Warning: This post has got nothing to do with food. Skip this if u are looking for something edible :)
Guess what is this? No, this is definitely not edible...
and it is not some exotic fruits either...
yes, it's a pine cone!! It's the huge, long one at the background of this photo, which is actually more than 30cm in length!
I didn't do any baking today...and took the time to do some 'area' cleaning instead. I gave these three pine cones a good 'shower' and left them to dry under the morning sun. This is the first time I have given them a proper shower...not sure whether I will do any damage to them??
Since I wasn't doing much(I seems to have plenty of time if I am not baking!)...I decided to take some photos of these cones and played around with the editing tool which I recently discovered in the flickr site. I love how the photos turned out after adding in the border and the text. It certainly brings some 'life' to an otherwise boring photo. It helps to cover up the not too good lighting conditions too! You will probably notice that the right side of all my photos tend to be brighter than the left...as I could only rely on the natural lights coming from the windows on my right :'(
I remember collecting these pine cones with my elder boy, many years ago...he was only 2 years old then. That was a xmas eve morning in the year 2000.
After doing up the images, I can't help but to blog about these cones as they have brought back such fond memories. Those were the happiest moments of our lives...we were able to make long road trips on every weekend during our short stay in the States...to visit the national parks and be really close to nature.
I think I like this image best...I hope you have enjoyed reading this post :)
Guess what is this? No, this is definitely not edible...
and it is not some exotic fruits either...
yes, it's a pine cone!! It's the huge, long one at the background of this photo, which is actually more than 30cm in length!
I didn't do any baking today...and took the time to do some 'area' cleaning instead. I gave these three pine cones a good 'shower' and left them to dry under the morning sun. This is the first time I have given them a proper shower...not sure whether I will do any damage to them??Since I wasn't doing much(I seems to have plenty of time if I am not baking!)...I decided to take some photos of these cones and played around with the editing tool which I recently discovered in the flickr site. I love how the photos turned out after adding in the border and the text. It certainly brings some 'life' to an otherwise boring photo. It helps to cover up the not too good lighting conditions too! You will probably notice that the right side of all my photos tend to be brighter than the left...as I could only rely on the natural lights coming from the windows on my right :'(
I remember collecting these pine cones with my elder boy, many years ago...he was only 2 years old then. That was a xmas eve morning in the year 2000.
After doing up the images, I can't help but to blog about these cones as they have brought back such fond memories. Those were the happiest moments of our lives...we were able to make long road trips on every weekend during our short stay in the States...to visit the national parks and be really close to nature.
I think I like this image best...I hope you have enjoyed reading this post :)
15 comments:
The fotos are really very well taken. I think I am going to suspect you are a professional photographer ;-)
Your pics are as good as your bakes! I can't take such good pics. :(
Very nice photos! I think you can start another blog teaching us how to take good photos. :)
Looking at the 1st pic, I thot it's the attap seed fruit! LOL... it resembles one which I saw at the Botanic Garden's spice library. Beautiful writeup and lovely shots. :)
wow nice photos and I surely had fun reading the post.
:)
Hello!
I chanced upon your blog a while ago and tried out the Horlicks Puppy Dog Cookie recipe, but failed miserably and had my son asking "oh no, what happened to the little doggies, mommy?". I'm not sure what I might have done wrong, but the cookies basically melded into one big mass. So could I ask you a few questions? Butter: I had it at room temp, should I have used cold butter instead? Flour: the recipe says to use top flour or cake flour. I didn't have any cake flour, but looked up a substitution online and used all purpose flour and replaced a small portion with corn starch. I could get cake flour next time I'm at the store, but could you tell me what top flour is? Is that the Singaporean name for "regular flour"?
Any insight you can provide to prevent another failed attempt would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
-fay
your photo skill is getting so much better.. what a lovely pictures you took..
beautifully taken.
Thanks Sherlyn...I am definitely not a professional photographer...I only know how to point & shoot ;p
dear WF, your photos are very good too! so are your bakes!!
SSB, I wont be able to teach anything...as I know nothing beyond turning on the auto mode, set to macro and click away!
Hi Ida, I have not seen the attap seed fruit! but have finally seen a real cocoa fruit...at the Singapore Children's Garden.
Thanks Gail :)
Thanks Cocoa for your encouragement. My earlier photos sucks, lolz!
Hi Fay, I am not sure what went wrong...were you able to shape the dough into small balls? I didnt have any problem with the cookies spreading. I left the butter at room temperature to soften it. Top flour is more fine than cake flour. You can use all purpose floura and add some corn starch...it shouldn't be the cause of the problem. What about the mixing method...did u follow the recipe?
Hi, I'm also a collector of pine cone, sea-shells and gum nuts. Do you know that the pine cone can tell you when it is going to rain. It will open up like a flower means it is raining soon. No rain when it is tightly shut. Anyway, happy collecting.
Warmest Regards
Airen
Sydney
Down Under
Thank you for your reply. I thought I followed the recipe pretty closely. I mixed the dough in my kitchen aid mixer, and was able to mould it into balls, though I did notice that the butter was kindda oozing out when we were moulding it into balls. I just assumed it was due to the heat from our hands, so I told my son to work quickly. The only thing I can think of, is that I had made an error in the measurements of the ingredients or baking temp, since they were in metric, and I had to convert it / measure it with my scale. I'll go get cake flour and try it again (being extra diligent about conversions). They taste great, though, and my son got a kick out of the flat doggies, so it wasn't a complete failed attempt. Thanks for sharing all your baking adventures. I always admire people who live in Singapore who take the time to do their own cooking and baking, since (good)food is so easily available there! Keep up the good work! BTW, is there a store you like to get your baking supplies from? The only one "specialty" store I've always gone to is Phoon Huat. Would like to pick up a few things when we're in Singapore this summer.
-fay
Hi Fay, I suspect it could be the over mixing of the butter? or the type of butter u use?? The dough is oily...but it retains it shape when baking. When I bake chocolate chip cookies...I then to get very flat cookies too...the dough simply spread like no one's biz! btw, make sure your baking sheet/tray is cool..dont place the dough on a hot tray. On the otherhand, it could be due to the coversion too.
Are you a Singaporean living elsewhere? I go to Phoon Huat and Sun Lik at Seah Street for baking supplies. You should also visit Daiso when u are here. Let me know if u need to find out anything regarding baking supplies...I can help u check. have a nice weekend!
Wow beautiful photos, I really need to brush up on my photo skills too! Very heart-warming post!
I really love your pictures! and I happened to collect pine cones too...from long time ago. I certainly enjoy this post!
THank you. I will give it a shot again. You might just be right about the over mixing. I'll let you know how the next back turn out.
Yes, I'm a Singaporean living in Portland, Oregon (US). We will be back in S'pore visiting family in Aug/Sep. Thanks for the tips on stores to visit. I've been to Daiso too (and they have one in Vancouver BC that I always go to when we visit), but haven't been to Sun Lik. Will have to check it out.
Thanks again.
-fay
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