I’ve been eating soup everyday for lunch lately, and I decided it would be best if I just made my own.  It would be healthier and more affordable.

Can of tomatos - $1.39 (the big 28 oz can)
Two cans of beans - $1.32
Pasta - $.32
One onion - $.34 (I’m guessing on this one)
Other ingredients - $.50

Total: $3.87  Makes 7 one cup servings.  $.55 per cup.  I eat two cups for lunch of the canned soup, but I’m not sure how much I will eat of the homemade.  Perhaps less soup will fill me up more.

The Market Basket cheap soup that I’ve been buying (cause it really does taste as good as Progresso) is $1.29 a can (16 oz).  $1.10 vs $1.29 sure isn’t that big of a difference.  But I was able to package up a soup for lunch tomorrow (I’m working at macy’s), I put two tupperware things in the freezer, each containing two cups, and then another cup is left over in a bowl in the fridge for someone else to enjoy.

Vegetarian Pasta Fagioli

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 medium sized onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 28 oz can diced tomatoes
• 3 cups vegetable broth
• 2 (15 ounce) cans cannellini beans
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley (or 4 teaspoons dried)
• 1 teaspoon dried basil leaves
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 3/4 cup ditalini pasta

1. Heat oil in a large sauce pan over medium heat until hot. Add onion and garlic and cook for 5 minutes or until onion is tender.
2. Add undrained tomatoes, undrained cannellini beans, broth, parsley, basil and pepper to pan and bring to a boil over high heat, stirring occasionally. Let boil for approximately 1 minute and then let simmer for 10 minutes, covered.
3. Add pasta to pan and simmer approximately 15 minutes or until pasta is tender. Serve immediately.

Makes seven cups of soup.

The process in pictures:

Making homemade vegetable broth!  I used one vegetable bullion cube, some carrot slices, and some onion peel, and added it to a bit over three cups of water.

Straining the broth so I would only get the liquid.  Dylan was my photographer for this shot.

Adding the spices.

Glass of wine while the soup simmers?  Don’t mind if I do!

The finished product.

And a close up.

This morning for my morning run with my dad, there was a bit of a mix up.  I had asked him what time he usually ate breakfast, and he said “around 7.”  So I said “ok, well, depending on when I wake up, I will either eat breakfast first (if it’s 9ish), or we’ll go running first and then I’ll eat.  I got up around 8:15, and my mom said my dad was still in bed.  So I ate breakfast.  Then, he came downstairs at 9:30 and was surprised to see that I was awake, and disappointed that I had eaten already.  He had been waiting for me to wake up, and had been lying in bed reading.  I didn’t know that, and thought he was just sleeping.  So he ate breakfast at 9:30, and we had to wait until 11 to run.  I did an extra mile today, and he turned around again at the .8 mile mark.   Here’s my route.

Once home, I took a shower, ate some soup, and headed out to Coraline.  I walked, and my parents and brother drove to the theater.  I was reading while I was walking, so I didn’t make it all the way.  My parents stopped me when I was about 2/3 of the way there, and my dad yelled out “This is as far as you made it???”  Luckily, there was a red light, and I shouted to him “What time is it?”  “1:25″ Uh oh!  The movie was at 1:30!  I yelled “Can I get a ride?”  And I looked both ways, and ran across the street and jumped into the car.  I wish I had made it the whole way (the reading slowed me down, says my mom), but I’m glad I got to walk a little bit of the way.

As for Coraline, the NY Times sums it up with ““Coraline” is rated PG (Parental guidance suggested). There are many scenes and images that are likely to scare young children.” Of course, there are many parents who don’t read (or can’t, for that matter), and didn’t bother to find out if this movie was appropriate for their youngsters.  There was a 3 year old boy sitting behind us who kept asking, “What does that say?”  “Who’s that?”  “Why is he sad?”  His mother didn’t once shush him or tell him to whisper, instead she answered all of his questions.  It was driving me batty, until finally the movie got too scary and they left the theater (minus the $10.50 they paid - HA!).  In front of me, there was a young girl who looked to be about 7 or 8 (which I would think would be old enough to not be scared at a movie rated PG), but she climbed on her mother’s lap and said “Can we go now, please?”  Like a trooper, the mother said “No.  Just close your eyes.”  I think I would have just said “Go wait in the hallway.”  And if the girl wasn’t there when the movie was over, it’s probably for the best (it’s amazing that I enjoy babysitting, isn’t it?  Nah… I’m all talk).   There was one point a bit later when the girl had resumed watching and sighed at one point and said “Whew!  That was close.”  I rolled my eyes, and thought “Really?  You thought the main character would die?”  The movie was good.  Not one I’d really care to see again, and I wish I had gotten to see it in 3D.  We were stuck with lousy 2D.  On a scale of 1-100, I would give it a 72.

Dylan and I made homemade bread for dinner.  It was delicious, as it always is.  I had Dylan bring home the bread machine from his apartment because he hadn’t been using it.  He has break coming up anyway (they do four terms, rather than two semesters, and they have a week break in between terms), so we can just keep it here until after the break.  I can use it to make rolls and pizza dough.  There is a “dough” setting, and then once the dough is done, you simply take it out, and shape it how you want for rolls or bagels or even Italian loafs, and then put it in the oven.  For pizza dough, you’d take it out and make the pizza on it, then put it in the oven as is.

I did my Federal taxes tonight (well…. I didn’t finish them, but I got close).  I’m getting $359 back from the Feds. Yay!  I could use the money.  I haven’t bought anything in a really long time, but I could use the money for my gas, phone, and car insurance.  I’m not planning on going shopping or buying anything in the near future.  In fact, I have a credit on my Macy’s card, and I called today and they’re going to issue me a rebate check for $54 because I’m not planning on using the credit to purchase anything.

It’s bed time, but I want a bowl of Honey Bunches of Oats.  :(  But I’m not going to succomb!  I am stronger than HBoO (but not by much).

After babysitting this afternoon, I jumped on 190 and headed down to Worcester to pick up my brother, Dylan.  I babysit way out in eastern Leominster, and I’m already halfway to Worcester when I’m at the baby’s house.  I called Dylan and told him I was about 20 minutes away, and I asked him if he wanted to take a short walk with me to the Worcester cooperative food market, ARTichoke Cooperative.  He had something on his computer uploading, and it wouldn’t be ready in 20 minutes, so he said sure.  He made sure to warn me that it was windy, and asked if I had a hat.  I had a hood, and he said it was “good enough.” (it was not.)

I got to Worcester and Dylan and I bundled up, and head out walking.  It was about a mile and a half away, and my iPhone told me it would take about 23 minutes walking.

It was very cold on the way, and it didn’t help that I had no idea where we were going.  I followed my directions, and eventually we made it.

The co op was a LOT smaller than I had imagined it…. I would say it was about 8 feet wide, by 30 feet long.  Super tiny!  They didn’t have much to offer, for fresh produce they had oranges, two types of apples, potatoes, onions, and yams.  Then in bulk containers, they had pretty much everything I expected: granola, beans, rice, popcorn, organic raisins, flour, sea salt (that was carbon free! — ?) …. a bunch of stuff. One of their granolas (they had two) was SALT free!  Perfect for my low iodine diet!  Except, it was also wheat free, and didn’t look that delicious.  I would make a much better once.

They also had a HUGE wall of bulk spices, and some dried fruit (which I should have gotten, but most of it was between $10 - $15/lb).  It looks like an old fashioned apothacary!

I ended up getting almost a pound of dried Great Northern Beans, a pound of Textured Vegetable Protein (TVP), a small amount of granola for Dylan to try, 3 potatoes, and two granny smith apples.  It cost me $5.36.  I didn’t remember to bring reusable containers, because I wasn’t sure if I was going or not.  I decided to see how far it was from Dylan (I’m sure there are places in Worcester that’d be a 20 minutes drive).  Being so close, I made the decision to go. Next time I’m down in Worcester with Dylan, I’ll make another stop in and purchase things.  Maybe I should keep some clean containers in my far for this purpose.  I’ve been good at saving our old yogurt/parmesan cheese and other nice plastic containers.

It was a great place, and things were very cheap, and 99% of them were organic.

Besides the granola that was $3.55 a pound, mostly everything in bulk was about $1 a pound.  I was surprised at how much TVP I was able to get for $1.  I’m not sure what I am going to do with it, but I’m sure Megan can give me some ideas, or I’ll just find delicious recipes on my own.  The guy working at the store told me he likes to eat it in chili.  I already tried making chili, and didn’t care for it, so I want to try something different.

