Artful Food

When you think of food what do you think of?  Do you think of the taste more than how the food looks? Or do you think about the smell of the food more than the colors of the food?  Let me paint you an image.  Think in your mind about a light bed of soft baby green spinach mixed with light tangy green  chopped Romane and Iceberg lettuce.  On closer look you'll notice a few dull teal green sprigs of kale, bright pops of red tomatoes, deep purple crinkles of cabbage, and slick slivers of yellow pepper float about this crunchy salad.  How did you do?  Could you picture this bowl of salad?  What helped you picture it most: the colors or the description of texture for each piece of food?

For me, it's always the colors.  When I go to a restaurant and order grilled vegetables I know that if they are done well there will be charred bits of blackened crisp on the outside of each vegetable.  However if what is put in front of me is mostly blackened crispy ash, that isn't going to be eaten by me, nor does it look appetizing.  Same with a pizza.  If I order a pepperoni pizza, there had better be a good amount of pepperoni on the slice that I eat (one or two doesn't work for me...I'd need 4).  The crust better be easy to chew, but firm enough not to ooze my cheese and other toppings off the crust.

It is the thoughts like those that have been filling my mind as I have been on this most recent pathway, finding out how to take better photographs.  This has led me to be more artistic with the food I cook, the food I eat, and the food I give my family.  When I plate food I want to see lots of colors, lots of variation in texture, and a good balance overall, because to me this means that I will have a more enjoyable meal.  I decided to test out a few of my family's favorite recipes on you all.  Let me know what you think in how my food looks.  Does it entice you to want to eat it?  Does it invoke a hunger for a specific color of food?  Can you see the texture?

Below I have provided you with a soup, a red pasta, a white pasta, and a rice dish.  Recipes will be in separate blog posts for your enjoyment!

Loaded Potato Soup

Garlic Tomato Vegetarian Pasta

Turmeric Curry Chicken and Rice with Broccoli

Alfredo Bolognese with Countryside Vegetables