Imam Bayildi: A dish of transcendence – Ιμαμ Μπαιλντι

“Εδω Παπας, εκει Παπας, πουναι ο Παπας, πουναι ο Παπας; ”

Σημερα ο Παπας χαθηκε οχι απο τα επιδεξια χερια καποιου αετονυχη μαγκα στους δρομους της Ομονοιας αλλα απο την καταναλωση του εδεσματος περι ου η σημερινη αναρτηση. Λιποθυμησε ο Παπας (ο Ιμαμης επι το ακριβεστερο) λεει η ιστορια, μολις εφαγε αυτες τις θεικες μελιτζανες, κι ετσι δοθηκε και το ονομα “Ο Παπας Λιποθυμησε”.

Η σημερινη συνταγη ειναι ελαφρωτατη και ευγεστωτατη, αρκει να εχουμε τα καλυτερα υλικα.

Ξεκινω λοιπον με τις μελιταζανες, που πρεπει να ειναι Τσακωνικες και να μεινουν (αφου καθαριστουν οι ακρες) τουλαχισοτν μια ωρα σε αλατισμενο νερο.

Ομορφες Τσακωνικες Μελιτζανες
Ομορφες Τσακωνικες Μελιτζανες

Για να ειναι ελαφρα η μελιτζανα, μπαινει στο φουρνο να μαραθει για μιση ωρα, με λιγο λαδακι για να μην κολλησει στο ταψι. Δεν τηγανιζω λοιπον, απλα μαραινω στο φουρνο.

Μαραμενες οι Τσακωνες! (αλλα οχι οι βιολες)
Μαραμενες οι Τσακωνες! (αλλα οχι οι βιολες)

Στο μεταξυ εχω ψιλοκοψει τουλαχιστον δυο κιλα κρεμμυδια και τα αφηνω να καραμελωσουν με αφθονο μαιντανο.

Το μπαιλντι θελει πολυ κρεμμυδι!
Το μπαιλντι θελει πολυ κρεμμυδι!

Στη διπλανη κατσαρολα σιγοβραζει ενα κοτοπουλακι και παιρνω λιγο λιγο ζωμο απο εκει και τον ριχνω στα κρεμμυδια στα οποια τωρα εχω προσθεσει και τις ολοκληρες ντοματες ΚΥΚΝΟΣ (οι καλυτερες).

Η γεμιση της μελιτζανας
Η γεμιση της μελιτζανας

Οπως παντα, χοντρο αλατι και πιπερι και ενα δυο σκελιδες σκορδο για να σπασει η μονοτονια του κρεμμυδιου. Ο μεγας σεφ Γκορντον Ραμσευ προτειενει και πολλα αλλα μυρωδικα για τη γεμιση, αλλα για μενα το μυστικο ειναι στην απλοτητα και την ποιοτητα των υλικων.

Αφου δεσει λιγο η γεμιση, χαραζουμε τις μελιτζανες, και γεμιζουμε.

Ετοιμες για το φουρνο
Ετοιμες για το φουρνο

Ψηνουμε για 30 λεπτα σε 250 βαθμους, σε φουρνο που ειναι ηδη ζεστος!

Λυωνω και μονο που σε βλεπω
Λυωνω και μονο που σε βλεπω

Το κριτηριο της επιτυχιας ειναι η υφη της μελιτζανας που πρεπει να ειναι μεταξωτη, χωρις ομως να διαλυεται! Και χωρις να ειναι η φλουδα σολα! Ειπαμε, καλα υλικα, αλλα και καλη ετοιμασια!

Η λεπτομερεια
Η λεπτομερεια

Αφου ηερεμησουν για 20 λεπτα, σερβιρουμε με κατικι Δομοκου! Πολυ καλυτερο απο γιαουρτι η φετα (που ειναι πολυ δυνατη σα γευση) συνοδευει αψογα τις μελιτζανες και αναμειγνυεται με τα αρωματα και τους χυμους τους.

Καλη ορεξη και ανοιξτε κι ενα ωραιο μερλο προς πασαν απολαυσιν!

Spinach Envelopes with soft sheep’s cheese – Φακελλοι με Σπανακι και Κατικι Δομοκου

 Σημερα προτεινω κατι πολυ απλο αλλα γευστικο, που μπορει να γινει σε ελαχιστο χρονικο διαστημα και να σας ικανοποιησει τα μαλα!  Ειναι μια πιττα φακελλος, που περιεχει σπανακι με κατικι δομοκου.

 Today’s post is about a quick and tasty envelope that contains a spinach mix with soft sheep’s cheese.

The contents of the envelope
The contents of the envelope

 Το κατικι ειναι απο τα αγαπημενα μου ασπρα τυρια, και τωρα ειναι η εποχη του. Η υφη του προσδιδει ομοιογενεια στο μιγμα με το σπανακι, τα αυγα, τα κρεμμυδια και τον ανιθο. Προσθετω και λιγο κιτρινο τυρι για να ανοιξω λιγο περισσοτερο τη βενταλια των γευσεων. Οπως παντα, το σπανακι ειναι λιγο αλατισμενο και “ζουλισμενο” για να φυγουν τα νερα του, ΠΟΤΕ βρασμενο!

Ready to bake
Ready to bake

Για λογους ταχυτητας δεν ανοιξα φυλλο σημερα, πηρα ετοιμο χοντρο φυλλο. Διπλωνω το φυλλο στη μεση, και τοποθετω λιγη γεμιση στο μεσο του ορθογωνιου. Διπλωνω ωστε να εχω εναν ωραιο φακελλο, με τα διπλωμενα κομματια να ακουμπανε προς τα κατω, και φροντιζω να “κλεισω” τις ακρες με λαδακι ωστε να κολλησουν τα φυλλα μεταξυ τους.  Με το γνωστο πινελλο αλειφω ολη την επιφανεια του φακελλου με ελαιολαδο. Ψηνω στο φουρνο στους 200 βαθμους για μιση ωρα.  

The envelopes are then placed in the oven at 200 C for 30 minutes.  

Ready to serve
Ready to serve

Αφου κρυωσουν λιγο, δοκιμαζουμε και απολαμβανουμε! Αν σας μηνουν μερικα κομματια, αφηστε εξω απο το ψυγειο σκεπασμενα με μια βαμβακερη πετσετα. Η αυριανη γευση θα ειναι καλυτερη.

 They are tasty and light, and the texture of the mix is homogeneous and velvety.  

Detail
Detail

Pouches stuffed with salmon and white soft cheese – Στρουμπουλα Πιτακια με Σολωμο και Μανουρι

Σημερα εχω να παρουσιασω ενα πιατο που το ονομα του δεν μπορουσα να το βρω, κι ετσι επελεξα τον σιδηροδρομο που βλεπετε στον τιτλο.  Τα πραγματα βεβαια ειναι πολυ απλουστερα.

Κaτα τα ειωθοτα των περασμενων εβδομαδων, εψησα σε αλμη φρεσκο φιλετο σολωμου με πιπερι, ανιθο και λιγη δαφνη. Το αφησα το ψυγειο για μια εβδομαδα. Ιδου το αποτελεσμα.

Cured salmon - ελαφρα αλιπαστος σολωμος
Cured salmon - ελαφρα αλιπαστος σολωμος

Ακολουθει η κοπη σε λεπτες φετες, που εχουν μια διακριτικα αλμυρη γευση με πολλα αρωματα και πολλη φρεσκαδα.

Φετες σολωμου
Φετες σολωμου

Στο μεταξυ εχω ετοιμασει ενα ελαφρυ μιγμα για τη ζυμη, με αλευρι (χαρμανι απο ασπρο, κιτρινο και ολικης) με λιγο μπεικινγκ παουντερ, γαλα και λαδι. Κοβω ολοφρεσκο μανουρι σε χοντρες

Μανουρι
Μανουρι

φετες, και ψιλοκοβω ανιθο.

Ανοιγω με το χερι τη ζυμη και τοποθετω τον σολωμο, το μανουρι απο επανω και πασπαλιζω με τον ανιθο.

Παρασκευη - Το μιγμα
Παρασκευη - Το μιγμα

Διπλωνω τη ζυμη απο επανω, και τουμπαρω ωστε στο ταψι το μανουρι να ειναι απο κατω.

Ψημενα ετοιμα
Ψημενα ετοιμα

Ψηνουμε σε φουρνο στους 200 βαθμους για 30 λεπτα και αφηνουμε να ηρεμησουν για 10 λεπτα.

