Regular Random: five minutes with pumpkin soup and cheesy cornbread

/ Su Leslie
Bowl of homemade pumpkin soup and plate with two pieces of cheese and herb cornbread. Image: Su Leslie, 2018

Homemade pumpkin soup and cornbread with cheese and thyme. Image: Su Leslie, 2018

It has definitely begun to feel like winter here, so when Tracy at Reflections of an Untidy Mind mentioned making pumpkin soup in her Changing Seasons post, I experienced one of those really powerful taste memories.

Perhaps inevitably, pumpkin soup was on our dinner menu last night, along with some cheese and herb cornbread.

Both easy to make and, as it turned out, quite yummy.

These shots are of today’s lunch (of course there were leftovers).

Cheesy corn bread. Image: Su Leslie 2018

Regular Random is a photo challenge hosted by Desley Jane at Musings of a Frequently Flying Scientist. If you’d like to join in:

  • choose a subject or a scene
  • spend five minutes photographing it – no more!
  • try to not interfere with the subject, instead see it from many angles, look through something at it, change the light that’s hitting it
  • have fun!
  • tag your post #regularrandom and ping back to Desley’s post

35 thoughts on “Regular Random: five minutes with pumpkin soup and cheesy cornbread”

  5. I make BNS soup in the winter time, but never tried cornbread with it. Recipe?
    Tried solid polenta yesterday (sliced and fried) but can’t say I was impressed, not quite as bad as Tofu with a good lashing of chilli sauce 😀

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    • The cornbread was an afterthought and to be honest a bit of a case of chucking things in a bowl and stirring til it felt right. I am planning to make it again and actually measure quantities this time, so I’ll post the recipe (assuming the last one wasn’t a total fluke).
      I don’t like polenta in either of its manifestations, though the solid version scores a few more points simply for not being porridge.
      What’s not to like about tofu? You’re obviously don’t have either a good recipe or a yummy enough sauce 😀

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  9. You have provided me with some powerful sense memories too! Yum …

    Poring over your series of photographs, I am reflecting on a photographic question I’ve struggled with for some time: I’m beginning to get the hang of breakfast foods (not so difficult because they are generally very colourful & interesting), sweeties/desserts are coming along, but savouries are very difficult for me. For example, when I do a colourful stirfry, by the time it is cooked, the colours have faded a great deal. Then I realised taking photos at dinnertime is not great for light – my food photos seem to work best when I take them in the morning. I read somewhere that if the food being photographed is not particularly interesting, then the background has to be; which you have done so beautifully – not to say the soup & bread do not look delicious, but they are both orange/yellow, and you are able to beautify it with with the bowl/plate, table cloth, and the lovely sprig of cilantro.

    If it is not too cheeky to ask, do you have any other tips for me as I continue to explore taking better savoury pics?

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    • 🙂 Thank you Ju-Lyn — it’s so lovely to know that the photos can evoke sense memories.
      I know what you mean about trying to photograph savory food. I don’t have any sort of studio set-up, so I have to use natural light and for me that is always morning. It does mean that with dinners I sometimes have to cook a portion of the food in the morning and photograph it (makes for yummy — if slightly cold) lunches. The soup and bread were left-over from the previous night’s dinner so were really quick to photograph.
      I actually put garnish on food before I eat it anyway, and I’ve started using the nicest crockery that I have to serve meals (as well as for photography). I am trying to become much more mindful in my eating habits (after a lifetime of snacking). I always put food on a plate, try never to eat on the run, and sit down at a table. I do fiddle around a bit with the staging — trying to find a bowl or plate that looks good, and using tablecloths or boards that I’ve collected. The cloth in the soup photos was embroidered by my grandmother and I chose it partly because it has such good associations for me, and also because of the autumn colours of the embroidery.
      But you are right; sometimes (especially with stir-fries and curries, etc) no matter what you do, the photos aren’t always that interesting. In that case, how about photographing the ingredients? You can get some lovely creative shots that way. You can still take photos of the finished dish, but show them alongside the ingredient shots. I’ve done this a few times but am most proud of this shoot (https://zimmerbitch.wordpress.com/2017/06/25/regular-random-five-minutes-with-the-makings-of-a-great-dressing/)
      I’m not sure this helps much; my photography is very much work in progress.

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      • You have given me wonderful ideas, Su, thank you. I have long admired your photography and so am chuffed to receive tips in this regard. I was also a snacker (I use the past tense but actually, I still struggle) and are also to be more mindful to eat better protein-rich meals (being a vegetarian, that is a challenge).

        Photograph ingredients early in the day, keep dinner till the next day when light is good, use good crockery and scenic backdrops … good things to keep in mind!

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        • I’m always glad to share anything I have learned. One of the things I love about this blogging community is the generosity of those I meet. I find that really inspiring.
          I still struggle with snacking too — especially when I’m tired or a bit stressed. The best thing I can do is not to buy the high-carb, empty calorie snacks and to cook plenty of food for meals so that there are interesting leftovers.
          But, I am totally a work in progress. 🙂

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  10. Looks awesomely delicious even though I only crave cold drinks and some fruits or salad at the mo. 😂 Aren’t leftovers great? I love it when I get to eat a good dish at least two days in a row. 😄 xxxxx

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