bounty

It is in the richness of colors, and the never ending flavors that boggles my mind and taste buds.It is the diversity of birdsongs that starts as soon as the first inkling of daylight breaks that i enjoy, it is in the range of miracles that I witness daily:
the bouquet of tie dye leaves holding the muddy beet right after it was pulled from the ground:

It is in the orange colors of mandarins and turmeric for an indian food shoot:

It is the delight in sharing a late afternoon moment on a sun splashed deck for tea with J, or in a light filled room with C.

pink love

On a overcast day like today, it is nice to travel South, where my heart sits quietly, waiting for my return.It is a world of bright colors,extremes, and passion. a world of delicious food, simple often but lusty and rich.
coconut mango shrimp ceviche, grilled fish tacos and a cactus pear soda will brighten any day. I swear !
photos by W. Nordeck

transition

That butternut squash was taking too much space in the crisper for too long. I admit,It is always good to have on hand, for cubing with parsley and garlic as a side dish, for a warming gratin at the end of the week or for that luscious nutty tasting soup that we all love:make it asian with ginger and coconut milk, make it french with creme fraiche, make it spanish with smoked paprika, any wihich way, it is always delicious. But it had to come to an end after all, and make space for the asparagus and strawberries.
without forgetting the tulips:



It is spring , my friends, glorious and vivid, with flowers everywhere, noisy (in a good way) birds,busy squirrels.

Today, I drove to an idyllic valley, south of San francisco, to work in a converted barn. This was a capture of the moment when I stepped outside:

away

I have been absent from here for sometime, traveling to the Midwest for work. I am starting to know my way around Chicago, the girlhood city of my paternal grandmother.Crossing the river at Michigan avenue, where some 19th century building still stand,among skyscrapers, I try to imagine that her eyes rested on those a little bit like mine did, up to the top, where the fog could have suspended too.
On my week end off, i visited a couple of museums.The small but wonderful Museum of Contemporary art where a room installation of William Kentridge's movies filled me with astonished wonder. His world is magical,nostalgic., engrossing and utterly different.

He puts himself in situations of creativity where artistic inspiration comes and goes, evanescent and perplexing. often using some techniques of stop animation.
I also visited the Art Institute, making a tour of the impresionnists rooms, where I could stop in front of many Degas and wonder how he could have been so bold all the way back then. There is also a wonderful new addition, a modern wing ,white and light filled where I came upon canvases by Marlene Dumas, that I love, surprisingly another South African like Kendridge.

For lunch I indulged at Terzo Piano, the new restaurant there, where the appetizer was a show stopper presentation of smokefish, cracker and olives.The taste was less impressive, unfortunately.The room is beautiful though, and in a sea of white, I found my way out to even more artful treats.

bean bag

As I was pulling the snap peas out of their meshy grave, they resisted and got stuck in suspension.
It was like an arte povera moment, where simple ingredients play their role in creating a moment of artistic grace.