Frida Kahlo – Jalapeño Cheddar Cornbread
In the painting Fruits of the Earth (1938-39), Frida Kahlo‘s subjects defy gravity. The foodstuffs sit upon a horizontal picture plane with no shadow, denoting a high perspectival point. There is a particular focus upon the corn, with two ears covered by green husks and one revealing the white kernels. Corn originated in Mesoamerican and...
Antoine Vollon – Parmesan Mustard Shortbread
My favorite recipes are those that intertwine the idea of sweet and savory. When I mentioned to a friend that my next still life painting was titled Mound of Butter (1875-85) she suggested I make shortbread. Updating the typical sweet cookie recipe into a savory biscuit makes the perfect base for a roasted tomato or...
Frida Kahlo – Roasted Chicken with Pumpkin Mole
I tasted my first authentic mole in Mexico City on a History of Art trip to study the art of Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera. With the vibrant paintings swirling through my head, I became completely intoxicated with mole poblano. From the Mexican word molli meaning ‘concoction,’ mole is commonly known in the combined form...
Johann Christian Berndt – Pear, Goat Cheese & Prosciutto Pizza
Johann Christian Berndt was a German copper engraver who worked in Frankfurt in the late-18th and early-19th century. He contributed to the botanical book Vollständige pomologie (Complete Pomology) by Johann Ludwig Christ. Pomology refers to the study and classification of fruit (the word poma from the Latin root meaning tree fruit). Pomologic writings date back...
Review – Taste: Food & Feasting in Art
The representation of food has always had a presence within the realm of the visual arts. The survey show, Taste: Food and Feasting in Art, explores the genre with an assortment of pieces from sculpture to painting to photography all from the Auckland Art Gallery collection. The usual suspects are all present – Warhol with...
Frida Kahlo – Shellfish Ceviche
Ceviche is a seafood dish that originated on the Mexican coast. The seafood is marinated in citrus juices which pickle the meat and effectively cooks it without heat. The flavors are sweet and spicy with a hint of sour from the lime. Frida Kahlo completed Still Life: Viva la vida y el Dr. Juan Farill (1953-54) at the...
Frida Kahlo – Coconut Milk Ice Cream with Caramelized Papaya & Lime
Although Frida Kahlo is best known for her striking and emotionally revealing self portraits, she created about 40 still life paintings that provide just as much insight into her preoccupation with death and her overwhelming loneliness. Coconuts are a familiar foodstuff in many of Frida Kahlo’s still life paintings. The nut is differentiated in many...
Vincent Van Gogh – Holiday Lefse
In addition to decorating mountains of gingerbread and sugar cookies, a beloved Christmas tradition in my family was eating lefse on Christmas Eve. My Norwegian Great-grandmother would cook the thin potato pancakes every year in her tiny apartment on a piping hot griddle. As soon as the pancake was golden and toasted, we would slather...
Paul Signac – Roasted Vanilla Orange Juice
The period of art known as Pointallism was evolutionary due to the mathematical approach to colour and optics. The art up until the late 1880s was driven by the emotive qualities of colour and location. Pointallism marked a scientific foray into the arts similar to the complex perspecitval theories developed by Renaissance artists. The beauty...
Marian Drew – Berry & Lemon Cheese Pie with Lemon Butter Crust
In her beautifully composed photographs, Marian Drew includes the lifeless bodies of Australian fauna collected from the side of the road. The photographs represent a meeting of Europe and Australia through the insertion of wallabies, kangaroos, and possums into the still life tradition. The images assume a painterly tone achieved by long exposures and careful...
Soren Emil Carlsen – Spice-Rubbed Turkey with Cranberry BBQ Sauce
Soren Emil Carlsen was a Danish born artist who was heavily influenced by the work of Jean-Siméon Chardin. His paintings featured simple objects in muted tones. His limited palette produced moody canvases and he worked carefully to create seemingly haphazard compositions. He was a contemporary of William Merritt Chase and was part of the European...
Vincent van Gogh – Chipotle Sweet Potato Mash with Fresh Lime
The dark and dreary interior of Vincent van Gogh‘s The Potato Eaters (1885) is a stark juxtaposition to the colour and the flavor of the sweet potato mash. With Thanksgiving being such an important meal in the North American calendar, I felt it was appropriate to include a painting of a familial supper in this...