Σερβιρισμενο
Σερβιρισμενο

Το αποτελεσμα ειναι απολαυστικο, αφου το μανουρι παντρευεται το σολωμο στο πι και φι, με τον ανιθο παπα και τη ζυμη εκκλησια! Δοκιμαστε το με καπνιστο σολωμο αν δεν θελετε να μπειτε στη διαδικασια του αλιπαστου (που ομως το αξιζει!).

Νεκρες Φυσεις και ενα ερειπωμενο σπιτι – Still Lifes and one deserted house

Μετα την ερωτηση των Ορφια και Δεσποιναριον περι δικων μου εργων νεκρων φυσεων, ανεσυρα απο τα ερμαρια τα σχετικα εργα που εχω καμει και τα παρουσιαζω σημερα, μαζι με ενα ερειπωμενο σπιτι. 

After Orfia’s and Despoinarion’s request for posting some of my paintings with still life, I went to my inventory and got some pictures to share with you. I added a deserted house which I particularly like, even though it does not formally fall into the “still life” genre.

Ωραιες Ντοματες
Ωραιες Ντοματες

Ωραιες ντοματες …. εχω ωραιες μου κυριες!  (Λαδοπαστελ σε χαρτονι).

Nice Toamatoes! In the open markets of Greece, you will hear the sellers inviting the buyers to taste their nice tomatoes! (oil pastel on paper)

Κοκκινο τραπεζομαντηλο
Κοκκινο τραπεζομαντηλο

Κοκκινο τραπεζομαντηλο …. με κολοκυθακια, λεμονια, σαλτσιερα και μπλε κερι. (Λαδοπαστελ σε χαρτονι).

Red tablecloth .. with zucchini, lemons, a sauce container and a blue candle.(oil pastel on paper)

Κοκκινη Σαρκα
Κοκκινη Σαρκα

Καθως ανοιγαν οι πορτες ενος φορτηγου γεματου μοσχαρια αντικρυσα αυτην την εικονα. (Ακρυλικο σε καμβα).

As the doors of a meat carrying truck opened, I saw this sight. (acrylic on camvas).

Memento Moris
Memento Mori

Προσωπικα Αντικειμενα του Παπου Σπυρου και της Γιαγιας Αντωνιας με τριανταφυλλα απο τον κηπο πανω σε εργοχειρο. (Λαδοπαστελ σε χαρτονι).

Personal items of my Grandfather Spyros and Grandmother Antonia with roses from the garden on top of a handmade table cover (oil pastel on paper).

Ερειπωμενο Σπιτι
Ερειπωμενο Σπιτι

Κλεινω με αυτο το ερειπιο απο το Ναυπλιο, που για καποιο λογο το λατρευω. (Ακρυλικο σε καμβα).

I close this post with the deserted house somewhere in the city of Nafplion. (acrylic on camvas)

Jean-Baptiste Siméon Chardin: Food and Kitchen Paintings

Today I want to share with you my enthusiasm about Chardin’s paintings.

Marcel Proust wrote about Chardin:

“We have learned from Chardin that a pear is as living as a woman, that an ordinary piece of pottery is as beautiful as a precious stone. The painter had proclaimed the divine equality of all the things before the mind that contemplates them, before the light that beautifies them.”

Proust also wrote of the artist, “Everyday life will charm you once you have absorbed Chardin’s painting for a few days like a lesson. Then, having understood the life of his painting, you will have discovered the beauty of life.”

Self Portrait
Self Portrait

A Short Biography

November 2, 1699 – December 6, 1779

A renowned French artist of the 18th Century, Chardin was well known for his still-life works and genre paintings. His refined and realistic style had a lasting influence on some of the greatest artists of the 19th and 20th Centuries, including Henri Matisse (1869 – 1954) and Paul Cézanne (1839 – 1906). His depictions were of simple subjects, but masterful in their execution, ….

His training was under French history painters, Pierre Jacques Cazes and Noël-Nicolas Coypel (1690 – 1734), though he trained mostly from his own studies. According to the Getty Museum Biography on Chardin the painter got his start executing signposts for tradesmen and detailing the works of other artists. He was documented in 1724 as a member of the Academy of Saint Luc in Paris, but was discovered by Nicolas de Largillière (1656 – 1746), a portrait painter. Largillière recommended Chardin’s entry into the Royal Academy of Painting (Académie Royale de Peinture et de Sculpture) in 1728.

