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In the 2+ decades of my existence, I cannot recall a time when I actually celebrated St. Patrick’s Day. In fact, most of the time I completely forgot it was that time of the year again to wear green to avoid this absurd tradition of getting pinched. While the bars around my campus were stocking up on green beer, I was studying for finals. This year is no exception, however this time, I’m bringing you recipes to celebrate St. Patty’s day even though I’ll still be at home, studying. Today, I present two recipes using bright green colors perfect for any lunch or dinner party you might host for St. Patty’s day or any other celebration. They’re simple, refreshing, & you can make them both in 20 minutes or less. More green recipes will be on the way, but they’ll probably be delayed until after my exam on the 22nd.
Cucumber & Kale Couscous Salad
Couscous is one of my favorite types of pasta & this salad is an original recipe, which also includes an original recipe for a pomegranate vinaigrette. If you can’t find pomegranate vinegar, you can substitute it with any red berry vinegar instead. It was the first time I made a vinaigrette & I didn’t even look up a menu! Turned out pretty delicious, so I’m going to just gently pat myself on the back now.
Speaking of firsts, this photoset is all kinds of firsts & the beginning to a new “photographing & editing era” for me, so to speak. Before yesterday, I never used a tripod to take photos of my recipes out of sheer laziness, but that’s all going to change. It was the first time I shot my recipes in RAW & the first time I used Lightroom to edit my food recipes since I usually just stick with Photoshop. I made a bunch of new Lightroom presets for my photos that I’m excited to use in the future, which inspired me with new ideas for a website I haven’t updated in ages: Lightroom presets & more Photoshop actions for photography for Aesthetic Intoxication. It goes to show that you can indeed teach an old dog new tricks & experimenting is worth your while! If you make mistakes on the way, it can only help improve your new approach at taming the beast of whatever you wish to tame.
Thirsty for more? I got you covered with this easy-peasy-limey-squeezy refreshment.
Refreshmint
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Refreshmint is a great refreshment that uses 3 of the same ingredients from the couscous salad so you can easily hit two birds with one stone, cutting down on time. This is a fast & easy drink to prepare for your guests (wow, three idioms today; not so sure that’s a good thing). You want more excitement? For adults, substitute the water with tonic, club soda, or lime carbonated water, add lime zest, lime juice, & 2-3 shots of gin or tequila for a quick & easy twist on classics: gin + tonic & a mojito.
I’ve picked up a lot of new neat tricks & tips this year for photography & editing, so 2014 will be the year of experimentation & hopefully improvement. I felt my photos were really stagnant in quality before, so it’s really satisfying to feel as though I’m moving on up on the n00b ladder & onto the–dare I say–amateur ladder.
To conclude this post, I wanted to take the time to remind those that feel that their skills in their passions, hobbies, or career have remained static, to remember that 99% of the successful human population has to start from somewhere. Bill Gates & Steve Jobs–may he rest in peace–didn’t become billionaires overnight. They worked hard & pushed everyone around them to be at the top of their game. If you don’t set goals or ambitions to do your very best, your very best will remain mediocre. You don’t get to the top because you think you’re the best, you get to the top because you know there’s always more room for improvement.
For Frame of Reference on My Improved Skillz
 Sunkissed Roll (2006; pre-DSLR) |
 Nigiri (2008; Nikon D60) |
 Mexican Roll (2013; Nikon D5100) |
 Lilies (2014; Nikon D5100 + Lightroom) |
My current goal is to be consistently better because I have a lot of “off” days. So, in the last decade, what skills have you improved in?
Newest Additions
- Cucumber & Kale Couscous Salad
- Refreshmint
- Kristin’s 24th Birthday
- Pho-Nomenon
- Josh + Lilies
- Runyon Canyon
I don’t think I’ve ever celebrated St. Patrick’s Day either, and I always forget about the wearing green thing! The salad and drink look tasty. I especially like the adult spin on the drink. It sounds really good 🙂
I love seeing progress through the years and seeing how people improve 😀 The photos in this post look great, and that’s awesome that you’re using Lightroom now. It’s my favorite for photos! I do most of my post processing in it but still do fine tuning in Photoshop. I think in the last decade, I’ve improved a lot in my photography too, both in taking them and in post processing. I’ve also been slowly improving my sewing!
Haha! I’ve probably purposefully worn green twice in my life because I always forget. I didn’t wear green this year, but it didn’t matter because I was at home studying anyway. Glad you like the adult spin on the drink. I’ll have to try to make it after my exam to see if the modifications actually taste good.
I’ve had LR for a while, but I didn’t use it because I didn’t understand what the difference was between PS & LR – it just felt like a section of PS was cut out to make LR. HOW WRONG I WAS. VSCO presets have changed my lifeeeeee & I’m learning so much from being able to edit them. Still fine tuning my post-processing technique because the last thing I want to do is just edit the hell out of my photos unnecessarily & I have a tendency to do that when I get carried away with presets haha.
