french toast + greedy landlords

little nest cafe:
a big part of my friendship with my friend adina,
and one of the best parts about living near commercial drive.
and now… this little gem of a cafe is closing due to ridiculous rent increases.
(read article here)
just sad.

this particular day we had just finished a soap-making workshop,
and wanting nothing else than breakfast at little nest.
as it was a weekend, i opted for the french toast special,
while adina got some sort of veggie dish with the fluffiest, yummiest scrambled eggs.

(the first couple times i went to little nest are documented on my old food blog.)

melting

i had an incredible + fun photoshoot a few days ago with johnny’s pops.
(vancouver’s newest gourmet popsicle bike cart)

after the session we experimented with the melting pops.
gorgeousness.
can’t resist sharing.

the dirty apron | vancouver food photographer

new menu items often need new photos.
when the dirty apron added a few platters to their catering website, they asked me to take some photos.
so we photographed all their platters,
along with a variety of desserts + pastries.
we met before-hand to discuss style of photos
(some of which included perusing donna hay magazines!)
and how to bring a fresh new look to the platters while keeping with the branding of the company.

i’m discovering how much i enjoy this part of the process:
when clients say ‘we want good looking photos,’
i figure out with them what that actually means,
visually,
for their company, goals, + market,
so i can produce photos that both i + my clients will be happy with.

check out how the photos look on the dirty apron’s catering page: dirtyapron.com
but here are some of  my favorites:

tasty | vancouver food photography

just a little tasty treat.
from the photo session last week with the dirty apron.
am in love with all of the photos we did.
can’t wait to show more.

food + food photography

yes,
i take photos of food.
i love, love, love it.
some of my clients have included:
the dirty apron catering
opus catering
an elegant tea catering

check out my portfolio here.
and send me an email (joey@joeyarmstrong.ca) if you need some images for your food business.
let’s chat about food.

(above: dirty apron catering)

(an elegant tea)

(above: opus catering)

simple

trying to read more.

loving this book: an everlasting meal, by tamar adler

“this is not a cookbook or a memoir or a story about one person or one thing. it is a book about eating affordably, responsibly, and well, and because doing so relies on cooking, it is mostly about that.”  (from page 1 of said book)

i’ve started collecting veggie scraps in a bag in my freezer, to save to make soup stock. this book, though i read it ever so slowly, inspires me to cook and eat simpler.

one day for lunch i had toast with butter, avocado, cucumber, and good shaved cheese (specifically ‘nostrala’ a bc cheese i bought at les amis du fromage). it was simple. and delicious.

(you can also do hummus w/ avocado, or roasted garlic w/ cucumbers, etc etc.)

… without a good breakfast

i quite agree, robert.
“one should not attend even the end of the world without a good breakfast”

this breakfast is from one we made for some recent visiting guests.
eggs.
french toast (with cranberry bread from a bread affair).
- with maple syrup, blueberries, yogurt.
breakfast sausages (best. ever. from woodland smokehouse.)
coffee. (jjbean eastside. of course.)

i have more than just breakfast photos to share.
but those are for another day.
we had a lovely time showing lydia + brandon around.
lydia is a lovely, talented photographer.
and she took quite a few fantastic film photos while she was here.
check them out here and here.

granola in the morning.

i’m really picky with granola.
i dislike most of the ones in stores.
my mom used to make the best granola.
the best.
(probably in part because of all the sugar in it.)
found a recipe that was a little less sweet than my mom’s
(i still love you mom!)
but because i forgot how easy granola is,
it took me about 1/2 a year to get around to making it.
(been on my ‘to do’ list for a … long while)
serious.
finally did it last week.
used a recipe from one of my favorite food photographers:
sylvie, from gourmande in the kitchen.
check out her recipe.
*i omited the dried fruit and use a mix of agave syrup and maple to sub for the honey

a fish kind of day

craved fish today.
perused my donna hay ‘seasons’ cookbook.
found a couple salmon recipes.
at least two of them involving fennel.
decided on pan-fried salmon with fennel salad.
bought some salmon.
fennel.
etc.
made some adjustments.
and had my fish fix for the week.
divine.

here’s my adapted recipe (original from donna hay’s ‘seasons’) for 2 servings

2 salmon fillets, skin removed (150 – 200 g per fillet)
olive oil
butter
capers
thyme
sea salt & pepper

1 bulb fennel, trimmed & sliced thinly
handful of baby spinach leaves
handful basil leaves
1 orange, peeled & thinly sliced
handful toasted sliced almonds

dressing
2 Tablespoons mustard (dijon)
1/2 clove garlic, crushed
1 teaspoon sugar, or honey
1/4 cup olive oil (i use extra virgin 1st cold pressed)
sea salt & freshly cracked pepper

make dressing by combining all ingredients & whisking together.
slice veggies, prepare the salad, set aside.
heat a large skillet over medium heat.
brush salmon fillets with olive oil; sprinkle with salt & pepper.
place in hot pan, add thyme leaves & capers to pan, along with butter.
cook for 3-5 minutes on each side (or per your preference).
while fish is cooking, toss salad with dressing & start plating it.
sprinkle almonds on top of salad.
take fish off the stove, and let cool 1 minute.
serve & drink with your favorite wine.
(a dry white is probably best. but if you only have red lying around, it’ll work in a pinch

notes: the capers, butter & thyme were my additions. butter is better, and i love capers. also the orange & the almonds. also, there was thinly sliced red onion in the salad, but i decided i didn’t like it. you might, though.

*photos in this post taken with my i-phone. yes. i was lazy.

sneak peek: robbie vergara screen printing

photo session with robbie vergara screen printing this last week.
t-shirts, aprons, onesies…
& my favorite of the day: napkins.
… because they involve food, of course!
here’s a sneak: