Posted by: Lynn Greene
in Lynns Place Blog on August 24, 2009
Tagged in: Untagged
Quick breads are my answer to having fresh bakery midweek or having a hostess gift to grab in a hurry.
"What's so quick about them?" my noncooking friend asked. "You still have to mix them up and bake them."
Yes, my dear, that is quite true. But for those of us who like to make bread, the difference is quite substantial. Quick breads use baking powder or baking soda (or a combination), not yeast, which takes awhile to rise and then rise again.
So, quick breads are quick - if you are a baker. If you are not a baker, all you need to know is that they are simply good, homemade breads that smell heavenly and taste even better.
A baking novice can make them and be as pleased as a professional with the results. In other words, quick breads are hard to mess up and come with big rewards.
The basic batter of a quick bread consists of eggs, sugar, flour, shortening, liquid, flavorings, leavening and your choice of fruits, nuts and seeds - if you choose to add such ingredients. Once you have found a basic recipe that you like, you can try changing it. Add applesauce instead of some of the pumpkin. Use craisins and pumpkin seeds instead of the raisins and walnuts.
What I like about making quick breads this time of year is that I bake them up and freeze them now for redemption later during the busy holiday season. A trio of quick breads tied up with a pretty bow, tucked in a basket, makes a great hostess gift. Take a loaf out of the freezer and take it to work for a great office snack, or leave it on the counter for an after-school snack.
Posted by: Terry Mayer
in Terry's Blog on August 24, 2009
I should do a whole photo story on photographs I take out the back door of the house. The lightening photo that I posted a few posts ago was shot a few steps out the back door. For this one, I never left our kitchen.
This is a weather vein along our fence in the back yard around 25 feet from our house. On this night I had gone out running and while I was out, the sky lit up with lightening. It made for an awesome show in the night time twilight. While running, I was trying to think how I could get a photo of the lightning in the sky. Just a photo of the sky wouldn't cut it. I needed something in the foreground.
By the time I got home nothing really came to me. The ideas that I had would require some set up which would take some time. Since it was starting to sprinkle, I gave up on those ideas, but as I went to the kitchen to get a drink I could see the weather vein silhouetted against the lightning. I knew that was what I wanted.
I ran upstairs to get a tripod but couldn't find a head for it. With the storm moving pass fast I had little time. I ran back down to the kitchen, turning off the lights and grabbing my camera on the way. I always keep my 80-200mm lens on the body so I can grab it and go, which I did in this case. I opened the sliding door, stuck the lens out and shut the door enough to hold the lens tight. This is not the best thing to do with a camera but it worked for me at that time and many times you have to improvise and use whatever is at hand. The exposure is a lot like the lightning photo I posted a little while ago. I open up the aperture to let as much light in as possible, get focused in on something in the foreground (or sometimes the background) and hold the shutter open until the lighting strikes or just open it up when I think it will strike. This works best for me. I know there are other ways to achieve the same result but you have to find what works for you. I do get a lot of all black images but once you get a feel for where the lighting is and how the camera reacts it gets easier. I am not sure what my exposure is on this image but the ISO was 800 and f-stop was set at 2.8 . I do have more from the backdoor but will post them at future dates.
Posted by: Lynn Greene
in Lynns Place Blog on August 18, 2009
Tagged in: Untagged
I don't have to tell all the gardeners out there that this has been a strange year - they already know it. The rain has been erratic, and the temperature has sagged just when we needed the heat to kick in.
As long as the garden keeps growing and producing, anything summer throws at you seems to be bearable - until it affects the tomato crop. Then, it becomes personal. Or at least emotional.
That's because nothing equals the taste of a fully ripened on-the-vine, fresh-picked tomato. And this year, they have been slow in coming and unpredictable in abundance.
So, if you've got them, better enjoy them completely right now.
Posted by: Editorial Post
in The Way We See It on August 18, 2009
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From the Aug. 16, 2009 CSI Walworth County Sunday "The Way we see it" column:
These are, indeed, remarkable times, given that the party of the president tumbles farther each day down the health care rabbit hole into the head-stand world of reptilian political theater.
Confronted with a grassroots conflagration sparked by the Obama administration’s attempts to hijack American health care, Democrats are laughably demonizing the kind of spontaneous political dissent they alleged — incorrectly — occurred routinely during the Bush presidency.
Posted by: Terry Mayer
in Terry's Blog on August 14, 2009
This is a recent photo I took at the Venetian festival in Lake Geneva over looking the Rivera. It was a fireworks display on the final night and I always look to do something different. For 5 years I have been wanting to do a shot like this with the Riv in front and the fireworks up high. This year I was granted permission by the owner Sal, to go up into the condos across the street and get some photos and this is what I got. The lens is a 14-mm at f/9 and I cannot tell you how long the the shutter was open mainly because I used instink and my best guess. I did a couple of test shots but each firework is different so it depended on how big the firework was and how bright, plus you have to remember the lights already avaibile. After one or two fireworks I got a feel for what would works and what wouldn't. I had forgotten my tripod (D'oh) so I resting the camera on the balcony ledge to steady the camera. One thing that really bugs me about this photo is the trees in the lower right corner it is covering up some of the building and also a fountain in front which would have been nice to see.
Posted by: Terry Mayer
in Terry's Blog on August 07, 2009
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This was a very tricky photo for many reasons. The first reason is access: this was in the County jail. You just can't walk into the jail and start snapping photos so a few weeks before the shoot I had to get clearance. When shooting in the jail the officers let you know what you can and cannot photograph, and they trust you to follow the guidelines. No matter if I think it is a good photo or not, I do what the officers tell me to do. If they say that I cannot photograph someone or something, I leave the camera at my side so there is no question. I want to stay on the officers' good sides so I can return for assignments in the future.
After the debriefing on photo ethics in the jail, I was led to a room where a pastor and his volunteers have bible studies with the inmates. One of the photo stipulations was that I could not photograph the inmates' faces. This makes it a little difficult but also makes for a great challenge and forces me to be creative. During one of the studies the inmates bowed their heads to pray. When the inmate in this photo bowed his head, a shadow was cast across his face but his hands stayed in the light. I did have to darken the shadow a little around 10% in Photoshop, just to make sure you could not identify the inmate. The original was probably okay as it was but I didn't want any question as to the inmate's identity. I originally shot the image in color and then converted to to black and white, which I really liked so I then tried it as a duo tone with a bluish grey color and which I liked even more.
