Well, if you caught my announcement at the bottom of my Chicken Paella post, you would know that my old camera died on me last week. Luckily, Abby and I had been researching getting a new one, so we were set and ready to go when the fateful day did come.

I ended up getting a Canon Digital Rebel XSi 12.2 MP Digital SLR Camera. All I can say is WOW. I am amazed with some of the pictures I have been able to take with this thing… and I am a total beginner, just using the auto focus. For reference, I also purchased the Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II Camera Lens.

I started playing with my new toy by taking some pictures of my breakfast. I had some cottage cheese and blueberries with a poached egg and Gouda sandwich. BTW, no I didn’t eat the habañeros. They were just for decoration.

The eggs kind of look like boiled chicken because of the way I trimmed the whites. That red stuff is my favorite hot sauce… Sriracha! It is an easy way to add a bold, but yet not too overpowering, flavor to just about any dish. From what I hear, it is so widely used in Asian cultures, that it has been nicknamed Japanese ketchup.

I decided to break in my camera the right way with a visit to one of Louisville’s premier cultural events, the St. James Art Festival. This event really is a big deal, and about 750 artists from all over the country set up booths to show off and sell some of their creations. Supposedly, it is the largest arts display in North America. It was really amazing seeing the variety of patrons in attendance. I saw people from all genres ranging from the dread-locked hippies to the hard-core, black leather wearing bikers, and everything else in between.

My Mom found a creative piece of pottery. These are single-serving, onion soup making bowls. Apparently, all you have to do is, peel an onion, place it on the post in the center of the bowl, add some bouillon and some chardonnay and pop it in the microwave for a few minutes.

I snapped a quick picture of the recipe for reference. The words are kind of blury though… I obviously need to work on my photography skills. If you click on the image, you can see a larger version, where the recipe is legible. The artist included a copy of the recipe in the bag with the bowl Mom chose. He also included a recipe that uses the bowl to make a simple baked apple dish. I will be interested to see how these turn out!

I thought this little chef was fun, and had to snap a quick shot just to share.

Some reps for La Croix were giving away free samples of their zero calorie, flavored, sparkling water. I tried it and it was really pretty good. Thanks La Croix. Not exactly artsy, but its foody (so worth mentioning I guess).

I bought a print to hang in my kitchen. Again, click on the image to see a larger version, that should be legible. I am obsessed with spicy things, and love to kick my food up a notch at every opportunity (note my habañeros from the garden, that insisted on being in the picture with some of their other pepper cousins).

Obviously, I still need a little practice with the camera, but don’t worry… the shots will definitely get better. Anybody have any recommendations for (free) image editing software? Please share! Thanks.