a recipe for delicious baked eggs

i mentioned in my last post that i was giving more energy to my photo blog.
however, when i want to post recipes i will post over here.
somehow, someday, i want to combine the 2 blogs in some way - i like the format over there much better, but i still want to write about food, but i don't want to be double posting all the time when i take pretty photos of the food i write about. that sounded complicated. it is. thereby my wanting simplicity in joining the 2 somehow...

but i digress.

i have for you a recipe of sorts for baked eggs.
a delicious way to eat eggs when you have some extra time on the weekend.

what you need:
(1 serving)
- 2 eggs, preferably room temperature (take them out night before)
- 2 tablespoons cream
- handful of fresh herbs - thyme, sage & rosemary (thyme is the most important)
- butter
- salt & pepper
- toast
- prosciutto (optional)
- ramekin
- baking tray deeper than your ramekin

what to do:
- turn kettle on to boil
- turn oven on to 375*
- chop herbs into tiny pieces
- grease ramekin with butter
- place 1 tablespoon cream into ramekin
- sprinkle with a few herbs, salt & pepper
- crack 2 eggs in
- sprinkle with more herbs, salt & pepper
- spoon 1 tablspoon cream on top
- (optional) add more butter to the top
- place ramekin into deeper baking tray, and fill halfway with boiling water
- place tray in oven
- bake for 10-15 minutes (i don't have the timing perfectly. its a bit tricky to keep the yolks runny while not having runny whites so i often overbake it) until cooked to your liking
- enjoy with a slice of toast and coffee


another variant on this dish is to line your ramekin with prosciutto first, and then proceed with the next steps.

other recipes you can look at:
- seasaltwithfood blog
- simple baked eggs recipe

THIS IS EAST VAN at make it! vancouver

this past weekend i had the pleasure of attending the spring 'make it! vancouver' show down at the croatian cultural centre on commercial & 16th. it's a great way for consumers to buy directly from artists, crafters and designers.

i have to admit, i felt a tad bit guilty walking into the show, knowing i probably wasn't going to buy much. i really love to support local artists, and i do it when i can, but the truth is, i can't always. sometimes food in my mouth & paying rent take top priority. weird, right?

but i didn't just go to the make it! show to feel guilty or to feel jealousy of other artists' great work. i had a purpose. i was there to buy a book with one of my photographs in it, and to meet the great people behind that book.

the book? THIS IS EAST VAN. a community photography project about life in east vancouver. i live in east vancouver, so i felt it appropriate to submit a couple photos last summer to this project. to my great joy, one of them got in! i was super excited.

the people? erin & jason. they've put so much time, blood, sweat and tears into the making of this book. the book is gorgeous, i hope they are proud.

another cool thing about the book? part of the proceeds will be going to a local east van arts organization, voted on by the contributors. our pick? reel youth.

my obvious bias aside, TIEV's booth had the best looking set up. it was nice to finally meet the people behind this project, they were so friendly and down to earth.

a few gimpses into THIS IS EAST VAN:

my page! my page! (page 157.) coffee is such a big part of east van, and my life in east van, so that's why i chose to submit this photo. this particular cup is from the Roundel cafe in my neighbourhood. after every meal you get a fortune. that day's fortune: "you are prompted to set new goals and discover new desires"

if you are interested in purchasing a copy, you can find them online at cargoh. if you are local, they will be in a few local retailers soon. head to the TIEV website for updates.

(oh, and i did end up buying some beautiful prints from calgary-based photographer amy victoria wakefield)

ep cover art & a canoeing music tour

i apologise for this post not containing any food-related items. while i'm working on my new website & adjoining photo blog, i still want to post about things going on with my non-food photography. i hope you can forgive me. :)

i am super pumped to share with you a photo of mine that has made it to an album cover for the winnipeg-based folk band twin, composed of members david fort, david enns, ally leenhouts, and lesley brown. the ep is entitled 'sharing secrets with strangers.' if you live in the winnipeg area, the eps are available at:

into the music

the folk festival music store

music trader

geez magazine recently featured twin in a small article, because twin is currently in the la-area getting ready to tour down the los angeles river. in a canoe. playing music. gathering people together. how awesome is that? here's some more info about the los angeles river music armada:

Los Angeles River Music Armada

The Los Angeles River Music Armada will be the first canoe music tour in United States history starting on February 17, 2011. The L.A River has recently been designated as navigable water, once again bringing together the people of this watershed. The long term goal is to create a tour network across North America and beyond, bringing people back to the water to celebrate. The Armada is inviting others to come for all, or part, on this 52 mile journey.

The Armada is a call to gather at the various stops along the river, sharing music, stories, food, seeds and ideas. It is an open venue for heritage/heirloom seed sharing and information so that people may become more self-sufficient with their food production and retain knowledge from land based people. The tour is promoting ideas independent gardening and localized seed saving including the Urban Seed Bank initiative. (twin)

new website coming: joeyarmstrong.ca

i am so excited to announce that i have my own official photography website. kind of. it is still currently being developed (slowly. so slowly), but you can check it out here:

joeyarmstrong.ca

i will be sure to inform you when it is fully functional and not just a page that tells you that i'm not quite there yet.

also, if you haven't noticed, i just put up a new header for this blog. i had another idea to stencil out 'my food obsessions' and use flour to form the letters. but when i was mostly done with that idea, and photographing it on the kitchen table, my sister walks in and informs me that it doesn't look like flour, it looks like i'm cutting another substance on my kitchen table. a white, powdery substance. i love how naive i am sometimes. :)


p.s. i've been eating lots of sandwiches lately. i bought a sourdough loaf from a bread affair, (can get it at whole foods or meinhardt in vancouver) and it makes AMAZING sandwich bread. or just amazing bread for eating plain with butter. the sandwich above is made up of: fried zucchini, sauteed mushrooms, mayo, wholegrain mustard, lettuce.

another great sandwich is with meatballs, pickles and mushrooms with wholegrain mustard. yummy. anyone have any great or unusual sandwich fillings they like to use?

chocolate cake, photoshoots, and indian music

i've been terrible at blogging lately and i don't even have an excuse. or a good one, anyways.

i have even been baking a lot. i've just been too unmotivated to try to take decent, well-lit photos, or to upload the photos i do have.

this past week i baked a couple chocolate cakes. in a sad twist of fate, the beautiful photo below is the cake that didn't really turn out and i will probably never bake again. and then the amazing cake i baked i didn't manage to get a shot of. good thing i loved it, cause that means i will bake it again and hopefully get a photo next time.


the good chocolate cake was a flourless cake, and i got the recipe from bread & honey. you can find the recipe here.

but the best part of my week (other than lots of chocolate cake) was a fun photoshoot i did with eileen. i wrote about it in detail over at my other blog: everybody is a photographer. the blog needs a lot of work (so does this one), so please be gentle :)

here's a sneak peak photo:


and while i am blabbing about non-food stuff, i may as well mention my reoccurring obsession of indian/bollywood music. recently watched monsoon wedding again this week and proceeded to buy the soundtrack, since the music is gorgeous. loving this song: