Gustavo Montoya, Still Life with Bananas
oil on canvas, 80 x 119.4cm, Private collection

Still Life with Bananas is a typical still life subject by the artist Gustavo Montoya. He often painted the fruits and sweets of his native Mexico and the bright, monochrome colour palette highlights his interest in abstraction. The layering of colour from the bright yellow, to a light orange and dark brown suggests the colouring of a flan with the rich caramel crust, pool of caramel sauce and light creamy custard. Flan is a custard dessert that is poured over a layer of caramel and baked in a bain-marie. The etymological origins of flan are quite convoluted and can be traced through French, Old French and Medieval Latin before arriving at the Old High German root flado meaning ‘flat cake.’ In Latin American, the dessert is typically called leche flan as it is primarily served with dulce de leche. The deeply sweet and rich flavor components of dulce de leche are echoed in this flan recipe through the addition of condensed milk.

{Banana Flan}

Yields: 6 servings

1/2 cup sugar
250 ml evaporated milk
2 ripe bananas
1/2 cup whole milk
2 large eggs + 4 egg yolks

Preheat the oven to 170C. In a small saucepan over medium-high heat, add the sugar and begin stirring with a wooden spoon. Once the sugar melts, after about 5 minutes, stir only until all lumps are gone and the colour just begins to darken. Carefully pour the melted sugar into the flan mold, or individual ramekins.

In a large bowl, add the remaining ingredients and mash with the back of a fork or squeeze the banana with your hands. Mix until there are minimal banana lumps and all of the ingredients are fully incorporated. Pour the mixture into the flan mold or ramekins on top of the melted sugar.

Place the flan mold or ramekins into a deep pan that is half full with hot water. Slide the water-filled pan with the flan mold into the preheated oven. Bake for about 1 hour and remove from the oven to let cool. If using a flan mold, turn over onto a serving platter.
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The Colour Project

Gustavo Montoya, Still Life with Plate of Eggs and Compote
oil on canvas, 60 x 80 cm, Private collection

Gustavo Montoya, along with Diego Rivera, Siquieros and Orozco, was part of the Mexican Muralist group working out of Mexico City. He studied at the Academia de San Carlos, travelling to Europe to further his education, and gained recognition for his portraiture featuring Mexican children, dressed and seated, looking intently back at the viewer. Montoya also constructed many genre paintings of Mexican street scenes and experimented with Abstraction with great success. His still life paintings range from typical Mexican breads to many-coloured sweets and the fruits from his area. In Still Life with Plate of Eggs and Compote, the somber palette draws attention to the juxtaposition between the linear forms of folded napkin and the curving lines of the eggs and bowl.

{Eggs Galette à la Mexicana}

Yield: 4 servings

1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed
1/2 cup cheddar cheese, grated
4 large eggs
2 green onions, sliced into rounds
1 red chili, thinly sliced
small handful cilantro, chopped + extra for garnish
lime, quartered for garnish

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit. Roll out the puff pastry and fold in the edges about 1-inch. place on baking tray and prick the middle with a fork about 20 times all over the base and slide into the hot oven to bake for 7 minutes.

Remove the pastry from the oven and sprinkle the cheddar cheese over the base. Crack the eggs onto the pastry and sprinkle the sliced green onion and red chili on top of the eggs.

Slide back into the oven for an additional 5 to 7 minutes until the egg whites have set (you will know that they are set when they no longer wobble when you give the pan a shake). Remove from oven, cut galette into four portions, scatter the cilantro over the eggs and finish with a squeeze of fresh lime.

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1 Year Ago: Soren Emil Carlsen – Spice-Rubbed Turkey & Cranberry BBQ Sauce

(Left) Diego Rivera, The Boy with the Taco / El Niño del taco, 1932
lithograph, 43.18 x 30.16 cm, Los Angeles County Museum of Art
(Right) Diego Rivera, The temptations of Saint Antony / Las tentaciones de San Antonio, 1947
oil on canvas, 90 x 100 cm, Museuo Nacional de Arte, Mexico City.

