What is a little surprising is that despite a myriad of holiday shoots (like this one, this one, and a bunch of these. I particularly loved these cookies) and feasting on the leftovers, I still seem to be thinking about holiday treats. Like these gingerbread meringues.

I blame the What Katie Ate cookbook, and it’s gorgeous chocolate meringue shot. Who isn’t inspired to make a batch of those? But instead of chocolate, I thought a little seasonal spice would be a nice touch.

My meringue recipe is a bit of a blend of the meringue from What Katie Ate and recipe inspired by Ottolenghi in The Guardian, which toasts the sugar slightly before adding it to the egg white. To get a real gingerbread flavor, I used a bit of molasses along with a blend of cane and coconut sugars (although you could just use regular sugar for both). The meringues take on a lovely tan color, even before adding the spices. I like to add a little cocoa powder just barely folded in to add a little more mottling to the meringues. Mine got a little crinkly as they baked, but they were still light and delicious!

These meringues are good as they are, but also tasty with a little ginger and powdered sugar mixture sprinkled on top.

Gingerbread Meringues

1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon dried orange peel
200 grams cane sugar
50 grams coconut sugar
2 tablespoons molasses
1 teaspoon lemon juice  
5 egg whites
a pinch of salt
2 teaspoons unsweetened natural cocoa powder

Mix the ginger, cinnamon, cloves and orange peel together in a small bowl, making sure to break up any clumps.

Place the cane and coconut sugars on a parchment lined baking sheet, and cook for 8 minutes in a 375F oven. Reduce the heat to 250F.

Heat the molasses in the microwave for about 10 to 15 seconds until just warm… this will make them easier to pour.

Pour the lemon juice into the clean metal mixing bowl, and then wipe all around with a paper towel (this makes sure there are no residual oils in the bowl). Add the egg whites to the bowl. When there is only about 1 minute left of baking the sugar, start beating the egg whites on high speed. When the sugar is done, carefully remove it and pour it into the beating egg whites in a slow gradual stream (if you aren’t using a stand mixer, you’ll want a friend to help!) Drizzle in the molasses, and continue to beat until the mixture is glossy and holds a firm peak.

Fold in the spice until well blended, and then dust the top with sifted cocoa powder and fold only two or three times.

Line a two sheet pans with parchment, and drop large (a little less than a cup) dollops an inch or two apart. You’ll have 10 to 12 meringues, depending on how big you make them (of course, you can make more, small ones if you prefer). Bake for an hour and a half at 250F until they are firm to the touch, and then turn off the oven, leaving the meringues in for another two hours to cool and dry completely.

But, also not surprised because despite the fact that people kind of get excited about it when you talk about Twinkies and Ding Dongs and Hostess Cupcakes and Donettes, I think most people are just not all that into eating that much junk.

Here’s what’s Wikipedia says is in a Twinkie:

Enriched wheat flour, sugar, corn syrup, niacin, water, high fructose corn syrup, vegetable and/or animal shortening – containing one or more of partially hydrogenated soybean, cottonseed and canola oil, and beef fat, dextrose, whole eggs, modified corn starch, cellulose gum, whey, leavenings (sodium acid pyrophosphate, baking soda, monocalcium phosphate), salt, cornstarch, corn flour, corn syrup, solids, mono and diglycerides, soy lecithin,polysorbate 60, dextrin, calcium caseinate, sodium stearoyl lactylate, wheat gluten, calcium sulphate, natural and artificial flavors, caramel color, yellow #5, red #40.^[7]

Really, I think while most people may want to eat an occasional sugary treat, they are pretty much ok skipping the polysorbate 60 and petroleum based dyes.

I doubt that Hostess Brands products will be missing from the shelves anytime soon (Hostess Brands says that they were baking 500,000,000 Twinkies a year), but if you are like me and want to skip all the preservatives that help those snacks stay shelf stable long after the company will have gone out of business, you can always make your own. Real Snacks: Make Your Favorite Childhood Treats without all the Junk has my recreation of Twinkies, Ding Dong, Hostess Cupcakes and Donettes, as well as recipes for many other snacks (and they all have Gluten Free and Vegan options too) that taste great but skip the petroleum based dyes. You can also get my Twinkie recipe here, on Epicurious and my Donette recipe here, on A Well Seasoned Life.

So hang in there fellow snack lovers, and get baking!