The works that garnered his acceptance into the Academy were, La Raie (The Ray) and, The Buffet, displaying his realistic representations and established his nickname as the “painter of animals and fruit.” From here Chardin developed his skill of still-life further and grew a love of painting genre works. The painter’s reputation escalated him into gainful patronage, including a pension from King Louis XV (1710 – 1774). His works continually evolved from simple still-life painting into highly detailed representations of everyday life in French society.

After 1770, Chardin began to lose his eyesight, but still progressed as an artist with his adoption of pastel painting. The artist once said of painting, “We use colors, but we paint with our feelings,” and for him still-life subjects had a life of their own. …

Source: Uffizzi Gallery

Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York USA

In celebration of the 300th anniversary of the birth of the 18th-century French artist Jean-Siméon Chardin (1699–1779), The Metropolitan Museum of Art presented a major loan exhibition of sixty-six works that survey the artist’s distinguished career as a still life and genre painter. On view from June 27, 2000 through September 3, 2000, “Chardin” was the first exhibition in New York devoted to the artist and the first in the United States in more than twenty years.

In contrast to the rococo extravagance of the paintings of his contemporaries, Chardin achieved extraordinary success as a painter of still lifes and interior scenes—then regarded as the least important of artistic genres. His work is characterized by quiet simplicity and pictorial harmony. The critic Denis Diderot wrote in 1763 that a still life by Chardin “is nature itself; the objects free themselves from the canvas and are deceptively true to life.” Chardin has continued to be greatly admired, inspiring many 19th-century artists, including Manet and Cézanne.

Philippe de Montebello, director of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, commented on the exhibition: “During his lifetime, Chardin was recognized as one of the great painters of his day and, rightfully, appreciation for his work has never waned. The Metropolitan is delighted to present the paintings of this exceptional artist to our visitors, who may not be aware of the magnitude of his accomplishments. Through Chardin’s eyes, seemingly banal objects and scenes—a copper pot, a washerwoman, a mother admonishing a child, a basket of wild strawberries—are infused with an uncommon degree of emotional intensity in compositions of exquisite balance and beauty. Rejecting the styles and subjects of his contemporaries, such as Boucher and Fragonard, Chardin elevated the still life to a noble art form and achieved a place for himself as a quiet revolutionary in the pantheon of art history.”

The Skate
The Skate

Jean-Baptiste Siméon CHARDIN
The Skate c. 1725-1726

© Musée du Louvre/A. Dequier – M. Bard

This early masterpiece by Chardin was immediately judged worthy of the finest Flemish examples (Snyders, Flyt). In The Skate, “this strange monster”, Proust admired “the beauty of its vast and delicate structure, tinted with red blood, blue nerves and white muscles, like the nave of a polychromatic cathedral”.

Placed in contrast to the cauldron and pitcher — inert accessories at the right — to the left appears the tense and strange figure of a kitten, fur raised, seemingly frightened by a scene taking place outside of the painting. The skinned skate, evocative of Rembrandt’s Slaughtered Ox, with the odd assortment of objects arranged around it, was a source of astonishment to all painters — even as far as Matisse — for the riveting power of the animal’s vacant and ghostly gaze. The realism of the different elements of this false still life has forever served as a model to artists.

Musee du Louvre 

Still Life with Cat and Fish
Still Life with Cat and Fish

CHARDIN, Jean Baptiste Simeon

Still-Life With Cat and Fish. (Le Larron en Bonne Fortune), 1728
Oil on canvas
79,5 x 63 cm

Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid

Still Life with Cat and Rayfish
Still Life with Cat and Rayfish

CHARDIN, Jean Baptiste Simeon
Still-Life With Cat and Rayfish, c. 1728
Oil on canvas
79,5 x 63 cm

Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid

Chardin is represented in the museum by three exceptional still lifes: the present pair, dated 1728, and a still life with a jug and copper cauldron from a few years later. Chardin’s work falls within a naturalising trend which co-existed with the Rococo in eighteenth-century France. The key element in his canvases is the object, which varies and changes its role within the painting according to its relationship with the other elements painted in it. It has been said that Chardin is the painter of the bourgeoisie, who appear in his paintings of the 1730s surrounded by everyday objects which form part of their surroundings. Chardin’s still lifes depict the painter’s favourite objects which were part of his own intimate daily life and which he frequently reused in his paintings. Very few preparatory drawings by Chardin are known, which is consistent with what we know of his distinctive working method. Mariette, in his book Abecedario pittorico of 1749 (published 1853), commented that the artist always had to have the model in front of him from the first sketch to the last brushstroke. From Mariette we also know that Chardin sold his paintings for higher prices than those realised by other artists working in more prestigious genres such as figure painting.

