Dinner for One/Spicy Stir Fry

I like to believe that I know what I am doing in the kitchen, I guess that really is the mentality that drives me to make new things and care enough to photograph them and write about them.

My friends always ask me, "Frenchie, what do you make on a normal night?" That question always makes me laugh, because to me my everyday dinner is not that different from anyone else's. I realize that maybe this is not the case, the other day I prepared a salad for dinner and my roommate looks at it and asks me why it looked so good. It really made me think, I am a college student with a tight budget just like anyone else, so why do my dinners turn out differently? I think I have the answer. First, for me, food is not just a means of survival but a treat, with each dinner I make I am rewarding myself. Second, I take the time to make my food look beautiful, a huge part of flavor and enjoyment comes from sight and I try my best to entice all my senses. The last and probably least significant part is that in some ways I do know what I am doing. That doesn't mean that I know it all, but certain techniques or flavor combinations that might seem intuitive to me all come from the knowledge I have acquired in years of cooking.