  

So, as a little sneak peak, I thought I’d share my Cheddar Goldfish recipe with you from the book. I love these fun little crackers… and they are delicious with Cheddar or any other firm cheese… try them with Jack or Gouda or any cheese you love. The better the cheese, the better the cracker!

Before I get to the cracker recipe, I have an announcement… the winner of Aran Goyoaga’s delightful book, Small Plates and Sweet Treats, is Jess O’Toole! (I’ll be in touch soon Jess!) Thanks everyone for your lovely Fall Favorite comments! They’ve put me completely in the fall mood, which is good since Portland seemed to skip the normal summer to fall transition and entered it full force last week. Welcome to rain and knit caps.

So, about those crackers. I made this particular batch of fishes with King Arthur’s gluten free all purpose flour mix, and it worked great. I’ve also tried them with Bob’s Red Mill, and they were also delicious… in fact, while for some recipes I prefer bean-free flour mixes, I like the flavor that a bit of garbanzo and fava bean bring to crackers. My favorite though is to make my own GF flour mix, when I need to. I like a mix of 100 grams sorghum or oat flour, 100 grams ground millet flour, 100 grams sweet rice starch, 100 grams tapioca starch, and 100 grams potato starch. If you make up a big batch, keep it in the freezer to keep it fresh, and just bring to room temperature before you bake with it. Many of these flours can go off if stored in the pantry.

Although I’m not gluten-free, I do have a lot of friends that are, or are vegan, so for Real Snacks, it was important to me to offer gluten free and vegan variations to the recipes.

Gluten Free Cheddar Goldfish

1/2 cup (60 grams) gluten free all purpose mix
1⁄4 cup (30 grams) corn flour
1⁄4 cup (30 grams) oat flour
a pinch of turmeric (optional, for color)
1⁄2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 ounces) grated loosely packed mild cheddar cheese
2 tablespoons coconut oil or unsalted butter
2 to 3 tablespoons hot water, divided

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment and set aside.

Combine the flours, turmeric and salt in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the dough blade and pulse to combine. Add the cheese and coconut oil, and pulse to incorporate. Scape down the sides of the food processor to free any trapped flour. With the food processor running, drizzle in the hot water, a little at a time, just until the mixture begins to pull together. You may not use all of the water.

Form the dough into a ball, and gently flatten. Place the dough between two pieces of parchment paper, and roll very thin, to about 1⁄8 inch thick.

Using a very small fish-shaped cutter, or the cutter of your choice, cut out the crackers and carefully place them on the prepared baking sheets. Bake, keeping a close eye on them, until golden around the edges, about 10 to 12 minutes, and cool before serving.

I couldn’t resist this pumpkin from the pile. I’ve never seen one so evenly covered! It’s like someone crocheted a pumpkin cozy for it.

This creamy and delicious garlic and saffron soup with curried shrimp by my friend Aran Goyoaga in her gorgeous book Small Plates and Sweet Treats. I want to make almost everything in this book! I’m trying out a bit of a restrictive diet, so I made a couple of changes to the soup, subbing in cauliflower and white beans for the potato and celery root, and it was fantastic, despite the fact that my saffron didn’t quite pump out the same vivid color as Aran’s. (Those curried shrimp? I scarfed down a dozen.) I love that this book has such creative flavor combinations that are spot on… but also very easy to adjust for your own tastes (or diet restrictions).

I’m happy to say also, I have a copy of the book to give-away! (I pre-ordered mine many months ago, but the publisher sent me an earlier copy as well). Want to win the copy? Leave a comment with some of your fall favorites and I’ll pick one comment as the winner on Friday. The winnner has been announced! Thanks for your comments!(Fine Print: Sorry, US shipping only for this give-away).

This Vietnamese Curried Chicken and Squash Stew from Jess Thomson’s Pike Place Market Cookbook, made miniature for a great little one pot, one person dinner. I subbed in carrots for the kabocha, since that’s what I had in the fridge. Mmmm… fish sauce and lemongrass. Delicious.

If you haven’t seen it yet, I do hope you check out this cookbook… Jess is one of the best food writers and recipe developers I know (and having worked with her on her upcoming book, Dishing Up Washington, I’ve tasted a LOT of her recipes), and this book is no exception.

So, what are your fall favorites?

