food photography – Page 4

Cotswolds inspired APPLE TART

Posted on 04/26/201602/15/2018 by Bea

Few weeks back I posted a photo of these apple tarts on my Instagram. It made everyone hungry…(So I assume :)) Since then, few people messaged me for the recipe and I thought I should share it with the world. So here it is!

I bake this tart often because in the Lubases house we love the combination of buttery pastry and melting in the mouth apple filling spiced with our favourite vanilla. It’s our comfort food whenever we want to spoil ourselves a little.

The recipe came to life after one of our visits to the Cotswolds, one of my favourite places on the planet. Its local food always inspire me to prepare something….homely…cosy…and comforting. This time it also had to be sweet 🙂

RECIPE:

Pastry:

300 g plain flour
210 g butter, cold
2 tablespoons icing sugar
4-6 tablespoons of cold water
Sift the flour into a medium bowl, add the rest of ingredients, rub them together with your fingers and then knead to create a smooth pastry. Add some cold water and if the mixture feels too crumbly add a little bit more. Divide the pastry into two parts, one slightly bigger than the other (or 4 parts if you make two smaller tarts, again 2 parts slightly bigger),flatten the pastry into discs(it will roll better),wrap with cling film and put in the fridge for 30min -1 hour.

Apple filling:

1.2 kg of apples, firm and hard
juice of 1/2 lemon
sugar to taste – around 6 tablespoons
2 teaspoons vanilla paste or seeds of 1 vanilla pod (you can add more)

Squeeze the lemon juice and pour it into a larger container. Peel the apples,remove seeds, chop and mix with lemon juice. Add sugar and vanilla seeds and cook for around 15 minutes until soft. Let it cool down.

Also:

1 egg beaten for brushing

Method

Take the pastry out the fridge. Roll out the bigger part first(it’s the bottom of your pie) and line one 25cm tin or two smaller tins. Prick the pastry with a fork and fill it with apple pieces.
Now roll out a smaller part, cut into stripes(thick or thin) and arrange them on the top.

Coat with beaten egg. You can also sprinkle it with coarse brown sugar.

Bake at 190 degrees C for about 45 – 50 minutes. Remove, let it cool.

I think I must’ve said it million times before…the world takes my breath away. I watch it every day and I cannot feel any different but be grateful to be alive. I haven’t been everywhere (it’s on my list though!) but there are places out there that I LOVE to go back to. Places I want to discover deeper. Places that make my heart beat faster. The Cotswolds is undoubtedly one of them.

It hasn’t been called chocolate box region of England without a reason. Every village is filled with its own unique flavour, it surprises, inspires and leaves you craving for more.

It has everything I love. Calmness, serenity, warmth, relaxed atmosphere and the views so picturesque that you want to scream.

It’s so friendly and welcoming that it instantly makes you feel at home.

Not to mention how incredibly tasty it is! With all the amazing local products even the simplest dish seems to be an unforgettable experience.
I fall in love more and more with this place every time I visit it…..

A SHORT LIST OF my FAVOURITE PLACES in the COTSWOLDS:

BROADWAY
BOURTON ON THE WATER
CASTLE COMBE
KINGHAM
CIRENCESTER
DAYLESFORD FARM

To eat:
THE WILD RABBIT
THE POTTING SHED
THE PORCH HOUSE

MY suggestion:

Get up early and see the true beauty of those places before it gets too busy 😉

Breakfast in bed

Posted on 04/11/201602/15/2018 by Bea

It would be rather cheeky to call this a recipe.A croissant with a few salad leaves,a handful of chestnut mushrooms sautéed with a small knob of butter,some garlic,a pinch of thyme and a fried egg.No extraordinary ingredients,no innovative methods of preparation…Naaaah!It’s not a real recipe,is it?But trust me it tastes freaking amazing!

So let’s say it’s something different…Let’s say…it’s not a recipe but….an inspiration.An INSPIRATION to learn to relax,cook something simple,because simplicity can be amazing too and to have breakfast in bed from time to time!We live in such a mad world,why not slow down and spoil ourselves sometimes?

I’m an inspiration hunter.My whole life is based on the inspirations I take from what surrounds me,what I see,what I hear and what I taste.I look around,have my eyes wide open and pay attention,because you never know when it’s going to hit you.But when it does,you’ll know straight away!Your heart will beat like crazy.And the best thing is that the same thing or situation can inspire everyone differently.

Ever since I remember, I’ve had a problem to stick to the recipes.Not being disrespectful to chefs and recipe authors,I’ll be forever grateful to them for inspiring me so immensely,but we are all different,and we all like different things, and we all have different experience….and we not always have all the needed ingredients to hand,do we? 🙂

So,I let these recipes to inspire me.I twist them.Let them run trough me.I experiment and improvise a lot.Sometime it works, sometimes it doesn’t.But I always learn something,and that’s to me more important than ‘playing safe’.

