A Varied Week

Hi Everyone! How's your week been? Hope it's been a stress-free one. I can't believe it's Thursday....and I'm leaving for Disneyland with my husband, sister, and our nephew Jake. He's so excited (and the adults are too, we just don't admit it ;) )

Thought I'd share some images of my week with you. I've had a real variety of shoots over the last few days. Here's a snippet of them.

I shot some pretty products for Principessa Beauty...

a fun story for Anthology magazine....

and a bunch of different locations for a travel story for Sunset magazine....

Also, if you feel like being creeped out, check out a Halloween post I did for Poppytalk. Spooky dolls, anyone? While you're at Poppytalk, you should take a look at all the submissions for her Autumn Colours Week. So many pretty pics from so many camera happy people!

That's it until next Tuesday. What are your plans for the weekend? Where ever you are, and whatever you do, have fun!

Take care,
janis

Baked

Hello to a brand new week. Hope your Monday has been a good one!

Pomegranates are plentiful these days, so I thought I'm make one of my favourite snacks - Pomegranate Apple & Pistachio Bread. The recipe is a pretty big one, so I made one large loaf, and 4 mini loaves. Love a mini bread ;)

3 cups spelt flour (definitely feel free to swap the spelt for all purpose flour!)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 cup apples, finely chopped
1 cup pomegranate arils
3/4 cup chopped pistachios

Preheat oven to 350f/180c.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking powder, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, sugar, and brown sugar. Set aside. Melt butter, then mix in a small bowl, with the applesauce. Beat eggs and milk together, add to the applesauce/butter mixture and mix together then add to the dry ingredients. Add the chopped apples, pomegranate arils and pistachios then stir together until just blended. Don't over mix the batter, or your bread could end up on the tough side ;)

Pour mixture into two 8 inch by 4 inch loaf tins, that have been lightly greased (I made one large loaf, and 4 mini loaves instead). Bake for about 45-50 minutes (large loaf pan) and about 25 minutes for the mini loaves, or until a skewer inserted in centre, comes out clean. Cool on a rack for 5 minutes before removing from tins. Enjoy!

Have a great day!
Back soon,
Janis

Sunday Observatons

I hope you all had a great weekend! I've been indoors most the day, working on an upcoming post for one of my fave blogs, Poppytalk, and cleaning our house. Took a quick break to enjoy the sunshine, so I just have a couple of observations to share. Thought I'd spare you shots of scrubbing bathrooms ;)

Hello Sunshiny Friday

A sunshiny Autumn day picture to start the weekend. Thanks for stopping by this week!

Have a fun weekend!

Back soon,
Janis

PS
For those of you that requested the recipe for the rosemary spiced nuts, (from last Sunday) here it is:

1 lb of unsalted mixed nuts, toasted (I used cashews, almonds and pecans)
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh rosemary
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/3 cup unsalted butter, melted

Preheat oven to 375f. Spread out the nuts on a baking sheet and toast until they are a light golden colour, about 10 minutes. Watch that you don't burn them (easy to do ;))
In a large saucepan, mix together the rosemary, cayenne, brown sugar, salt, pepper and melted butter, and cook and stir over medium heat for a minute. Add the nuts and continue to stir and cook for another couple of minutes to coat the nuts. Serve warm(ish) and enjoy! they are addictive.

A little wood, concrete and metal

Happy hump day! Wednesdays are turning out to be my fun days. I had another great morning with Stephanie and Joanna, from The Cross, shooting a bunch of their projects. I just wanted to share a snippet of Joanna's apartment with you....

Joanna, shot at the Cross.

Love her mix of concrete, wood, and metal. Her condo is pretty tiny (600 sf ft), but she manages to make it feel roomy. A great space to hang out in. She's working on a few bits, so I'm looking forward to sharing more with you soon. If you need design services, you can check out some of Joanna's work here.

That's it for today. Back soon!
Janis

Baked

Happy Thanksgiving Canada! Hope you've all had a great weekend.

We're in the middle setting up for our huge family dinner (19 people), and these tasty crackers are part of the cocktail snacks. Dead simple to make...perfect for a large dinner party. This was one quick recipe today! Love that.

Thyme Parmesan Crackers - makes about 4 dozen

2 cups all purpose flour
3 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme
1/3 cup finely grated parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
3 tablespoons cold, unsalted butter cut into small pieces
1 cup whole milk
1 large egg white, lightly beaten

Preheat oven to 375f. Place the flour, thyme, salt, parmesan cheese and sugar in a food processor and pulse until combined. Add butter and pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal. With processor running, add milk and mix until a dough form. Knead dough a few times, on a lightly floured surface, then break into 4 pieces, flatten and wrap separately. Chill for about 30 minutes, or until firm.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out one piece of dough into a very thin rectangle, then transfer to a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Lightly score into strips or diamond shapes, then brush with egg white. Bake until golden brown, about 20 minutes. Cool on wire rack then snap off individual crackers. Enjoy with with a cocktail!

Sunday Observations

Having a nice Sunday? What did you get up to today? If you're in Canada, you just may be eating turkey and stuffing ;)

I just got back from a meeting of fellow business owners on Union Street, in Chinatown/Strathcona. If you haven't been to the area in awhile, you have to visit soon. We're so excited to be part of this strip of Union Street (located on the same strip as the Jimi Hendrix shrine! Did you know he had a "shrine" here?) 

Click here, to check out their online shop!

For more, click here.

Website is up and at 'em. More info to come!

My giant family Thanksgiving dinner is tomorrow, but we are heading to a friend's for their Thanksgiving tonight so I made this....

(if you'd like the recipe, just ask me!)

Enjoy the rest of your weekend! Happy Thanksgiving Canada!

Back soon.

Janis