Red, white and blue tartlet. Photo: Nicisme, Flickr
So it's nearly Independence Day weekend, and we're celebrating, too, by stepping away from the computer, throwing some shrimp on the barbie (or, OK, maybe burgers) and trying to find some local fruit as gorgeous as these snapped by Nicisme on Flickr. We'll be back in full posting mode on Monday.
Meantime, if you're anywhere near a farmers market that has any sort of berries right now, you'd be remiss to skip out on grabbing a few gorgeous berries like those shown above. Blueberries are snappy and sweet, strawberries seductively red and stone-fruit season is just around the corner. We're grateful for the holiday -- and for proximity to nature-made sweet treats like these.
What you're looking at may very well be the platonic ideal of crab and corn chowder. Note the massive chunks of crab, the bounty of fat yellow kernels of corn and a creamy broth whose surface is speckled with little pools of chili oil. Made and photographed by Susan Filson of the appealingly named Sticky, Gooey, Creamy, Chewy, it looks like the perfect antidote to summer's swelter: If the dog days are getting you down, fight them off with a bit of crab.
This cloudy drift of buttermilk ice cream, made and photographed by Molly Watson of the Dinner Files, looks less like dessert than something out of a lactose-fueled dream. While it was undoubtedly delicious, it's so serene and ethereal that eating it seems almost sacrilegious.
National Ice Cream month starts today, however, and its devotees -- and really, anyone -- will have difficulty resisting a treat that looks this luminous and fresh. Indeed, the notion of spooning it straight from that frozen metal bowl is enough to inspire dreams of its own.
While a picture can be worth a thousand words, it's a rare baked good that manages to be equally concise. So this cupcake, baked and photographed by Sarah of milk and honey cafe, is particularly special. It was made for a bridal shower, and is pretty much the edible equivalent of everything matrimonial. The creamy white frosting, the demure smidgen of pastel pink, the celebratory flair of its silver beads; it could almost be wearing a veil. Standing serenely on its white porcelain altar, this is a cupcake that all but says "I do."
Few fruits burst with the luscious, velvety sweetness of a ripe fig; there's a reason why the ancient Romans regarded them as sacred. To know how it feels to bite through a fig's smooth skin into the plush flesh underneath is to know that luxury is often synonymous with simplicity. This photo, snapped by Hopkinsii at Flickr, captures them at their plump, unassuming best, their cool green skin giving little hint of the earthy delights hidden just beneath the surface.
During the summer, meat gets all of the glory on the grill, but this photo, taken by Another Pint Please... at the Slashfood Flickr pool, makes a convincing case for the boundless charms of grilled corn. Few things match more beautifully with golden kernels and char marks -- slathered, of course, with a generous helping of rapidly melting butter.
These apricot scones look like an ideal way to prepare for whatever the day holds in store. Baked by Jacqueline of Sweet Beet and Green Bean and photographed by her friend Cameron, they appear both enticing and calming, craggy outcroppings of sweet serenity. While the scones look great on their own, the composition of the photo as a whole is pretty fantastic, too. Nutritionists recommend eating naturally colorful foods, but if this photo is any indication, it's a recommendation that stylists and interior designers should follow, too.
There are tarts, and there are Macau-style egg tarts. They're creamy little puddles of custard, and their sweet, eggy flavor has an almost lulling effect: eating one is like looking at photos of baby animals or listening to Pachelbel's Canon in D on continuous loop. This one, immortalized by Danny at Food in Mouth, appears to be a worthy representative of the breed, which is also referred to as a Portuguese-style tart.
Maybe it's the lighting, but it looks like a pool of sunshine; it's likely that its consumption resulted in a beatific glow.
One of life's few certainties is this: the smell of baking bread is a good thing. But the smell of baking cinnamon bread? That's something outside of the realm of certainty, residing instead in the sphere of sublime, irrevocable and universal truths.
This loaf, baked by Kristin at the Kitchen Sink Blog, appears to encapsulate all of the virtues of cinnamon bread. Chief among them: the Milky Way-like whorl at its center and the plentiful nooks and crannies that would make ideal receptacles for rapidly melting butter. The shallow pool of melted cinnamon and sugar in the bread's bottom left corner could inspire the beginnings of new civilization. Kristin writes that this bread was "a childhood favorite," but really, this looks more like a favorite to sustain an entire lifetime.
Zucchini and corn quesadillas. Otherwise known as summer tucked into a couple of tortillas.
Created and snapped by Flickr's Ezra Pound Cake, they're a buoyant and appetizing reminder that making the most of seasonable vegetables need not be a fancy, expensive or time-consuming affair. Though its components are jewel-hued, the only lavishness to be found here is in the flavors -- where it belongs.
Raspberry season is all but here, which means that farmers markets are starting to look more and more like nature's jewelry stores. These raspberries, snapped by clayirving at Flickr, are as striking as a box of rare gems, and most likely much tastier. They're the perfect adornment for any plate, and, like the most beautiful of stones, require scant accompaniment for maximum appreciation.
The only thing better than a handful of fat, juicy Medjool dates is a tart full of plump, juicy Medjool dates. Especially if it looks like this one.
Baked and photographed by the Gourmet Worrier, its gleaming surface -- slicked with an application of melted apricot jam and orange blossom water -- hints tantalizingly at the glories lurking within, and it's easy to imagine the mouthwatering aroma of almonds wafting from the first slice. And the second, third and eighth slices. Come to think of it, it's easy to imagine a plate of crumbs, accompanied by a guilty grin, a very long nap and dreams, of course, of dates.
Shredded carrots are subjected to all sorts of injustices, usually involving large quantities of mayonnaise, sour cream or cream cheese. So it's refreshing to see a photo and recipe that capture their simple, sweet beauty.
Jenn of The Leftover Queen snapped this Caribbean carrot salad, which is oh-so-barely dressed with a few splashes of apple cider vinegar and grape seed oil and a spoonful of brown sugar. It looks crisp, cool and infinitely satisfying, an excellent way to enjoy the the iridescent goodness of carrots -- without having to dig for them.
Local, organic, artisanal ice cream is great, but sometimes it's a Styrofoam cup filled with vanilla soft serve and topped with chunks and crumbs of a desecrated candy bar that really, truly answers the primal scream for ice cream.
That's why this portrait of a Snickers Sonic Blast, taken by Blondie of Blondie & Brownie, is so diabolically delightful. You can almost feel the cold, creamy rivulets running down your throat, and taste the sugary burn of caramel and chocolate on the back of your tongue.
The Blast's consumption undoubtedly results in a swift and unforgiving sugar coma, but what a fantastic way to surf the waves of the glycemic index.
Father's Day, as greeting companies won't fail to remind us repeatedly over the upcoming week, is just around the corner. And these babies look like a perfect way to celebrate. Made and photographed by Bakerella at Flickr (she's also got her own blog), they're burgers and fries prepared without the aid of beef or potatoes. Instead, the burgers are actually an ingenious combination of brownies, cupcakes and frosting, and the fries are sugar cookies. Forget necessity: Daddy, it appears, is the mother of invention.
We can change the way we make eggs -- scrambled, poached, fried -- but what about changing the eggs themselves? Mix up your scrambling routine with quail eggs.
Raspberry season is all but here, which means that farmers markets are starting to look more and more like nature's jewelry stores. These raspberries, snapped by clayirving at Flickr, are as striking as a box of rare gems, and most likely much tastier. They're the perfect adornment for any plate, and, like the most beautiful of stones, require scant accompaniment for maximum appreciation.
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