Cooking with the Sassy Mama | OKC Food Photographer

 Last year I had the opportunity to shoot the food photography for a cookbook. This has always been on my list of things to aspire for, but I had no idea I would get to accomplish it so soon. I’m very blessed to have talented people in my life who like to make me look good! One of those people being Caryn Ross. If you haven’t heard her name before, just wait. It’s only a matter of time. Her intuition when it comes to food combined with her sassy personality make a beautiful combination. Here are a few of my favorite shots from the book. If you’d like to order a copy, check out Caryn’s blog here. The cookbooks are also available at Tulips Home and Gifts, Mels Kloset, The Painted Door, Best of Books, Wright’s Family Market,  and Hastings. Enjoy!

 

Kitchen 324 | Restaurant Review | OKC Food Photographer

I promise, there is a perfectly reasonable explanation for me going to Kitchen 324 three days in a row. With my camera. Causing a scene.

Well..let me explain.

I’m always keeping my eyes and ears open for new restaurants and when I heard about this one, I was thrilled. It sounded like it was made for me. Local, fresh, homemade food located downtown and uniquely delicious; I was dying to try it. I grabbed my camera (Day 1) and planned on snapping a few quick photos. But I couldn’t help myself, everything was beautiful. I couldn’t resist the simple, modern-yet-elegant atmosphere. Or the shiny new espresso machine. Or the smell of fresh-baked pastries. Once the food arrived, I was hooked. What a wonderfully refreshing take on breakfast. It’s places like this that are really contributing to the growth and transformation of OKC.

Later that day, I had an email in my inbox from Slice magazine. They wanted to me to shoot a new restaurant downtown called Kitchen 324. Hm, how ironic. So, (Day 2) I walked in with my camera and took over a spot in the corner, hoping to be out of the way as much as possible, and avoiding eye contact with anyone who might have noticed me doing this exact same thing the day before. But once again, I got carried away with my subject. Can’t say that the latte or the carrot cake donut survived.

The next day was my friend’s birthday. We knew that we wanted brunch, but she needed suggestions. What can I say? I had Kitchen 324 on the brain. As I entered (Day 3) I took a quick glance around. I didn’t see anyone who looked familiar, so I thought I’d be ok. I mean, I wasn’t planning on eating there every day…it just kinda happened. We found our seats and when the waitress came to take our order I had to laugh, it was the same woman who I had spoken with about the blog and magazine the past two days in a row. “Yep, I’m back…but I promise it’s for her birthday, and (this time) I didn’t bring my camera!”

But really, there’s no need to justify showing up three days in a row to the employees at Kitchen 324. Because they understand. So go ahead, come everyday. There’s no judgment here.

Smoked Salmon

Carrot Cake Donut

Carrot Cake Donut

Green Eggs & Ham

Green Eggs & Ham

Steel Cut Oats

Latte

Pineapple, Green Apple, Lemon, Mint Juice

Greek Yogurt with Seasonal Preserves

That’s right, even the water has personality here.

Coffee Bar

Kitchen 324

Kitchen 324

Kitchen 324

To see a much more eloquently written article in Slice Magazine, click here. For more information on Kitchen 324, check out their website and menu, here.

Have a restaurant you’d like to see featured on the blog? Leave a comment!

Flint | OKC Restaurant Review

There’s nothing I love more than breaking the Oklahoma stereotype. Tornadoes, cowboy boots, teepee’s.. yeah that stuff is out there. But there is a whole side of Oklahoma that’s just waiting to be discovered. One of the places contributing to the growth of OKC is my new found breakfast obsession, Flint.  It’s located at the bottom of the historic Colcord hotel, across from the newly renovated Myriad Gardens. Looking out the window at the downtown view, you don’t feel like you’re in Oklahoma. Flint is the perfect blend of cozy and upscale. Its lounge area and unique fireplace not only sets the restaurant apart, but also makes it the place to be now that fall has arrived.  As if that isn’t enough comfort, just try the food. This visit I decided on the lemon ricotta pancakes with papaya chutney, while Hannah ordered the heart healthy omelet. Both had the melt-in-your mouth deliciousness factor. (Very important.)  Though I’ve yet to try it, Flint is open for lunch and dinner as well. If it’s anything like breakfast then I think we’re in for a treat.

Breakfast is serious business. Thanks for putting up with me and my camera, Hannah.

        For more info and to see a menu check out their website! http://flintokc.com

        15 North Robinson Ave. OKC, OK  -Free valet parking during your meal (up to 90 minutes).

Chocolate Quick Fix | OKC Food Photographer | Recipes

Whether you find yourself getting caught in traffic, spilling something all over a new shirt or forgetting your phone at home.. Some days just call for chocolate. Not that we’d need an excuse for that. Every once in a while (everyday), I get a chocolate craving that just won’t go away. A craving that not just any chocolate could take care of. Something warm and gooey could only do the trick. But who has time to make a warm gooey cake at a moments notice?  During one of my said cravings, I was desperately rifling through recipes and found this one for cake in a cup. I doubted that a cake made in the microwave could actually taste good, but much to my surprise it was unexpectedly delicious. One recipe makes two servings. Three if you just need a sampling. Or one…if you’ve had a rough day.