After biking for 5 days, Cam and I headed out on a ferry to Koh Samui for a few days of complete slacking. Get up, hang by the pool until nap time kind of days. We stayed at the gorgeous Hansar Samui, right by the cute, although quite touristy, “fishing village ” of Bo Phut. I was so lazy, I didn’t even take any photos until the morning we left:

After a quick flight over to Phuket and a few hours drive north, we hopped on a little boat in Cheiow Laan Lake in the pouring rain and sped out, to one of the groups of raft houses. The surrounding limestone cliffs were hung with clouds, and although we were throughly soaked, the rain was warm and the experience so surreal we both had huge grins. Arriving at the raft houses, we sat down to a big meal, the rain cleared, and few found ourselves in one of the most beautiful spots I’ve ever seen.

On the morning of our last day, we went out for a boat ride to see some wildlife (although they were all fairly far from the boat, we saw gibbons and several different types of monkeys), and before pulling in, our guide, Yu, pulled the boat up to the bank to show us wild morning glory, and then started to harvest a huge armful which he brought back and had the kitchen make us for lunch. It was delicious.

If you ever get a chance to visit Koh Sok and Cheiow Laan lake, don’t miss it! It really is extraordinary.

After Bangkok, we spent 4 days riding down the coast on bike with Grasshopper Adventures. I can’t say enough great about seeing a country by bike (especially when fully supported and with great local guides, ilke our guides Tammy, Anna and Mr. Wow!). We biked from 30 to 40 miles each day through little beach towns and farming communities. We stopped frequently, at little side of the road fruit markets, ornate temples, mangrove forests, shrimp sorting tables, fantastic Thai lunches, an aquarium filled with school children, rubber tree orchards, hungry monkeys, fish drying tables and coconut farms. It was hot riding (especially for those of us from the Northwest!). At one point, I stopped worrying about sunburn and started worrying that my muscles might be cooking like a chicken. Thank goodness for frequent rest breaks with the freshest pineapple and cold wet washcloths kept in the support van.

This was definitely more than I’ve ever ridden before, and although I was tired each day, I was also exhilarated. I was also ready for the beach… more on the rest of our trip.

When I posted that we were heading to Thailand on Facebook, lots of folks asked if I was going for work. Of course, I would certainly be taking photos. But, because I really wanted this to be a vacation, I decided to leave my work camera at home, and shot everything with a Fuji x100. I love this little camera, partly because it’s tiny but still gives me full control and partly because it forces me to look at things a little differently. Most of my studio work is done with a telephoto lens; this little camera has a fixed 35mm lens equivalent, so it’s much wider than I normally shoot. It’s really fantastic to play with and get a new perspective.

Our trip had us fly into Bangkok for just a couple of days to adjust to the time change, enjoy a few food carts and see a few sites, like climbing up the very steep (and scary) steps of the Wat Arun and wandering through the acres of stall at the Chatuchak market. Nothing fancy… we were all about the street food and it was well worth it (not to mention, insanely affordable!)

I wish we had another couple of days to explore, but then it was on to our next adventure

Can I let you in on a little secret? I may dream of neatly folded linens and receipts scanned away rather than stuffed into a shoebox, but most months? I’m lucky if I get my invoicing done. All of my energy goes into my shoots and edits, and when the jobs come fast and furious like they have for the past couple of months, my studio ends up looking like a vintage shop exploded in it and moving from one side to the other is a little like playing one of those sliding piece puzzles.

The next two months are lining up to be two of my busiest months yet… in addition to shooting a cookbook (on craft beer… mmm) and a book on making your own soap, I’m shooting over 50 recipes for other clients, teaching online classes, and, oh yeah, I have a manuscript due on December 1st. And a book release late next month. I am over the moon with all this great stuff, but soon to be out of my skull if I don’t get some help.

So, I’m happy to announce that I’m looking for an intern. This will be a 2 month contract position starting October 1 (or as soon as possible), with the possibility of longer depending on my on going work and the fit.

This position will get you hands on styling and assisting on shoots, so you’ll need to have an eye for detail and seeing what needs to be done next. You don’t need professional or previous assisting experience, but you do need to be comfortable cooking all types of food, not be afraid to ask questions when you don’t know what to do, and willing to work it out when there aren’t necessarily obvious answers. And, to make up for my tendency to less than artfully make piles, you will hopefully love organizing props and linens, and be enthusiastic about cleaning. The best fit would be someone who is interested in professional food and prop styling long term… but if you are more interested in the photography side of things and you don’t mind getting your hands dirty in the kitchen, that’s cool too.