This pair of canvases, formerly in the collection of Baron Edmond de Rothschild, was purchased in 1986. Both canvases show the influence of Dutch painting which is evident in Chardin’s earliest works, in which he adapted northern subjects and formats to his own taste. The Still Life with Cat and Fish is signed and dated 1728. The date, which is difficult to read, was recorded in the literature prior to 1979 as 1758. This was rectified by Rosenberg and Carrit at the time of the 1979 Chardin exhibition when the dating was revised to 1728, which is more in line with the style of this pair of oils. On 25 September of that year Chardin was admitted to the Académie as a painter of fruits and animals.

It is during this period -from which date two of his masterpieces,The Rayfish of around 1725, and The Buffet of 1728- that one can most easily detect the influence of Dutch still life painting. At this point Chardin also started to include the presence of animals into his world of silent inanimate objects, disturbing the tranquility of the composition by their movements. The present two canvases, which are based on simple compositional arrangements (a stone kitchen surface on which are arranged the animals, the mortar, the oysters, salmon, vegetables and crockery), form a contrasting horizontal with the fish hanging from the hooks. The rich colouring, applied with generous quantities of pigment and with delicate brushstrokes all over the picture surface, create a realistic image filled with visual integrity. The range of whites which Chardin uses here for the fish scales and the fur of the animals would be admired by artists of the next generation such as Descamps. There are two variants of these canvases in the Nelson-Atkins Museum and the Burrell Collection, Glasgow.

Mar Borobia

The Buffet
The Buffet

The Buffet
1728
Oil on canvas, 194 x 129 cm
Musée du Louvre, Paris

Still life with jar of olives
Still life with jar of olives

Still-Life with a Bottle of Olives
1760
Oil on canvas, 71 x 98 cm
Musée du Louvre, Paris

At the salon of 1763, the philosopher Denis Diderot rhapsodised over Chardin’s picture of “an old Chinese porcelain vessel, two biscuits, a jar full of olives, a bowl of fruit, two glasses half-filled with wine, a Seville orange and a pie”. It was the honesty that Diderot loved: “For this porcelain bowl is made of real porcelain; these olives really do look as if they are floating in water; these biscuits are just waiting to be picked up and eaten; this Seville orange to be split open and squeezed; this glass of wine to be drunk; this fruit to be peeled; this pie to be cut into.”

Bee Wilson, New Statesman, 3rd April 2000

The Kitchen Table
The Kitchen Table

The Kitchen Table (1755?)

Oil on canvas
39.7 x 47.6 cm (15 5/8 x 18 3/4 in.)
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

This still life of humble kitchen wares, and another depicting elegant serving utensils, were exhibited as a pair at the Salon of 1757. Close examination reveals that Chardin changed the position of many objects as he painted, evidence of his painstaking craftsmanship and determination to create harmonious balance in what appear to be casual groupings. The reworking of the mortar and pestle at the right is most apparent to the naked eye.

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

Still Life with Utensils
Still Life with Utensils

Still Life with Cooking Utensils, c. 1728-30

Jean-Baptiste Siméon Chardin
French, 1699-1779
Oil on canvas (one of a pair)
15-3/4 x 12-3/8 in. (40.0 x 31.4 cm)

The Norton Simon Foundation

This painting is “provisions de cuisine,” displaying food and kitchen utensils for a simple meal. Though these items appear casually arranged, the utensils are the creation of a painter’s world of carefully calculated visual relationships. In “Still Life with Cooking Utensils,” the visual weight of the white cloth spilling over the ledge matches the similar disposition of the green onions. The handle of the water jug counters the emphatic circular sweep of the kettle, whose hollowness adds depth to the arrangement. Chardin’s still lifes are not experiments in trompe l’oeil, as one look at his surfaces will tell, but rather simultaneous confrontations between object and paint.