 

Cup Cake

1/4 cup flour

1/4 cup sugar

2 tablespoons cocoa

1 egg

3 tablespoons milk

3 tablespoons oil

Splash of vanilla

3 tablespoons chocolate chips (optional)

Put dry ingredients in a mug and mix well. Add egg, milk, oil, vanilla, and chips. Mix with fork. Put in microwave for three minutes. Allow to cool and enjoy.

* This recipe would be great made with peanut butter, coconut, cinnamon, or banana etc. Make it your own!

Chipotle Steak Tacos with Fire Roasted Corn Salsa | Cinco de Mayo Recipes

While living in Massachusetts I learned many things, but mainly: 1. Pretty winter snow is overrated. 2. There is no such thing as real Mexican food that far north. Now that I’m back in Oklahoma I appreciate Mexican cuisine even more. So for me, Cinco de Mayo is a great excuse to eat anything that involves a tortilla.

Chipotle Tacos with Fire Roasted Corn Salsa

Ingredients

• 1 can chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
• Juice of 2 limes, divided
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire
• 1 1/2 teaspoons Mexican oregano
• 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 1/2 to 2 pounds flank or skirt steak, 1 inch thick (ask the butcher to tenderize it twice)
•  kosher salt and coarse black pepper
• 16 soft taco-size corn or flour tortillas, charred. I like the La Abuela brand because they come ready to cook and taste homemade.

Toppings for tacos

• grilled sweet corn, scraped from the cob
• pico de gallo (make your own or use pre-made) mix with grilled corn
• Crumbled Queso Fresco
• black beans
• sour cream or plain yogurt
• lime juice

Preparation

Seed chipotle peppers then purée with adobo sauce into a smooth paste. Add 4 tablespoons to a large plastic food storage bag. Place remainder in a small freezer bag with the date for future use. To the large food storage bag, add the lime juice, honey, Worcestershire, oregano, garlic and vegetable oil. Mash up the bag with your hands to combine.

Season steak with salt and lots of black pepper. Drop it in the bag and press out most of the air as you seal up the bag. Maneuver the marinade evenly around the meat and marinate in the fridge for several hours.

Bring the beef to room temperature. Pre-heat the broiler and set an oven rack one notch up from the center. Shake off excess marinade, place beef on a broiler pan and broil 5 minutes on each side for rare, 12 minutes total for pink center or medium.

Let meat rest 5-10 minutes then thinly slice against the grain. Serve with charred hot tortillas and toppings above or of your choice. Serves 4-6

• Feel free to use chicken as well as steak. Grilling the meat also works well if you prefer not to use a broiler.

Quinoa Cookies | OKC Food Photographer | Recipes

Growing up, I was extremely picky. Nothing too colorful, flavorful, and definitely nothing out of the ordinary. Then quite suddenly, my taste buds completely transformed. No longer was I skipping salads before meals and writing off foods that looked unusual. Like most kids, I was obsessed with McDonald’s. But now even the thought of eating there grosses me out. (Not to mention that I’ve seen the documentary Super Size Me.) That being said, even though I like to eat healthy, I love desserts. I am always up for a ‘healthier’ version of something if there is one, so I was very pleased to find this recipe for peanut butter cookies. Some of you may be hesitant if you aren’t familiar with quinoa, but I promise there is nothing to fear here. So if you find yourself like I used to be, give these a try. I bet even my former self would have approved.

Peanut Butter Quinoa Cookies

• 1/2 cup honey
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/2 cup peanut butter (I’m obsessed with Teddie’s. I have it shipped to my house..)
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 cup rice flour
• 3/4 cup Quinoa Flakes
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt (optional)
• 1/2 cup nuts (optional)

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Beat honey, brown sugar, butter, margarine, peanut butter, and vanilla in a medium bowl until creamy. Combine rice flour, quinoa flakes, baking soda and salt in a small bowl. Add to mixture and beat until well blended. If desired add nuts. Drop by rounded teaspoons about 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 12 to 15 minutes or until light golden brown. Yields about 3 dozen cookies. Or around 2 dozen if you like larger cookies, like me.

Lemonade with a Twist | OKC Food Photographer | Recipes

As the temperatures increase, so does my readiness for all things summer. Although it has only been Spring a few days, I find myself dreaming of having a tan already. I guess I may be jumping the gun just a bit. But can you blame me after living through a Massachusetts winter last year? This warm weather sparked my craving for homemade lemonade. This wasn’t one of those, “oh-that-sounds-good” cravings…it was more like the can’t-concentrate-or-be-productive kind of cravings. Nothing from a can, bottle, or powder was going to do the trick. So what started out as an innocent craving turned into a photo shoot. What can I say? I had some very photogenic lemons.

