In Which We Attempt to Take Better Pictures

I'm sure in previous posts it's been painfully obvious that I've been using my phone's camera for pictures.  It's not bad for a phone, but it's not great either.  As a joint Christmas gift, Nick and I got us a new camera...the Canon s95, to be exact.  It's powerful beyond my comprehension, but it's still (thank God) a point and shoot.  Still, it's better than my phone's camera...but now I have no excuse for the sheer lack of photographic talent I have running through my veins, given my stock.  Oh well.  On with the food. 

Last night, I made Pork Brochettes with Shredded Coconut (Saik Chrouk Ch'ranouitk).  YUM. 

Mixing the lemongrass paste.

Chopped the pork.

Unearthed my zest scraper/finger skin remover.  Yikes.  I used lime zest instead of lime leaves.  I thought it tasted great.

The paste.  Let me pause here a second and talk about tasting food along the way.  I know you're supposed to do that...I know it makes sense in some recipes.  This one, the raw ingredients at this stage just hurt.  All I got was a stinging tongue and an apprehension that the recipe was going to be spicy, in spite of the lack of anything even remotely spicy in the mix.  Garlic is a beast.

Mixed with sugar, coconut, and salt.  I actually meant to avoid the sugar because I used sweetened coconut (couldn't find unsweetened in any obvious places, and I was hungry).  It turned out fine, in my opinion.

Waiting for the broiler to warm up.

Oh, friendly reminder kids...just because there's no visible fire present...doesn't mean wood won't burn.  Yes, the sticks caught on fire.  No, I didn't get a picture...I was busy making sure the house didn't burn down (and the pork didn't burn).  Soak the sticks ahead of time, for everyone's sake. 

These cooked surprisingly quickly, once prepared.  I didn't marinade them at all, and they were still VERY flavorful.

Carrots!  I tossed them with olive oil and thyme, then baked them at 400* for 30 minutes covered, then 10 uncovered.  Gives them a little crunch and seals the sweetness in.  OMG good.  Thanks, Mom!

Dinner!  I made the rice with olive oil and a little lemon juice.

Classy dinner at our house. 

Kini wanted part of the action, but people food is strictly verboten. 

The way I timed this one worked out well.  I started the carrots first, letting them bake while I prepared the pork.  When I uncovered the carrots, I started the rice.  When the carrots were done, I removed them and upped the temp to broil, and moved the rack up to the top.  I broiled the pork on one side, put out a couple small fires, flipped the pork, broiled on the other side, and by the time the second side was done, the rice was done and dinner was ready!  The carrots were a teensy bit cold by then though, so I could have thrown them back in the oven for a couple minutes while I was setting up plates maybe, I don't know.  In any case, that was the best-timed meal I've managed to make yet, so...there you go!