I ran back to my hotel room to Google home photography kits. I found quite the range--everything from super professional packages costing well into the thousands of dollars to overpriced small starter kits with a tiny box plus what looked to be nothing more than a desk lamp from IKEA. My grad school income didn't allow for extravagant purchases, and even the cheaper versions seemed like a waste of money. Not to be defeated by pecuniary limitations, I immediately searched for instructions on how to build a lightbox for food photography. My search lead me here. 

I should probably mention that I'm not the most handy gal. Admittedly, I often use my lack of height to my advantage and bribe my taller friends to hang pictures for me with the promise of cupcakes. My sister has always been the organizer, the mathematician and the builder of the family. She's been methodical about constructing things since we were younger when she'd spend hours making elaborate LEGO scenes. She reads the instructions, measures, and thinks ahead. Me? Well, I read the instructions. I try to measure accurately, but I lack patience when it comes to things besides baking. So, you can imagine my happiness today when, after three days of effort and one giant glue fiasco, I finally finished my lightbox.

Mascarpone, aka Mars, trying out the finished product. Perhaps he has a future in modeling?

With that project crossed off my to-do list, I moved onto my next big idea: trying out my beautiful new Calphalon grill and panini press. I won it at EWR11 and couldn't wait to try it. After all, I don't even have a toaster or a George Foreman grill. But, I had lugged the box around DC, carefully balancing it on top of my wheeled suitcase. I was anxious to see if it had survived the many tumbles it took after hitting curbs and cobblestones. But before I could get grilling, I had one question to answer: What should I make first?

Taken in my lightbox--Look, Ma! It really works!

I was inspired by a beautiful eggplant I had purchased the day before at Trader Joe's. Whenever I see eggplants, I want to buy them because they have skin that looks rich and elegant and it always makes me want to make something equally luxurious with them. I somehow manage to resist their allure, however, because I never know what to make. My experience with them has been limited to eggplant parmesan, and whenever I think about how to expand my repertoire, my brain immediately goes blank. Despite my rationalizing, however, I convinced myself that I'd figure out what to do with the purple vegetable and it somehow found its way into my cart.

I was also inspired by a recent purchase on Amazon. My dear friend and culinary mentor Steve recommended The Dean and DeLuca Cookbook when I was in search of an all-around good cookbook. Steve is like the King Midas of cooking because his apartment kitchen is tiny, but everything he whips up turns to edible gold. Naturally, I took his advice and ordered the book. To make the deal even better, I bought it used and it was barely $5 including shipping! When it came in the mail a few days later, I spent hours devouring the recipes in front of me, anxious to check my cabinets to see which ingredients I had so I could start make something to abate the immeasurable excitement that had commandeered my thoughts. About halfway through the book, I had an epiphany. I was reading a recipe for falafel when it dawned on me that I had all of the ingredients. I loved falafel--why had I always assumed that it was too complicated to make? At that moment, I was struck with a feeling of invincibility. I wanted to make Thai chicken coconut soup and homemade hummus. I wanted to bake brioche and braise short ribs. I wanted to be the master of my kitchen. I was going to get rid of processed foods and preservatives and fill the space with from-scratch dishes and the feeling of accomplishment.

I decided to make mayonnaise. Well, backup. D&D had an amazing recipe for roasted potato salad with rosemary and lemon that called for mayo. I don't normally use the stuff, so I never have it on hand. Filled with culinary courage, I looked up the recipe and gave it a whirl both literally and figuratively, as it came together beautifully in the food processor. I was a bit shocked to see just how much oil goes into the recipe, but it didn't deter me from adding it to my beautifully roasted potatoes.

For the main course, I brought out my friend the eggplant, amputated a few slices from him and put each piece on my pre-heated grill pan next to a bright red onion slice. The veggies sizzled when they met the hot surface and were done in a few minutes' time. When I lifted the cover, I was met with a wave of steam and the sweet smell of caramelized onions. The grill had left beautiful sienna-colored grill marks, grafting the veggies with diagonal stripes. I lifted them off and placed them on a grilled panini roll, lightly sprinkling the top with crumbles of feta cheese. I didn't even bother with salt and pepper. The sandwich had the crunch of bread, lemony mayo, salty feta, tangy onion and a surprising sweetness from the eggplant. It was a fantastic meal to christen my new grill.

Labels: eggplant, EWR, food photography, grilling, panini, potatoes

4 Comments:

What a cute post! I loved your descriptive account,from beginning to end. Glad you're enjoying the new gadgets. It was great to meet you at EWR!

By  Betty Ann of AsianinAmericamag, at May 29, 2011 at 9:49 PM  

Ugh, hungry now!!! (But great post!)

By  ckhampton, at May 30, 2011 at 6:37 AM  

Great lightbox! I need to rework mine, it's been a bit overused, but it's so helpful! Glad the panini press made it

By  Beth @ Kitchen Minions, at May 30, 2011 at 5:01 PM  

Thanks y'all! It was great to meet you both, Betty Ann & Beth! I've actually hit a snag with my lightbox, as I keep ending up with the box showing in the pictures. I also forgot that The lightbox should have 3 lights around it, so I went on an epic quest to find cheap desk lamps and both Walmart and IKEA failed me. I've made two separate attempts and failed. boo. At this point I wonder if it would just be cheaper to have bought a lightbox online :/

By  kelly, at May 30, 2011 at 9:23 PM  

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Instead of being my normal, bubbly, slightly-awkward extraverted self who sees no issue with talking to strangers, I was much more demure and reserved than I had ever been in such a setting. Instead, I did a lot of observing and even more listening. I heard a lot of people discussing terms I was unfamiliar with--about gluten-free eating, for example--and mention bloggers and foodies whose names were completely lost on me. During the first day, this was all pretty overwhelming. I thought maybe I had made a mistake by coming. Then, at lunch on the second day, something amazing happened.