We were going to have lasagne Wednesday night, but when it came time to make them, I couldn’t find the noodles, and after I called mom, she told me that dad wasn’t coming home anyway, so she and I should just make a frozen Bertoli dinner we had saved in the fridge.  Fine with me… I was late making the lasagne anyway (cause I was at the gym).  So I tossed the frozen thing in the oven, and noticed that it was frozen into a big chunk, just like a lot of our other food.  Meaning, it had defrosted a bit and then refroze from us being without power for 12 days (don’t worry, I moved all the food we saved to a friend’s house who still had power).  So far, none of us have gotten sick on anything we’ve eaten (and I’ve eaten stuff that we left in the freezer and fully defrosted after 12 days).

Thursday night turned into lasagne night.  That last time I made lasagne, we invited over three friends.  The six of us were able to finish the entire thing, and anyone who’s made lasagne knows that they are huge.  With only three of us eating it on Thursday, I knew I didn’t want to make a full lasagne, even though in the past, I always make a huge one.  My mom says “We’ll have lasagne for dinner, and then again for the next four days.”  It’s depressing how huge they are, and how much we have left over.  We usually freeze some, but it still makes boat loads.

I decided to try something different.  I decided to make two mini lasagnes.

I placed two 8×8 pans next to each other, and so I wouldn’t confuse myself, I just said “Ok, just think of it as one big pan.”

(Don’t worry, I only added a tad bit of woolite, for that delicate clean taste)

This white pan wasn’t as perfectly square as the clear one, so I had to trim the lasagne noodles a bit.  At first, I had the trimmings discarded on the side…. but then I realized that they were noodles, and they’d cook, so I threw the little pieces back in.  The white pan we use quite a bit, so I cooked that one, so we’d have the pan for later use.  The clear pan I rescued from our lazy susan.  It was being used to hold onions.  I washed it, and made my second lasagne in it.  The onions wouldn’t miss the pan, and I knew my mother wouldn’t, either.  Into the freezer it went, not to come out until we were desperate for food and no one wants to cook.  I foiled the top, and added instructions on how to cook.  It wasn’t until later that I realized it would have to cook longer because of the whole frozen aspect.  Barilla online suggested defrosting it for 24 hours in the fridge, and increasing the time to 1 1/2 - 2 hours.  So this can’t really be a spur of the moment dinner to just toss in the oven out of the freezer (but watch me try!)

The lasagne in the white pan came out beautifully, and we still have some left over, and this was just HALF a lasagne.  Luckily, tomorrow is Saturday so we’ll all be home for lunch.  It will get eaten up real quick!

I’m very proud of my resourcefulness, and the fact that we have a whole lasagne left over!

For the recipe, I just used the one on the box of the no boil lasagne noodles.  Next time I think I will try something a bit more adventurous, and more homemade and doctored up.

Lasagne:

1 (9 ounce) box of barilla no-boil lasagne noodles
2 eggs
1 (15 ounce) container semi-skim ricotta cheese
4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
1 lb ground beef, browned
2 (27 ounce) jars spaghetti sauce

Preheat oven to 375.

In bowl, combine beaten eggs, ricotta cheese and two cups of the mozzarella cheese and parmesan.
Set aside.

In a 13X9X3 pan, spread 1 cup of sauce on bottom of pan.

Layer in the order, 4 uncooked lasagne noodles (they will overlap), then 1/3 part of the ricotta cheese mixture, half the browned meat (if using, I did not), 1 cup mozzarella cheese, and 1 cup of spaghetti sauce.

Next layer, 4 uncooked lasagne noodles, 1/3 part of the ricotta cheese mixture, and 1 1/2 c. sauce.

Next layer, 4 uncooked lasagne noodles, remaining ricotta mixture and remained meat, 1 cup of sauce.

For top layer, 4 uncooked lasagne noodles, remaining sauce, and remaining 1 cup mozzarella.

Bake covered with foil for 50-60 minutes.

Uncover and continue cooking until all the cheese is melted on the top (about 5 minutes).

Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

If you are using a pan that is only 2″ deep (like I was) just make 3 layers to avoid boiling over.  You will have 4 lasagne sheets left over.  Save them.  Once you’ve used three lasagne boxes, you’ll have 12 sheets saved up, and that’s enough for one more lasagne!

Here are the directions for using a 2″ deep pan:

1. In bowl, combine beaten eggs, ricotta cheese and two cups of the mozzarella cheese and parmesan.  Set aside.

2. In bottom of pan, spread 1/2 the sauce from one jar.

3. Layer in this order: 4 uncooked lasagne noodles (they will overlap), 1/2 of the ricotta cheese mixture, half the browned meat (if using, I did not), 1 cup mozzarella cheese, and then the rest of the first jar of spaghetti sauce.

4. Next layer, 4 uncooked lasagne noodles, 1/2 jar of second sauce, and one cup of mozzarella.

5. For top layer, 4 uncooked lasagne noodles, the rest of the ricotta mixture, the remaining sauce, and remaining 1 cup mozzarella.

Bake as stated above.

My practicum went really well.  I was there from 9am - 1pm.  We saw two clients for a whole intake assessment (50 minutes), and then another patient of my supervisor’s stopped in for a few minutes to chat about starting counseling again.  I just sat there the whole time, and observed.  I need to understand and watch the practice first, and then I’ll be able to do it myself!  I have to audio record myself in these sessions, and I need people who will allow me to record them.  That might be pretty tricky, and I hope I don’t have problems with it. But I only need to have three sessions recorded.  I need the first one by mid March.

I can’t go back tomorrow, because I have to babysit at 10:30 until 3ish (yay money!)  Unfortunately, my supervisor is going to Aruba on Thursday, and won’t be back until March 2nd.  I’ll have just under two weeks to get my first recording.  I can definitely do that!

After I was done at 1pm, I went home and had lunch.  Then, I went out to run some errands. I went to the Salvation Army, and didn’t find anything that looked good. Then I went to Michaels and I finally bought my yarn and needles for my afghan.  I bought size 50 needles, and the largest ones I have ever used in the past are size 13!

Here’s a picture of me with three sets of needles.  The blue ones are size 8 that were the first ones that I ever knit with (I made a scarf).  The pink ones are the biggest I’ve used in the past, and the huge red ones are the ones I just bought.  They’re called “Speed Stix.”  They’re so large that it makes knitting go faster.  But the afghan will probably be holey. But I think that’s what makes it an afghan.

I’m so excited to get started!  I have eight skeins of yarn that I have to roll into balls (it makes it easier to knit with).  The total of all my stuff came to $43 (I bought a cute pack of note cards for $1 - they have an ‘R’ on them and they’re blank inside).  I had a gift card that I got from Dylan for Christmas, and I figured I’d just front the rest in cash.  After the gift card went through, I only owed $3!!!  Dylan had gotten me a $40 gift card!!!   I called him to thank him, and told him I was able to buy everything with the card. Yay Dylan!

I stopped at the library and picked up 5 books.  One of them is Angels and Demons, which I want to read before the movie comes out in May.  I’ve heard from many people that it’s much better than the DaVinci Code. I think the other four are all memoirs.  I’ve like to read memoirs lately.

On to dinner!  I used the Sloppy Joes recipe that I got from the Low Iodine Cookbook.  My mom and I both give it 5/5 stars.  It is SOOO delicious.  Absolutely amazing.  I ate it on one hamburger bun, open faced, and doubled up on my meat.  It was so messy!

Sloppy Joes

1 pound ground beef or turkey or Quorn (beef only for LID)
1 small chopped onion
1 small chopped green bell pepper (cut really small)
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup ketchup (to make it LID compatible, use no salt ketchup)
2 Tablespoons brown sugar
2 Tablespoons tomato paste
1 Tablespoon cider vinegar
1/4 teaspoon dry mustard
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon pepper
Combine first three ingredients in large skillet. Cook until meat is browned, stirring to crumble, scoop the fatty water out of the pan with a spoon.
Add rest of ingredients to skillet and mix. Simmer 15 minutes.
Serves 4-5.

You know how good it was?  It was so good, I licked my plate clean.

