Hartshorn Portraiture  is committed to giving back and improving the lives of others through Mac’s artwork and our charitable work throughout the community. This year we would like to donate all proceeds from Studio Session and Holiday Card orders placed by Sept 15th to Muscular Dystrophy Association.

Call the studio to order cards with us this year and we will make a donation to Muscular Dystrophy  Association in your name. Mac has committed to raising a minimum of $1600 by September 15th so time is of the essence!

Already Shot With Us This Year?
Choose the image you would like to use and number of cards you want this holiday season and let us do all the work.

Interested in Shooting with Us?We will donate 50% of the sitting fee!
We will donate 50% of the sitting fee to MDA.

For a Limited Time Our Autumn in the Park Session Will Include:

• 2 Hour Shoot with Mac Hartshorn
• One 8X10 print of a single image from your shoot

If you are not sending Holiday Cards this year and would still like to participate, please visit Mac’s Donation Page:
Every bit helps and no amount is too small.

Challenge your Company Match to Your Donation?

• One life saving flu shot $30
• One Minute of Research $74
• Pay for a Support Group Session $100
• Send One Child to MDA Summer Camp $800

I always like to do something special for Mac’s birthday and as we’ve been married for 14 years it seemed like a wonderful opportunity to renew our vows this year on the beach at Bay Head. Our girls, Madeline and Cameron, were especially excited about the surprise part of the event! They helped with preparation, made decisions with me on how to decorate and most importantly kept the secret for more than a month prior to the big day!

We’d just descended on our beach rental prior to his birthday on the 4th and everything came together at the last minute. Mac’s eldest brother Rob announced he was visiting for the week and was a great help.  Alexandra, our friend and ex studio manager, fresh from her honeymoon and divine wedding we all attended 3 weeks ago in Paris, popped down to help the girls and me with bouquets and decorating the tiki torches with starfish and hydrangeas. Mac had no idea, thought we were just having a family dinner that night.  Thankfully the weather gods played ball, the day was supurb and the ceremony was set for 6.30pm on the sand.

Rob enveigled Mac onto the beach at the prescribed time.  It didn’t take long for my husband to figure that the surprise was on him!  Luckily he was thrilled! Mayor Curtis officiated and Uncle Rob held our sand jar, decorated by the girls, as the four of us poured in a little sand.

After the ceremony we were joined by a small group of close friends in time to raise a glass of champagne to toast Mac.  We feasted on seared tuna, lobster salad  as the sun set gloriously behind us. Once night fell we let off a few fireworks to the kids delight, the perfect finishing touch to my romantic birthday surprise!

JACKRABBIT stores bring a stylish modern touch to toy shopping with fun and educational toys for all ages. Whether you need a gift for a Newborn or games for the family vacation at the beach you’ll find helpful staff and fab gift wrapping too.

My kids love innovative toys, the sort that allow them to create jewelery or crafts. I was drawn to JACKRABBIT by the creative décor and stylish range of toys and hope you will be too.

To celebrate them joining the team we are offering an Exclusive Photography Event for their clients during August at Bay Head, Sea Girt and Monmouth Beach.

Both JACKRABBIT and Hartshorn Portraiture clients are invited to drop by the  Sea Girt or Shrewbury stores to view a sample album of images. Beach shoot dates are available during August and take place either first thing in the morning or late afternoon.

Included in Beach Shoot package:

Call the JACKRABBIT or Hartshorn Portraiture on 201 160 1199 for details or to book your shoot.

Follow this link for JACKRABBIT Toys store hours, address’s and phone numbers.

Summer Pudding is a tradional English summer treat served with fresh whipped cream.

One of my favourite summer desserts after berry picking is Summer Pudding, made with strawberries, blueberries, raspberries and redcurrants (see the recipe below.) This is a tradional English summer treat served with fresh whipped cream. I’ve also jotted down an easy fresh strawberry jam that can be used immediately, frozen or canned.

Strawberries and Blueberries start to appear this month. Raspberries, corn, apples and stone fruits will appear later in the season. Check out this Pick Your Own website. We’ve highlighted Northeast Jersey in our link, but you can easily find your own area at the Pick Your Own site.

