Carolina Wren #4

To see what I have been up to lately please visit my printmaking blog.

Still Life with Spirals - 36" x 48" Oil on Canvas

I was very happy to be notified that this painting was accepted to the upcoming show "Painting: The Artful Palette" at the Foundry Art Centre in St. Charles, MO.  The opening is from 6-9PM on August 27th.

Squash Soufflé

This is a great, relatively easy way to use up some of that summer squash and zucchini you have an abundance of.  This recipe is from "The Vegetarian Feast" by Martha Rose Shulman - a great cookbook.

1 1/2 lbs summer squash

1 TBSP salt (preferably sea salt)

1/2 onion

1 TBSP plus 2 tsp olive oil

4 eggs, beaten

1/4 cup grated cheddar or gruyére cheese

1/2 cup cottage cheese

1/2 cup whole-wheat bread crumbs

2 TBSP chopped fresh parsley (I prefer fresh basil)

Freshly ground pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Grate Squash ( I use grater disc with food processor) and toss with salt.  Let sit for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, saute the onion in 2 tsp of the olive oil until tender.  Combine with the beaten eggs, grated cheese, cottage cheese, bread crumbs, parsley and the salt and pepper to taste.

Squeeze out the excess water from the squash and rinse well.  Squeeze in a towel to dry, then stir into the egg-cheese mixture.  Turn into an oiled 1-quart casserole or souffle dish.  Drizzle the remaining 1 TBSP oilve oil over the top and bake for 45 minutes.

Des Peres Snowfall (Landscape Oil Painting)

I guess when it is hot outside I have to try and put myself someplace else.  This past winter I shot a number of photos early one morning as the sun was coming up.  The trees caused such a wonderful luminous pattern on the snow.  The photos have been sitting around for a time, but I finally did something with one of them.  This painting measures 8" x 10" and is painted on a gessoed ampersand panel.

Barrier in the Snow

I keep tweaking this painting.  I think I am done.  Famous last words.

If you scroll down a few posts you will see 4 previous stages of this painting.

Oil on 1/8" Ampersand Hardbord Panel

18" x 36" ©2010

Stir Fried Sichuan Green Beans

I recently made this recipe and it was VERY good.  It's from Cook's Illustrated.

2 TBSP soy sauce

1 TBSP dry sherry

1 tsp sugar

1/3 tsp cornstarch

1/4 tsp ground white pepper

1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

1/4 tsp dry mustard

2 TBSP water

2 TBSP vegetable oil

1 pound green beans, ends trimmed, cut into 2-inch pieces

1/4 pound ground pork

3 medium garlic cloves, minced or pressed through garlic press (about 1 TBSP)

1 TBSP minced fresh ginger

3 scallions, white and light green parts sliced thin

1 tsp toasted sesame oil

1. In small bowl, stir together soy sauce, sherry , sugar, cornstarch, white pepper, pepper flakes mustard, and water until sugar dissolves; set aside.

2. Heat oil in 12-inch nonstick skillet over hight heat until just smoking.  Add beans and cook, stirring frequently, until crisp-tender and skins are shriveled and blackened in spots, 5 to 8 minutes (reduce heat to medium-high if beans darken too quickly).  Transfer beans to large plate.

3. Reduce heat to medium-high and add pork to now-empty skillet.  Cook, breaking pork into small pieces, until no pink remains, about 2 minutes.  Add garlic and ginger; cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, 15 to 20 seconds.  Stir sauce to recombine and return beans to pan with sauce.  Toss and cook until sauce is thickened, 5 to 10 seconds.  Remove pan from heat and stir in scallions and sesame oil. 

To make this dish vegetarian, substitute 4 ounces of shitake mushrooms, stemmed and minced, for the pork.  If using mushrooms, add a tsp of oil to the pan in step 3 before adding the mushrooms.

Barrier in the Snow

This shows three stages I went through with this painting.  I think I'm pretty much there, but have to put it aside for a while and think about it.  I was inspired by a very simple, but beautiful photo that my sister emailed me.  The photo is gorgeous as is, but I had to try and see what I could do with it.  This painting is on panel and measures 18" x 36".