Your sewing has improved so much! Your costumes get better with each new cosplay you make & it’s fun to see your more complicated costumes work out the way you want. I loved seeing your first attempt at sewing & how you realized now how you really had no idea what you were doing. Your comments were so funny! Can’t wait to see the new outfit when it’s finished!!
The photos look lovely and they have always been great, trust me!
It did improve a lot; lightroom is definitely helping.
I’ve been practicing illustrating fashion this year and I think I made a great improvement, if I look at my work from the past. It always make me feel good when I can see improvement in my own work. Practice makes perfect, right?
Aw thank you, Jessy! LR is definitely a huge help. When I look back on these photos, I felt like they were over edited, bahaha. I’m getting the hang of things. No more radioactive green ingredients!
Practice does indeed make perfect. I’d love to see your work, so you should post them on your website!!
I’ll have to try the Refreshmint sometime! It looks perfect for hot days which is coming up for me real soon.
And wow, you did improve a lot! I love your photos now. I haven’t been practicing my photography so I’ve been stuck in the same skillset for years.
Thanks! Go out there & practice your photography skills! Practice makes…better!
St. Patrick’s Day is probably the easiest holiday to forget… in fact, I did! Today’s St. Patty’s Day and I totally forgot until I got to school this morning and saw swarms of people wearing green! 😛 haha. The color scheme of your website seems to fit in well with the St. Patty’s Day theme too 😉
Anyway, that salad and refreshmint look absolutely delicious!!! Your cooking in general always looks mouth-watering. I wish I knew how to cook! >_< Oh well, plenty of time to learn. 🙂
I think I've improved my photography and my work ethic the most these past few years.
Hahaha I agree! Some people make a huge deal out of it for the green beer, but I always forget it too. At least my website was prepared, woo for mint green!
Cooking isn’t difficult & it’s just a matter of patience & following some directions. After you get the hang of that, your intuition will kick in to figure out what pairings go with what! You can try one of my easier recipes like minestrone or spaghetti & see how that goes!
Agreed! Your photography has definitely improved over the last few years. 🙂 Glad to hear your work ethic has improved as well.
I think I will give your crab cake recipe a try, Tiff! It looks delicious.
Since I’ll be off to college in just a year, I better start learning how to cook 😛
Oh that recipe is so old. I wouldn’t really recommend it for college because it’s so mays & can be expensive if you use really nice crab. Try the minestrone soup or the pasta. They’re a lot easier!
First of all, I just want to say that kudos to you for your culinary skills. I know I’ve said this multiple times, but I sure as hell am not kidding when I express my love and respect for your overall artistic ability. I just want to say keep it up, and keep sharing some of your ideas.
In response to your question, I’d like to believe that my writing skills have improved. It’s nice being able to articulate your thoughts that would’ve been trapped inside your mind otherwise. Of course, there’s always room for improvement, which gives me something to strive for. 🙂
Aww that means a lot to me, thanks!! I will continue to do my best & improve with my culinary creations!
I think we first spoke to one another last year or so & from then to now, I too believe your writing skills have improved. Your blogs have taken on more direction & I always look forward to reading them. Even if they were just a huge wall of text, I know you’ve got a point & I’m ready to read it!
This is making me drooool! You are a fantastic cook c: And great St. Patrick’s Day inspired ones ha 😛 I love eating couscous as well but I thought it’s a type of rice? I don’t know… Xx
Couscous is a type of pasta, although it looks like it would be a type of grain because it’s so small. It’s made with flour so, it’s in the pasta category.
This looks super yum! I had corned beef and cabbage for dinner on St. Patrick’s Day, and didn’t wear any green. But luckily, I didn’t get pinched. I think that your culinary skills have improved drastically since you’ve started. 🙂 Best of luck with your exams!
Thanks Jessie! I appreciate your kind words! I feel like my culinary skills have improved too! 🙂
I like cucumber and kale, yes but i might try experimenting with cucumber-spinach or broccoli-spinach…i wonder if they’ll work too? I enjoyed kale but not one of my favorite veggies 😛 *picky little shizz*
I should try couscous into my salad next >:) all this time i only eat my salad with wheat bread haha so … cliche?
I honestly hate the fact how I need a tripod myself haha.. it’s like… i’d rather buy a new lens than buying a tripod, although i know the latter is essential. I guess I’m not sure which tripod to choose yet.. haven’t browsed for reviews, etc…which reminds me I recently downloaded the lightroom too but haven’t gotten around to using it. I’m used to PS so it’s like automatic for my hand to edit my photos in PS :)) then again, i don’t like doing much editing…it feels sort of fake to me when i edit too much so i usually only do minor changes like the curve, levels but that’s just about it. no fancy stuff like color balance whatsoever. if my raw is bad, chances are i’m gonna delete the pics even though it’s sad especially if i don’t have backup shots. but yeah… i’d rather not show it then do much editing.
