Feasting on Art

Welcome to Feasting on Art’s brand new home – a new look designed by Alyson of Seventy and Sunny and a new URL. There is the same Recipe Index but a new About page. I still have to get a photo up but until then you can see a pseudo self-portrait here. I have a bit more work to do before I will feel completely settled in but I really love the new site. As you can see there is now a designated space for sponsors, email tresjoliestudios AT gmail DOT com for the current advertising specs.

I planned out this post before I realised its significance as the first on the new blog. Luckily the ceviche combines many of  my favorite ingredients – seafood, fresh fruit, lime, and spicy pickled jalapeños. 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. It is the perfect summer dish and is best enjoyed with a glass of cold white wine and a view of the ocean.

Frida Kahlo, Still Life: Viva la vida y el Dr. Juan Farill, 1953-54
Oil on masonite, 39 x 64.7 cm, Private Collection

Still Life: Viva la vida y el Dr. Juan Farill was completed by Kahlo at the very end of her life as a gift to her doctor. Due to the very heavy handed brushstrokes and clumsy handling of the paint many believe she completed the painting while under the influence of painkillers. The sky is split, light and dark with the tips of a bunch of bananas looking like a mountain landscape. In art the white dove traditionally represents peace and gentle affection as well as the soul as it departs the body in death. Although the theme of death runs throughout Kahlo’s body of work, this particular reference is especially poignant given the painting was one of the last she completed.

{Shellfish Ceviche}

Adapted from Gourmet

1 orange
1 lime
1/4 red onion, diced
3 tsp pickled jalapeños, diced
1/2 c watermelon, diced
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ginger, finely minced
handful of coriander, chopped
150 grams scallops
300 grams prawns

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil, reduce to a simmer and poach the scallops for 1 minute, immediately removing and plunging into a bowl of ice water. Poach the prawns in the same pot of water until they are pink and opaque (also plunging in the ice water to stop them from over-cooking).

Slice the orange and half. Juice one half and segment and chop the other into cubes. Juice the lime and chop the remaining ingredients. Halve the scallops and cut the prawns into thirds. Mix everything in a bowl and chill for 1 hour prior to serving.

Serve as a small salad appetizer once well chilled. Makes 8 small portions or 6 medium.

This is the second post in a five part series examining the still life paintings of Frida Kahlo.