Madeline and Cameron strawberry picking in Maryland in May

How to Make Summer Pudding: (make the day before eating for best results)

1 large, white loaf of bread, thickly sliced, crusts removed
3lbs of mixed red summer berries, the juicier the better
[ie: I used a mix of raspberries, cherries, blueberries strawberries, boysenberries and blackberries last time. If you can get hold of redcurrants be sure to include some.]
1 cup of sugar
Zest of 1 lemon

Method: Wash and pick over the fruit removing any stalks, leaves bad berries and cherry stones (if you are using cherries).
Butter the inside of a 3 pint pudding basin.
Line the pudding basin with the bread slices, slightly overlapping each slice so there are no gaps in between them. Press the edges together so the bread forms a complete mold inside the bowl.
In a pan, bring the mixed berries, lemon zest and sugar to a gentle simmer, until the sugar is dissolved and the fruits are releasing their juice. This should only take about 5 minutes. You want the fruit to keep it’s shape. Take care not to overcook them.
Reserve about 3/4 cup of juice and put it to one side to cool to use as sauce for serving. Refrigerate.
Pour the rest of the fruit and juice into the bread-lined pudding basin.
Seal the top completely with further, overlapping, slices of bread.
Cover the bread with a small flat plate or saucer that fits snugly inside the basin.
Weigh down the plate with at least 3lbs of weights or a very heavy can or jar.
Leave in the fridge overnight. The weight will cause the juice to bleed through the bread staining it red.
Before serving, gently slide a flexible spatula between the bread and the basin to loosen.
Invert the bowl onto a serving plate, the pudding should slide easily into place.
Use the reserved juice to colour any areas that still have a white tinge. Pour any remaining juice over the top of the pudding.
Cut into wedges to serve and pair with fresh whipped cream or creme fraiche.

Ina Gartens Fresh Strawberry Jam

• 2 cups sugar
• 1 large lemon, zested and juiced
• 1 1/2 pints fresh strawberries, hulled and halved

Method: Combine the sugar, lemon zest, and lemon juice in a small saucepan and cook over very low heat for 10 minutes, until the sugar is dissolved. Add the strawberries and continue to cook over very low heat for 20 minutes, until the strawberries release some of their juices and the mixture boils slowly. Cook until a small amount of the juice gels on a very cold plate. (I keep one in the freezer.)Pour carefully into 2 pint canning jars and either seal or keep refrigerated. Use immediately, freeze or follow this link for proper canning guidelines to keep jam longer. (For larger quantities of berries just double the recipe)

The atmosphere is charged with excitement as over 2,500 participants gather at the Cow Palace to check in for AIDS/LifeCycle 9. Cyclists drop off their bikes, Roadies meet their teammates for the first time, and all participants view the Orientation & Safety Video. The journey begins tommorow! All Team Hartshorn had been fundraising for the event in the weeks leading up to today, our goal of $15,000 swelled to $22,540 thanks to all our friends and associates donations. Thanks to all who shared in this unique event by giving to the cause.

Over 2,400 participants have worked so hard for this moment. Cyclists have been out on the roads training of thousands for miles, or enduring grueling spin classes during this very wet spring. Roadies have been dreaming up fabulous themes, creating outlandish costumes, and learning how to drive 24-foot trucks. And together they’ve raised $10 million! Today, the hard work pays off as AIDS/LifeCycle 9 begins!

Lunch on the 1st day, still foggy near San Francisco.  Warehouse full of the 2000 or so bikes the evening before the 1st days ride.

At 107 miles, Day Two’s route is the longest of the week, and for many cyclists was their first century ride.  The day began in a foggy Santa Cruz and wound through artichoke and strawberry fields of the fertile Salinas Valley. By the afternoon the tailwinds had picked up and were providing a strong push towards camp in King City 

At a rest stop. Zink Oxide cream is my friend. Maps displayed the routes at the Information tent every evening always had people were staring at them. Team Hartshorn with the boys who entertained the crowd that  night.

Almost every cyclist woke up thinking about Quadbuster, one of AIDS/LifeCycle’s most infamous hills. The challenge arrived and was surpassed early, with a mixture of smiles, sweat and tears.

After summiting the ‘buster, Cyclists proceeded to the tiny town of Bradley, where they were welcomed by smiling school-children who served BBQ lunches to raise money for their school programs. Hot, dusty, tired, but ultimately victorious, Cyclists arrived in Paso Robles to make camp at the Mid-State Fairgrounds.

The backs of all the gear trucks at the overnight stop. Notice the blowup doll hanging in one of them just in case of an emergency. One of the tent cities we slept in each night along the route to LA.

At 97.7 miles, today’s route was the second longest day of the week-long journey to Los Angeles. A favorite of many veteran AIDS/LifeCyclists, the route is incredibly varied in topography and scenery.

Beginning in the wine country outside Paso Robles, cyclists climbed the Evil Twins to astonishingly clear vistas from the “Halfway 2 LA” point. After enjoying a breathtaking descent to Highway 1 and the coast, the route turned inland through the outskirts of San Luis Obispo before proceeding to tonight’s camp in Santa Maria through the Central Coast’s fertile farmland.

At the half way point. waited 5 minutes for my turn to hold up my bike!!  All 5 Team Hartshorn Brothers at the half way point.

