Broccoli Blues

ugly, delicious soup

Hey Broiler Heads! This month we’re cooking our way through my anxiety aka recipes without pictures in the new book

Hungry as Hell out everywhere October 31. People just don’t cook recipes without photos. Back in the day, when photography was on film and extra expensive for publishers to print, cookbooks were full of sketches. A clever workaround for sure but as a person who’s assembled a hellish amount of furniture from IKEA, even the best illustrations can leave you bewildered. I wonder how they decided where to chop off the arms. You know it was some kinda editorial back-and-forth. Floating hands would’ve been weird but do we *need* to see elbows? 

photo from The Joy of Cooking, pulled from a great article on cookbook illustrations by Ellen Shapiro

Even in the early 00’s lots of cookbooks only had photos in a little photography insert in the middle of the cookbook like my beloved copy of Vegan With A Vengeance by Isa Chandra Moskowitz.  We’ve come a long way in 20 years but there are still tons of recipes in every cookbook that just don’t get photographed. And one reason that’s rarely touched on is that there are foods that are just not photogenic. Biscuits and gravy might make your mouth water in person but once you smear that brown gravy over a plate and throw it on some beige biscuits, almost no amount of food styling and lighting will make it look appetizing. Soups are the things Matt and I struggle with the most. All the best parts are hidden under the surface, so you’ve gotta really have a game plan, good styling, a smart angle, and faith to make soup look nice on camera. Add too many beige and green ingredients to the mix and things start looking unappetizing despite how delicious they look in person. Such is the fate of the Creamy Broccoli Soup with Peanuts and Ginger from the new book.

I love this soup. The combo of peanuts and broccoli makes it a total comfort food for me. This recipe is a spin on a dish I ate all the time in college but elevated and turned into a stew. It’s so perfect except for all the green and beige in there. Trust the process and you’ll be rewarded with a creamy stew that’s both flavorful and deeply comforting. It’s perfect for long, cold nights with a side of coconut rice or some cornbread. Maybe just don’t take a photo because you’ll really hafta work to make it look cute. Enjoy!