My Three-Bean Salad Recipe

Jena's Tres Frijoles Salad

In a large bowl mix the following:
-TWO 14.5-16 oz cans of string beans
-ONE 16 oz can of garbonzo beans
-ONE 16 oz can of light red kidney beans
Next, add as much of the following as you prefer:
-onion flakes-celery seed (I add A LOT!!)
-sugar
-red wine vinegar
-(olive oil optional)
-(oregano optional)
Place in the fridge for at least 15 minutes before serving.

A Wake Up Call to ALL Photographers and Artists

I want to share a email that I received recently:

Hi :)

I work for an Advertising Agency in London and were looking to do a fun “happy” campaign in and around the UK – It will be to launch a range of DVD`s and could be used on posters, in store and press ads.We really love your “The whole story” image – how would you feel about us possibly using this image to inject ‘happiness’ to the public! I completely understand if you don’t want to and I hope you don’t mind me asking,

Kind Regards, (Their name)

And here was my response:

Hi (Their name),

Thank you so much for contacting me. I am very flattered you would like to use my "The Whole Story" image. I would love to sell the rights to your advertising agency for print campaign usage. I rely on my photography to earn a living and I hope you understand why I can't give the image away for free. If you would like to negotiate a usage fee, I would love to move forward with this project!!

Hope to hear back from you,

~Jena~

Now here's the lesson: Yes, I am flattered and yes, I would LOVE to see my work used in an international campaign where it will potentially be seen by millions of people but let's get real. If you haven't already, you NEED to stop giving your work away for free. Not only does undermine your work, but it undermines ALL artists' works if ad agencies and companies can find photography and artwork for free. I know this ad agency may never respond to my email (they haven't yet and it's been four days since I sent it), but it's a matter of self-worth and principle. The sad part is I already know what they're going to do next: get back on flickr and search for someone who is willing to give their photography/artwork away for free in exchange for the excitement of seeing their work in print. Don't let this person be you. Start charging for ALL usage of your work (and if it's really creative/unique/one-of-a-kind, charge A LOT). If all photographers/artists do this, then more people will be able to earn a living as photographers/artists. By helping yourself, you will be helping an entire industry of struggling creatives. As for the ad agency, they should know better.

Edible Penguins

Check out these adorable penguins I made for Liz's Passover Dinner!! Next year, I'm adding yamikas. They are sooo easy (yet time consuming) to create. All you need: two cans of unpitted olives, carrots, cream cheese and toothpicks. Your guests will be thrilled.

Here's how to make them:

1. First, either using baby carrots or regular carrots, create your penguin feet by slicing carrot rounds. If you're using regular carrots and small olives, stick with the tapered half of the carrot so the feet will be smaller/proportional to the penguin body. Slice as many carrot rounds as you would like penguins for. Starting in the center of each round, carefully cut small outward V's (to make the carrot look more like penguin feet). Be sure to save the V's you cut out for the beaks!!

2. Prep olives by holding them vertically and slicing one side from top to bottom. I did not have an pastry bag when I made my penguins but if you have one, your prep time will be cut in half!! Fill your pastry bag with cream cheese and pipe cream cheese into the sliced olives. This gives the penguins their white bellies. If you do not have an pastry bag, you have to fill the olives using a knife or your fingers and cream cheese will get all over the olives and then you will need to wipe them off... so invest in an pastry bag!! Set the filled olives aside, they are the penguin bodies.

3. It's time to make the heads so grab some more olives!! DISCLAIMER: If you get frustrated easily or are impatient, I recommend you pipe cream cheese into the center of each olive. This will hold the heads together while you are trying to shove a carrot nose into a small incision. If you think you have the patience or do not have an pastry bag, leave the olives plain. Take your leftover carrot V's and slice them vertically once or twice. Holding your olive horizontally, make a small X incision in the center of the olive. Stick the carrot noses into the incision and VIOLA, penguin heads!!

4. Now it's time to construct. Using a small dab of cream cheese, stick your penguin feet to a platter or dish. This is your base. Keeping your penguin heads horizontal, stick a toothpick down the center. You only need to bring the olive head 3/4 up the toothpick. When you have your head in place, slide an olive body onto the toothpick. Keep the bodies vertical and heads horizontal. Once you have a toothpick with both a head and body, stick the end of the toothpick into one of the carrot feet. You should have a penguin!!

5. TIP: Keep the platter chilled until your guests arrive, otherwise the cream cheese will melt and your penguins will slide all over the place. If you need to store them overnight, carefully place wet paper towels and/or Seran Wrap over the penguins. This will prevent the carrots and olives from drying out. ENJOY!!

my latest addiction: POLYVORE.COM

i stumbled upon the greatest, girliest gem of a wesbite called polyvore where you build your own outfit by mixing and matching articles of clothing and accessories. if you love fashion and collage making... or have a uterus, you will love this site.

here's how it works: there are thousands of items to browse or you can search by brand or color. you simply drag the items onto your work space and arrange them however you want. you can collect as many items as you like and even add non-clothing objects like food... basically anything you can find online. if you're feeling even more creative, you can add backgrounds.

***shopaholics beware... if you hover over a particular article of clothing, a thumbnail will appear with a link that will take you directly to the website that is selling that item. i'm already tempted to order two things i've included in one of my ensembles.

here are some sets i created (then lightly edited in MS paint). check them out:





the site is pretty easy to navigate. if you have ten minutes (or are bored at work), you'll figure it out in no time.

HOW TO... make a banana (egg) flip.

tonight my guy and i went to his parent's house for dinner. his mom (being the nice lady that she is) got me a vegetarian cookbook. for the record, i'm NOT a vagetarian, but i do LOOOOVE vegetables. the book is full of great ideas (you can easily add chicken to any recipe) and includes a lot of desserts. so rick's friend tim comes over and we're flipping through the book and we see this:

BANANA EGG FLIP
prep time: 5 min
total cooking time: nil
makes: 2

1 1/2 cups milk
1 medium-sized banana
1 tbsp honey
1 egg
2-3 tbsp yoghurt (yes, that's how they spell yogurt in this book)
2 scoops vanilla ice cream
2 ice cubes

suddenly tim is overcome by inspiration and hunger. he grabs a banana from the kitchen table. armed with the cookbook, we embark on a mission across the street to tim's house to make some banana-y goodness..

the visual:


note: yes, the recipe calls for raw egg (ew!) we included it and the drink was still tasty but i don't recommend consuming raw egg. i do however recommend adding more ice. cheers!!