August may mark the end of peak cucumber season, but that's no reason to be sad -- it's also the perfect time to stock, slice and pickle the green veggies, whether they're 2-inches or 2-feet long.
These pickles, made and taken by Flickr user melsands, were jarred with dill, coriander, allspice, garlic and fennel seeds. While they were probably intended to go on a sandwich, we'd be tempted to pluck each perfectly pickled cucumber chip straight from the jar until all that's left is just enough juice left to pickle another batch.
Watermelon inspires utter devotion in some and utter nonchalance in others. Like pickles or mayonnaise, it is not one of those "middle ground" foods.
This photograph of the ruby-hued fruit seems designed precisely to make the watermelon lover lose track of whatever else she was working on: "Would I eat one slice? Two?"
Even the typically stodgy "The New Food Lover's Companion" seems smitten: "The watermelon is considered less sophisticated than other categories of melon because it lacks flavor complexity and has a watery texture. But there are those who wouldn't trade a slice of watermelon on a hot summer day for anything."
Or -- to paraphase this Very Serious Encyclopedia of Culinary Knowledge -- "Watermelon: It Rules."
This photo does what neither a fruit cup nor cocktail with an umbrella ever could: It makes pineapple look damn sexy. Or, more accurately, smokin' hot. Taken by Another Pint Please... at Flickr, it presents a strong case for the addition of grill marks to any food: They're the edible version of great highlights or the perfect shade of lipstick. These pineapples were apparently marinated in rum and then used as the basis for an upside down cake, which is possibly the best thing to happen to the fruit -- next to grill marks, of course.
Sometimes, it's not the food itself but its condiments that can spur the imagination -- and thus, the appetite. Though these bottles of hot sauce, snapped by stevesteve8383 at Flickr, are pretty beautiful all on their lonesome, it's the visions they inspire of tacos, heaping bowls of chili, scrambled eggs and pullled pork sandwiches that make this photo so drool-inducing. Where there's fire, there's possibilities -- delicious, tear-jerking possibilities.
[Via Flickr] Join the Flickr Slashfood photo pool and get a shot at having your photos featured in Feast Your Eyes.
Is there anything more happy than a kumquat? Aside from, of course, a kumquat eater? These winsome little things, snapped by clayirving and dropped into the Slashfood Flickr pool, are the food world equivalent of a box of kittens or a giggling baby. They look as sweet on the outside as they are on the inside; you want to pinch their little cheeks. And then pop them into your mouth, one after the other, until the box is empty.
These fat, shiny, sugar-crusted gumdrops could make Willy Wonka weep for joy, and a dentist weep, period.
Given that the best candy can trigger nearly hallucinatory pleasures (chalk it up to the sugar high), it's somewhat fitting that this is not actually a photo of gumdrops. Technically, it is, but what you're really looking at is a photo of another photo of gumdrops. Taken by johnnypants over at Flickr, it's a shot of a promotional poster at Ikea. Sneaky, eh? Still, you've got to hand it to those Swedes: just as their furniture can fool anybody into thinking they know their way around an Allen wrench, these gumdrops are so vivid that you'd be forgiven for thinking they were gobbled up right after this photo was taken. And maybe they were ... somewhere in Sweden.
Kulfi is denser than ice cream, but since it's made with milk instead of cream, it's also less rich. The single serving size makes them perfect for an afternoon snack (heck, what with the fruit and nuts we might eat one for breakfast!).
Way to give the much-smirked-about bran muffin a deserved makeover, ErinCooks! These elegantly proportioned muffins, adapted from Epicurious, eschew the sugary add-ons like chocolate chips that so often turn a healthy breakfast item into a 500-calorie monster. The recipes calls for nothing more than bran, flour, butter, brown sugar, one egg, sour cream, molasses, baking soda and salt. I can almost taste that nutty, lightly sweetened bran goodness. Now we just need to rehab the poor prune. ...
Ever since the election ended, I've felt a renewed sense of patriotism and hope for the future. It seems that I'm not the only one who's feeling such enthusiasm. Average Betty has been inspired by the country's recent democratic exercise and so has whipped up a batch of American as Apple Oatmeal Muffins. Full of fruit and fiber, these breakfast treats will fill you up with patriotic pride.
I spent some time in a friend's community garden patch yesterday, helping her harvest string beans, several handfuls of basil, some tomatoes and a whole mess of squash. She didn't plant any traditional zucchini this year which means I've had to get my zucchini fix from my farm share and the farmers market. However, there's nothing that says summer to me quite like zucchini and these four freshly picked ones are gorgeous examples of the season's bounty.
Thanks to Ataradrac for adding this pic to the pool!
At my office, the last Friday of the month is cupcake day, in honor of all the birthdays that people have celebrated that month. One of my co-workers is married to a local baker of some note and so she supplies an outstanding assortment of cupcakes for us each month. We all look forward to it with great anticipation when the month draws to a close.
This month, they moved cupcake day up to Thursday (since so many people are going taking vacation for the 4th of July holiday week) and so now I've got cupcakes on the brain. This picture features the very early stages of muffin making, but it is priming my hunger for a pint-sized treats baked in scalloped cups. Only seven more hours to go! If you want the recipe for Marilyn's mini-muffins, go here.
Just about everyone I know loves baked goods with blueberries in them (my boyfriend is an exception - an unhappy encounter with some blueberry pancakes when he was a kid turned him off of them for life). These look like a fantastic example of the classic blueberry muffin (and right at the moment, I'm thinking that one of those guys would go perfectly with my coffee).
The picture comes to us from Matthew Hunt and the muffins are straight off page 68 of the King Arthur Flour Baker's Companion. Thanks Matthew for adding your image to the Slashfood Flickr pool!
I don't know if it's because it's nearly too hot in Philly to really think about food, or if I'm just looking for something a little different from the typical Feast Your Eyes image, but this picture of a bottle of Vietnamese beer bottle with a full, cool glass in the background from Flickr user Souladdikt appealed to me last night when I was looking through the Slashfood Flickr pool. I realize that there isn't any drool-worthy food in the picture, but it seemed so thirst quenching that I decided it could count.
I continue to be so enamored of this idea of pies in jars that when I spotted this picture in the Slashfood Flickr pool, I had to feature it. They look so delicious and adorable that I can't help but want to carve time out of my cooking schedule to make these soon (there were so many fresh strawberries at the market yesterday that I would be wonderful in pies).
Thanks Melissa, for sharing this great picture with us!
As I've mentioned before, sugar snap peas are one of my favorite spring/summer vegetables. I like to chop them up and add them to creamy salads, like tuna, chicken or potato. However, when they're fresh, I also like nothing better than to eat them just as they are. During my teenage years, these were one of the constants in my dad's summertime garden and I would often wander out to the backyard and eat them straight from the vine. Even our dog thought they were delicious.
This image was added to the Slashfood Flickr pool by Flickr user Noreen and was taken after her recent trip to a Farmers' Market. Thanks for adding your picture to the pool, Noreen!
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