While attending the San Carlos Academy in Mexico City, Diego Rivera worked in the studio of José Guadalupe Posada, a leading printmaker of the time. The lithograph, Niño con Taco, was created the same year that Rivera commenced his work on the Detroit Industry frescoes. The lithograph features a stylised little boy in his signature style of simplified forms and strong lines. Completed about fifteen years later, The temptations of Saint Anthony, 1947 illustrates the supernatural temptation of St. Anthony in Egypt. Allegedly, Rivera drew his inspiration for radish figures from an annual competition in Oaxaco where the story of Christmas is displayed with radish compositions.

{Shrimp Tacos with Grape Tomato, Radish & Spring Onion Salsa}

makes 4 tacos

200g shrimp, shelled & devined
1 chipotle chilli (minced) + 1 tsp adobo sauce
½ tsp dried oregano
½ tsp ground cumin
1 tsp olive oil
1 avocado
1 c grape tomato, radish & spring onion salsa (recipe below)
handful of fresh coriander (cilantro), chopped
lime wedges
hot sauce

Mix the shrimp, chipotle & adobo sauce, oregano and cumin in a small bowl. Add a slick of olive oil to a frying pan and set over medium-high heat. Once hot, add the shrimp and cover with a lid, cooking and stirring occasionally until the flesh becomes opaque, 3-4 minutes.

Meanwhile, slice avocado and chop fresh coriander. Once the shrimp are cooked, assemble the taco.

Lay a tortilla flat on a plate and lay out three slices of avocado. Spoon over 1/4 c of the grape tomato, radish and spring onion salsa and top with a quarter of the shrimp, fresh sprigs of coriander, squeeze of lime and a few dashes of hot sauce. Eat immediately.

{Grape Tomato, Radish & Spring Onion Salsa}

1 large radish
1 spring onion
¼ tsp salt
½ lime, juiced
10 grape tomatoes, deseeded
small handful coriander (cilantro)

Slice the spring onion into thin discs and place in a small bowl. Chop the radish into small cubes and add to the spring onion. Juice 1/2 of a lemon and add 1/4 tsp of salt to the vegetables, toss. Let the radish and onion sit for 20 minutes to become slightly pickled.

Meanwhile, slice the grape tomatoes in half and squeeze out the seeds. Roughly chop and add to the radishes. Chop fresh coriander and mix into the salsa. Serve with shrimp tacos, will keep for 2-3 days refrigerated.
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1 Year Ago: Andy Warhol – Upside-Down Banana Cake

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Diego Rivera, Detroit Industry: East Wall (detail), 1932-1933
fresco, variable dimensions, Detroit Institute of Art

The Detroit Industry murals were completed by Diego Rivera in the early 1930s. The twenty-seven panels range in size from 518 x 1,370 cm to 60 x 182 cm and completely surround the viewer in the courtyard. The murals were created as a tribute to the industry and labour in Detroit. The East Wall is the first mural visible upon entering the courtyard with the image of a small baby within a seed – often thought to be the child Frida Kahlo miscarried while Rivera was in Detroit – centralised on the wall. Flanking the baby are semi-nude fertility figures offering produce grown in Michigan (pictured above). The panels embody the origins of human life and begin the cycle of paintings celebrating technology and industry.

{Stacked Tortilla Torta}

1 can refried beans
1 c pumpkin, chopped
1 red onion, chopped
1 red capsicum, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 c corn
1 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp cumin
1 tsp ground chipotle chili
1/2 tsp chili powder
1 kaffir lime leaves
1/2 c water
1 TB chili oil
7 tortillas
1 c enchilada sauce
2 c shredded cheddar cheese
1 lime
1 avocado
1 c sour cream
1 tomato, chopped
1 bunch coriander (cilantro), chopped

Chop the onion, capsicum and the pumpkin to the same size as a kernel of corn. In a large pan, saute the onion, capsicum, pumpkin and kaffir lime leaves in the chili oil for 5 minutes or until it begins to soften. Add the ground coriander, cumin, chipotle chili, chili powder, garlic, corn and 1/2 c water and continue to cook a further 5-10 minutes until the onion and pumpkin are almost completely cooked and the water has evaporated. Remove the kaffir lime leaves and set the pumpkin mixture aside.

