Two Page Spread

I finished the recipe and my suspicions were right. The recipe left a huge portion of negative space left over. I ended up splitting up the steps a little but differently and it added some more space and I think that having the shorter steps actually looks nicer.
Here's the two versions:

Original

New

As you can see I added a seventh step and I fixed a few small errors like how I forgot to add the cheeses to the ingredients list and then I sightly adjusted the layout to account for the extra lines. I definitely prefer the new version since it shows the shape around the pizza a bit better and it doesn't have that ugly negative space left over. Next I think I'm going to work on the table of contents since that's likely going to take more time to edit and stage than the cover page will. I'm hoping to get the photos done for that this weekend.

A Start

I've started creating the magazine cover and I'm definitely loving how it is turning out so far.
This is it as of now:

     I still have to format the recipe on the second page so that it wraps around the pizza and then I'll just be doing smaller touchups to make it look more professional. It's super exciting seeing how my design looks in real life. I'm starting to think that I'm gonna have a bit of left over space once the recipe is done since I only have 3 more steps but I don't want to add more until I see it since the pizza is going to make the columns much smaller anyway. If I end up with extra space I'm thinking I'll either add another photo or split up one of the longer steps into two so that it looks nicer but I also want to keep it to a low amount of steps because when I was researching I found that a lot of recipes combine multiple steps into one. I think they do this because people only look at the number of steps so if you show them 10 it seems like more work than those same 10 steps put under 5 steps. I still have to see how it looks of course so I'm going to finish up the two-page spread tomorrow if I can but if not then it'll be done by Friday.

Success!

     I made the pizza yesterday and took the photos and they turned out great. The pizza looked great and I got some nice photos of the ingredients to liven up the recipe. Here's some of the photos I got:

Original:                                                                               Edited:

Original:                                                                     Edited:

Here's one of me taking the photos:

I edited using Adobe Lightroom and I took the photos on my Nikon D3100. Once I got them onto my computer I followed some of the food photography tips I've been researching and turned up the exposure and the contrast just a little bit. I also fixed some of the lens distortion and the blue tint from my lighting and I think that it turned out pretty well. I'm gonna put them in to Adobe Photoshop tomorrow and start working on the layout.

Issue

     I attempted to make the pizza today and immediately ran into an issue. The dough didn't rise. The crucial step in making dough didn't work. I went over what could have gone wrong and after some research I think I've figured out what happened. The warm water that I added to the yeast was too hot and killed them rather than just activating them. By the time I figured this out I didn't have time to remake the dough since I had to go to a board meeting for a company I volunteer at. I'm going to remake the dough tomorrow, correctly this time, since I'll have more time if things go wrong. 

     Here's some more really cool lighting tips I tried today that seem promising for now:

https://www.culinaryhill.com/10-tips-for-beginning-food-photographers/

https://thenewbaguette.com/2017/03/27/food-photography-tips/

https://24carrotkitchen.com/10-food-photography-tips-new-bloggers/

The Impact of Too-Hot Water on Yeast. (n.d.). Retrieved March 26, 2018, from https://www.cooksillustrated.com/how_tos/8363-the-impact-of-too-hot-water-on-yeast

New Recipe!

I've come up with a draft for my recipe that I'll be making this weekend. Here's the recipe for the dough:

Ingredients:

• 1 packet of active dry yeast
• 1/8 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 3/4 cup warm water

Steps:

1. Pour yeast and water into a bowl, let sit until foamy.
2. Add the oil, sugar, and salt into the yeast mixture. Whisk until combined. Add flour and stir. Allow dough to sit for about an hour or until doubled in size.
3. Lightly knead the dough and roll into desired shape. Bake for 5-8 minutes at 400 degrees Fahrenheit before adding toppings. 

Here's what I'll be adding to the top of my pizza:

• shredded mozzarella cheese
• fresh ricotta cheese
• green bell peppers
• cherry tomatoes
• arugula (after baking)
• pesto sauce (drizzled after baking)
• extra virgin olive oil (drizzled after baking)

I can't wait to do my first shot and see how the photos turn out! I'll be posting some pictures of the process and finished product soon.

Pizza

I've officially decided to give up my attempts towards Rigatoni alla Norma and am from here on out dedicating my time towards making pizza. I'm going to make something simple that will allow me to focus on the aesthetics of the pizza rather than spending my time getting it to taste halfway decent. I'm thinking that this will give me the opportunity to speed up the process and get out of this stagnant state I've been stuck in.