Chardin-Dead-Bird-large

Still-Life with Dead Pheasant and Hunting Bag
1760
Oil on canvas, 72 x 58 cm
Staatliche Museen, Berlin

 

Source: Food in the Arts Refound 

 

Basket of Wild Strawberries
Basket of Wild Strawberries

Basket of Wild Strawberries, 1761
Jean-Siméon Chardin (French, 1699–1779)
Oil on canvas; 15 x 18 1/8 in. (38 x 46 cm)
Signed (lower left): chardin
Private collection



Mackerel Ceviche with Fava – Κολλιος Σεβιτσε με Φαβα

As Summer is rapidly approaching, I am preparing mackerel ceviche and serve it with the fantastic Greek fava.

Ενα καλοκαιρινο δρσερο υπεροχο, απλουστατο πιατο, ωδη στην μαγεια της Φυσης και την παγκοσμιοτητα της μαγειρικης, αφου η τεχνικη σεβιτσε μας ερχεται απο την ΛΑτινικη Αμερικη, οπου στους δρομους υπαρχουν πωλητες αντιστοιχων παρασκευασματων (ανευ Φαβας!).

Mackerel
Mackerel

As always, the freshest of the fresh fish is a must. I fillet the fish and season them lightly with coarse sea salt.

Οπως παντα, το θεμελιο των παντων ειναι το φρεσκωτατο ψαρακι, που το φιλεταρω και το ραντιζω με χοντρο αλατι. 

Mackerel filets
Mackerel filets

I now prepare the ceviche mix, which comprises lemon juice (plenty), chopped tomatoes, chilli and green peppers, parseley, oregano , abit of salt and pepper. This of course is my version of ceviche, which comes from Latin America and is one of my favourite Summer treats.  The concet is simple, the lemon and the other acid components of the mix “cook” the fish” and flavour it at the same time. Be careful with the lemon, you cannot take it out!

Η τεχνικη σεβιτσε ψηνει το ψαρι (και θαλασσινα) σε ενα μιγμα με πολυ λεμονι, ψιλοκομμενη ντοματα, πιπερια απλη και ξαυτερη, ριγανη, μαιντανο, λιγο αλατι και πιπερι. Αυτη βεβαια ειναι η δικη μου αποδοση της τεχνικης, που αποτελει μια απο τις αγαπημενες μου για το καλοκαιρι και τα θαλασσινα και μικρα ψαρια. Προσοχη στο λεμονι, μπορει να ειναι ωραιο, αλλα με μετρο!

The mix
The mix

I place the fillets in a plastic container, and mix thoroughly with the ceviche mix. I seal the container and leave in the refrigerator for three hours, may be less if the fillets are small. The time varies directly with the size of the fish.

Τοποθετω τα φιλετακια του κολιου σε ενα πλαστικο δοχειο σε στρωσεις, λιγο απο το μιγμα, και παλι μια στρωση, εως οτου γεμισει. Το κλεινω και το βαζω στο ψυγειο για τρεις περιπου ωρες. Αν τα φιλετακια ειναι μικρα, δυο ωρες φτανουν. 

In the meantime, I have prepared the gorgeous fava mix, using the best ingredient, ie fava from the island of Santorini (Thira). I place it in the middle of the dish, and one fillet on each side, with a little of the mix. 

Στο μεταξυ εχω ετοιμασει την υπεροχη φαβα της Σαντορινης, που εχει κρυωσει, και την τοποθετω στο μεσο του πιατου, με ενα φιλετακι σε καθε μερια, και ολιγο μιγμα με τα ωραια χρωματα. Ραντιζω με ελαιολαδο και εχω ενα υπεροχο πιατο!

Served
Served

Note that the flesh of the fish has become white.

A drizzle of olive oil on top and we are in business for a fresh, juicy, spicy, tempting fish dish. 

Το ψαρακι εχιε απρισει, η σαρκα του ειναι τρυφερη, ευγευστη, ελκυστικη, μπουκια και συγχωριο! 

Detail
Detail

Enjoy it with Asyrtico white wine from Santorini!

Προτεινω ενα ασυρτικο και καλη ορεξη!

