I was so devastated by my stupidity that I didn't blog for a whole week. I just don't have the money to replace it now and while I am looking around for a good deal, I do not want to settle for the first good buy I find.
I was convinced that I would not be able to blog, as I have this feeling that without the food porn, my blog will just be so boring, due to my lack of creative writing. My words certainly don't paint a picture.
Keith suggested I use my phone, I laughed at him. Please, did he not know the quality of pictures that were required for a food blog? But alas, between I rock and hard place, I just couldn't let my blog sit idle for months on end until I could decided and afford a decent camera.
So I settled with the phone camera, and while I am sure the critics out there will notice, I am quite impressed by the quality.
I made this simple starter with the bounty of purple figs I am getting from my own tree.
Phyllo Baskets With Figs and Blue Cheese
Makes 4 baskets
1 Sheet of Phyllo Pastry cut into 16 squares
4 Fresh Figs cut in quarters
60g Blue Cheese
Balsamic glaze for garnish
Rocket leaves for serving
Butter for the pastry
Preheat your oven to 190ºC
Grease a muffin pan with butter (only 4 holes need greasing)
Brush the Phyllo squares with soft butter and line each muffin cup with 4 squares.
Place the figs in the pastry cups and bake for 15 minutes.
Crumble the cheese over the baked figs and bake until pastry is golden and cheese is melted.
Drizzle some balsamic glaze on the plate, make a small bed of rocket and place the fig baskets on the rocket.
Serve warm or at room temperature.
Simple and elegant.
Wow, that looks amazing. Wish I had a fig tree in my garden, I can devour figs by the bucket-full :P
ReplyDeleteA very nice creative way of using figs :)
What a blow, Rose, to lose it like that. But the phone does a pretty good job! My husband is a professional photographer and he takes some stunning photos on his i-phone - the best camera is the one you have with you! After all half the photo is in the composition and lighting and the camera doesn't do that for you.
ReplyDeleteI'll have to go and see if the birds have left us any figs. I usually just eat them straight - haven't tried cooking with them yet, but this looks delicious.
Kit, these are the first figs I have cooked with, I usually eat them straight away. Still a young tree, so the figs only ripen in 2 or 3's.
ReplyDeleteMy running partner is also a professional photographer (food) and he agrees, 90% of the picture is lighting and composition.
I am seriously considering staying with the phone camera for a while.
Sorry to hear about the camera. But several years ago my digital camera got stolen in London. I was in the same situation as you. But I made the investment and took the leap into a DSLR - I have never looked back since. Your pictures look great and you are wise to shop around for best buys.
ReplyDeleteTHis recipe looks great. I envy you and your fig tree!
Wow! See? It's all about the photographer and not the camera! They looks so delicious, I had to stop myself from licking the screen. :))
ReplyDeleteIt's remarkable how good the quality of phone cams can be. Those are really lovely pics. I'm so sorry about your lost camera and hope you can afford a new one soon. All the best!
ReplyDeleteShame Rose, sorry to hear of your misfortune. The photos in this post are a testament to the fact that it's not the equipment that makes the photo, it's the photographer. You definitely have the skills, something I still need to learn. (As you probably know I'm still taking photos with my phone after my camera broke last year)
ReplyDeleteWow, I retract all my words about phone cameras - these pics look pretty decent!
ReplyDelete