As for the layout I think it can remain the same since the dish will still has a circular outline. If anything I think that a pizza will come across nicer for this. I'm going to make it this weekend and take some test shots that will hopefully give me something more to work with. I'll be drafting my recipe soon as well and once I finish the two page spread I'll be starting on my table of contents with my cover following that.

Here are some pizzas for inspiration that I think look nice enough and are simple enough to execute for my two page spread:
https://cooknourishbliss.com/2015/06/08/arugula-pesto-pizza-with-herbed-ricotta/
http://newyorkelegance.tumblr.com/post/153631905681
https://belleofthekitchen.com/2015/08/25/caprese-pizza/

Groups

     Yesterday in class we broke up into groups to talk about our projects and to ask for /give each other advice on the next steps. I found this super helpful as I was able to see how much progress some other people had made so far and it made me feel much more comfortable about how far I've gotten.
     I expressed my concerns about my dish not working out the way I had planned it and someone offered the idea of switching to pizza since I could keep my layout design and it's much easier to make. I'm thinking that if next week starts and my dish isn't perfect I'm going to switch to pizza. As much as I'd like to stick with this dish, it's more important to me to stay on schedule right now and I cannot keep wasting all of the time I spend on this project on making one food work.
     I also appreciated being able to look at other people's concepts since I got a break from looking at the same magazine idea for hours on end. I really enjoyed seeing what my peers were working on before it was a finished project since I was able to give the same criticism that I would have after the fact.
     One of the members of my group was still working towards coming up with a clear idea. We worked as a group and brainstormed an idea that is perfect for him to create and I'm really excited to see how it'll turn out in the end. I'm really glad to have gotten the opportunity to see their other projects as well as present my own since it reassured me that I was on track. I was also able to ask if I should switch my magazine cover from peppercorns to the spices and they helped me come to the decision of using the spices to make it a brighter, more visually appealing cover.
   

Audience

I'm looking to further delve into my target audience and how it impacts my magazine. I'm hoping to defy the typical food magazine's target audience of middle class, middle age women and aim for a younger group of people. I'm targeting millennials, who are just settling in to life as fully independent people and learning to cook for themselves. Because of this, I'm going to place my magazine into stores that maintain aesthetics with similar audiences. The magazine will go into smaller bookstores and coffee shops where it will build it's audience and then utilize the younger culture's readiness to join subscription services to transform into a subscription based service. I hope to gain a wide audience that will appear to be a smaller group, similarly to the way many popular indie bands market themselves.
This means that every aspect of my magazine has to be a piece of art. I want this magazine to highlight the artistry that goes into food while still creating recipes simple enough for a novice cook to create. This is why I've chosen a recipe with relatively cheaper ingredients that can be cooked in bulk and used later in the week. I think that this suits my target audience's lifestyle.
The company Bon Appétit does a great job at creating this false niche audience through their YouTube channel. One of the chefs has become a figure similar to a celebrity within the group of subscribers. When he is spotted in the background for even a second the entire comment section is filled with the time stamp he walks into the frame at. Despite them having over 1,000,000 subscribers the concept of having an inside joke between them has created a smaller community within it. A Brad fanbase.
I don't know why but I feel the need to include a photo of Brad, just so you know.

Three Strikes

I've been feeling pretty defeated lately after making my test runs. The pasta turned out okay, but it wasn't what I was hoping for. I ended up testing it a few times with some new variations and it's gotten better but I'm not sure what else it needs. Here's an image of my first test run:
 
I'm fully aware of how horrible of a photo this is in general but my camera was dead so I had to use my phone and it was nighttime (hence the gross lighting). As you can see the food doesn't look appetizing; the colors are muddy and the placement is poor. It looks much nicer when on a plate but the pictures I took of that were in awful lighting. I've been looking into ways to make it look nicer and here's what I'm thinking:

• I have to cut the eggplant differently because its cooking unevenly. 
• The mozzarella does not work (I attempted to use the ricotta salata but it wasn't sold at my local supermarket). 
• I need to use a smaller rigatoni because it takes up to much space. 
• I need to find a way to make the sauce come off as brighter. 

I'm going to try and make it a few more times this week and if I can't get it to look right I'll just have to use a different recipe since I don't want this to put me behind schedule. 

