Learning Curve

Life is boring if you're not actively learning something, right? So is the theme for this post.
In the first example, it's not so much what I made to eat, but how I played with the photography. I made french toast with homemade apple syrup.
To digress a little, I had a baguette and some apples that were almost past their time and no maple syrup in the house. For the syrup, I dissolved about 1/4c. honey, 1/2 c. brown sugar, a bit of lemon zest, 1 star anise, 1/2 stick cinnamon, a pinch of salt, a grind of black pepper into about a cup of boiling water(in a pot, on the stove). Once the sweeteners were dissolved, I added two sliced and cored apples. They were pretty small, so use one big one instead if that's what you have. I simmered this until the apples were soft, maybe 10 minutes. Then I strained the apples out and let the syrup simmer until it reduced and was a little more concentrated. The consistency will not be like corn syrup, but more watery like some maple syrups. I used the syrup and the apples to top basic french toast.
The learning part came "post-production" or as part of the "photo-processing".


"Shopped" french toast with apple syrup...photo a collaborative effort by Kristin and T.
My dearest took the photos of this endeavor. Honestly, I wasn't even thinking of it for a post, but he was so excited(as he tends to be about dishes with apples) he deemed it "blog-worthy" and snapped a couple of frames. I decided these photos would be a good opportunity to experiment with a newly learned Photoshop skill. To anyone fluent in the program, it may seem beginner-ish. I have taught myself a bit here and there through experimentation and Google, but recently, I found a resource that will send me a new tip every week. Last week's was "depth of field". I just realized that I am not prepared to explain what this means. So, I'm not going to since this is about food and not photography. Just know that I learned something new! And with learning something new, there are lots of mistakes to be made. And to continue the cliche, that's how you learn right? I guess what I'm saying is the photo above was a first attempt at this something new.

Ok then, moving on to more learning...

Birthday basil...photo by Krisitn
For my birthday this week, I recieved a healthy sized basil plant. I know it needs to be repotted, but other than that, HELP! What kind of soil? What size pot? Can I keep it inside? (we have tons of sunlight in the kitchen) I'd like to keep it inside if I can since I recently found out a neighbor lets her dog out to pee in our communal garden. I'd also like to try to grow italian parsley, cilantro and maybe chives. I'd be open to more, bit I figured focusing on the ones I'd used the most would be a good starting place.

The floor is open people! Learn me some herb knowledge:)