Megan and I have a history of licking our plates, especially if there is pie involved.  I’ve gotten in the bad habbit of doing it even when there is no pie involved.  I physically had the plate up to my face, licking it with my tongue.  I was in the middle of talking to my mom, and she didn’t even flinch.  I think she’s used to it, too.

I must admit, my mom made most of this.  I was at the gym, and she was antsy to start eating, so she found the recipe on my computer, and was already making it when I got home.

Potato and Vegetable Soup

• 2 1/2 cups water
• 2 potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 1 tablespoon salt, or to taste
• 2 carrots, chopped
• 2 stalks celery, chopped
• 1/4 onion, chopped
• 1 cube vegetable bouillon
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 cup frozen mixed vegetables (I only used frozen green beans)
• 1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of celery soup
• 1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• ground black pepper to taste

1. In a large stock pot boil potatoes in the 2.5 cups water and add salt. Cook potatoes until tender and soft and then add carrots, celery, chopped onions, vegetable of your choice, oil and bouillon. Mix together and cook until all vegetables are soft.
2. Add cream of celery soup and season with parsley, onion powder and pepper. If you desire a thinner type of soup you may want to add 1/2 cup of water.
3. Heat soup through, stirring occasionally, and serve.

Serves 6.

It was good.  I had it again for lunch today.  I added about 1/3 cup frozen peas (I sure do love vegetables!) and a little of milk too, because it had really dried up in the fridge.

I think it was too celery-y.  I didn’t really like using cream of celery soup, but that’s what it called for.  I would rather have used a flour and milk base instead.  Next time, I will probably make a regular potato soup and just add lots of vegetables.

I start my mini internship thing tomorrow at a hospital!!!  Wahoo!  I’m psyched.  I go there at 9am, and I’m going to wake up at 7am and go running with my dad.  I’m going to do 2 miles, and my dad will try to do as much as he can.  He hasn’t run in three months, so he may not be able to do all of it.  That’s ok, and if he has to turn around, I’ll just continue by myself.  That’s what I did on Sunday morning.  He made it to about .8 miles, and then had to turn around.  He was ALMOST half way there, and he could have made it…. but he chose just to turn around.

I am still working on my skirt/bag, and it’s great!  Right now, I’m doing the handles…. those are a big challenging.  But so far, it looks good!  I’ve been watching Greys Anatomy while I work, and I love this show!  I love all these shows where people work together and they are happy.  It’s nice.

About my internship, I’m worried that I don’t have enough business type clothes.  I have two cute light (spring!) cardigans, that are yellow and one that is pink.  And I can wear those with a t-shirt underneath them.  I’m also going to wear my black crocs instead of the nice heels that I just bought, and wear my hair in a low ponytail, because I want to make a professional first appearance.  After the first day, I will get a better sense of what other people are wearing, and I won’t worry about it.

Oh, and I’m sucking at that whole go to bed by 10pm thing.  Do’h!  It’s 10:27 right now, and I am not in bed.  But I’m heading off right now, cause I have to wake up at 7am!  For a run in the cold!!!  Brrrrr.  But it’s a great way to start the day!!!!

I don’t know how long I’m going to be at my internship thing, my guess is I’ll be home for lunch.  Then, I will post about what we had for dinner tonight.  Tomorrow night, mom night we’re having homemade Sloppy Joe’s!  Classy.

Here’s the recipe for the dip I made.  It is entirely vegetarian, and a 7 ounce service (that’s almost a whole cup!) has only 140 calories.  My mom said “It seems fatty.”  Ahh… but it’s completely the opposite.

• 1 16 oz can refried beans or black beans
• 1 cup chunky salsa
• 2 cups plain yogurt (I used non fat)
• 1 cup sliced olives (black or green)
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 cup shredded lettuce

1.  In a bowl, combine beans with 1/3 cup salsa.  Spread half of the mixture into a flat serving dish.

2.  Spread 1 cup yogurt over the bean mixture, followed by 1/2 cup olives, 1/3 cup salsa, 1/2 cup cheese, and 1/2 cup lettuce.

3.  Repeat layering.  Cover and chillin until ready to use.

Yield:  8 servings (7 oz per serving)

Calories with non fat yogurt - 140
Calories with low fat yogurt - 150
Calories with regular yogurt - 160 (abouts)

There are 10g of protein, 680mg of sodium, 4g of fiber, and 20% of your calcium needs.