For now I'll be finding new photography tips

• https://digital-photography-school.com/11-quick-food-photography-tips-to-make-mouth-watering-images/
• https://www.diyphotography.net/15-awesome-food-photography-tips/
• http://profoodblogger.com/7-beginner-tips-for-improving-your-food-photography/

The last one has an interesting tip about adding a second layer of the same image on top and the added an overlay effect to it, reducing the layer's opacity if needed, to improve the saturation and contrast of the image overall. They claim that it makes the photo seem more appetizing, which is exactly what I'm looking for. I'm going to test this out wit some new photos and see if it helps. 

Layout

I finally finished a daft of the layout for all of the project. I also decided that the name of the magazine would be The Spice of Life. This is the logo I drafted and I love the look, it has the exact design I was hoping for.

I used the font Vertigo from 1001freefonts.com and I think it's a really nice mixture of the retro style that I also see used in magazines and a modern look that matches the aesthetic I'm going for. 

These are all of my layout ideas drawn out. I'm planning for the cover to be a bunch of peppercorns that start extremely concentrated at the top and fade out as if it was spilled. At the bottom I'm thinking of putting some of those purple edible flowers and other nice colorful nature stuff (ie. spring peas cut in half) to add some color. I tested it out with an image of black peppercorn that I found and copied over and over to get the same effect. I'm not in love with the result but my friend assured me it would look nicer in real life. She also suggested that I take some bright spices (ie. paprika, turmeric, etc.) and display them in a similar design with stripes. I'm not sure which will look better but I'm leaning towards the peppercorn one. Here's the example I made (I cut out the flowers because they looked horrible using the google image search for edible flowers. 

My two page spread is going to be a recipe but I'm still have to see if the ingredients take up too much space or I'll have to add a second column and move the photo to a different area. The table of contents is going to be placed on an image that will be a staged photo of a messy working space post baking. I'm going to wrap the text surrounding the items that are in the mess (ie. a cracked eggshell or chocolate chips). 

I'm writing this ahead of time so I haven't tested out the recipe yet but I'm looking forward to testing it out still. I'm going after school tomorrow to get the ingredients I think I'll need and then I plan on forcing my family to test it and give me tips. I've pretty much decided that if I'm not completely sick of this recipe by the end of this I'll have failed. 

Recipe?

I've been looking at a bunch of recipes for the pasta and I'm starting to develop a recipe in my head. I'm combining a bunch of recipes together as well as what I think it should taste like. Once I do my test run I'll be able to adjust it to whatever is necessary. I'm hoping that within three tries I'll have perfected the recipe. Here's what I have now (I'm not including measurements for now since I need to visualize the amounts to know how much I need):

• 1 Eggplant
• 1 Can Crushed Tomatoes
• 1 Sweet Onion (I probably won't come close to using the entire thing)
• Garlic
• Salt and Pepper 
• Grated Ricotta Salata (I'm also going to try it with fresh mozzarella but this is the classic version)
• Tomato Paste
• Fresh Basil
• Rigatoni
• Oregano
• Olive Oil

Hopefully these ingredients will work out and I'll just have to figure out the amounts of each that work best. I might also swap out the grated ricotta salata with fresh ricotta cheese since it adds a different texture. 

This is Rigatoni alla Norma

Batali, M. (2013, November 08). Pasta Norma. Retrieved March 08, 2018, from https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/mario-batali/pasta-norma-recipe-1949706

López-Alt, J. K. (n.d.). Sicilian-Style Pasta with Eggplant, Tomatoes, and Ricotta Salata (Pasta Alla Norma) Recipe. Retrieved March 08, 2018, from https://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2013/01/sicilian-style-pasta-with-eggplant-tomatoes-ricotta-salata-pasta-alla-norma-recipe.html

Oliver, J. (2007, September 28). Pasta alla Norma. Retrieved March 08, 2018, from https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/pasta-alla-norma-240254

Oliver, J. (2007, September 28). Pasta alla Norma. Retrieved March 08, 2018, from https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/pasta-alla-norma-240254López-Alt, J. K. (n.d.). Sicilian-Style Pasta with Eggplant, Tomatoes, and Ricotta Salata (Pasta Alla Norma) Recipe. Retrieved March 08, 2018, from https://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2013/01/sicilian-style-pasta-with-eggplant-tomatoes-ricotta-salata-pasta-alla-norma-recipe.html

