Garlic Roasted Asparagus w/ Poached Egg & Food Photography Insight
As many of you know, the world of food blogging is huge. How can you follow all the good food blogs there are? The answer is you can’t, there are just too many! So this brings up the crucial question- how do you get people to read and follow your own blog when you are just a tiny ant in the food blogging universe? Maybe the answer is in the recipes; but what kind will people want to read- healthy, hearty, easy, quick, gourmet? Or maybe the answer is in the writing; maybe your witty sense of humor or helpful information will win you followers. Personally, I think these two things are important, but every food blog reader has different tastes and personalities. You can never meet everybody’s standards. You need to be yourself and post what you want, and the way to still gain followers when doing this? I believe it’s all in the photos.
A good (or bad) food photo can make all the different in whether people are interested in your post. I have been struggling to improve my food photography over the last six months, and it has not been easy! I have been reading all sorts of blogs, books and tips on food photography, as well as letting my dinner go cold while trying to get a shot, with hopes of getting better photos. If you haven’t thought about your food photos I strongly encourage you to. Great photos catch people’s eyes and make the posts more pleasant to read. Plus, if you are a food blogger you have probably had your dreams crushed over and over again by FoodGawker and TasteSpotting with their denials of your photos, I know I have! Once you get a few photos accepted you will see the large amounts of traffic that these sites drive to your site, so don’t give up because it is worth the frustration. If you are also looking for inspiration or help with food photography/styling I suggest these links:
Now I will step down from my soap box to share this recipe with you. This is a very simple recipe that I struggled to get a good photo of, hence my rant above. It is a great healthy dish for a small summer breakfast. I have recently begun to poach my eggs more often for two reasons. 1- It can be a tricky thing to learn and 2- It is much healthier than frying an egg with oil or scrambling it with milk. You can add parmesan cheese, lemon zest, basil or many other touches to make this recipe unique to you. I chose to add garlic, basil and lemon juice. This recipe also gives detailed instructions on how to poach an egg for those of you who are interested.
Garlic Roasted Asparagus w/ Poached Egg
Ingredients
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 lb asparagus
- 1 tsp vinegar
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp basil chopped
- 1 lemon
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425F.
- Place the asparagus on a baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil and season with salt, pepper, garlic and basil.
- Bring a medium pot of water to boil on the stove.
- Roast the asparagus at 425F until they begin to wrinkle (about 10-12 minutes).
- To poach the eggs, turn the boiling water down a notch and add vinegar to the water.
- Begin to stir the water to create a whirlpool, then place one egg into the center of the pool using a ladle.
- Let the egg swirl and cook until cooked to your desired doneness (about 4-5 minutes) and remove with a slotted spoon.
- Repeat with the second egg.
- Split the asparagus between two plates, top each with one egg, and squeeze the juice of half a lemon over each before serving.
I have yet to crack foodgawker but was surprised by the traffic I got from seriouseats.com’s photograzing
I love your asparagus dish BTW
i really like this blogpost, i know the feeling of being just a breath in the universe of food blogging – we’re online cos we want the attention, rigth! so ofcourse it’s frustrating when you feel unnoticed. but, hey, on the other hand this abundance of great food blogs lets you discover new people and new cookig every day 🙂
That is perfect! I have been trying to get my husband to eat more asparagus, as I absolutely love it. Poached eggs are his favorite, so this is sure to be a hit. Thank you!
Asparagus and eggs are always a wonderful combo. I’m a sucker for asparagus, I especially love asparagus almondine. You’re right about the photography making a huge difference. My views sky rocketed once I began posting photos. I too have frantically been searching for different ways to improve my photography through classes, books and practice, I haven’t had a warm meal in a long time either lol. Great post, the photo looks gorgeous and is making me hungry =]
I do love the recipe, and I would have never thought to pair an egg with asparagus. It looks great. And I appreciate your advice regarding photography. It’s so true and a constant learning experience. Your photos look great, in fact so good I think I’ll try your asparagus dish! Thanks.
Love the final photo! You’re definitely making great strides!
Great dish! I love anything with asparagus! 🙂
Healthy and yummy, the perfect combination ever!!
For sweet items, try Dessert Stalking website. In reading their qualifications for photos, about all they say is if they like it, they will post it. They are not as large but all of us have to start somewhere.
I like the healthy fresh ingredients in this recipe, Buzz!
In a way, this is a bit like a deconstructed hollandaise sauce, isn’t it. I love the idea (and I adore both asparagus and poached eggs). This recipe is definitely a keeper. Many thanks.
Regarding those food porn sites, I’ve given up on them. I don’t need the one-time hits that I get in exchange for the money that they make in advertising for having me let them show the few pictures that do make it there.
I never thought of it that way but yeah it kind of is; a bit more healthy as well haha. Yeah I don’t know I think I will stick to them because I am still such a tiny blog, but oh well what can you do. =)
Cool thanks for sharing!
Love all the tips about photography! Thanks for posting those.
Thanks, no problem!
Loved the recipe, thanks for the tips on photographing food. I hope one day to make tastespotting. I just know I have to put more work in. Great site!
I didn’t take TS or FG seriously ’til January. When I got accepted, I did notice increase traffic. I was fighting how “important” they are. Niche food blogs can get around “bad” photos by dominating a food market. The rest of us have to find our identity. Keep trying. Your photos aren’t terrible. A lot could be fixed with photoshop. There’s also photograzing and dishfolio who are more forgiving and accept more photos. Keep doing what you love and it will show!
I love the recipe! I love your photos and share your frustration with the food porn sites. Sometimes I have found that while the photos are pretty – the recipes don’t hold up to what the pictures are.
Seriously! Oh well. What can ya do?
POACHED EGG. I am so envious, I haven’t been able to do that 🙁
Read my instructions in the recipe on how to do it. It is all about swirling the water!! =) And trust me mine are anything but perfect.
this is really helpful, both parts of the post! i have been trying food gawker for a month or so now, no success yet. I guess it’s partly working to within their confines – because obviously they want a continuity in style & aesthetics – but it looks like all the photos they choose are shot in the same room, they all have very similar lighting! but i like the challenge, i’m working on capturing a similar level of light..
also, poached egg recipe? yay! defo something i want to try!
Katie x
Yeah the secret behind the lighting is natural light. Most of those photos are taken during the day, which most of us don’t have the luxury of doing! There are special lights that you can buy that give off “natural light” instead of the yellow-tinted light. Good luck and keep it up! =)
I had been thinking that I am the only one struggling to get my photo featured on Tastespotting, but it seems that there are many in the same boat! Thanks for sharing this useful and interesting post. The links you have mentioned are really motivating me to pay more attention to food styling and photography!
Your recipe is simple, yet classy! Loved it!!
No you are definitely not alone! Keep it up, you’ll get there. =)
Hehe I clicked on this because I have a very similar recipe on my blog entitled Asparagus with “Healthy Hollandaise”. Im a newbie to blogging, and Im trying to soak in this whole concept of a blog and how to get it seen. Love the photos and info on food photography, which is like a second nature hobby if you love to cook IMO. Love roasted/grilled asparagus too- what an awesome flavor- my recipe is for blanched- but next time im definitely gunna roast them- wayyyyy better idea. Ciao! And best of Luck!
Food photography is HARD! Thank you for your honesty regarding this issue. I find it is definitely the most difficult thing about food blogging, and I know it will take a long time before I am 100% comfortable with it. The funny thing is – some of the best food just doesn’t photograph well at all!
PS I think your pictures look great!