#1 My apartment has absolutely zero natural lighting.
None. Nada. Nothing. Zip.
Which means I have to take the picture of my final dish next to window sill in the dining room or outside. This also means that you and I are going to have to accept some of my nasty photos with my fluorescent lighting. I hope you still love me!
#2 My kitchen has this...
A pull out, built in cutting board next to my stove.
Can you say convenient???
I think it's pretty awesome if I do say so myself ;)
You wanna know what else is awesome? This pasta dish I'm about to make before your eyes....Shanghai Pasta!
Here is what you are going to need for 2 servings:
-4 oz of Linguine Pasta
-1-1/2 tbsp Soy Sauce
-1/2 tbsp Plum Sauce
-1/2 tbsp Sesame Oil
-1/2 Green Bell Pepper (chopped)
-1/2 cup trimmed Snow Peas
-1 tbsp Cooking Oil
-6 oz of peeled/deveined large Shrimp (without tails)
-1/8 tsp dried Ginger or 1/2 tsp fresh grated Ginger
-1/8 tsp Pepper
-1 clove of minced Garlic
-1 Green Onion-cut into 1" pieces on the bias
-1 tsp of Sesame Seeds
First start the prep work by peeling, deveining and removing the tails of the shrimp.
I don't know about you, but whenever I cook with shrimp, I always take off the tails. They just get in the way and are annoying when you are trying to eat them in your dish.
Get your pasta cooking at this point.
Then grab the 3 amigos: Plum Sauce, Sesame Oil and Soy Sauce.
Combine them in a small dish and stir to combine. Set aside for later.
In a large skillet, stir-fry the bell pepper and snow peas at medium-high heat in hot canola oil for 5 minutes. Add shrimp, ginger, black pepper and garlic and cook for 2 to 3 minutes until shrimp are opaque.
Did I not tell you the lighting in my kitchen is absolutely horrible???
I warned you!
Stir in the sauce and drained pasta. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes until all the ingredient are heated through.
Serve with green onions and sesame seeds.
Enjoy!
*On a side note*
Thank you for all your prayers and support for my Grandpa with his Quadruple Bypass surgery today. He did fantastic! When he came out of anesthesia and they removed his breathing tube he said, "I'm one tough shit!" He's a hero and a total bad ass! I'm so proud of my Grandpa for being such a champ with his surgery. My family is just glad that it's over with!
Love you Grandpa!
I have the same problem with lighting! It's a real pain!
ReplyDeleteOf course we still love ya!! Natural lighting or not, this pasta looks amazing!! So good to hear your Grandpa made it through and doing well!!
ReplyDeleteGlad to hear your Grandpa made it through.
ReplyDeleteI don't have very good lighting either. Most of my pics are taken near the window.
I can totally relate to having no natural lighting. Food photography was not something I thought of when we bought the house. ;) Here's to Grandpa! One Tough Shit--love it!
ReplyDeleteEven with no lighting this looks delicious - lovely recipe
ReplyDeleteMary
I don't know if your place opens up to the outside, but if all else fails, take your plate and camera outside or even just outside of your doorway to get to the light.
ReplyDeleteI don't have much light either, but certain sweet spots during the day provide the best light. It is like a 2 hour or less period of time where I can actually photograph stuff. And I usually put the plate of food on the arm of my couch and photograph it there since it is next to the only window in the place. :( So part of the time I have pretty icky lighting and the pics reflect that. lol.
different free photo editing programs make them a little bit better, though.
Oh I just saw that I missed your comment that you often do take the food outside. My bad :(
ReplyDeleteI soooo feel your pain with the whole lighting thingy! That is exactly how my apartment is right now too! Your photo looks great though and it has me wishing that I was eating the dish right now! Im so glad to hear that your grandfather is doing well. We will continue to keep him and your family in our prayers :)
ReplyDelete