I got a reality check via Twitter. My friend Dave tweeted to make sure I was taking a ton of pictures, like I always do, and at that moment I realized how much I had been holding back. I was so intimidated that I had barely taken any photos. I had maybe a shot or two of everything I ate, which was completely unlike me. I replied that I had been a bit intimidated and he immediately followed up with a reminder that I had nothing to worry about. He reminded me that I was doing something I loved and that I had never let these kinds of things bother me before, so I shouldn't start now. And, with that, a simple tweet changed my whole perspective of the conference.

I started to relax and make a bigger effort to talk to people. I began to truly enjoy myself. I laughed through lunch with a great group of gals. At the CulinAerie workshop, I didn't care if my grapefruit slices were a bit off; I'm a baker, not a cook! I was sitting in a cooking class, something I'd wanted to do since sitting on a stool in my dad's catering kitchen, and I was not going to let doubts ruin my experience. 

One of the most important things I realized was what a wonderful, encouraging community I was a part of. [Yes, I belonged.] Other bloggers had questions about how to style food or how to improve their writing, just like I did. People openly shared about their families, their blogs, their jobs and their pets. In fact, at dinner on Saturday night, a bunch of us started pulling out our "baby" pictures on our phones to share our adorable cats and dogs. Most importantly, though, I realized how supportive everyone was of one another. I was happily overwhelmed with insightful suggestions about how to improve my blog or take a good photograph. And, in my moment of greatest doubt, I was going to give up a coveted spot to speak with the Food & Travel editor of The Washington Post, but a fellow blogger refused to let me cross my name off the list. For that, I am so grateful. [Thank you, Wendy!]

I initially wanted to write this post chronicling the contents of my swag bag and describing each plate of food in delicious descriptive detail, but when I got home from the conference, I realized that I had learned more about myself than what had been on the conference schedule. I realized that I am in a unique position in the blogosphere, as many conference attendees have successful blogs and go to improve upon their marketing, photography and writing skills. Essentially, they want to make a good thing better. Me? Well, even though I've had my blog for just about a year, I feel like I'm just starting one. After listening to the speakers and panels and taking in the anecdotes and insight from other bloggers, I feel like I can approach my blog with new eyes. 

When I got home from the conference, my brain was reeling with ideas of how I wanted to write more and learn to use my camera properly. Google became my best friend. I sat down and created a plan with a detailed to-do list of all that I needed to fix or learn if I wanted to get serious about blogging and confidently call myself a blogger. I think it's about time I started taking myself seriously, wouldn't you agree?

Labels: blogging conferences, EWR, writing

8 Comments:

It really is all about learning and realizing there is not a huge difference amongst us all. I had similar reservations about the conference.
And don't be fooled by the cameras, I may have a DSLR camera, but it doesn't mean I know what i'm doing with it:P
I was glad to meet you and chat with you during the walk to the market. Can't wait to see what new plans you have in store for your blog!

By  Ethan, at May 28, 2011 at 10:33 AM  

I am going to second exactly what Ethan said. Esp the dslr camera part, lol. And I took no pictures--if the conference taught me anything it was that I am writer first, and cook/baker second, and eater third and I just don't care that much about photography (alas for my blog--I do keep trying to fake it though). I also took a while to warm up--I had this moment somewhere, I forget at what point, where I suddenly realized I might look standoffish to others whereas in reality I was feeling shy and overwhelmed. I was glad i stayed and am glad you did too!

By  Laura, at May 28, 2011 at 10:55 AM  

it was really great to meet you at the conference! i think underneath it all we were all feeling just as you described... so glad we all decided to stay and be brave and make friends! i look forward to all that you do here in this space and more...

By  Unknown, at May 28, 2011 at 11:56 AM  

Thanks for the feedback, everyone! It's so interesting to see all of the different things that we took away from the conference--about ourselves and our blogs! And of course, it's nice to know that other people felt the same way, even if they didn't show it.

Before EWR, I was definitely unsure of what I wanted to do with my blog and if I was making something worth reading. Now I realize that I have a story to tell and it's worth writing about (and photographing!). Overall, it just helped me to get excited about self-expression and finding new ways to convey my love of food to my readers. So, I'll be spending the summer learning a bit about photography and writing because I want to, not because it's required :)

By  kelly, at May 28, 2011 at 1:38 PM  

I'm glad you stayed too and I wish that I would have gotten to get to talk with you! I also want to see that checklist you created...I guess spreadsheets are all the rage these days (haha)

By  Amanda, at May 28, 2011 at 5:34 PM  

It was so fun to meet you last weekend! I had much of the same issues as you did going into it. I felt like such a small fish and that no one would want to talk to me, I'm so glad everyone was so open and welcoming!

By  Beth @ Kitchen Minions, at May 30, 2011 at 5:06 PM  

Kelly, great post! I have often felt the same way...not knowing what I am doing, not "connected" but at the end of the day many of us that blog about food really are hear to support one another and have fun virtually with one another - at the end of the day we are all passionate about food right :) To me you are a wonderful spirit, full of life and excited about what you want to do (on all counts) and where you want to go! It was so wonderful meeting you (and as a perk) being your roomie!

By  Colleen (Souffle Bombay), at July 6, 2011 at 5:00 AM  

aww thanks, Colleen! You gave me such inspiration as to what is possible with a food blog. Before I met you, I had never met anyone who had written a cookbook before! I can't imagine how you juggle being such a great mom with working and cooking and blogging and all of the things that each of those entails... you have a ton of energy and passion for everything you do and it was truly motivating to see all that you've accomplished and how happy and caring you are as a result! Good things will continue to surround you in life :)

By  kelly, at July 7, 2011 at 10:06 PM  

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