Oregon

There are two big food companies in a little town in Southern oregon, and I am working for one of them for 2 weeks. It is set in a valley, where the summer heat punches down relentlessly. I drove around yesterday to this small quaint town at the edge of another valley where rolling hills covered in vineyards and orchards hugged low mountains covered in pine forests.stunningly beautiful. Looking at the real estate offerings in a couple of business in town, I could quickly see the difference with the Bay Area: 6 rolling acres, 2 story wood structure house, view etc... $ 450.000......But then, it is isolated, and too hot for some ... but I like the heat, it quickly makes me fall into a vacation mode, with breakfast outdoors, and air conditionning in the car,ice water, life in tank tops and flip flops.

new colors

Doesn't this feel like summer all suddenly on a plate ? gone are the asparagus,welcome corn, peppers and all that sing the colors of the South( by the South I mean Provence, Italy, Spain, North Africa etc).
For the 4th, we started with a homemade concoction with all my favorites: white nectarine, rose wine, cointreau, vodka and June'smeyer lemon and mint syrup.
It is called a nectarine sangria martini and it is so good that I will let you in on the recipe at Pouke's kitchen soon.....

summer tastes

I love to go to a job in the Santa Cruz mountains.After reaching the summit and making a turn into the forest, I feel the sense of quietness and beauty that nature brings.The descent to the valley below is staggering with dips and turns, redwoods, meadows, farmlands finally.The decor is stunning, the fields covered with wild sweet peas, cows and horses in pastures, the air soft and clear.After work, we stopped at a local organic farm stand where I wanted to buy everything.The baskets of raspberries beckoned with their deep ruby color and picked from the vine freshness. I put one in my mouth and experienced the essence of the perfect berry:sweet, juicy.simply served with whipped cream ( with powdered sugar and vanilla) for desert the night I brought them back was a delight. Tonight cajeta ( a mexican caramel made with goat milk, sugar and baking soda ) will be served over vanilla ice cream with maccademia chocolate chip cookies. The marble potatoes will get roasted with the pink garlic heads,the delicate lettuce tossed with lemon and olive oil, dusted with parmesan . I love organic farm stands !

black is black....

Back in my studio, I have been using tons of black. My faces are surrounded by black, my still lives are black scratches, and I like the shots of food on black. I am fond of this shot.It is weird, may be a little grotesque, but bold.

paper and water

Saturday was like a Provencal summer . Hot, for this part of the world, but I totally loved it. Went to an opening for a big show where books are the inspiration for art.Loved this piece:

then, on such a balmy night like we have so rarely, we had to have an alfresco diner... with a view, please. So we headed to Fish, in Sausalito, and had a delicious meal, with the sky, above us, finally enveloping the scenery in a big navy blue velvet glove.Their Portuguese fish stew is memorable and significant adored their oysters.



On the way out, in the dark parking lot, a scuffle was taking place.A man, resisting arrest was pinned to the ground by 4 policemen.It was a disturbing and odd sight, for this part of the Bay.

Sunday we packed early and headed out for the beach.Pique nique , newspaper, treats, sun and sand between the toes, and then glorious swimming with the salty waves slapping my face refreshingly.


the tide was coming in and I had to walk far to be able to swim.
On the way home, a sign advertised BBQ oysters, so we stopped and by the side of the country road, sat a a table with the sun
going down,my skin itchy from the sea, and significant had another platter of oysters.I ate the buttered crusty toasted bread, dipped in the tabasco style sauce....

a sweet afternoon

Mother's day had to be postponed.Finally we had our moment together.First we stopped at Flax where Dot wanted to treat me to new soft brushes, paint knives and mini tabletop easel.Then it was off to Hayes street to check a couple of stores. We stopped at Dish, a white and airy boutique where spiffed up espadrilles and tiny leather dots skirt caught my eye.Plus an incredible watercolor artist, Zeneida Sengo showed her work on the walls. I also loved Birch, an exquisite flower shop with couture tulips and hand made vases ,design magazines and artist books. We stopped at Paulette for tea time sustenance and had French macarons, that I thought were better than in Paris.For one, they were super fresh and the biscuit was tender, the filling intense.Coconut for me, passion fruit for Dot : tropical bliss in a mini treat.
Drove to the Mission to have a look at Paxton Place, The pirates store and dog eared books to browse. I love their selection of graphic novels.We walked to Cha Cha Cha for an early diner , sangria pitcher to share, with secrets and dreams.

garbage still life

Back in the 70's and 80's, a bunch of terrorists attacks were panicking and killing Parisians. Bombs would blow up metro lines or garbages cans on busy pedestrian streets. I think it was the garbage can in front of a popular store on the busy rue de rennes that made the authorities change the look of the garbage can into a turquoise or lemon yellow plastic bag, where supposedly no bomb can be hidden( there is still the message : vigilance,cleanliness) .So far, so good, no more bombs, but really those garbages bags are truly atrocious to look at, and so flimsy with the orange tie ribbon floating in the wind... the only way is to turn them into a artsy collage or to do a sort of anthropological study of Parisian casual eating and drinking habits.recycling is random still.

roasting in the heat

Somehow the word roasted on a recipe or a menu pulls at the comfort strings, and at the salivary glands where the anticipation of caramelized bits of concentrated flavors beckon.So, when I read about this pastry chef who was roasting her strawberries, it stopped me in my tracks: different, bold, may be intensely good.... definitively to try.
You toss them in sugar until they gloss, and put them in a glass dish, all snuggly, at 200 for 2 1/2 hours. What you get is the fruit still intact, but all juicy and enhanced with a ruby syrup to drizzle on your meyer lemon yogurt from St Benoit that you had topped with the roasted beauties.

my version

E of Yummysupper has always great recipes and photos to share. Plus she is a Berkeley girl and it is always fun to see what she is up to.Her last post got to me...I have said it before, I am a crazy heart when it comes to salads with fruits in them. And I LOVE stone fruits.white nectarine specially. So I modified the recipe a bit, omitting the T.Keller bit about the fruit puree ( I am sure it added another dimension to the dressing, but for weeknight salad,it seemed too much) and kept it simple with only white endives.It was delicious.Next time I will shave some manchego alongside.
thanks E !( for recipe ,go to yummy supper)

the euro lunch concept

You invite good friends, hoping for sun ,since you have a "party deck" all set up for that, you offer great tasty food and many bottles of rosé, you grill some khebabs, the kids roast marshmallows on the open pit, you celebrate your birthday in a French way, a leisurely long Sunday lunch, where laughter grows in intensity as Tavel empties......As we drove home,the wind was picking up, the waves were white and high,the coastline always spectacular. What a great day ! thanks !