Preheat the oven to 350F/180C. To assemble the torta, coat the bottom of a cake pan with 1 TB of the enchilada sauce. Pour the remaining enchilada sauce onto a large bowl, bigger that the tortillas. Dip the first tortilla into the enchilada sauce, flipping to coat both sides. Place in the bottom of the cake pan and spread 1 TB of the refried beans on top. Sprinkle over an even layer of the pumpkin mixture and top with a handful of cheese. Repeat for remaining layers and top with a generous helping of cheese. The number of layers (and number of tortillas used) may need to be adjusted depending on the height of the cake pan. In the middle of the torta, leave one tortilla dry – do not dip in the enchilada sauce – to soak up extra juices. Once finished, cover with tin foil before sliding into the hot oven.

Bake for 20 minutes and remove the tin foil, baking for a further 15 until the cheese is melted and golden. If using a springform cake pan, let the torta cool before removing the rim, otherwise the filling will spill from between the layers. If using a normal cake pan, run a knife around the edges and turn upside down onto a platter once cooled (about 1.5 hours).

To finish, cover the top of the cake with sour cream and arrange slices of avocado, chopped tomato and coriander (cilantro). Serve cut into wedges with a section of fresh lime.

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1 Year Ago: David Shrigley – Chipotle Ketchup & Dark Beer Mustard

Frida Kahlo and her pet deer, Granizo, 1939, photograph by Nickolas Muray

In the book Frida’s Fiestas, Kahlo’s step-daughter Guadalupe Rivera reminisces about unpacking the groceries with Frida after a visit to the market,

“At one point she said to me: ‘Look at this watermelon…! It’s an amazing fruit. On the outside, it’s a wonderful green color, but on the inside, there’s this strong and elegant red and white. The pitaya is a bright red, like a pomegranate sprinkled with black dots. Then there’s the pitahaya. It is fuchsia on the outside and hides the subtlety of a whitish-gray pulp flecked with little black spots that are its seeds inside. This is a wonder! Fruits are like flowers: they speak to us in a provocative language and teach us things that are hidden.” (p.24)

Kahlo later arranged these fruits into a still life painting titled The Bride Frightened at Seeing Life Opened. For her life and art intermingled, she decorated her table and her tresses with fruits and flowers in the same way they were scattered across her canvases. Like the fruit, her art teaches us – the viewers – about her hidden things, thoughts, fears, and emotions.

This is the fifth and final entry in a series of posts examining the the still life paintings by Frida Kahlo. Click the paintings above or the recipe links below to visit the individual posts for more information about Frida.

Frida Kahlo, Still Life, 1942
oil on copper, 64.5 cm diameter, Museo Frida Kahlo, Mexico City

Still Life was commissioned by the president of Mexico to be hung in the dining room of the presidential palace in the place of honor. Once completed, the painting was revealed at a dinner party where the wife of the president found the painting to be indecent and ordered it to be returned to Frida. The uterus-shaped squash is filled with fertile seeds and dominates the composition. Sitting above the squash on a leaf is a Polyphemus moth – throughout art history the moth was used to denote loss and decay. This breed in particular has one purpose in life, to lay eggs on plants that will provide nourishment for the larvae. This painting presented itself as the perfect segue from Berndt’s botanical illustration as it was composed with scientific exactitude and resembles “illustrations found in medical and botanical texts” (1).

{Roasted Chicken with Pumpkin Mole}

adapted from Bon Appétit

brown onion, sliced into rings
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped
2 slices of multi-grain bread
3/4 c canned tomatoes, drained
3 1/2 c chicken broth
2 chipotle chilies in adobo sauce
1 c pumpkin, roasted and pureed
8 chicken breasts
coriander
lime wedges

Saute the onions and garlic in a pot over medium heat in a bit of olive oil. Once cooked and soft, after about 4 minutes, transfer to a large bowl. Keep the oil in the bottom of the pot and fry the two slices of bread on both sides. Add the bread and the tomatoes to the bowl and puree with a hand blender. Return to pot.

