I first found my cupcake recipe at Peace.Love&Yummines for their Bananas Foster Cupcakes but decided to make a ginger-based frosting to cut down the sweetness… (Well, also because I have plenty of ginger at home and no maple syrup…)

I halved the cupcake recipe to make 12 cupcakes. For a rustic look, cut parchment paper into 3- to 4- inch squares to use as lining paper. Push the center of the paper into the cupcake pan compartment, then fold a few times on the sides. The shape will stay once you place batter into the paper.

Here’s my ginger cinnamon frosting recipe:

• 1/2 cup sliced ginger
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup sugar

Simmer these 3 ingredients together for 30 minutes and remove the ginger pieces to make ginger syrup.

• 1 1/2 stick butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cup powered sugar
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• ginger syrup, to taste

Beat the butter until soft, then add the powered sugar and cinnamon while mixing. Add ginger syrup to the spiciness of your liking.

I piped the frosting using a small ziploc bag. Enjoy :)

I think the adults and kiddies all had fun that day in the sun, eating oysters (raw and grilled) and clams straight from the farm and all the other food we brought to enjoy.

It has been the most perfect weather here, and I hope it stays this way for weeks to come.

Although her food blog generally features unexpectedly delicious combinations of ingredients, for breakfast we went for a simple ensemble of baked eggs, country bread from Tartine, and a fruit salad with blood oranges and strawberries.

I had never baked eggs before, but these turned out so beautiful I’ll have to try them again. Here’s how Liz did it: she buttered the ramekins, cracked an egg per ramekin, and added a bit of milk. We got to decorate and season our own eggs with thyme, paprika, smoked cheddar, salt, and freshly ground pepper. They were then placed in a brownie pan with an inch of water, and baked at 375°F for about 20 minutes.

Tartine’s country bread was as others have said of it: it had a nice crunchy crust, and a flavorful center. This bread is usually quickly sold out, but Liz was lucky to get a half loaf the day she visited the bakery. If you have a sour dough starter and wants to give the recipe a try, check out the book Tartine Bread.

Oh, how these photos remind me of the good ‘ol sunny days!

The recipe I found from epicurious worked wonderfully! The original was vegetarian, so I added Italian sausage to satisfy my carnivorous nature. I also left out some of the ingredients to keep things simple and fresh.

I loved the asparagus on the pizza! They added a punch of color and also balanced the deep flavors of the cheese and sausage. If you’d like to try it out, here’s the printable recipe, complete with the recipe for the thin crust dough. Enjoy!

(Dough recipe adapted from Kitchen On Fire, 1509 Shattuck Ave #A, Berkeley, CA 94709)

(Pizza recipe adapted from “Asparagus, Fingerling Potato, and Goat Cheese Pizza”, Bon Appétit, May 2009)

Today was the first of a series of three crawfish boil events at Angeline’s to celebrate the season. I spent a fun afternoon photographing the staff while they prepared the fresh crawfish from Louisiana. They were a very dynamic group of people, and it was a delight working with them!

Don’t be too sad if you missed out on this tasty event today; there will two more this summer, on May 19 and June 16.

P.S. I love the newspaper-lined tables; they were so inviting because I’m quite a messy diner!

A special thanks goes to Jesse Dhillon and Jeannie Lee for helping us out.

If you’re looking to order cakes, cookies, or pastries, be sure to contact the talented Jen and her bakery!

The recipe differs slightly from traditional ones, and I was a bit anxious about the choice of meats in the dish. I do love the taste of all of them; I just didn’t think they would belong in a dish that was normally cooked with beef. But after I first tasted the sauce, I couldn’t put down the spoon and had to get more!

Don’t underestimate the power of the red pepper flakes! We added the amount specified in the recipe, and the sauce was noticeably hot. Be sure to adjust the pepper flake amount to your preference.

We plated the dish with ricotta-spinach ravioli from Genova. They were chosen to be the complementing pasta out of laziness and curiosity (because we had never tried Genova’s ravioli). Next time, we will probably go with a pasta with a more mellow taste, because the ravioli were stealing the spotlight from the sauce.

It has been a hectic couple of months, and I apologize for not updating frequently. Work has been keeping me busy, and I have recently started to assist at the studio of Nancy Rothstein. She’s a wonderful mentor, and has shown me everything involved in running a studio, from accounting to client meetings to shooting.

Mardi Gras is tomorrow, so to help satiate your cravings for Cajun cuisine, here are some images I shot at Angeline’s Louisiana Kitchen in downtown Berkeley.

I had always wondered what they were cooking to make such a huge flame (since you can see the kitchen action from the dining area). Apparently, the flame was created from heating a sauté pan on very high heat, then adding butter to the hot pan. This technique was used for preparing the crawfish etouffée and the voodoo shrimp. So next time you order these dishes, be sure to watch the kitchen while you wait!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! We made a tasty dinner, and it included the holiday’s classic pumpkin pie. We got this recipe from the Kitchn‘s pie bakeoff last year.

The filling is a wonderful mix of spices, but I think the crust needs a bit more work. I can’t quite pinpoint what I’m not happy about… perhaps it’s the use of shortening? I’ll play around with this when I’m ready to have pie again.

I just got a new camera delivered today, so get ready for some photographs with my exciting new toy!

Thanks to everyone who came to the music/art show at Mama Buzz Cafe on Saturday. I had fun mingling with friends and making new ones. Hopefully I’ll see more of you in the future.