Batali, M. (2013, November 08). Pasta Norma. Retrieved March 08, 2018, from https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/mario-batali/pasta-norma-recipe-1949706

López-Alt, J. K. (n.d.). Sicilian-Style Pasta with Eggplant, Tomatoes, and Ricotta Salata (Pasta Alla Norma) Recipe. Retrieved March 08, 2018, from https://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2013/01/sicilian-style-pasta-with-eggplant-tomatoes-ricotta-salata-pasta-alla-norma-recipe.html

Oliver, J. (2007, September 28). Pasta alla Norma. Retrieved March 08, 2018, from https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/pasta-alla-norma-24025

Table of Contents

I've been planning out what stories I want to put in my Table of Contents since I'm going to need enough stories to fill the entire magazine. I did some research and saw that most professional magazines run about 10-13 main stories with ads and graphics in between. The same source claimed that this typically fills around 76-92 pages long. I came up with 17 story ideas since I wanted my publication to be a bit longer (around 100 pages) and then I tried to space them out logically based on how much space I though the stories would logically take up. I left room for ads spaced throughout but even so, I only have around 71 pages filled. I'm not sure if I'm spacing out my stories too closely or if I just need more.
This is the list of my possible stories and their current page assignments:

• How to make Perfect Creme Brûlée from Home-5
• The Perfect Comfort Food: Rigatoni alla Norma-7

(This recipe will either be the two page spread or the cover image)

• 30 Soups that Take 30 Minutes to Make-10
• Rising to Success: How to Ensure Your Souffle Rises Perfectly Every Time-14
• Pack the Perfect Picnic-15
• Interview with the Hottest Chef in NYC-16
• Meal Plans You Won’t Hate-18
• I Tried the 30 Day Vegan Challenge-27
• 75 Plant Based Snacks that Cost Less than $5-31
• How to Use What’s Left in Your Fridge-54
• 13 Gourmet Takes on Classic Meals-56
• Life-Changing Appetizers You Have to Make-58
• Is the Paleo Diet Worth the Struggle-61
• How to do Taco Night on a Budget-64
• The Best Cities for Vegetarians-66
• Foods You Didn’t Realize Weren’t Vegetarian-69
• The Newest Superfood You Need to Try-71

I might move the Rigatoni alla Norma recipe to a bit deeper in the magazine since it's the primary focus and I want people to have to flip through to get to it. I'm still not sure if I want it to be the cover image since I've never made it myself. It's one of my favorite meals at a restaurant I frequent and it definitely seems photogenic when the professionals make it. The knives I ordered are out for delivery today so I'll be working on my knife skills tonight and then hopefully tomorrow I can make a test batch to see how it looks and start perfecting my recipe. 

Dellenbusch, J. M. (2017, February). How Many Articles are in the Average Professional Magazine? Retrieved March 08, 2018, from https://www.quora.com/How-many-articles-are-in-the-average-professional-magazine

Possible Names

I've been thinking of some possible titles for the magazine. Here are my options so far:

• Silver Fork
• Copper kettle
• Spice
• Bean Me Up
• Brewed Awakening

I made a drafted magazine cover with Spice since it's what I'm leaning towards using a photo from this website.  I made it because while I liked the name, I was concerned that it would look odd since it is so short. Here's the daft:

Of course it is missing some key elements of a magazine cover but I was just hoping to get the overall look. After making this draft I've somewhat eased my concern over the masthead looking odd. 

Researching and Planning

Since my last post I've been watching/reading everything related to food I can. I discovered a YouTube channel and series called Binging with Babish  where they make the food from different movies and TV shows and see if it actually tastes good. I definitely fell down a hole with that one. I was thinking it could be an interesting idea for the issue but I still need to look for some other directions to take it.
I'm trying to figure out how to add a countdown to the homepage so I can keep track of the time I have left until the due date. I'd like to stay on track for this assignment so I'm working on a schedule that I'll post when I finish. In the meantime, here's some food photography tips I found.
https://iphonephotographyschool.com/food/
https://cookieandkate.com/food-photography-tips-for-food-bloggers/ (I actually really like the rest of this blog)

Here's a few recipes to keep you hungry:

Breakfast Burrito

Carrot and Black Bean Tacos

Enchilada Casserole