la fleur du citron apres la limonade

limonade

It is scorching hot today.one of our little heat waves that happens one or twice a year.cats are on their backs, trying to find a cool floor, and others drink chai, like they do in hot India.Then, others put up lemonade stands,and pour it out of icy pitchers.

have you heard of panachés while in france ? a favorite drink for warm days: half beer, half fizzy lemonade......

mood lifter

the chicken was sick.The vet had told them to put her in the sun. She was still, her eyes closed and he was trying to get her to drink with a eye dropper. Further in the garden, my friend L had planted these glowing poppies. After a licorice tea, she gave me a bouquet that made my heart smile every time I caught a sight of it.

sculptural and retro

It is a work out to get 12 recipes styled and shot in a day, may be a sign of the times or not. I was set to record a few vignettes, and got some shots of the mountain of dishes in the sink, my car overflowing with bags to be unloaded and some interesting little set ups I came up with.But you are not really going to see those. Instead, you are getting my funny eyes on things as they happen:dumping a jar of frozen pineapple chunks upside down, ready for a frappe of pineapple , mint and yogurt ( delicious), or a cleaned up glass after we had transferred its content..... or a pie we were working on and some very red strawberries against a blue plate......

shrimp for easter

worked on this image recently. had to create an "asian" mood... coconut fried shrimp with herbs and dipping sauces.

a new novel

I have known Summer for decades. I have known her as long as L. We all worked in a store for 2 women who had the instinct of hiring a great crew: a mix of talents and temperaments with heart and style. these two married brothers, handsome young men with dreams of rock and roll fortune.When Summer gave birth to her daughter, I remember visiting her in her little cottage ,a skip and a throw from the store. Her son, would sit on my lap,working on his coloring.Summer has always written . poems when I met her, and novels more recently.Her new book was inspired by a terrible event that took place in Berkeley, where a salacious and greedy businessman ( restaurants, buildings etc) had lied to immigration pretending that 2 young women were his nieces, and had them trapped , prisoners in one of of his apartment, reduced to being his sex slaves. One of them died tragically and the whole ordeal was revealed. So now Summer wrote a story about a woman who got caught in a similar web.I will go to her reading at Moe's in Berkeley on April 28 at 7:30 PM and I cannot wait to read the book.

fish and currry

O.K, lets' start with the fish part. It is spring time and the plants need a little attention, some stroking, and an occasional treat: I keep a nice little jug of fish emulsion that I mix with water, and the whole fancy cocktail gets greedily absorbed by the thirsty roots.So, I had gotten started on the process and left the jug next to the shed.One morning, the jug was tipped over, and the gooey drink had spilled a bit in a crusty river worthy of Andy G. I am bad with tops, always have, and often fail to screw them tight.This time, the top was secure, but the next morning the jug was over on the other side of the lemongrass roots that I keep wet in a saucer before I can figure out where to plant them. a little weird, but I assume some night creatures ( raccoons , opossums, squirrels,leprechauns) were fond of the stuff.Then, yesterday, as I am getting ready to water my new herbal plot:no jug, gone. What the hell ! got on my knees, looked under the shed, and thought for a minute that I was getting loopy. I imagined a grinning raccoon, teeth clenched around the pink plastic top, climbing over the fence, looking forward to his bouillabaisse that day .... now, what ?
Now on to the curry:
Have you seen or heard of curry leaves ? cooked with them ? I was just working on a project with Indian spices and learned that curry leaves are not part of the curry powder concoction. they are used widely to make all kinds of curry dishes ( actually a curry is really a dish, vegetarian or not, that is mixed with different ingredients and a sauce, it doesn't have to look yellow).The small pointy leaves ( looking a little like fresh bay leaves) are usually thrown fresh, in the pot with oil, cumin seeds, turmeric and what not, then when translucent and a little toasted, the rest of the dish is added and tossed in the fragrant melange.

on roasting beets

For a long time, I thought it was a burdensome step.Why not throw them in a pot of boiling water and call it done. In France, beets are sold always pre-cooked, little wrinkled black shrinking heads piled up high on the side of limy green butter lettuces and tarragon branches. Let's say that they are not pretty like that and probably that counts a lot on their ending up ( or not)in the shopping bag and on a plate.I had never seen a beet leaf before coming to California. I wonder what they do with all the greens then...
So, I would boil my beets and make o.k salads, but I would also grate them for cold borsch with a little lemon, dill, dash of sherry vinegar and for that, boiling seemed fine.
The burden is worth it.The house smells like chocolate as beets crack their skins under the unrelenting high heat of the oven and the olive oil baste. they release their sugar that caramelizes wonderfully. The red beets are more pungent, the golden beets more subtle.A glorious salad they made with arugula, walnuts, and Point Reyes Blue cheese.

go see the show !

here is a local review of a group show I mentioned earlier.

express

garnish or not ?

As I was saying about shoulder pads and strobe or sun shadows, fads come and go, style dictate our buying decisions,and new replaces the old that replaced the new.... When I started food styling, it was all about the pretty garnish. I would spend hours scouring farmers' markets, obscure ethic stores,and public gardens in search of the unique, the freshest, the required zucchini blossoms, fruits on the branch or borage flowers.it was a lot for the lushness of the look and the newness of ingredients, some,suddenly rediscovered. I wondered often how easy it was to find these things for the average consumer .....Now, we are in a no garnish phase.Food as is, as you would cook it for your own diner: appetizing,yes, but straightforward,honest,simple and a bit messy.
But then, there are times where simplicity screams for bold details, like a scarf around a purse handles,or a thick lemon slice that will bring a different color to a plate and make it mouth watering. Which brings me to this shot of a simple green soup of leek and peas with..garnish. so garnish or not ?