Cooking is one of the most awesome things on the planet(just after taking pictures!).It can be so much fun(if we let it be) and it shouldn’t be taken too seriously.And most importantly,it should suit ‘YOUR’ taste buds.So please,take my ideas,my recipes and my photography too, go and do some great things with them,something ‘yours’ and don’t forget to SHARE it with the world.

Because that’s the thing about inspiration…you take it,shape it into something yours and give it back so others(and me!) can draw inspiration from it.It’s like a circle.Isn’t it great?! 😉

Inspiration for a breakfast in bed.

You’ll need:

Comfy bed
Cup of tea
Great book

Also:

croissant
salad leaves,rocket salad and baby beetroot leaves
handful of chestnut mushrooms
small knob of butter
few pinches of fresh thyme
little oil
two eggs with the brightest yolk in town 🙂

To do: Preheat the oven to 180C.Melt butter in a pan,add mushrooms and thyme,sautee for few minutes. Cut croissant into two halves and place in the oven for couple of minutes to warm up.
Fry the eggs sunny side up on a little oil.Assemble by placing salad leaves on a warmed croissant halves,top with mushroom and eggs.SLOW DOWN,RELAX AND ENJOY x

Bea’s Mulled CIDER

Posted on 11/05/201502/15/2018 by Bea

Why is everyone so anxious about turning 30?Honestly!I’ve watched my friends getting panic attacks before the BIG ”three-o” birthday, totally dreading that moment when they stop being 20-something…like the fun of life ends after you reach the third decade.
I think the whole world go a little(ok,a lot!) overboard with the cult of youth and I can’t understand why being younger is perceived to be somehow better that being older.(???)
So,for the past year I’ve been experiencing a very strange phenomenon.No one had ever reacted unusually about how old I was,whether I was 10,17 or 28.But I suddenly noticed the difference when I would say to people that I’m 30 this November…..”ohh 3o!!!” That’s how everyone reacts.What is more,I can see ‘I’m so sorry to hear that’ look on people’s faces followed by comments like “Still,no babies!?”, “Join the old gang”, ”It’s not so much fun any more”,or my favourite “Time to invest in a good anti-wrinkle cream”.

And here is what I have to say:I really can’t wait to be 30!I truly mean it!

I feel, that until now, my life was like Spring,that I was slowly waking up,absorbing things around me,sprawling my wings and NOW I’m finally ready to fly!Ready to enjoy the Summer and live my life to the fullest!

Sure, getting older is weird…..that feeling when you discover that your parents were right….99% of the times…that’s weird.And when suddenly your favourite way to celebrate Friday evenings is to have a long bath,get into pyjamas and sip warm tea…that’s even weirder.Or when you spend more money on good quality ”cotton-rich” lounge pants than on high heels!Who would’ve imagined?Not to mention that it takes a week to regenerate after a hangover!!!

But getting older is also a wonderful experience,and so liberating,like when you realize that you don’t need to fit in and be the person everyone expect you to be.You can just be yourself.(woo-hoo!)You start to accept your imperfections and fall in love with the freckles, that you used to hate so much.You discover the powers you have inside of yourself and realize you can do absolutely everything if you only believe you can.(So simple!And I’m sure my dad mentioned it to me before!)The possibilities are endless and everyday brings a new lesson.A new adventure.
What is there not to be excited about?I’m so excited about everything!

So,I’m raising my glass to those born in 1985 and to all of you!Let’s celebrate life!!!<3

Have you ever tried mulled cider?I can’t believe I only discovered it recently!(oh,all this new things you discover while you get older ;)) It tastes like Autumn and is full of my favourite flavours!Apples,cinnamon,cloves,orange,honey and some % of course too 😉 A perfect drink to celebrate with during those colder days,whether it’s a Birthday,Bonfire Night,or just a quite and cosy evening 🙂 Enjoy!

RECIPE:

for 2 drinks

INGREDIENTS:

500ml dry cider(I like medium)
1 small apple,cut into 8 parts
2 cinnamon sticks
2 pinches of cinnamon
10 cloves
1 tablespoon of honey or unrefined cane sugar
parted or grated zest of half an orange

METHOD:

Mix the ingredients in a medium saucepan(you can even do this up to 12 hour before,for the flavours to mix),stir over a low heat for around 5-10.Don’t boil.Serve warm.

TIP:For kids and drivers you can swap cider for a fresh apple juice,and without adding honey or sugar 😉