(A sequential installment from Kim Hastings, my photographer friend and, along with her vet husband, owner of Independence Veterinary Hospital, who decided on her own to cook her way through The Blooming Platter Cookbook: A Harvest of Seasonal Vegan Recipes Julie & Julia Style for her omnivorous family as a strategy for more healthy eating.)
Today I decided to try the Blooming Broccoli Dip to set out as a serve-yourself lunch option. I read that this could also be served as pita sandwiches so it sounded like a perfect choice.
My kitchen was undergoing some repairs this morning but I found a small space to set out a cutting board and start chopping up the veggies. Funny thing – no one thought it was weird that I chose this particular moment to start cooking – I guess that’s a good thing!
My son was was watching all the healthy vegetables going into the bowl and then he saw me pull out the mayo and says dryly, “Well there goes the healthy part.” Not true! Though I didn’t make the vegan mayo in the book, I still use a healthier option, so no worries.
This recipe turned out looking so pretty! Since I didn’t have to serve it immediately I was able to take some time to get a proper photo. Thankfully everyone was so busy doing their own thing that they didn’t see me with my fingers in the dip trying to face the broccoli florets up and wiping some of the mayo off the red pepper so the color would pop. It was definitely not normal looking!
Once I started shooting though, I did get some remarks like “Jeez, you’re taking pictures of food now??” Is that really so weird guys? I take pictures of lots of things, but then I started explaining that food photography was a new area for me and it’s big business now. My friend in California is doing it and she’s doing well. I look up from my viewfinder and no one is even there listening to my lengthy explanation. Seriously I get no respect!
But that’s ok because I was really stretching to come up with something to throw them off of what I’m really doing! We really loved this recipe. We ate it as a dip at lunch and then made wraps out of it for dinner. I even heated it with some leftover steak and shredded sharp cheese for my son’s wrap. I really like the versatility and the beautiful look of this one. Definitely a hit with our family.
~Kim Howard Hastings
