Not So Good The Second Time Around

I decided to make some Thai food Tuesday night because I was alone for dinner and had leftover rice. Also, the last time I had leftover rice I made fried rice with soy and ginger, so I wanted something different. This time, I used some red curry paste and fish sauce, coconut milk powder, low-fat milk and water. I let it simmer for a few minutes then added 1 1/2 cups frozen veggies and cooked until they were warmed through. I then mixed about a teaspoon of corn starch in a little water and stirred it into the sauce to thicken it a little. I then added 1 1/2 leftover rice and let it all simmer for another 7 or so minutes. I crushed up a tablespoon of roasted peanuts and sprinkled it over the top. I ate half and saved the other half for lunch the next day. It was great when I ate it for dinner, but it didn't keep as well as some foods do. When I reheated it the next day for lunch, it didn't taste as good as the first day. I'm sure you've noticed that many foods taste even better the second day than they do the first...chili, spaghetti, etc. This is not one of them. It was, however, very yummy freshly made.

Tonight I made pizza. It did not turn out well this time. The crust was good (about the only thing that did turn out well). I used some leftover red sauce, mozzarella, cheddar, and Parmesan along with prosciutto. I have to say, I think the prosciutto was not good. I've used it before for pizza, and it is very good. This time, I think the prosciutto was off. I can't remember the actual day I bought it, but it was this month. It's a cured meat; a type of Italian ham, so I thought it would still be good, but that did not turn out to be the case. So, a disappointment. I ended up cutting off several hunks of the crust and eating them with a little butter along with the veggies I nuked to go along with the pizza.

I'd planned to use some of the prosciutto when I make risotto this weekend, but that's not going to happen. I think I'll make a veggie one instead. Maybe add in a little smoked Gruyere. We'll see. I'll post after I make it.

After I posted the not-so-appetizing picture of the roasted vegetable and chicken bake, I looked up some information on photographing food. I found a couple of good blog articles from people who blog about food and take picture for their blogs. One of the main suggestions was to use natural light to take the photos. That's a great idea, except for the fact that it's winter and it's dark by the time I even start making dinner. I guess I'll have to experiment during the day shooting leftovers or maybe my lunches. I think my mom has one of those natural light lamps tucked away somewhere. Maybe I can try using that to take some photos. I might also use my film camera as well as my digital camera to see if that makes any difference. I know a lot more about my film camera than my digital camera. I'll experiment and post some of the results.