New Food idioms

Clotilde at Chocolate and Zucchini has issued a compendium of non-French food idioms sent in my readers for the give away she had of our book Edible French.

Here are a few of my illustrations of her article.  As always, so much fun to be involved by doing my favorite thing ever!

Tomorrow is always new

As hard as a day can be I always go to sleep thinking tomorrow is a new gift. I know we are told to live in the moment. but there is something magical about the infinite possibilities in tomorrow. They are, today, just that, possibilities and we get to model them in our heads and dress them up or down as  our imagination wants. whether they come true or not the next day, at least we'll always have the possibilities of tomorrow!

Latest from the vegetable patch

A few paintings to hang in the kitchen...

Dream Map

This is a little island I made up. Nice to go there for the holidays. But cliffs of pirate hazards to be avoided!!  What is your ideal spot?

Pasteils de Nata

This is "tarte au flan" in a miniature, richer and cinnamony-er version. Lots of egg yolks for a deep yellow soft set custard,  with a slightly burnt sugar crust on top.  The dough is flaky crunchy and buttery. No short crust here.

They are all over in Lisbon, on every cafe counter, and often served with a deep black expresso. These ones were still hot when bought them. 

The trick I was told is to make the sides of the puff pastry crust thicker by taking a disk and flattening the center to push the dough to the sides. 

Sketching and moving - avocado and clementine.

First time I can sketch after we moved house. It took a month to unearth the painting supplies. I painted what was at hand in the fruit bowl, on the kitchen table since there is no other painting space right now.

My Hyde Park stick was also right there in my pen box. I found it a while ago in hyde park, carved exactly as is. The soft wood nib is perfect for ink drawings, as its purple end shows.  

Mon Canard

Easter Week-end in Dorset. Our city kids really enjoy the wild peacocks in the garden and other abundant fowls in the forest house.

Tigress Milk

This recipe for Tigress Milk I heard is from creole inspiration. This is a very good alternative to a grog when feeling under the weather or very cold, as the England weather might cause you to be. ...

Works on Paper fair

The Works on Paper Fair in South Kensington is always so inspirational, energising.  I came home with a wonderful purchase and a head full of beautiful art.

A simple sketch that poured down on some 19th century catalogue of a Royal Academy exhibition was one of the few experiments of this week-end.

A Full English

A "full English" is the full UK traditional breakfast.  Eggs, baked beans, mushroom, bacon and tomatoes and even sausages. And fried toast! 

So abstract is not there yet...obviously! These are a few studies for the royal watercolor Society competition... I plan to submit something, just toying with ideas for now.  

Chestnut honey

In England the honey production this year has been very low.  Lots of sugar fed to bees for their survival did not even ensure a good level of honey.  In the South of France, not as much. The production this year was lower but healthy.  We loaded up on kilos of the gold stuff to bring back to London. And had to draw the light coming through my favorite flavor, chesnut honey.

Eggs - continued, wolves and MFK Fisher

Started to read the Art of Eating by MFK Fisher, lots of fantastic quotes and reasons for a few doodle... Both strike a chord about recent experiences.

Want one of them, or any quote illustration, as Kitchen art? contact us!

Easter in Cumbria

We spent Easter in the Lake District of England, a wonderful place full of cold pure streams, ancient stone circles, high valleys and peaks.  We had spring lamb, farm eggs, local honey.  We made bread with our sourdough (brought from London, like a pet - it needs to be fed!) and the local water-milled stoneground biodynamic flour.  The lovely mill is next to Long Meg stone circle and includes a café with chicken running free outside and the view onto the stream.  The region clearly has a love of huge earthy crumbly fruit scones.

At the Keswick market, we got some Benzoin and lemon-scented gardener's hand cream made by a local women under the name of  "Essential Spirit". 

The market lady sent us to Calbeck, a stunning village full of energy and streams, with a church named after the local Celtic saint St Kentigern ! Lots of amazing mystical stories attached to this saint, hard to imagine it is an official Catholic saint!  He is featured on the Glasgow coat of arms, with the main features of his legend:
Here is the bird that never flew
Here is the tree that never grew
Here is the bell that never rang
Here is the fish that never swam

 

 

 

Happy Easter-Pigging out

We have 2 days of bank holidays here in the UK, so time to relax (albeit in the snow...) and "pig out" on the piles of chocolate that will no doubt materialize!  I hope to get my pencils out a bit during these 4 days and bring back sketches of the rural parts of the Lake District!  In the meantime HAPPY EASTER!