After four days of riding, and 344 miles behind them, the participants of AIDS/LifeCycle 9 are ready to cut loose and paint the route red! It’s Red Dress Day, which saw cyclists once again winding their way through picturesque wine country to lunch in the town of Solvang. Tonight we made camp in Solvang.

Surrounded by Fairies after the race! Brothers Rob and Peter changing a flat tire. (This photo does no justice to how lovely and shimmery Peters red dress is!! ) Brother Bruce -somewhere!

We rode 85 miles from Lompoc to Ventura. The highlight of the day was our stop at Paradise Pit at Santa Barbara for their famous ice cream and then later that night on the beach for the candlelight vigil to honor those who lost the battle against HIV/AIDS.

Another mass of bikes in the morning before day 4 or 5. Not sure which as I’m already starting to lose my sense of reality and tires are getting a little worn. I personally had a very limited wardrobe thus I did laundry most evenings after my shower or even while showering!

The ride ended in Los Angeles with a sense of euphoria of what we had all acheived and the money we’d raised. $10 million for San Francisco AIDS Foundation and LA Gay & Lesbian Center and a sense of hope for the cause of Aids and for the world wide fight to beat it. Along the way we’d made new friends and shared an extrodinary experience. I’ll never forget it.

I’m about ten feet from the finish line but I’m stopping, coming for hugs and kisses from my wonderful family. Bruce and I with the oldest and youngest of the next generation of Hartshorns. Green Shirts my Mom made right before the ride. There are five of us and as I’m the youngest (obviously)  my shirt says “Team Hartshorn 5″ We wore them on the last day as we crossed the finish line as our wives and families cheered us on. Madeline and Cameron riding on my suitcase.

MEET YOUR FELLOW RIDERS…The Hartshorn Brothers!

Meet the Hartshorn brothers, your fellow riders in this year’s ALC! The five brothers are coming from all over the US and the world to join us; we are so thrilled to have them! Ted (Miami, FL), Rob (Cleveland, OH), Mac (New Jersey), Bruce (Virginia), and Peter (Angola, Africa), will be pedaling their little socks off all the way to LA and they are very excited!

Their ride fever began when Ted Hartshorn heard about AIDS/LifeCycle through a friend and decided to sign up. Not long after that, he convinced his four brothers to ride too. The ALC mission hits close to home for all the brothers, especially Ted and Mac, who lost many friends and coworkers at the beginning of the HIV epidemic. The ride has a lot of meaning for the Hartshorn brothers; it also gives them the opportunity to do something challenging together. When they arrive in Los Angeles they will be welcomed by all of their families who will be gathering together for a post-ride Hartshorn family reunion!

Bib and Elden Hartshorn, the parents of the brothers, are excited for the ride as well and are very proud of their ‘boys’. All of us here at AIDS/LifeCycle are so happy to welcome the Hartshorn family into the fold. If you see them on the ride please feel free to say hello and thank them for all of their hard work. WELCOME HARTSHORNS!

• One 6-ounce piece of chunk bacon
• 3 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
3 pounds lean stewing beef, cut into 2-inch cubes
• 1 carrot sliced
• 1 onion, sliced
• Salt and pepper
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 3 cups red wine, young and full-bodied (like Beaujolais, Cotes du Rhone or Burgundy)
• 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 cups brown beef stock
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 2 cloves mashed garlic
• 1/2 teaspoon thyme
• 1 crumbled bay leaf
• 18 to 24 white onions, small
• 3 1/2 tablespoons butter
• Herb bouquet (4 parsley sprigs, one-half bay leaf, one-quarter teaspoon thyme, tied in cheesecloth)
• 1 pound mushrooms, fresh and quartered

Cooking Directions:

Remove bacon rind and cut into lardons (sticks 1/4-inch thick and 1 1/2 inches long).

