008/365

Trying my hand at sports photography today!  So much fun.  I see why they need the crazy telephoto lenses, though - I really wanted to get one of those shots where you can see the athlete's sweat flying off their bodies.  Not that easy.  This was the closest I could get.

007/365

Late, I know - internet connection issues last night prevented me from posting.  The nighttime capabilities of the new DSLRs are amazing!  Here's another nighttime shot of the view from my bedroom window.  To the naked eye, it looked mostly black with lights twinkling through the trees.  I like how the camera revealed glowing homes and street lamps like little treasures in the dark.

006/365

The sun was really scorching hot this afternoon on our walk home from school.  Lily is laughing, because the wind is blowing her umbrella away!  I still find it funny that everyone regularly uses their umbrellas for both sun and rain here in Singapore.  Makes sense though - if you really need some shade, why not carry some with you?

005/365

I'd forgotten how tricky wildlife photography is.  No chance to direct the subjects, no makeup, no props to style, no second takes!  I stalked this butterfly outside my parent's apartment for a few minutes before I  finally got some good shots.

Civil War Macaroni and Cheese

Hey!  It's my birthday!  And since I have no plans and a sleeping baby at home this afternoon, I decided to indulge in a lovely lunch.  The title was what drew me to this recipe - Civil War era mac and cheese?  What??  It's actually really simple, and really tasty.  Check out the original recipe:

"Boil the maccaroni in milk; put in the stewpan butter, cheese, and seasoning; when melted, pour into the maccaroni, putting breadcrums over, which brown before the fire all together."

I've never boiled pasta in milk before (I was worried the milk would burn), but it works!  I ate it without the bread crumb topping and also added about a cup of green peas to mine - it's usually mac and cheese and peas at our house - and it was delicious.  Happy birthday to me!  

Civil War Macaroni and Cheese Recipe

• Prep time: 5 minutes
• Cook time: 45 minutes

INGREDIENTS

• 4 cups milk
• 1/2 pound elbow macaroni pasta (2 to 2 1/2 cups)
• 4 Tbsp butter
• 2 cups, packed, grated cheddar cheese (about 1/2 pound)
• Freshly ground black pepper
• Nutmeg
• 1/4 to 1/3 cup bread crumbs
• Cayenne (optional)

METHOD

1 Heat the milk in a large saucepan until steamy. Stir in the dry macaroni pasta. Let come to a boil, reduce the heat to a simmer. Pay attention while the macaroni is cooking in the milk as the milk may foam up and boil over if the milk gets too hot. Cook the macaroni for 15 minutes or until done. The macaroni should absorb almost all of the milk.

2 Preheat oven to 400°F. As soon as the macaroni is close to being done, melt the butter in a separate saucepan, stir in the grated cheese, black pepper to taste and a pinch of freshly grated nutmeg. Once the cheese has melted, pour the sauce into the macaroni and milk mixture and stir to combine. Taste and add salt if needed.

3 Place macaroni and cheese mixture into a baking dish. Sprinkle the top with breadcrumbs. Sprinkle lightly with cayenne (if using). Bake in a 400°F oven for 20 minutes or until the top is lightly browned.

Yield: Serves 4.

Recipe from one of my favorite sites, Simply Recipes.  Also see this post on our family food blog, Dulce de Leche on a Spoon (once I figure out how...).  

004/365

I was watching a lightning storm in the distance today!  Our bedroom window has the best view for it.  After the girls fell asleep, I spent about 10 minutes taking 30-second long exposures of this piece of skyline.  The storm had mostly moved on when I started shooting though.  The few exposures that captured the whole sky lighting up didn't look like anything special, and I didn't catch any of the last zig-zag flashes like I was hoping for.  I do like the streaks on the right made by the construction crane swinging around, though.  

003/365

  

In the afternoons, we play in the small grassy patch outside our Singapore apartment.  There's some green peeking out through the stepping stones.  It's enough for little adventures with toys, but it really makes me miss our old home in New York - at the edge of a forest, looking at groundhogs, turkeys and chipmunks.    

002/365

We spent a beautiful Easter Sunday morning at the pool.  We love swimming, and it was even more fun today because Grandpa got wet too!  I love this photo - it makes me smile!  That is exactly the daredevil grin that Ruby is all about.

365 Project Begins - 001/365

The first of many.

This is my 365 Project.  The challenge is to take and post one photo everyday, for the next 365 days.  It's purpose is to chronicle the adventures we have, food we eat and people we meet.

To begin, here are two of my most favorite people - needless to say, they will end up on this blog quite often!  We were on our way to brunch and I managed to capture this sunny, sweet moment between sisters.