I get a lot of people asking me if all I ever do is cook and eat.  Well, obviously not, since you see all of these images here on my blog, you must realize that I also photograph, edit, and edit again.

However, due to very popular demand, I've decided to "publish" some of my recipes - you may recall I've done this before with some other popular items, like my Brazilian Feijoada and my Tuscan Bean Soup.  So here's another popular one and this time I decided to take pictures of every step with my handy-dandy iPhone4, using the Hipstamatic app for consistency and a little antique look that I love.

Enjoy! Try it out and let me know what you think:

Ingredients:

1kg Cassava Root (see pictures below if you don't know what that is)

 1 can of diced tomatoes

2lbs large shrimp (uncooked)

2 red peppers (diced)

1 large onion (diced)

1 can of coconut milk (not the 'light' kind) 

1/2 cup diced cilantro

 3 cloves of garlic (of course I use more, I'm just taking it easy on you!)

Salt and pepper to taste. 

Chili pepper flakes if you're feeling adventurous. 

Directions: 

 The first thing you need to do is boil the cassava.  Cassava is a very strong root that is a lot like potatoes, but much harder.  I cook it in a pressure cooker (by the way, I cook almost everything in a pressure cooker) because it's much faster, but you can also boil it in a regular pot.  It'll just take longer.

Pressure Cooker time: 30 mins in full boil.

Regular  Pot: About 1.5 hours.

Cassava might be hard to find, but I found it in a East Indian grocery shop close to my place, in the freezer. Here's the packaging:

And here's what it looks like, uncooked, frozen:

Here's one of my many pressure cookers, in action:

 After the cassava is soft like cooked potatoes, you must remove the core, like this:

This is the consistency that you want:

Then you must puree the cassava root  - I do that in my KitchenAid mixer:

Leave the pureed cassava aside. 

Dice the veggies and sauté them in a separate pot.

Puree the diced tomatoes.  Note here, you might be thinking, why not just use crushed tomatoes instead?  I find that pre-crushed tomatoes taste very different, so I don't use them.  I prefer to crush my own.

I let that all simmer for about 10 minutes on low, then I add the cilantro and the garlic:

 I crush my garlic in a mortar and pestle.  I've gone through a lot of garlic presses and this is the only thing that can put up with me...

Let it all simmer for 40 minutes.  This is also the point when you should season it with salt and pepper to taste.  You can add some chili pepper too, for a little kick.

Meanwhile, you must defrost the shrimp, and then peel and chop them into bite-size pieces. 

This is the kind that I buy.  If you don't already know this, you need to buy the "black" shrimp.  When shrimp is red, it means it's been cooked!

I like to defrost the shrimp in a colander, under cold water.

Peeled and chopped:

 Add the shrimp to the sauce and cook it just until the shrimp is red.

Now the finishing touches:  Add the cassava pure and mash it into the stew.  I add about three cups of the mashed up stuff.

Let this simmer for 5 minutes, until the mixture thickens, then remove from the element and add the coconut milk:

 It's ready to serve!

I like to eat it with a tomato salad on the side, but you might think it's tomato overkill...

Bom apetite! 

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This past Friday, the 13th of August, I was asked by my friend Mike of Tinholt Photography if I could come out to shoot with him and his wife, Zarah.  I love second shooting.  It is relaxing, enlightening and humbling all at the same time.  

I had just gotten my iPhone4 two weeks before that (yes, I'm a loser and I stood in line for 4.5 hours to get it), so I asked Mike if I could use the iPhone for some of the shots.  No, I didn't JUST shoot with the iPhone, but once in a while I pulled it out for effect.  I used the same app for all the shots and I love how they turned out.  The app is called Hipstamatic and though the shots are not always in focus, I like the old world feel it gives the images.

Here they are for your perusal:

The wedding was at the Hotel Fort Garry.  They have the best lights:

The groom, Daniel, through the glass:

The boys.  Again, not really in focus - low light, but definitely cool!

 I love this one!

This is the kind of day we had:

Do you think I have a chandelier/sconce obsession?  You have NO IDEA!

A Very blurry Mike on the job:

Details of Rache's stunning dress:

The infamous cube:

What are you trying to do, Mike?  Hitch a ride?

Details of the church decorations:

The Kiss:

A Rainbow came out.  How serendipitous:

There are more images to come, folks, from my real camera... 

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For friends and family of the couple, please click here to be notified when their images go live online (oh and receive a $5 credit!) 

Here's Phuong and Jin's Video Fusion: 

Phuong and Jin - Winnipeg Wedding Photography from Patty Boge on Vimeo.

Phuong and Jin are the kind of couple that you want to wrap up and bring home to put under the Christmas tree.  Serious!  So cute, cuddly and fun at the same time... I love photographing couples that trust me completely! It's a fun, no brainer type of shoot.  See it for yourself:

 A Classic shot at the Leg:

Isn't this veil just delicious? 

 I love the way he looks at her...

