Paulchens FoodBlog?!

Just take me to the recipe, please!

The Cold Coffee Club of us P2P alumni strikes again.

This time it was Simone and Meeta who came up with the idea for the current assignment and it should be a photo assignment…

Plate to Page Photography Assignment this month is: WATERMELONS.

We want you to take 2 shots – 1 of a raw watermelon and one of the watermelon in a dish. Post here by June 22nd! Join the #plate2page crew here!

Until, yes until one of the boot camp sisters, otherwise known as Fab Four commented on the assignment on Facebook:

Plate To Page – Food Photography & Food Writing Workshops Yes also write about the recipe in a blog post and link back here. But we want 2 images to be uploaded here!

Plate To Page – Food Photography & Food Writing Workshops We said all WORK ….. Writing is not obligatory!

*pha!* I say! …  I know, I know… watch your words, Astrid!

Aha so watermelons it is…! Raw and in a dish! Hm, seems doable… but what the hell would you actually “cook” with watermelon?

I’ve never eaten watermelon other than sliced or – at the most – cubed and without any further ado…

I vividly remember Summer Sundays when the whole family met for some sunbathing and swimming in the public baths our Grandma always had some already sliced watermelons with her to feed us kids. How fun and messy it was to just plop into the grass next to her and digg right into the juicy slice of fruit. Messy it was, the juices running all over our hands and body, smeared faces with sugary liquid but oh so good and refreshing on a hot summer day.
We didn’t care that we were all messed up and sticky but just jumped up and ran to play in the water again when we were finished. …

So to fulfill the assignment off I went to buy me a watermelon… back home I searched for some useful props to use and thought about how I would approach the “raw” setting of my watermelon shooting session…

first attempt at shooting that watermelon

I wanted to feature it as a whole in the background with some smaller slice in the front. Above you can see my attempt in this.

These were my camera settings:
Exposure 0.017 sec (1/60)
Aperture f/6.3
Focal Length 34.6 mm
ISO Speed 400
Exposure Bias +2 EV
Flash No Flash

I thought the red of the cutting board would nicely match the color theme, but it didn’t. I also had some difficulties do create a nice depth of field although the big watermelon was way back in the background it got not as blurry as I wanted it to…

second attempt at that watermelon

I think the second try went better. I cubed the watermelon and put it in this little bowls. I think the focus in front is nice but the depth of field is still not where I wanted it to be.

Camera settings were:
Exposure 0.017 sec (1/60)
Aperture f/6.3
Focal Length 30.0 mm
ISO Speed 400
Exposure Bias +2 EV
Flash No Flash

second part: watermelon in a dish

I like this one. It’s hard to shoot drinks especially when they have ice cubes in it. you constantly have to watch and stir before shooting or be real quick…
I made like a hundred pics from different angles and settings but in the end I came to like this one best.

Camera settings were:
Exposure 0.017 sec (1/60)
Aperture f/6.3
Focal Length 30.0 mm
ISO Speed 400
Exposure Bias +2 EV

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Now for the second part, the recipe. As I mentioned above, I have never thought about actually cooking with watermelons before… but in times of internet all you have to do is type “watermelon+recipe” into the box of your favorite search machine and there you go!

Did you know that there is a whole site dedicated to watermelons? There is! With lots of interesting information and a whole lot of recipes. After browsing through the site for a while I got an idea what to make with my watermelon.

I turned to wikipedia to look up some stuff about watermelons too. Did you know that,

Watermelon (Citrullus lanatus (Thunb.), family Cucurbitaceae) is a vine-like (scrambler and trailer) flowering plant originally from southern Africa. Its fruit, which is known as a watermelon is a special kind of fruit known by botanists as a pepo, a berry which has a thick rind (exocarp) and fleshy center (mesocarp and endocarp); pepos are derived from an inferior ovary, and are characteristic of the Cucurbitaceae. The watermelon fruit, loosely considered a type of melon (although not in the genus Cucumis), has a smooth exterior rind (green, yellow and sometimes white) and a juicy, sweet interior flesh (usually pink, but sometimes orange, yellow, red and sometimes green if not ripe). It is also commonly used to make a variety of salads, most notably fruit salad.

A watermelon contains about 6% sugar and 92% water by weight. As with many other fruits, it is a source of vitamin C.

The amino acid citrulline was first extracted from watermelon and analyzed. Watermelons contain a significant amount of citrulline and after consumption of several kg, an elevated concentration is measured in the blood plasma; this could be mistaken for citrullinaemia or other urea cycle disorders. Watermelon rinds, usually a light green or white color, are also edible and contains many hidden nutrients that most people avoid eating due to its unappealing flavor. They are sometimes used as a vegetable. In China, they are stir-fried, stewed or more often pickled. When stir-fried, the de-skinned and de-fruited rind is cooked with olive oil, garlic, chili peppers, scallions, sugar and rum. Pickled watermelon rind is also commonly consumed in the Southern US. Watermelon juice can also be made into wine. Watermelon is also mildly diuretic and contains large amounts of beta carotene. Watermelon with red flesh is a significant source of lycopene.

There are more than 1200 varieties of watermelon ranging in size from less than a pound, to more than two hundred pounds, with flesh that is red, orange, yellow or white.

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Watermelon Malibu Surf

Watermelon Malibu Surf

Ingredients

1 cup diced watermelon
1 cup trimmed strawberries, cut in half
1/2 cup coconut cream
2 ounces rum

Instructions

1. Blend watermelon, strawberries, coconut cream and rum just until smooth.
2. Place in freezer for one hour, stirring occasionally.
3. Pour into chilled glass.
4. Serve immediately.

Strawberry Watermelon Agua Fresca

Strawberry Watermelon Agua Fresca

Ingredients

1 pound diced watermelon
8 ounces strawberries, stems removed
1 Tbsp lime juice
1 Tbsp sugar
1/4 to 1/2 cup water or white wine or if you prefer sparkling wine

Instructions

1. Put all ingredients – apart from water or wine – in a blender and blend until smooth.
2. You can strain the puree to avoid pulpy piece if you prefer, I didn’t ’cause I like it better this way.
3. Now you can decide whether you want to do a child-safe version, then you go with the the water.
4. If you prefer an adult version go with the white wine or even sparkling wine whatever you like best.
5. Mix it with the puree and fill it into glasses.

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Please visit the other #coldcoffeeclub girls and see their take on the Watermelon Assignment!

Simone, Meeta, Mona, Jenn, Arthi, Ilva, … more to come

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