But you see, problems arise with these types of cravings when you only have four lemons on hand. The thing is, sometimes when we run into problems the result becomes better than what we had intended in the first place. Since the amount of lemon juice squeezed was minimal, I needed something else. I had a tangelo in the fridge, so I went ahead and squeezed that too. The result was even better than what I had originally planned. Seems like lemons are always teaching us life lessons.

Homemade Lemonade 

• Mix 3 cups water
• 1 cup lemon juice (or in my case, add other citrus juices with the lemon. Tangelo, orange, lime ect.)
• 1/2 cup sugar

*optional – I didn’t have any on hand, but I thought a few sprigs of mint would be prefect.

*I also used Meyer lemons, which have a stronger citrus flavor and are less bitter.

Cafe Plaid | OKC Food Photographer | Restaurant Reviews

Unless you are currently attending OU, you probably won’t find yourself frequenting Campus Corner very often. And in doing so, you could very well be missing out. When I first discovered Cafe Plaid it was pouring rain. I was being towed along by one of my best friends who insisted that I would love this place. She was right. As it turns out, Cafe Plaid is the perfect complement to a rainy day.

The atmosphere seemed even more inviting in comparison to being pelted by the rain and wind outside. It has a cozy and relaxed vibe that conveys that you should come and stay awhile. Study, catch up with friends, hang out, read. Don’t rush. This element alone sets the cafe apart from so many others.

Cafe Plaid serves sandwiches, soups, and salads; as well as having their own coffee bar complete with a mouth-watering selection of baked goods. All of their bread and baked goods are freshly made in-house. (Totally worth the carbs.) Most of their sandwiches are served on Focaccia bread. Since Italian is completely foreign to me, I had no idea how to pronounce Focaccia. Upon realizing the pronunciation (foh-kah-chuh), I tried my hardest to refrain from ninja slicing the air and yelling, “Fo-Kah-CHUH!” from the top of my lungs.

Admit it. You’re thinking about trying it right now. Go ahead..

My friend ordered the Tomato Provolone (pictured above). While after much contemplating I decided on the Grilled Veggie. It includes fresh zucchini, squash, mushrooms, tomatoes, onions, and lettuce; lightly drizzled with balsamic vinegar and olive oil, which gives a hint of tangyness to the vegetables. Of course, it all rest upon the homemade focaccia bread, adding an almost fluffy texture opposite of the slightly crunchy vegetables.

*Note the Grilled Veggie originally comes with Pesto Mayo, which I substituted for oil and vinegar.

And I could not forego the soup, especially because of the weather. Cafe Plaid has a handful of different soups each day. I chose the Tomato Basil and was not disappointed. It has a nice balance between being too creamy or having too much broth, and it’s infused with just the right amount of herbs. The soup tasted even better when paired with the sandwich.

And of course, I couldn’t leave the comfort of the warm indoors to re-enter the windy trek back to the car without a coffee in hand. All of Cafe Plaid’s coffees are 100% Fair Trade and 100% Organic, not to mention roasted locally to ensure they are as fresh as possible. I ordered a Coconut Mocha that in my opinion, trumps Starbuck’s.

What started out as a somewhat dreary day turned into a lovely one. It’s amazing what good food, coffee, and friendship can do.

To view Cafe Plaid’s website, click here.

Address

333 West Boyd Street

Norman, Oklahoma 73069

Directly across from the North Oval at the University of Oklahoma.

*Be aware of the lunch rush. If you visit during prime eating hours, expect a long line.

Hours

Monday thru Friday – 7:30 am to 4 pm

Saturday – 9 am to 4 pm

Sunday – 10 am to 4 pm

Carli Wentworth | OKC Food Photographer | Chocolate Espresso Soufflé

Valentine’s Day is an opinionated holiday. Some people love it, other people aren’t so fond of it. Whether you are spending your holiday with the one you love, or trying to ignore the isle at Wal-Mart with the massive amounts of frilly hearts and outrageously large teddy bears, one thing is for certain; Valentine’s is a wonderful excuse to eat chocolate! I like this recipe because it’s simple and fairly quick to make, yet it’s a fancier alternative to your average cupcake or cookie. Enjoy!

Chocolate Espresso Soufflé

• Butter to coat baking dish
• 1/2 cup sugar divided
• 3 Tbs. espresso or strongly brewed coffee
• 5 oz. bittersweet chocolate, chopped
• 4 egg yolks
• 6 egg whites

1. Preheat oven to 400˚F. Thoroughly butter a 2 quart souffle dish or 6 (8oz.) ramekins and sprinkle with 1/4 cup sugar.
2. Combine espresso and chocolate in a glass bowl. Microwave about one minute; stir until chocolate melts.
3. Beat egg yolks into chocolate mixture.
4. Beat egg whites in a separate bowl with a mixer until frothy. Gradually add remaining 1/4 cup of sugar, beating until soft peaks form.
5. Stir about 1 cup egg white mixture into chocolate mixture. Fold remaining egg white mixture into chocolate mixture.
6. Spoon into the prepared dish. Place on baking sheet 30-40 minutes (souffle dish) or 20-25 minutes (ramekins), until soufflé rises. Serve immediately. Serves 6.