When I write a cookbook, I take reference photos of the dishes and squirrel them away for recipe testers as well as for my editor, designer, stylists, and photographer. I don't write recipes for cupcakes and meatballs. My topics are often unfamiliar to people that I collaborate with and I can communicate easily and quickly with photos. I call them reference shots.
With Asian Tofu, we inserted lots of pictures into the finished book. However, for the sake of space and aesthetics, we had to leave others out. I am not one for cramming a zillion images into a work because it can distract from the actual recipes.
I love what we did to convey the infinite possibilities of tofu. It's fascinating. Late last night, I reviewed a bunch of the original reference shots that I took, in addition to a few that stylist and tester Karen Shinto sent me. I got wistful and organized an image gallery of the recipes on Flickr.
Looking at the photos, I got to relive the bookmaking process. It was three (3) year's worth of work that involved a global group of friends and colleagues. I'm darn proud of what Team Tofu produced.
Here are the 80 images for you to check out. They capture about 95% of the recipes in the book. If you have the book, use these as your reference shots! Just curious? Check out the images to see what you can make from humble bean curd.
If the slideshow is not visible, jump to Flickr to view it.
One of the reasons why I got emotional about Asian Tofu was because I just signed a contract for a new project. It's my fourth publication with Ten Speed Press. Get ready for this:
It'll be a fun book, I promise. When is it coming out? Spring 2014. Seems like a ways away but it's really just around the corner.
Don't worry, I won't stop thinking about dumplings, tofu, and other delicious Asian dishes. But now you know what I'm also obsessing about.
