5-31…Capellini with broccoli and sea scallops

Today is Thursday, which means veggies from the CSA folks, which resulted in a beautiful head of fresh broccoli, which translates to a broccoli laden pasta dish.  A quick look in the freezer revealed a package of sea scallops which will be a perfect companion to the broccoli.

INGREDIENTS:

Pasta

Broccoli Florets

Sea scallops

Olive oi

Garlic….pressed

onion

Anchovy fillets…2, finely chopped

Fresh basil an dill

Fresh lemon juice

Dry white wine, one generous splash

PROCESS:

Cook the garlic and anchovies in the olive oil, along with the red pepper flakes.  Add the chopped onion, herbs, scallops and broccoli.  After 2-3 minutes add some wine and cook over low-medium heat while the pasta is cooking.

Add the pasta to the pan and mix well.  Drizzle with olive oil and add the lemon juice before serving.

COMMENTS:

Patience is a pushover after I serve scallops, broccoli, and angel hair pasta.  I will find out later just how good this dish was.

I thought it was sgreat.

BEANS & GREENS

Thanks to our new Midtown Market tonight we are enjoying a classic southern Italian dish that was a staple in our home…beans & greens, Escarole and white beans in a chicken broth, topped with grated cheese and served with thick slices of bread.  (I grew up knowing only two kinds of bread, “bread”, which was any Italian bread, and “American bread”, which was any sliced white bread.)

I’ve prepared this dish many times, but have had to use a variety of other greens; Escarole has been hard to find in Paducah…until now.  Hopefully it will become a staple in the market.

 

INGREDIENTS:

Escarole

Olive oil

Garlic

Red pepper flakes

White beans – tonight we had Great Northern Beans

Fresh basil and oregano

Josh’s Ciabatta bread

Grana Padana cheese

PROCESS:

Blanch the greens in boiling water for 3-5 minutes.  In the meantime heat the olive oil and add 2 cloves of pressed garlic, red pepper flakes, spices, and the beans (with their liquid).

When the greens are tender to taste add them to the pan and cook for about 2 more minutes.  Serve with the grated cheese and thick slices of bread.

COMMENTS:

So simple and so good.  In an instant I am back in my mother’s kitchen.

note...I had kind of bad day today, and this made it so much better!

PAINTINGS HAPPEN

My paintings originate from a variety of sources and inspiration.  Some, like the one shown below, come from a specific scene or structure that I’ve seen and photographed.  Although I often take liberty with surroundings and background, the primary subject is portrayed accurately.

The third barn - from a Livingston Co. farm...acrylic...36x36

Other paintings are based rather loosely on something I’ve seen; I may borrow the composition and create my own mood, or borrow the mood and adapt it to a different composition or setting.

Kent Co. Farm (Delaware)...acrylic...24x30

After so many years of painting landscapes, with and without barns and farms, I am able to paint from memory and imagination, creation my own scenes and buildings.

Somewhere Else...acrylic...48x60

Each category presents its own set of challenges and satisfaction, and I enjoy working in all of them.  But, if I had to pick just one, I would go with painting from memory and imagination; this offers me the most room to explore and look for new ways to express myself.

I GOTTA GET OUT OF THIS PLACE

Harvey is right.  I spend way too much time in my head, ruminating about everything and anything, but mostly about my art.  When I first began painting my biggest concern was that I be taken seriously, and not seen as some doctor dabbling in art on his days off.  I wanted my work to be “serious” art, although I had no idea what serious art was, and still don’t.  But for the most part I was comfortable doing what I did, thinking of myself as a storyteller with my drawings and paintings of city life.

Some thirty years later I find myself more unsettled than ever before, despite considerable improvement in my understanding and execution of my craft.  The questions abound.  What should I paint, large colorful landscapes, small drawings and sketches of the world around me, realistic pastels, abstract clay mono types, or meticulous architectural rendering with watercolor?  Shouldn’t I focus on developing my skills in one or two mediums, rather than working in all of them and being that Jack of all trades and master of none?   Theses concerns may seem silly to others, and I must admit that as I’m writing this, they seem rather ridiculous to me now.  But unfortunately they are very real.

