Chanterelle toasts with tahini | GF + V

I’ve already started to switch to more autumn inspired food. Autumn is probably my favorite time of the year, I just love to snuggle up in warm knitted sweaters, drink endless cups of coffee, read, listen to the rain and for the sunny days – take long walks and enjoy all the wonderful colors. I never feel as inspired as I do during that time of the year. Summer is probably the worst season, inspirationally speaking. I don’t know, it’s just something about the insane light (which is nice except when you have photography work to do) that keeps me so uninspired. I love the grey, rainy days that are so common during the fall season. The shadows and overall moody feel. I love it. Probably because that’s how I want my pictures – moody.

I have photographed and edited thousands, probably hundreds of thousands photos over the years and I think I have tried every style there is. The bright, the moody, the colorful, the faded. I’ve styled my shoots with only white and bright stuff, with only wooden, with only stone and metal. I have tried so many things, probably because I’ve been too inspired by other photographers. I wrote about this in another post, when I talked about feeling lost in social media. It’s so easy to forget who we really are when we are constantly being influenced and inspired by others. You can love the way someone edit their photos, but even though you love it, it’s not necessarily you. I’ve been struggling with this a lot but this year I’ve realized what I want. What I want my photos to look like, who I am in terms of editing and style and it feels so good.

So, how did I do this? How did I manage to find my style while being influenced and inspired 24/7. I decided to go back to my roots, to who I really am. And it was easy, believe it or not. I just sat down, no iPhone, Pinterest, Instagram or inspirational prints nearby. Just me, a piece of paper and a pen. And then I started to think. And write. I started with my name in the centre and then I filled the paper with words that are me. Like, knitwear, coffee, mountains, cats, dogs, foggy mornings, boots, hiking, minimalism, trees, the ocean, the color black, vintage industrial things etc. All kinds of things that I associate with who I am.

When I looked at the paper, now filled with a lot of words, it was so clear to me. I realized that no matter how much I love the look of bright photos, it’s just not me. In the same way that floral dresses, designer bags and manicure is not me. I’m not saying I don’t like it – it’s just not me. I want my jeans, my boots and my old bag. I am sure that many of you are the opposite. What I’m trying to say is that no style or personality is wrong, we are perfect as we are, no matter what we wear or what our photos look like. We are all beautiful individuals and we should celebrate that. We should never pretend to be something that we are not, because we are good enough. Let’s celebrate our different styles and just love the fact that we are free to create whatever we want. That’s the beauty of creativity and art.

Let’s never lose ourselves in inspiration or social media. Ok?

Now that went a little deeper than I had thought when I first started writing this post. My plan was to write about how much I love autumn, not how I found myself and my style again. But, I had planned on writing that story for MONTHS anyway so I guess I felt like it was the right time to do that now. Anyhow, let’s talk about the recipe I decided to share with you today (well, that was a nice change of topic, huh?). The recipe actually has a lot to do with autumn because it involves chanterelles and tea so in the end I guess it’s not too bad a timing for the recipe.

Chanterelle toasts with tahini 

4 toasts 

200 g fresh chanterelles
1 shallot
1 tbsp vegan margarine
2 tbsp white wine
0,5 dl cream of your choice (I used one made from oats)
2 tsp tahini
salt and black pepper to taste
fresh thyme

4 slices of bread (I used glutenfree toast)

Directions 

1. Use a mushroom brush to clean the chanterelles. I don’t rinse under water because I think they get soggy, but that’s just me – you do as you like.

2. Chop the chanterelles into medium sized pieces.

3. Finely chop the shallot.

4. Heat the margarine in a skillet over medium heat. Sauté the shallots until soft. Then add the chanterelles and sauté for 5 minutes or so.

5. Add the white wine and cook for another 5 minutes.

6. Stir in the cream and tahini and let simmer for a few minutes. Season with salt and black pepper to taste.

7. Melt some butter and brush on one side of each piece of toast. Spoon the mushroom stew on the toasts and top with some fresh thyme. Serve immediately (preferably with a cup of tea) and enjoy!