat products not necessary or can try this.

Makes 1 large pancake

  • 1 cup Kimchi (well fermented preferably not fresh from the market, but you've had it for a little while)

  • 1/2 cup all purpose flour (some like to add some cornstarch or potato starch in this measurement for crispiness.

  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

  • 1/4 cup chopped scallions

  • neutral oil for frying

Squeeze juice from kimchi over bowl and top with liquid brine from jar or ice cold water to get 1/2 cup.

Roughly chop kimchi

Add flours and salt to bowl with 1/2 cup kimchi juice liquids. stir to combine, let sit for a few minutes. Then add kimchi and scallions stir/fold in with chopsticks

Heat a tablespoon to a Tablespoon and a half in non stick skillet or very well season skillet over medium high heat

Pour batter in and spread with spatula to thin it out. Let cook 4ish minutes, flip and cook 3 minutes longer.

Cut into triangles and and dip into equal parts of soy sauce, rice vinegar and filtered water mixed together with a touch of toasted sesame oil.

Drink some Makgeolli, shoot the shit with friends and watch a sports game or something

Other favorite Kimchi easy DIY dishers recently include:

Toast up your favorite plain bagel or toast, spread a little butter on it then layer it with sliced avocado, add some chopped kimchi, then top with a fried egg and sesame seeds. If you have cheese and that tickles your liking throw that on there too! Maybe some cheddar. Feel free to build your anatomy depending on textural preference as well too. Toast, butter, avocado, egg, kimchi, cheese. Kimchi grilled cheese! Do it.

-Find some good bread

-Make sure kimchi isn't super cold from fridge

In many parts of Asia sweet potatoes were a very popular snacking item (Japan and Taiwan). Oftentimes at convenience stores or road side stalls you'd see them over a bed of coals or in the convenience store in a case sitting on some warm rocks. You'd pick one up, they'd wrap in foil, you could add seasonings and you'd be off for a nice mid morning breakfast snack or whenever.

To replicate at home. Easy! When you get up in the morning before shower or coffee. Preheat your oven to 400F degrees, scrub a few Japanese sweet potatoes (they are starchier and fluffier almost) regular sweet potatoes work to but try Japanese ones if you can. Poke a few holes and roast for 50 mins or so. Pro Tip: Throw a few extra in for dinner purposes are to use later on. When done let cool slightly wrap in foil and take on your morning commute or just carry around the house with you. Dress to your liking, but don't add too much let the natural flavor come through as there's a lot!

I think we can also confidently say I'm a huge fan of Shawarma too and there are many different versions to the dish which are awesome depending on where in the world you are eating it. A decent recipe to start with is from NYT Cooking. I'd tone down the oil a bit though. Serve with whatever you'd like but next day make some tortillas or Lavash and role leftovers and toast up under broil or in the pan.

https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1017161-oven-roasted-chicken-shawarma?action=click&module=Local%20Search%20Recipe%20Card&pgType=search&rank=1

https://littlespoonfarm.com/sourdough-tortillas-recipe/#wprm-recipe-container-4418

Someone once described this as the hamburger of Thailand as it's highly available everywhere and at most roadside stalls and food markets. Pad Krapow Kai, Spicy thai holy basil with chicken. And always add a fried egg on top! Use holy basil if you can find it other thai basil works great. And don’t try other rice options unless your diet requires it. Sometimes trying to change to many elements of a dish then saying it doesn’t taste good when they never attempted how it was written or what it should’ve tasted like. The white rice is meant for a reason in a lot of dishes and works as an element in one way and changing it can throw out the balance. Like in this one it’s the heat, the rice helps cool your palette down. It accompanies the flavors of the stir fry like a well written book.

https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/257938/spicy-thai-basil-chicken-pad-krapow-gai/

And more recipe ideas:

We could both keep going and going but here’s our point, go out and eat some of this amazing food. Does it intimidate you to cook it? No problem, find a spot local or not so local spot that makes one of the dishes that sparks your interest and go eat it from an expert. Appreciate the time, love, generational history and thoughtfulness that went into creating that dish for you and most of all challenge your palette to eat something new. You’ll be better for it in the end. I promise.

Now go forth and cook some amazing food!!

Beth Fuller is a Boston based Food, Product and Lifestyle Photographer. One of the best ways to support the podcast and Beth is to write a review wherever you listen, like the podcast on your favorite platform and please keep Beth in mind for any photography projects as a gal has got to pay her bills!

If you have a question and want it to be featured on the podcast please email either the question or a voice memo to letsgoonafoodadventure@gmail.com. Are you on instagram? Tag me in your food adventures, @letsgoonafoodadventure. Do you want to work together with food and product photography, drop me a line here!

xoxo

Beth

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