That refreshmint drink though. I’m gonna do that >:) uehehe… (secretly hoping that I have rum so I can add it in…….i don’t have rum though -__-) psst, do a recipe on pina colada 😛
and I see the improvement you got there with them snapshots 🙂
hm, not sure if i should say this because i’m not a pro or anything myself augh… (i feel like i’m in no position to say this…like, don’t wanna be disrespectful, man ><) i like the composition you did in your photographs 🙂 it's one of them prominent factors that has improved 😀 nice work!
as for that question, I honestly have no idea what skill i have improved! Haha… really, now it got me thinking and i'm not sure what…to…say…ugh…. not sure if my photography improved either, to be honest? i can't judge myself haha
Both combinations–cucumber & spinach, spinach & broccoli–work, but I personally prefer eating broccoli steamed than when it’s raw. If you like avocados, their addition to your cucumber & spinach combination would add a very nice touch. Kale is very bitter when it’s raw, so I steam it as well hahaha. I know you’re really cautious of over eating carbs, so instead of couscous, you could try using quinoa, which is a healthy grain. Low in carbs & definitely needed in your diet if you’re not already eating good grains!
Aw Alice, tripods are really cheap so I wouldn’t stress too much about finding a good one. I think I got mine for around $30 & we all know lenses don’t come that cheap! Get a full size tripod so it’s more versatile. You could also get the smaller ones meant for macro shots on a flat surface which are also cheap, but I never use mine, most likely because I don’t know where it is & I don’t come across situations in which it’s needed too often.
As for the editing, I’m with you on trying to just put in a splash of vibrance into the photo. The whole point of post-processing is to just bring out the colors of your picture your camera didn’t quite get right, but to post-process as little as possible. I’m still getting the hang of Lightroom so my cucumbers in those pictures are radioactive green. I’m obviously going to tone it down with my next posts haha. However, I do believe in always editing your white balance because it’s so important to the overall picture. There have been so many shots I’ve taken in the past that could’ve been so much nicer if the white balance wasn’t so wonky. Proper lighting is everything! You should download some free presets for Lightroom to get the hang of it. I think you’ll find that you’ll love editing your photos more in LR than in PS because all of the necessary controls are right there on your right hand side. You’ve got exposure, tint, temperature, curves, grain, sharpening, clarity, etc. It’s all there! It requires a bit more clicking & hunting in PS. I like my results better in LR & especially for RAW files. I hope you explore the potential of LR one day because I just did it recently!
Hmm rum doesn’t complement the freshness of cucumber very well in my opinion, so you’re better off using another clear liquor like vodka or gin. However, you could get creative & try blending mangos with some ice & rum. I think rum best complements fruity fresh flavors & not vegetable minty fresh flavors, but it’s up to you! I’ll put up a recipe for pina colada for you eventually. 🙂
Alice, please don’t worry about feeling like you’re being disrespectful to me! I appreciate all constructive criticism & I don’t want people to be afraid of telling me that my composition needs work because I know it does! I too, think that my composition has improved so thank you for your compliment. 🙂
Your photography has most definitely improved! I always thought your pictures were lovely, but they get more lovely every time. They’re such a delight to look at. 🙂
Wow, they all look so delicious! It’s great to be able to also celebrate certain events with food, and tie in the food with the event too. 😀
Thanks & agreed. 🙂
Your photography skills HAVE improved. I thought you were being modest when you said that in the first few paragraphs but then those earlier pictures of yours really do show that your style has changed and your picture are more…crisp? I’ve always admired your photography skills though so regardless, your photos are awesome. But it’s great that you’re continuing to push yourself to do better. 😀
Happy Saint Patty’s Day!
Haha aw thanks, AnneMarie! Yeah, I’ve gotten more of a handle on ISO & I switched to shooting in RAW so the crispness you see is attributed to photographing in RAW instead of Fine JPG. Makes a huge difference. I didn’t make the switch a while ago because I felt like it just took up too much room on my camera & I didn’t think I liked the “rawness” at the time haha, but I changed my mind. Crisp photos always!
Oooh! Everything looks so yummy! I’ve been wanting to try flavored waters, so I will definitely be making the Refreshmint soon!
I really appreciate the blurb that you have at the end. Lately, I’ve been really down on myself. I was looking at my goals list and I realized that I really haven’t been focused. I feel like I’ve been doing things, but instead of those things helping me for the future, I think that most of them were setbacks. I haven’t been spending my time as wisely as I should. Anyways, thanks for the reminder. I needed it! ^_^
Thanks! Hope you enjoy the infused water. I like the fruit infused waters too. They’re really simple if you just freeze some ice trays with a berry or two in the trays. Then you can eat the fruit after the ice melts haha.
You’re welcome & I’m glad that you found it uplifting; it’s always my goal! 🙂 I felt that way too, but you just have to get up & do something to help you get to where you gotta get to!
Oh my!! what a great set to celebrate St. Patty’s day!! The salad looks so amazing, thanks for sharing it! I love cucumbers and kale, and I always put sliced cucumbers in iced water as well. The taste is so refreshing and it makes water that much more interesting to drink.
Your eyes are definitely skillful… it made me crave sushi once again even though I had it yesterday!
My eyes are skillful? Haha that’s a new one! Thank you 🙂 I’m glad you liked what I shared. 😀