Sarah Lucas – Transfiguration of Food Objects into body parts

This post is about one of my favourite artists, the British sculptor Sarah Lucas (born in 1962). I present some of her works that focus on the transfiguration of food objects into body parts.

Eating a Banana (1990)
Eating a Banana (1990)

Sarah Lucas has challenged sexual stereotypes in a series of provocative self-portraits. She turns against the art-historical tradition of the female seductress or muse, and presents herself in a deliberately androgynous, and occasionally aggressive, series of poses. She adopts masculine gestures and stances, and shows herself in unisex clothing like jeans and T-shirts.

These images also raise questions about the role and appearance of the modern artist. In contrast to the stereotype of the artist as an anguished male, Lucas shows herself as an ordinary person in emphatically ordinary surroundings. “
Source: Tate Gallery, London, England

Two fried egs and a kebab (1992)
Two fried egs and a kebab (1992)

Two fried eggs and a kebab (1992) – Tranfigured female body parts.

Au Naturel (1994)
Au Naturel (1994)

“Lucas has a wicked sense of humour – conjugal bliss, for instance, might be depicted by propping a soiled mattress against a wall, and letting a bucket and two melons stand for the woman and a pair of oranges and a cucumber for the man (Au naturel, 1994) – but her work often displays a feel for traditional artistic concerns; sculpture and materiality, weight, composition. It’s a combination that pissed off all the right people – those who thought found materials should speak of the ‘poetry of everyday existence’, or some similar mawkish sentiment.”

Dan Cox, Frieze Magazine, March 2009

Got a salmon on 3
Got a salmon on 3

No comment.

Chicken Knickers (1997)
Chicken Knickers (1997)

Chicken Knickers (1997)

“Following the Surrealist tradition, Lucas places familiar objects in shocking or unexpected arrangements. Many of these exploit the sexual innuendo that is a key feature of popular British comedy, from Carry On films to Viz magazine. In this photograph, the humour has a troubling edge. Displaying a plucked chicken in place of a young woman”s genitals, Lucas hints at the violation and gender stereotyping that underlies such jokes.”

Source: Tate Gallery, London, England

Mother’s Day Reunion Lunch

My mother today has celebrated her day with her brother who lives in Chicago. This reunion in Athens, called for a lunch that would have variety and taste. Here is the menu I created for the day:

  • Fish Soup
  • Fried Skate with Garlic Sauce
  • Baked Shrimp Dish
  • Seasonal Fruits

I served the Asyrtiko made by Sigalas which in my view is a superb white wine to go with seafood, while the fruits were accompanied by Limoncello.

For the fish soup I used the head of a common dentex (synagrida in Greek) and vegetables.

 

The head of the fish
The head of the fish

I boil the vegetables first in a big pot, and take them out to rest after 40 minutes, while the fish is cooking. 

 

The vegetables
The vegetables

I use carots, onions, celery, tomatoes, and potatoes, and season with coarse sea salt and black pepper.

 

The meat of the head
The meat of the head

After the meat is cooked, I separate it from the rest of the head structure, which I serve separately. The fantastic chunks of meat I put in the serving container. In the meantime, I had put all the vegetables in the blender, and after that I added the stock. The result was more tha satisfying.

 

Fish Soup Served
Fish Soup Served

 I continue with the next dish, fried skate with garlic sauce. I find skate one of the best fishes, as it is light and tasty. I particularly like the texture of the flesh and the soft bones. Please note the size of the fish. In the Aegean Sea, they are small, unlike the huge skates I have seen and tasted in England!

 

Fresh skates
Fresh skates

I just cut them with scisors, coat with flour and fry in olive oil. I serve with a garlic sauce that has a touch of mustard, lemon, olive oil and coarse sea salt. 

 

Fried Skate
Fried Skate

On to the next dish, that is fresh shrimp baked in a mix of mashed potatoes, mustard, eggs, a bit of truffle oil, and cumin.  shrimp_ready-to-bake

I bake for 40 minutes in 200 degress Centigrade, and the result is more than satisfying!

 

Baked shrimp
Baked shrimp

All in all, a very satisfying lunch, a celebration of Mother’s Day, and a great way to say welcome to uncle George!