I wish you all could feel the crazy heat that day! 

 We call this one Jin and Juice.

 The boys knew how much Phuong loves cars... so they arranged a sweet little ride for him...

The Koren princess... Her majesty Jin. 

 I love these...

Thanks so much Jin and Phuong.  You two are amazing! 

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Lindsay & Kris - Winnipeg Wedding Photography from Patty Boge on Vimeo.

 

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Oh, what a cutie! I love it when my clients call me right away within the first two weeks of babies being born... They never look like this again, so it's so good to capture it all.

Sydney (the dog) couldn't come to the studio today, so baby got all the attention.  And what a cutie he is!  Rob says he'll get into soccer lessons as soon as he can walk!  Right Rob?

Here's some cute images of the little guy and his family...

No better place to be, eh Grayson?

I love these:

We were trying to get him with his eyes open and this was all we could do for a while...

Thank you for bringing by this wonderful little guy.  I look forward to getting to know him over the next few years.

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This past week was one of those weeks where I got to reconnect with a lot of my past wedding clients.  I love it when that happens... Babies, babies everywhere!

Here's my beautiful Melodie and TJ with sweet little Kylie...

Hot stuff, Melodie!

I love these next few...

 I simply love these next few too...

Thanks for keeping in touch, guys!  Let's do this again! 

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For friends and family of the couple, please click here to be notified when their images go live online (oh and receive a $5 credit!)

 

 

Jen emailed me a few weeks ago asking if we could put our differences aside no that the World Cup is over and get together to do their engagement pictures.  You see, it's not that we ever HAD differences, but the World Cup brings out the patriotic in all of us, immigrants or sons and daughters of immigrants... And the Portugal and Brazil game was just... well, never mind.

 

It's ok though, I love Jen, so it wasn't really that hard to put our differences aside...

 

We headed out to Lilac Resort which is where Joel and Jen met - they used to spend their summers there as kids and it brings back good memories.

 

Here's some of the images.  I'll just say that we had some sweeeeet light around 7:30pm and here's the images to prove it!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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For friends and family of the couple, please click here to be notified when their images go live online (oh and receive a $5 credit!)

Here's Katie & Anthony's Video Fusion:

Katie & Anthony from Patty Boge on Vimeo.

Thanks to Natalie for the fabulous job on the video snippets!

What a day!  I woke up to thunderstorms, lightning, drizzle, sunshine - just a good old Summer Weather mix-bag...  The thing is, I didn't worry one bit... Katie is possibly the most organized person - and had the Conservatory booked ahead of time, because she knows that you just can't trust the weather in Manitoba.  I love that! 

Katie and Anthony are absolutely beautiful inside and out.  I met Katie first and fell in love with her instantly. And you will too.  

Here's her beautiful bouquet:

And here she is... Seriously...

 I love their expressions here:

 The guys really wanted to do this, as you can see:

 This was one very excitable bunch:

 Apparently Jenn likes making funny faces!

Look at these eyes:

Katie's make-up by Two Chicks and a Bag of Make-Up 

Anthony likes jungles...

Katie and Anthony really enjoyed the Thunderstorm that raged above us during the shoot while inside The Conservatory, we were nice and dry.

Then the sky cleared out just long enough for us to get some more fabulous-ity (I just made up a new word). 

Isn't this just the cutest thing?

Then the rain came again:

Well, wouldn't you know that Katie has the same chandelier obsession that I have?

And Paul Haverstock from The Hotel Fort Garry let us in the Atrium for a few quick minutes... and that's all I needed:

Sam (the ring bearer) loves playing guitar.  Can you tell?

Some more details of the Reception Venue:

And Katie, this one is for you and also for me:

Dan, Anthony's brother, was dying to have this shot... He kept asking me all day... There you go, Dan!  I should let you all know that Dan is a photographer in Calgary (www.crimsontreephoto.com) and possibly the politest professional photographer I've ever had in a wedding party.  He kept his camera tucked away all day long - knowing it's just not cool to shoot alongside the hired professional.  Dan, you're definitely one of a kind and I thank you profusely!

Katie and Anthony, you're so in love and it shows... I'm just lucky I got to be there capturing it all for posterity.

Many many blessings and immense joy forever!

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My friend Sam - whom I've known forever (we were roommates back when we lived in Toronto) asked me to try this new thing... a photo shoot with her friend Justine for The Lifestyle Pass.  If you don't have the Lifestyle pass, you need one!  It's the reason I try out so many healthy living choices in Winnipeg for free! Check it out here.

This is a quick video of some of the images we got.  Sam directed the shoot, Justine acted it out beautifully and all I had to do was point my camera at her... I kid you not!  The idea was to portray someone living life to the fullest.  I think the song is just perfect!

The Lifestyle Pass Photoshoot 2010/2011 from Patty Boge on Vimeo.

 To see more images, go onto this public Facebook album.  You don't need to have facebook or join it to see it:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=198224&id=273301172578&l=ad260cd69b 

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