It is a truth universally acknowledged that if you’ve got a great recipe to share but you’re not a fantastic photographer, then you shouldn’t be browsing beautiful-looking food blogs before you post your own.
All that perfection gets inside your head and whispers that your hastily-snapped iPhone picture is not good enough to share and you should only give your readers the best, otherwise why bother?
But then your readers would miss out on this super-delicious, super-healthy 15-minute lunch, and who are you to deprive them of that? Just because it’s not an artfully constructed photo taken in proper light with a proper camera? And let’s be honest, if you only ever waited until your photography was top notch before you shared something then you’d never share anything at all because you’re a writer, not a photographer. Even if you have writer’s block so bad you just send people emoji texts instead of choosing actual words.
People, have my cat-obstructed iPhone photos and whatever words I can muster. If there’s anything I’ve learned this past week, it’s that it’s better than not talking to you at all!
The other night, my friend Tara and I were killing time between a full day conference and an evening gala ball (I know, right?!). We’d received amazing 20-minute Chinese massages and had our nails done, and then we thought of the brilliant idea of eating dinner before dinner that evening. I am all about the double mealtimes.
So she took me to this place in the city that does bowls of all sorts of little things – you either choose your components, or one of the pre-designed ones. Now Tara had been here before and knew all of the delicious things to eat. – I was a newbie and went with a pre-designed one and then spent my entire meal wishing I’d ordered what she had.
I bought a pumpkin this week and roasted it to mash because I knew at some point I was going to want to recreate bowl-y goodness in my own home. When it was nudging 1pm today and I was on the verge of screaming into the pantry abyss because I was so hungry, I remembered that quinoa takes like, 15 minutes and I could finally get that sweet, sweet roasted pumpkin into my mouth in bowl form. With extra veg because #health.
So here’s what I did:
- Put the quinoa on to cook (I cup quinoa, 1 cup water, splash of tamari, one garlic clove | cover and bring to a boil | once it boils set it to simmer 15 minutes with lid ajar)
- Reheated a bit of mashed pumpkin and stirred 1/2 teaspoon of miso paste into it
- Cut veggies and splashed a bit of apple cider vinegar on them
- 2 minutes before the quinoa was finished I added a bit of broccoli and pak choi on top to steam
- When the quinoa was done I removed the greens and tossed them with tamari, lemon, and ginger
- Fluffed the quinoa
- Put a bit of everything in a bowl
- Topped with gomasio
- Took it outside and took a photo, duh.
The next time you find yourself eyeing off a pumpkin (don’t lie, I know it happens), remember that just taking it home and bunging it into oven means you have rich, creamy mash annnny time you like. And if you’re anything like me, that’s all the time.
Except if you don’t like pumpkin? I know you’re out there! show yourselves!
Kit@lifethroughthehaze says
Yum! I love pumpkin and mash!
With the weather finally starting to cool down it might be time to whack pumpkin back on the shopping list!
Stacey says
The weather is so cool right now (or at least I’m just a wuss, my money’s on the latter), I’m in full hoodie (with hood up) and pants and blanket and shivering. But I’ve got hot rice pudding in the oven just waiting for my cold little fingers 😀
Moriam says
Looks pretty professional to me buddy, yum!! Xxx
Stacey says
thanks MORIAM
Miriam says
Hahahaha
Sammie @ The Annoyed Thyroid says
This looks the business! I am getting a right workout from all the pumpkin wrestling I’ve been doing. I love anything and everything pumpkin, it’s so versatile. Now excuse my ignorance, but what is gomasio?!
Stacey says
It’s just a japanese thing, but use sesame seeds and a nice sea salt!
Eva says
Child obsessed with pumpkin (top 3 messiest/stainiest foods for a toddler to eat?). Husband’s idea of hell is roasted pumpkin on a plate, but will inhale pumpkin soup. I really need to follow your lead and get more into this kind of lunch deal, rather than toast/kid lunch leftovers. Thanks for the inspiration! (although I will have to replace the miso because it gives me morning sickness flashbacks and I just can’t anymore, so sad)
Stacey says
yeah I’m funny with miso myself and had to force myself to put it in and then I only put in a little bit! Can’t believe he doesn’t like roasted pumpkin, it’s seriously the only way to eat it. Also thank goodness my sister gave me a heads up that banana stains! I had NO IDEA. so many shirts ruined. I still suck pretty heavily at lunch, but I’ve been trying the last maybe two years to get better. Nothing worse than starving and all the resultant crap that comes with it! My lunch today was pitiful :-/
Shauna 'Round the Corner says
I love pumpkin. Matter of fact. We’ve had tasty roasted morsels of pumpkin on our plate every night this week. And after reading this I’ve decided I need to roast me some pumpkin more often! I love this as a lunch idea. I scream into my pantry every day.
Hey thanks for visiting my blog earlier this week. It’s not the first time you’ve been there and I’m sorry it’s taken me this long to return the favour. I was touched by your long drive post the other day, as were many it seems! What struck me was your comment about once feeling like you were on the outside of the bloggers circle and looking in. Or words to that effect. I thought to myself “this Veggie Mama chick is inside my head”. Hehe. I’ve been reaching out, commenting on blogs all over the place (to the point of exhaustion!) for 18 months and apart from one or two lovely bloggers who reciprocate (and I value SO much), I’m finding it hard to ‘find my tribe’.
And to be honest, I had you pegged as one of the big guns that wouldn’t have time for me. I think perhaps I might have been wrong about that.
And I am so happy that you posted this with a less than perfect photo. By your standards, that is. By my standards that mash looks pretty damn good!
Stacey says
Ah it wouldn’t be the first time someone has pegged me wrong! Especially online, this is like a magical faraway land where logic goes to die.
I’m sorry you’re feeling that way about blogs and finding your tribe… it can be a lonely place to be, especially when you put in so much effort. I think it’s less that people aren’t welcome, and more that we’re so busy we forget to sit down for a minute and really connect. Nobody has time to comment on blogs any more (myself included) so when I realised how much I’d missed this place and reading blogs in general, I made a promise to myself that I’d put in a bit more effort and take the time read the blogs I love – and not just read but let them know I’d been there. Because it often feels like we’re talking to ourselves, even when we’re on other blogs, and when people told me they were still here kicking about, it made me realise how nice it is to be reminded.
Besides, you’re funny as fuck and I like that.
Tina Lacy says
I only like pumpkin in soup. Whenever I try to roast it it comes out all watery and stringy and gross not fluffy and dry and sweet like I want it to be 🙁
Stacey says
STOP USING BUTTERNUT PUMPKIN THEN! That thing is the devil’s work. It never tastes how pumpkin should!
Elizabeth says
Love, love pumpkin so this bowl looks just right
Stacey says
Hello mate ! I was just thinking of you the other day, I went to a house that had an actual backyard lemon tree and it was AMAZING. I want one so badly.