Hello!

Hello long lost friends! I cannot believe it has been nearly two years since I posted. Wow! Time has flown by.

I thought I'd take a moment to say hi and to share some updates on what's been happening over here. After focusing on recipes, stories, and images for this space for 7 years, I didn't want to simply vanish!

Beyond the full-on craziness of the state of the world, and the personal surrealness of having a kid going off to college, I've also been busy working on some amazing projects and I thought I'd share a few highlights, like my new studio (pictured above!). And if you really want to dive into a full array of my most recent work, hop on over to my photography website - that's where all the action is...

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Deborah Madison's In My Kitchen: two years ago when Ten Speed Press reached out to ask if I'd be interested in shooting Deborah's new book, I nearly fell out of my chair. Deborah is one of my biggest food heroes and the notion of working on her new book was a dream. Last week In My Kitchen was nominated for a James Beard Award, so it seems like the perfect moment to celebrate! If you don't already have a copy of In My Kitchen, run to get one now. Deborah's recipes are beautiful, simple, flavorful, soulful... everything you'd want to cook.

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The Berkeley Bowl Cookbook: Another project that resonated with the roots of my love of cooking was photographing the Berkeley Bowl Cookbook. Working with an all local crew made this project even more special. Keep your eye out for this one! It comes out next month.

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And in the meantime, I've been building out a studio space in my back cottage. After years of shooting everything in my house (!), it's heavenly to have a real, dedicated, full studio. I was super stoked that Remodelista recently featured the space in their Kitchen of the Week column.

Hope you all are well!
xoxo
E

FARMSTEADS OF THE CALIFORNIA COAST

Hi there! As some of you have probably noticed, I haven't been spending much time here, so I thought I'd take a moment to share what has been taking up all my attention. Farmsteads of the California Coast, just released by Yellow Pear Press, is one of four books I had the pleasure of photographing last year. What an amazing project it was, especially for a farm nerd like me.

Novella Carpenter says, “This book will make you want to milk a water buffalo or barbecue some oysters." 

Sarah Henry and I traversed the California coast visiting some of our favorite farms (Hog Island Oyster Co, Gospel Flat Farm) and discovering new ones (Double 8 Dairy, Good Land Organics).... Sarah penning the tales of twelve unique coastal farms and I telling the visual story with my photographs. I couldn't have asked for a richer collaboration.

If you'd like to read more about what folks are saying about the book, you can read here, here and here. And I'm especially excited to see the book featured in the newest issue of Cherry Bombe.

Here's a little visual taste of some of the farms we featured in the book... Or you can see more on my photography website.

CRISPY OVEN-ROASTED CHICKEN THIGHS

Last January, I had the great pleasure of shooting Nathalie Fraise's wonderful new cookbook, The Whole Coconut (Ten Speed Press) which explores cooking with coconut in all its glory. Nathalie's book just hit the shelves and I couldn't be prouder to have been a part of its creation. You need this gem of a book in your kitchen!

Nathalie's technique for roasting chicken thighs was a revelation for me - the skin is perfectly crisp and the coconut oil adds a lovely hint of flavor. I now find myself making Nathalie's chicken thighs at least once a week - they're that good! Nathalie serves the chicken thighs with zucchini spaghetti, but don't fret that zucchini isn't in season this time of year... really the thighs are great with any tasty side.

INGREDIENTS - adapted from Nathalie Fraise's The Whole Coconut

• 6 chicken thighs
• 2 tablespoons coconut oil
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

Melt coconut oil in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Lay chicken thighs skin-side up on a baking sheet and brush chicken with the melted coconut oil. Season each thigh generously with salt and pepper. Roast chicken thighs in the hot oven for 40-45 minutes until the meat is cooked through and the skin in wonderfully crispy. Allow to rest for 5 minutes before serving.

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Shooting Nathalie's book was one of those perfect projects where everything goes beautifully, and deliciously! Nathalie's recipes are simple, flavorful, and naturally gluten-free (!) and she's a sweetheart to boot. Working with Ashley Lima and Kelly Snowden from Ten Speed and my buddy and amazing food stylist Lillian Kang was dreamy - such a wonderful collaboration.

Here are a few more shots from Nathalie's book to whet your appetite...