pitcher picture

I alternate between nature and design.Nature is loose and colorful, design is controlled and muted. I guess it express different sides of my sensibility. It shows my balance, my moderation, my layers.

caddyland

If you have shopped at the Berkeley Bowl, you know what I am talking about. You need to be calm, never feeling in a hurry, with a smile on your face, ready to see the humor in the madness. Well, it is the same approach when you live in Paris and go to your weekly open air market.It is a waltz, a tango of caddies, wheels interlocking in a choreography of angry bitter stressed out parisiennes. But ah the produce, the flowers, the fish....... the pink asparagus ( see below)
to relax, off to the terrace they go, finally ready to exhale and sip a cafe, watch bodies go by, and dwell. or go sit on a modern sculpture and listen to a magical violonist, or if the weather turns nice, behave as if the quais were a beach and soak the sun and view......

paris blues ( and pinks)

When I got there, the chestnuts trees were all in bloom. Quite a sight, as the soft pink and white blossoms opened under the summery skies. It was so hot that you wanted some cool desert to get a blast of bracing flavors.In this case a "verrine" which is a dish, sweet or salty presented in a glass, this one made by Herme .Layers of: syrup of balsamic reduction,genoise,spaghetti cooked in strawberry sauce, genoise, puree of fresh strawberries and mascarpone quenelle....At the outdoor market, I found the first asparagus of the season.Now, you also find the green ones, but I grew up with the white, thick as butchers fingers and delicately tinted by spring dew.Dipped in mayonnaise,they brought me back to an age of wonder and fleeting bliss in the seasons.Walking through the lovely gardens that border the Louvre, I was amazed at the skills of gardening and pruning these trees to the precise square shape, with the inner dome. There was a control in the symmetry and bondage of nature that reminded me of Japanese culture, and in a way explained the attraction that both society have for each other.

going super green

a most wonderful day in Napa the other day with a stop at UBUNTU where J and I had lunch after a yoga class.The food speaks for itself in these images.Beauty of ingredients, done with care, attention and lightness,beauty of presentation, and balance in the tastes and texture.very good , very very good indeed.
It was a busy day, and when I returned home, there was only time to put together my beet borsch previously cooked.

Beet Borsch:
peel beets, put them in water just enough to cover. add salt, dash of raspberry vinegar.cook until tender.cool.grate beets and pour back in "beet broth" adding lemon juice, more salt if needed, more vinegar if needed,top with yogurt, dill and a dash of 'piment d'espelette".savor.