Responsibilities will vary widely but will include some of the following:

• Sourcing for shoots
• Styling Prep
• Assisting with Lighting
• Organizing/Cleaning
• Scanning receipts
• Scheduling shoots

This position is located in Portland, Oregon. Pay will be based on experience, but I can tell you that one perk will be access to the studio (and my selection of props, kitchen equipment and lighting gear) when it’s not in use for your own projects! There is also an option of room & board at the studio for those who are interested in the position but not living in Portland.

To apply, email lara@laraferroni.com with the subject line “Photo + Styling Intern” and include the following:

Update: Thanks everyone for your responses! This position is now filled.

• A resume
• A link to your work
• Why you are interested in the internship
• Why you would be a good fit
• Your availability
• Your rate

Looking forward to hearing from you!

I know I haven’t been around this blog that has brought me so much this year. All those wonderful projects that it has brought me have kept me immersed in what I love to do… but I do miss it here. Every week I tell myself, I need to figure out how to be here more. Because I have things to share. Because I want to create, just for this blog, just for myself. I just haven’t figured out how to do it yet.

Let me tell you how bad it is. I had a book come out in February and I still haven’t blogged about it since it’s release. Can you believe that! Let’s fix that right now.

Hey, everyone, I have a new book out! It’s called Food Photography: Pro Secrets for Styling, Lighting and Shooting.

Except, you probably knew that already, or at least I hope you did. But, what you might not know is that from July 10th (today!) to July 17th, Barnes & Noble is having a special… so if you were interested in purchasing it, it’s going to be 50% off.

Let me tell you a little more about the book. When I started food photography, there really wasn’t much on the subject at all. To learn, I flew out of state to buy coffee for photographers I loved, and I bid on charity auctions to have time with my photography hero. I read every little tip online I could find (that didn’t take long because there weren’t that many in 2005), but mostly, I tried things out with my camera and a window. Then, I tried things out with my camera and some lights. I spent a year buying food to shoot with no goal other than to just learn how to make photos like the ones that I was so drawn to. Then, I spent six years (so far) continuing to refine those photos to something that is my own voice. During that time, I met more food photographers and stylists, worked with editorial, commercial and stock clients, and actually made a profitable business doing this thing I love. This book, my book, is the book that I wish that I had had when I was getting started professionally.

It’s not a book about how to use your camera… there are hundreds upon hundreds of those books. It’s a book about the nuances of food photography from someone (me!) who has learned the ropes by slowly moving from a hobbyist to a professional. These are the things that I found were important. There are lighting tips for those with very limited budgets and guidance for what gear you may need in the future. There’s no crazy math around calculating lighting ratios… just simple, straightforward things that you need to know to shoot food, like what the best lighting and shooting angles are, and what gear you need when you find yourself shooting in the dark corner of a restaurant or in a bedroom of your house (I shot 4 different cookbooks in a bedroom in my house!)

There are styling tips helpful for food photographers who need to take on some styling themselves, but also thoughts on working with a team including food and prop stylists as well as art directors. This book also covers the business side of food photography, from licensing to copyrighting to release forms and what to expect from a professional shoot day. And, my favorite part, this book has photos, thoughts and stories, both inspirational and informative from food photographers that I greatly admire. I am still honored by their generosity of time and of their work.

These days there are a lot of books out there on food photography. I’ve written about some of them here. And, I’m super excited about two more that are entering the market this fall… one aimed at food bloggers from one of my favorite people, Matt Armendariz, and another about commercial food photography from a food photographer I’ve long admired from afar, Teri Campbell (I have serious studio envy of Teri’s space). I like to think my book fills the gap in between these two.

By the way, if you have the book, loved it, and are looking for more of this type of things, I’ve started a new series of online classes with PPSOP. This course is a series of 2 week classes aimed at those interested in getting started in professional food photography. Ron Goldman and I are there to answer questions and critique your work each week, along side detailed written instruction. Each 2 week class is focused on some aspect of professional food photography, starting with an intro to the business side of the profession. Further classes will include a professional food photography lighting bootcamp, food and prop styling for photographers, post production for food photography as well as deep dives into editorial, commercial and stock food photography.