After nine months of cooking with The Food Matters Project, we’ve finally realized why there are no pictures in The Food Matters Cookbook: it’s just not pretty food.
A lot of the things we’ve made from it have been really great, but when it comes time to plate, we’re always grabbing for a handful of freshly chopped herbs, or a sprinkling of green onions…just something to make the photographs a little more interesting.
This wonderful chowder was no exception.
Although the recipe didn’t call for it, this chowder with the fabulous fall flavors of butternut squash, apples & sage (& a smidge of bacon!) gained a welcome creaminess from the spoonful of plain Greek yogurt & a touch of brightness from the zested lemon we threw on top at the end…for the pictures…but we liked the addition so much that we’d definitely recommend them if you try this recipe yourself. & you totally should.
You can find the full recipe for Butternut Chowder with Apples & Bacon at Prairie Summers. & as always, don’t forget to see all the other takes on this week’s recipe by other Food Matters bloggers.
It’s so funny that you mentioned the no photos. I never realized that either! Nice job on the soup…I like the additions.
Ha Ha! You are so right!
I have been reading Tamar Adler’s book and am going through it so slow because everything she talks about is so intriguing, I just have to try it. Everything I have made so far are delicious in their simplest elements. Her book has zero pictures in it too but you just know that truly good things need no pictures. Just like the Food Matters book. What are you talking about anyway? All your FMP pictures are pretty!
I think that’s how Mark Bittman gets away with having no pictures! He’s made such a name for himself that you just know that the food will be good & you’ll learn some great techniques.
Wow, that’s so true… the cauliflower and sausage recipe comes to mind, for one. Yours always seem to come out gorgeous, though!
Thanks, Meg!
Your post made me laugh…thinking about that fig and brussel sprout casserole from the beginning of the project. So hard to photograph–I mean, how do you make that pretty? But I always think your photos turn out just fine!
The back to back weeks of cassoulet & vegetables au vin were pretty challenging, too!
i was bummed when i saw that the book had no pix, it didn’t occur to me that it’s because the food isn’t photogenic. that makes sense… i thought of it as trying to keep the focus on the flavors and not so much the aesthetic. i will say that the pix i’ve seen during this whole project from everyone has been great and all so different.
Lan, I was kind of bummed, too. & honestly, I probably wouldn’t have bought the book on my own, if I hadn’t liked the philosophy & wanted to cook with this group. Seeing how everyone handles each recipe, with both the ingredients & the presentation, is what makes this project so fun!
I am such a oookbook junkie, and a lot of times it’s all about the pictures. I was also bummed with the pictureless FMP cookbook, but I think that is what makes the project so great, we give life to it with our own creations and photos. Though I do agree that some of the recipes have been very, very difficult to get pleasing photos of. I am always searching for garnish at the last minute, haha.
Haha I agree- I was wondering why there are no pictures!