The solution of course is obvious; paint whatever I want to paint, in whatever medium and whatever size I fancy, and throw out all the questions because they don’t matter.  And with that sentence I have experienced the therapeutic powers of journaling; the questions that haunted me 30 minutes ago no longer do so and I have managed to get out of my head…at least for a while. 

Yesterday's work:

 Roiled sky...acrylic in progress...24x48"

 Do you know where this is (in Paducah)?...pen, ink, markers...10x8"

HUMBLE PIE

The disaster was inevitable.  I had been wallowing in self-satisfaction, thinking of myself as the complete package, artist, writer, and a kitchen master who could do more than just cook pasta.  Last night I was going to treat my sweet wife, (who has never, ever, even once, complained about all the pasta I serve her), to a special dinner…grilled flank steak with veggies, and fresh beets and beat greens.  She loves fresh beets.

I cut up the zucchini, broccoli, and onions and marinated them in oil and seasoning, blanched the beet greens, sautéed them in olive oil with garlic, and went out to the breezeway to turn on the gas grill.  While the grill was heating up I and placed the veggies in Aluminum pack and placed it on the grill. 

Back in the kitchen I began cooking the beets and seasoned the meat in preparation for grilling.  I returned to the breezeway when my dinner plans went up in flames, literally.  I opened the grill and was greeted by flames everywhere…from the grill, the burners, and the drip pans below.  Turning all burners down to their lowest level I spritzed everything with water; the flames diminished and I thought I could continue as planned.  With a large spatula I turned the veggie pack over and it promptly came undone, spilling half the contents out onto the grill, which quickly caught fire.  That is when I fell to my knees on the hard cement floor and begged the gods for mercy, vowing I would never allow myself to become so inflated with pride if they would save me from this fiery disaster.

Evidently they heard my plea and sent Patience to salvage the dinner while I tried to salvage my pride. Returning to the kitchen I sat and watched her work her magic, seeing solace in a glass of chilled Pinot Grigio.

Patience grilled the meat on the stovetop and saved all the veggies, which turned out to be just right, and in the end we enjoyed a very nice dinner, no thanks to me.

There remains a very prominent streak of soot on the wall behind the grill, a stark reminder of the disaster that would be dinner.

There is a lot more pasta in our future.

5-22…Fettuccine with chicken, broccoli, and zucchini

I’ve succumbed to the magic of the merry month of May and the green produce in the markets with the promise of so much more to come.  So, tonight’s dinner is Fettuccine with Broccoli, Zucchini, and a little bit of chicken, all of it enhanced by herbs now available in our small herb garden (well protected from the whippets).

INGREDIENTS:

Fettuccine

Skinless, boneless, organic chicken thighs

Broccoli florets

Zucchini

Olive oil

Garlic and onion

Fresh basil and parsley

Red pepper flakes

Sweet vermouth

Grape tomatoes, sliced

PROCESS:

Brown the chicken in olive oil, remove and deglaze pan with the wine, saving the residue with the chicken.  Add fresh oil to the pan and begin cooking the garlic and onion until soft, then add the zucchini and half of the herbs.  You have to judge when to add the broccoli and the rest of the herbs so it doesn’t get over cooked.  I add it about 5 minutes before I expect the past to be ready.  Add the pasta, and the tomatoes and mix well and enjoy.

COMMENTS:

Patience had seconds…that’s better then anything I can say about this dish.

It's not finished til it's finished

Several weeks ago I posted this painting, The Sentinel, acrylic - 16x40".  I thought I was finished and felt fairly good about the piece, but as always, I kept it on the easel where I could "keep an eye on it".
The more I looked at it the more dissatisfied I became with it, and finally took steps today to see if I could salvage the piece.



I was unhappy with the foreground; it was too symmetrical and boring and the light strip at the horizon began to irritate me.

I created one field in the foreground, incorporating colors from the sky, and I think it improves things considerably.