Wednesday, April 6, 2011

A good day...


Altered Roses

 I want to start out by thanking all of you who made suggestions about blogging with the Mac - it helped. I am getting there. Between the Mac and the Canon, it has been a confusing couple of weeks.

My time to blog is in the morning - very early in the morning...I decided years ago that if I woke up early with things on my mind or something I wanted to accomplish, it was better just to get up and go for it. Then the rest of the day was wide open. The downside is reading your blogs with the recipes and pictures of food. Chances are I haven't even had coffee. If is not too early (after 5:30), I will often make myself a cappuccino.

Today, I am making soup. I am making Potato and Leek Soup. We have been craving it. I read about it one morning very early here at Thibeault's Table.

leeks from the market
All of you who suggested that I download the pictures I wanted to the desktop - great idea. I am now taking them into Photoshop to edit. I use Photoshop to crop, resize, and color correct. I am finding I need to correct the color sometimes with the Canon. I will continue to use Picasa  and Picnik for playing with the photos but I am happy with the fixes I can do right from the desktop.


I rinsed them in the sink because there is always a little sandy dirt and then chopped them. I sauteed them in butter and a little olive oil and then let them cook for about 20 minutes.


I used 3 chopped russet potatoes, 4 cups of chicken broth that I made using Better than Bouillon. Fresh thyme, salt and pepper simmered until the potatoes were cooked.


The immersion blender made easy work of pureeing the mixture after I removed the thyme sprigs. I added about a cup of whole cream and gently reheated the mixture. It was quite delicious!



The bowl is from Provence! The plate is from Publix!

21 comments:

Vee said...

Your roses do look very artsy and the soup is making me hungry...well, it is lunch time. Glad that you are figuring a few things out...it makes everything so much less frustrating.

The Quintessential Magpie said...

Looks delicious, Carol!

I'm glad things are coming along with the Mac. A friend of mine keeps saying to get one, and maybe I will some day. Some day being the operative word. lol

XO,

Sheila

Anonymous said...

Soup looks very nice and taste!
Roses are beautiful.
Big kisses:)

Lynn said...

It's pretty cool here today, this looks wonderful! I haven't cooked with leeks yet, would like to try it:@)

Donnie said...

Your roses look like a painting. very nice. That soup looks delicious too. I love that Better than Bouillon brand too.

http://jackieinsurrey.blogspot.co.uk/ said...

Hi Carol

The roses are beautiful, does that mean I need to buy a Mac to get photographs like that??

My favourite soup, can I come to lunch /supper please? Funny because that is the only time I add salt to anything when served. I put salt in vegetable water when cooking them, but L&P soup I like it quite salty and add a lot of sea salt when served.

Off to have a walk with Phil as it is such a lovely evening. Thank you for the comment on my blog. If I don't speak to you before have a great weekend.

Jackie in Surrey, UK.x

Karen thisoldhouse2.com said...

I make that soup too, it's so delicious and hearty, especially on grey New England days -

podso said...

Yeah, the roses are great! I am wondering if you are using the i-photo that comes on your mac for altering your photos, or if you are taking them into the actual Photoshop software program. It doesn't matter, but I am amazed at how much I can alter a photo simply with the iphoto, where I also store my photos (before sending them out to the desktop to blog or email to someone!

We love pototo/leek soup... wish I could have some now!

Eileen said...

The roses look great! So glad you are getting the hang of your Mac. I always import my photos to iPhoto, do any editing/correc them, then export them to my desktop or a flash drive or whatever. I really need to get Photoshop for my home computer, but first I need a new Mac. Mine is getting pretty long in the tooth. It works perfectly, but the operating system is getting too old and it can't be upgraded because of the processor.
Your soup looks delicious. :)

Pamela Gordon said...

Hi Carol, thank you for becoming one of my blog followers :-) I'm glad you are getting the jist of the new Mac. I find all computer stuff challenging and it's a miracle I've figured out blogging by myself! :-) Your soup looks delicious! Have a great day. Blessings, Pamela

Carol @ There's Always Thyme to Cook said...

The soup looks so pretty against that beautiful bowl :)

Olive said...

Carol, new technology, no matter how wonderful, always confounds me. I am currently freezing in our old house and your soup sounds so comforting. hugs♥olive

From the Kitchen said...

I have been procrastinating about Photoshop but really think I'm going to purchase a package. Just now sure what I need so would love to know what you have. Your photos are always excellent. Luckily I had time to get used to the Mac (I find it so much more user-friendly than the Dell which I had for a decade) before getting the Canon. I have a long way to go in figuring out the Canon but I love it.

Best,
Bonnie

Linda (More Fun Less Laundry) said...

Hi Carol, I use a mac--store photos on iPhoto. Then I flag the ones I want, put them into an album, them upload them onto blogger. It is really easy. I don't do anything to them, though--that's for learning another day! I just took a blogging 101 course at the local high school adult night, and I could have taught it better myself! Look around before you sign up for one! What I really need is a computer course. Have fun with your Mac--I will never go back to PC! Linda

Anonymous said...

I can almost taste the soup... we are big time homemade soup lovers. Hubby makes it. I love eating it.

Nice to hear that things are going smoother with the camera AND with the Mac... be patient with yourself and it will all come together for you. :-))

What are you using to make your blog headers? Which program?

Di

Cindy @ Dwellings-The Heart of Your Home said...

Beautiful roses and the soup looks wonderful!

Sheila said...

Your soup looks delicious. I wish you luck with the technical problems. I just upgraded Picasa on my Mac and found it will now create a collage from a folder in seconds. It's really fun to take a folder and see what happens by creating on the Create collage button at the top. then pictures can be deleted if they don't suit the collage.

Claudia said...

You're making me hungry, Carol!

xo
Claudia

Brynwood Needleworks said...

YUM!!! Hope you're getting into the studio soon. Can't wait to see what you're up to next.
xoxo
Donna

Nancy said...

Carol,how is it going with the Mac? I also use a MacBook Pro. When I am writing a post I switch from "Compose" to "HTML Mode" which lets me see the code for the pictures. Then I can copy and paste the code if I want to move a photo and even resize a photo. Also it lets me put spaces before and after the pictures. I hope this helps. Nancy

LindyLouMac said...

It is suddenly too warm for soup here, but I am delighted. I just wanted to let you know that I have added you to my blogroll of blogs I enjoy from around the world.

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