Average cookie.

Want to know a little secret?

I secretly want to be a food photographer.  As much as I love shooting people, emotions, and life events – I also love shooting the average cookie.  Not sure why but it’s always fascinated me.  I remember pouring over images from Martha Stewart magazine 14 years ago when I was planning my own wedding, and now that I think about it I’m pretty sure the food images drew me in as much as the table shots and food shots.  A few months ago, I found myself in the middle of a three day seminar with the incredible Penny De Los Santos learning about the ins and out of food photography.  And because I’m pretty passionate about finding healthy ways to nourish my family, the marriage of the two seem natural to me.

One of my very favorite things to do with my daughter, Jillian is spend time in the kitchen.  And although I don’t consider myself any Giada Di Laurentiis by any means, and you won’t see me churning my own butter from scratch or anything, we really enjoy our time there.  We’ll bake just about anything under the sun together.  She loves it.  I love it.  And it’s fun.

This morning we embarked on a 30 day oatmeal project.  Trying to pile on new, yummy and adventurous ingredients to take the dull out of eating our regular oatmeal.  A pretty easy challenge for us considering this entire house loves oatmeal. This morning, we piled on walnuts, fresh blueberries, milk and cinnamon on our organic oats.  It was soooo good, and turned out just right.  Now if I could only figure out how to get my kitchen to produce better light at 8 in the morning, we’d be all set!  So here are a few shots of Jillian enjoying a warm bowl with her favorite spoon.  And if you’re wondering why my child is eating with a wooden spoon a la Laura Ingalls style … yes there’s a little story.  My mom has a pension for old fashioned kitchen utensils, she has a drawer full of her grandmother’s kitchen tools and looks for new/old ones wherever she goes.  So Jillian has been eating her oatmeal since she was just a baby at my mom’s with a wooden spoon.  And she has somehow convinced Jillian that oatmeal tastes so much better when eaten with a wooden spoon.  Which I think is adorable.  And hey, if it gets my kid to love something healthy, I’m a happy mama.

So you might see a few more posts here of Jillian and I baking our little hearts out, or maybe just a beautiful head of lettuce that has caught my eye.  Either way, I hope you enjoy a peek into my kitchen as much as I enjoy sharing it with you.