Artichokes baked with home cured bacon – Αγγιναρες στο φουρνο με σπιτικο μπεικον

This dish is the first I prepared with home cured bacon. It is therefore appropriate to focus first on the bacon and then on the artichokes.

I have been growing desperate with the poor quality of bacon I buy at the stores. Watery, tasteless, a complete waste! I therefore decided to prepare my own. I followed the recipe in the fantastic book “Charcuterie”, by Michael Ruhlman and Brian Polcyn. 

Here goes (roughly) my interpretation.

Αυτο ειναι το πρωτο πιατο που παρασκευασα με το σπιτικο μπεικον που ετοιμασα προσφατα. 

Μετα απο συσσωρευση αγανακτησης για το μπεικον που αγοραζω στα μαγαζια, αποφασισα να φτιαξω το δικο μου, εστω και αν δεν ειναι καπνιστο, και ακολουθησα τη συνταγη στο βιβλιο “Charcuterie”, των Michael Ruhlman and Brian Polcyn. 

Τα βηματα ειναι τα ακολουθα. 

1. Get a top quality cut from your butcher. In my case, Stathis (my butcher) gave me three cuts. Make sure the skin is on the cut. I paced them in a large container in a vertical position.

The three belly cuts
The three belly cuts

2.Prepare the brine, with coarse sea salt, crushed black pepper corns, bay leaves, a bit of garlic, and a pinch of brown sugar. Cover the meat with the brine, and let it rest for a few hours.

 

The cuts in the brine
The cuts in the brine

After it has rsted, place the meat (each piece separately in plastic containers, skin side up, cover with brine and place in the refrigerator. Leave it there for a week.

3. Remove the meat from the containers and wash in cold water. Place the meat in the oven skin side down, on a net, so that liquids can drip freely and let it “warm up” for a period of 2 hoursmaximum in a temperature of 90 degrees. If the cut is thin, reduce the time to 1 1/2 hours. Caution: do not exceed this temperature! 

 

Ready to "warm up"
Ready to "warm up"

4. Remove from the oven, let it cool for 30 minutes and remove the skin. 

 

Ready to remove the skin
Ready to remove the skin

5. After you remove the skin, let it rest for 1 hour and then cut and use, or refrigerate. 

 

Ready to use
Ready to use

6. Take the cleaned artichokes and wrap a slice of bacon around them. Place in a baking dish with potatos and a sliced carot, season with pepper, but not salt. The bacon will take care of the salt. I remind you that the artichokes after cleaning need to stay in a bath of water and plenty of lemon in order to maintain its white colour! This lemon essence of the artichike will give plenty of flavour to the dish!

 

Ready to bake
Ready to bake

7. Bake for one hour, in 180 degrees Centigrade.

 

Ready to eat
Ready to eat

8. Serve and enjoy.

Paula Rego – Painter

This is a short introduction to the work of Paula Rego, my most favourite female contemporary painter. She was born in Portugal, but has lived in England for many years now. The last exhibition of hers I saw was in Madrid, in January 2008. 

The Dance
The Dance - Tate Gallery, London UK

The painting I absolutely love and adore is “The Dance”, which has a mystifying influence on me. Its blue colours in all possible tones, the coexistence of generations, the translucent moonlight, transfer the viewer to a magical plateau where he/she can contemplate the beauty and futility of life as a stream within the gigantic and all encompassing stream of Nature.

The Maids
The Maids - Saatchi Gallery, London, UK

The “Maids” is another atmospheric painting, full of ambivalence. The servants become masters, they dominate and control the masters. the soft pastel colours become colours with teeth, like the intruding animal’s, and remind the viewer that this is a suffocating and disturbing interior.

The Family
The Family - Saatchi Gallery, London, UK

The Family is almost frightening, in spite of the sun coming through the window. The wife and the elder daughter almost abuse the male figure of the father while in the act of dressing him. He seems to be impotent and almost unable to survive the process. The younger daughter observes from a distance, making an unknown wish.

 

Broken Promises
Broken Promises - Marlborough Fine Arts

This is a painting of disillusion, defragmentation, despair, and empty hollow faces. Her style in this painting  is reminiscent to me of Max Beckmann’s without this being in any way a negative feature of her art.  Life has not turned up to be what it was promised to be and the figures in their solemn postures contemplate the inevitability of the End, while they let whatever is happening aroung them just pass them by.