I will say that it should be eaten the day it is made.  My parents tried their small portion the next night, 24 hours later, and it was too hard.  When we were eating it, it was soft and more dip like.  It also was pretty expensive to make, $5 perhaps?  Because everything needed to be bought for the dip.  Luckily, I eat yogurt and salsa, and I bought Mexican flavored cheese that I will then use to make quesadillas!  The olives and beans were used up in their entirety.  And the lettuce we already had.

I did not log on to my computer ONCE yesterday! Amazing. I didn’t use it to check my email, read my RSS feed, or update my blog. I can do all of those from my phone, and I did use my phone for e-mail and my blog update on the diorama.

Why didn’t I use my computer at all? I had a super busy day! I woke up early, read my book, went to the gym at 9:30 (read my book all the way there and back!), came home, showered, left at 11:30 to baby sit. I babysat until 3ish, then I went to the Salvation Army where I got two white plates for food photography, a small one for desserts, and a large one for dinner. I also got a skirt that I’m going to make into a bag! They were having “Wacky Wednesday Family Day” where everything was 50% off, so I paid only $4.54 for all three items. Then, I went to the grocery store and bought stuff to make dip for Niles’ house. Then, I went home, made the dip, changed my clothes, and walked to the library (at 6pm). I read my book about 80% of the way, using the street lights. I had to tilt my book a certain way to get the best lighting, but it worked!

Once at the library, I read my book while waiting for my mom to get out of work, and then we went to Il Forno where we had dinner. I got Linguine and Broccoli Aglie Olie, and I asked for extra broccoli. You couldn’t even see the pasta because there was so much broccoli! But, after I ate most of it, there wasn’t enough broccoli. For left overs tonight, I’m going to make more broccoli to add to the pasta.  Broccoli galore!!!  (Bob wanted to take a picture of me and dad with our plates of broccoli.  I asked for extra, dad did not.)  Oh man, do I LOVE broccoli!!!

After dinner, I raced home, grabbed the dip from the fridge, and raced to Niles’ house. He called me twice and sent me a text wondering where I was! I got there JUST at 9pm, just as it was starting. Whew! I didn’t miss anything. Everyone loved the dip, and I made my parents a mini version in a ramekin so they could try it. After Lost, Niles helped me design my house a bit after I told him about my diorama idea. I think I want to invite him over to help me do it. We could watch a movie or something!

I came home at 11, and went to bed reading my book! I didn’t even touch my computer all day!

And I’ve just measured, and my living room (which I think is the perfect size for my mini house) is 12.5 feet by 18 feet. That’s 225 square feet. I’m off to look for a box that’s a similar size! I don’t have much time for construction today because I’m off to the gym before lunch, then I’m meeting a friend for lunch at noon (we’re going to the City Hall Cafe, and then walking up to the Rabbit Hole Book Store), and then I have to babysit again tonight at 6pm. It’s the mom’s birthday, so they’re going out to dinner! I’m going to have three crazy kids tonight, and have to put them to bed! Ohhhhh jeez.

For tonight, I knew that I had bread and salad for dinner.  I wanted to make something that went along with those things.  My mom wanted to do something simple, like spaghetti and meatballs.  I remembered that we had frozen pesto in the freezer… my first thought was a pizza with pesto sauce instead of a red sauce.  Then load that up with fresh peppers, black olives, and mushrooms.  Then I found out that my dad had pizza last night!  D’Oh!  Plus, if I had pizza, then I had to make a trip to the grocery store.  It was just easier to make pesto with linguine.  I did make a really good garlic bread.  In a small sauce pan, I melted 4 tablespoons butter with three cloves garlic, along with some fresh parsley.  We’ve had the parsley in the fridge for a while, and I’ve used it in many dishes, but there is certainly too much for me to use all of it.  That would be an herb that I would enjoy growing.  Parsley and basil I would put to good use.

Although I had made pesto and pasta before, I had never made garlic bread!  It came out pretty good, but it was extremely crispy.  Because I had never made it before, I took pictures.  It was kind of a pain to have to take pictures while my food was getting cold. I’m not sure how food bloggers do it!  I also wasn’t able to set up a whole pretty scene.  I just took a picture of my plate.