Simmer rind and lardons for 10 minutes in 1 1/2 quarts water. Drain and dry.
Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
Sauté lardons in 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a flameproof casserole over moderate heat for 2 to 3 minutes to brown lightly. Remove to a side dish with a slotted spoon.
Dry beef in paper towels; it will not brown if it is damp. Heat fat in casserole until almost smoking. Add beef, a few pieces at a time, and sauté until nicely browned on all sides. Add it to the lardons.
In the same fat, brown the sliced vegetables. Pour out the excess fat.
Return the beef and bacon to the casserole and toss with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.
Then sprinkle on the flour and toss again to coat the beef lightly. Set casserole uncovered in middle position of preheated oven for 4 minutes.
Toss the meat again and return to oven for 4 minutes (this browns the flour and coves the meat with a light crust).
Remove casserole and turn oven down to 325 degrees.
Stir in wine and 2 to 3 cups stock, just enough so that the meat is barely covered.
Add the tomato paste, garlic, herbs and bacon rind. Bring to a simmer on top of the stove.
Cover casserole and set in lower third of oven. Regulate heat so that liquid simmers very slowly for 3 to 4 hours. The meat is done when a fork pierces it easily.
While the beef is cooking, prepare the onions and mushrooms.
Heat 1 1/2 tablespoons butter with one and one-half tablespoons of the oil until bubbling in a skillet.
Add onions and sauté over moderate heat for about 10 minutes, rolling them so they will brown as evenly as possible. Be careful not to break their skins. You cannot expect them to brown uniformly.
Add 1/2 cup of the stock, salt and pepper to taste and the herb bouquet.
Cover and simmer slowly for 40 to 50 minutes until the onions are perfectly tender but hold their shape, and the liquid has evaporated. Remove herb bouquet and set onions aside.
Wipe out skillet and heat remaining oil and butter over high heat. As soon as you see butter has begun to subside, indicating it is hot enough, add mushrooms.
Toss and shake pan for 4 to 5 minutes. As soon as they have begun to brown lightly, remove from heat.
When the meat is tender, pour the contents of the casserole into a sieve set over a saucepan.
Wash out the casserole and return the beef and lardons to it. Distribute the cooked onions and mushrooms on top.
Skim fat off sauce in saucepan. Simmer sauce for a minute or 2, skimming off additional fat as it rises. You should have about 2 1/2 cups of sauce thick enough to coat a spoon lightly.
If too thin, boil it down rapidly. If too thick, mix in a few tablespoons stock. Taste carefully for seasoning.
Pour sauce over meat and vegetables. Cover and simmer 2 to 3 minutes, basting the meat and vegetables with the sauce several times.
Serve in casserole, or arrange stew on a platter surrounded with potatoes, noodles or rice, and decorated with parsley.

Julia Child’s Lobster Steamed in Wine and Herbs

(We put our Lobsters to sleep in the freezer and slipped off the rubber bands before cooking. Servings: Serves 6)

• 3 cups dry white wine or 2 cups dry white vermouth
• 2 cups water
• 1 large onion , thinly sliced
• 1 medium carrot , thinly sliced
• 1 stalk celery , thinly sliced
• 6 sprigs parsley
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/4 tsp. thyme
• 6 peppercorns
• 1 Tbsp. fresh or dried tarragon
• 3 live lobsters, 2 pounds each (We used 6 x 1.5 lobsters and cooked for same time)

Directions:
Simmer wine, water, vegetables, herbs, and seasonings in the kettle for 15 minutes. Then bring to a rolling boil and add the live lobsters. Cover and boil for about 20 minutes. The lobsters are done when they are bright red and the long head-feelers can be pulled from the sockets fairly easily.
We served with melted butter and cold mayonnaise, a simple green salad of arugula and avocado with a lemon garlic dressing and buttered noodles along with plenty of white wine.

Every year clients call at the last minute for holiday cards. The fact is these gorgeous custom designed cards take several weeks to produce.
Over the last few years we’ve seen that Spring and Summer images make the most beautiful cards.
Book your Holiday Card session for May, June or July dates, order your cards at 10% discount before September 1st.
Avoid that last minute panic to get cards to the mail box and have them on hand when you are ready to mail.
Jennifer and Milena have just been to the New York Stationary Show and ordered the very best designs available.

Mac’s Training Update

We have now raised $4500.00 for my charity. Your response has been wonderful. My heartfelt thanks to all who donated. Your generosity has increased my determination when I’m on my bike doing increased miles each week.
I put in over 200 miles last week. On Sunday I did 20, Monday I did 50 miles with a flat which was my first time fixing, Tuesday 99.91 miles with a flat as photographed. It was about 88 miles round trip to Bear Mountain NY. I was gung-ho to make 100 so I buzzed around Hoboken to 99.91 miles; took the bike indoors and with the girls watching the bike odometer, spun the back tire for about half a minute and hit 100 with cheers and yelling! My first century or one hundred mile day! It was a cold day and I had a 5 to 10 mi/hr headwind all the way up. Arrived about noon. Luckily the wind turned around at about that time and had a lovely 8-12 with 20 mi/hr gust headwind all the way back. It took me all day!

Mama Mukti

Jane Silane is a certified Jivamukti Yoga instructor, a Yoga Alliance Registered Teacher, a Lamaze Certified Childbirth Instructor, Radiant Child Yoga instructor and birth douala, CD(DONA). She specializes in prenatal yoga and conscious childbirth education.

Jane works with women at every stage of life and modifies her yoga classes to suit the student’s needs. Follow  this link to Jane’s website for more info on PreNatal Yoga and Conscious Childbirth Education.

As a last push to go above and beyond our goal, Mac will donate 100 % of any session fee booked during the next week. Give us a call!

Last weekend Mac and friends participated in the 5 borough bike ride. It was a packed event and Mac got great images as he moved with the crowds from his two wheeled trusty steed!