365/photo-a-day - April wrap-up

sunset - cooking with tea - more sunset - N-train tracks - lunch break

empty rehearsal hall - drinks with TP - spring shoes - fresh spinach - mmm bagels

31st ave. - fancy dinner - homemade broccoli soup - girls' night - q'boro plaza

I ran somewhat into the proverbial wall this month - I struggled creatively, and finding the inspiration to take even remotely interesting photos was difficult for me. Maybe it was the weather - I kept expecting to walk out the door and be greeted with the summer wind, but I was still rocking the pea coat until just a few days ago. Maybe it was my fairly monotonous schedule - I started a lengthy rehearsal process and was gifted a free month at New York Sports Club, so I spent the majority of my time in colorless studios and gyms instead of outside or doing yoga. Or maybe it was just a quarter-year slump - for the first time in a while, I didn't have a trip, holiday, or fun excursion to look forward to and photograph.

That's not to say I had a bad month. I really don't mean to be such a downer! Walks into Manhattan, dinners with friends, and attempts to figure out just what is going on in poor Don Draper's mind made for an easy and relaxing month - just nothing exciting enough to photograph with much enthusiasm.

But maybe that's the point of this project (and I'm kind of sussing this out as I write). It's easy to take the photo when it's all bright and shiny and pretty and there are babies or puppies or cupcakes, but it's much harder when you get up/go to work/come home/eat a defrosted veggie burger/go to bed/lather/rinse/repeat. So that's when and where the latent creativity needs to surface - the search to find the interesting in the mundane, the beauty in the everyday.

I'm beginning to think I come to this conclusion at the end of every month. But it's only Month #4, and these realizations just make me love this project even more.

April by the numbers

Photos looking down (feet or hands): 3
Photos looking up at sky and/or buildings: 15
Photos of food and.or drink: 7
Photos of people: 1 - sadly, my newest low - next month I WILL be better about this!

365/Photo-a-day is a personal undertaking to capture one photograph per day in 2013. All photos were taken by me and processed with Instagram, Snapseed and/or PhotoToaster. The images were compiled using Picture Collage Maker Lite. Want to see my pics as they happen? Follow me - @maspad on Instagram!

Boston (creme de menthe) Cream Pie

I can't do anything, so I'm doing this.

For obvious reasons, my mind was on Boston this past week. From the initial shock and confusion, to sorrow, then fear and disbelief, and finally to relief, I joined the rest of the country in watching the almost surreal events unfold before me on television and the internet. But that's about all I could do. I could think feel pray worry wonder speculate and surmise, but I couldn't do anything. Actions didn't yield results, gestures felt empty. Yet life continued, as it is wont to do - I went to work, I went out with friends, I took silly pictures of my feet.

I can't do anything, so I'm doing this.

So I made a pie - a Boston cream pie (with non-alcoholic creme de menthe custard), to be exact. Did it change history? Did it to anything to benefit the greater good? Did it put an end to evil and hatred in the world? Of course not. But did it occupy my hands and provide me a tangible way to offer up my thoughts to the policemen, residents, and victims of Boston? Absolutely.

Ingredients
For the custard:
2 oz. Creme de Menthe loose leaf tea - I get mine from the wonderful DAVIDsTEA
1 quart (4 cups) whole milk
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1 cup sugar
pinch of salt
1 egg
7 egg yolks
1/2 cup corn starch

For the ganache:
1 cup dark chocolate morsels
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 tbsp light corn syrup

While Boston Cream Pie is traditionally made with custard or cream sandwiched between two or more layers of yellow cake, I chose to go a different route, turning it into more of an actual pie. Instead of cake batter, use:
1 pre-made graham cracker pie crust

How To
In a large saucepan over low heat, combine the milk and vanilla and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and steep the tea for 10-15 minutes. Use a filter or tea infuser to ensure that no leaves escape into the milk. While the tea is steeping, whisk together the sugar, salt, starch, egg, and egg yolks.

When the tea is done (the longer you steep it, the stronger the taste will be), temper the egg mixture with the milk by slowly pouring and mixing small portions of the milk into the eggs. When all the milk has been combined with the egg mixture, pour everything back into the saucepan and heat over low heat, whisking constantly. Bring to a boil, then continue at this temperature for about another 30 seconds. Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature. I found that continuing to whisk the custard even as it's cooling helps to create a smooth consistency as it begins to congeal.

Pour the cooled mixture into the graham cracker crust. Gently twisting the pie pan back and forth will help the custard settle nicely and evenly. Cover with saran warp and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

When ready, prepare the chocolate topping by heating the milk and corn syrup over low heat. Bring to a simmer and stir in the chocolate pieces. Working quickly, stir completely to ensure that all the chocolate has melted and then pour over the chilled custard to create a thin layer. Refrigerate again for at least an hour. Serve cold.

Thanks to Serious Eats and Chasing Delicious for the inspiration!

365/Photo-a-day - April part 1

rooftops in astoria - homemade pizza for dinner

lazy sunday bagel - the new yorker hotel

flags at rockefeller center - a view of 5ptz from a dirty 7-train window

queensboro bridge looking up - queensboro bridge looking out

sunset over manhattan - b-day flowers

more b-day flowers - rainy thursday

There's a fine line between getting the perfect shot and being that annoying girl who interrupts the dinner party to get said perfect shot. I already straddled this line more than a few times in my pre-365 Challenge days, but now that I have made it my mission to (attempt to) take at least one photo per day I find myself faced with this conundrum all the time. I am not the press. I have not been hired by the hosts of the dinner party to shoot the meal for a magazine spread. I have not been asked to editorialize the finer points of a quiet conversation For all intents and purposes, I am just another girl in hipster glasses taking an Amaro-hued photo of my overpriced cocktail.

And so I shy away. I choose to let the moment soak in and then fly free, unrecorded and soon forgotten. And as a result, I miss a ton of great photo-ops. Sangria with friends in the West Village. Celebrating 6 months with the boyfriend. Artisanal grilled cheeses in Brooklyn. And as a subsequent result, the photos I do take are safe. Uncontroversial. Of buildings and trees. Which aren't necessarily a bad thing, they're just a bit, well...boring.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that this little photo project has proved to be more interesting and challenging than I first expected - which is exactly what a hobby should do. It's month four and I"m still going strong, and I can't wait to see what happens next.

365/Photo-a-day is a personal undertaking to take one photograph per day in 2013. All photos were taken by me and processed with Instagram, Snapseed and/or PhotoToaster. This time around, I formatted the pictures using the Diptic app. Wanna see my pics as they happen? Follow me, @maspad on Instagram!