In the same bowl puree the two chipotle chilies and 1/2 c of the  chicken broth. Add to the tomato mixture in the pot and cook for about 2 minutes before adding the roasted and pureed pumpkin and remaining chicken stock. Cook until reduced to about 3 cups, about 30 minutes.

Meanwhile rub the chicken with the adobo sauce from the canned chipotle chilies. Roast in a 180C oven until the juices run clear, about 30 minutes depending on the thickness of the chicken.

Top the chicken with the mole and garnish with the coriander and lime wedges. Serve warm.

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

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}

This recipe does not follow the traditional techniques for making ceviche because the shellfish are slightly poached before they are pickled by the citrus fruits. Makes a light side salad or when served in small portions, an appetizer. This recipe was inspired by a dish featured on Bon Appetit.

Yield: 4 servings as a salad and 6 servings as an appetizer

1 tablespoon + 1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
1/2 pound scallops
1 pound shrimp
1 orange
1 lime
1/4 red onion, diced
3 teaspoons pickled jalapeños, diced
1/2 cup watermelon, diced
1/2 teaspoon ginger, finely minced
handful of cilantro, chopped

Bring a medium pot of water to a boil and add 1 tablespoon of salt, stirring until all of the granules have dissolved. Reduce the water to a simmer and poach the scallops for 1 minute, immediately removing and plunging into a bowl of ice water.

Poach the shrimp in the same pot of water until they are pink and opaque, 2-3 minutes (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, about 1/2 inch in size. Juice the lime and chop the remaining ingredients into 1/2 inch cubes. Halve the scallops and cut the shrimp into thirds. Mix everything in a bowl and chill for 1 hour prior to serving.

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

{Coconut Milk Ice Cream with Caramelized Papaya & Lime}

This creamy dessert is spiked with sour limes and fresh ginger. When paired with the hot fruit, the richness of the coconut is brought to the forefront of the palette. The ice cream will keep for up to 4 weeks in the freezer. Wonderful when served after spicy food, like the chipotle chicken enchiladas. This dish was adapted from a recipe in Bon Appétit, July 2002 magazine.

Yield: 4 servings

ice cream ingredients:
1 can (14 ounces) coconut milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup sugar
zest of 1 lime
juice of 1 1/2 limes
1 tablespoon natural ginger uncrystallized, finely minced
pinch of salt

1 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoons brown sugar
Papaya, sliced into wedges
1/2 lime, thinly sliced

Combine all of the ice cream ingredients into a freezer safe container. Stir well, ensuring the salt and sugars have dissolved. Place in freezer and stir every 30 minutes to break up ice crystals to ensure the ice cream is smooth.

Once the ice cream has set, after about 3 to 4 hours, melt the butter in a skillet and add the brown sugar. Stir until the sugar has dissolved. Place the sliced fruit in the hot skillet and flip after 30 seconds or once golden. Serve together with the ice cream immediately.

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

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I would like to once again highlight the Arts Monday show on Eastside Radio 89.7FM co-hosted by Laura and Nick. It was an absolute pleasure to be part of the show and I would like to encourage anyone who is remotely interested in art to listen every Monday from 9:30-11:30AM.

Fernand Léger, Still Life with a Beer Mug, 1921
oil on canvas, 92.1 x 60 cm

Fernand Léger’s background in architecture proved to be a defining characteristic of his artistic style. The angular forms and patterns found in the paintings from his ‘mechanical period’ all embody the post-war mentality of order and regulation. The horizontal and vertical lines throughout the canvas provide clarity through their repetition in what initially appears to be a jumbled composition. Léger often worked within what he called the ‘law of contrasts’. Still Life with a Beer Mug distills the contrasts down to liner angles, circles and curves. Historically the depiction of beer has been used to represent barbarian culture as well as prosperity through human labour (1).

A Michelada is known in Mexico as a cerveza preparada (‘prepared beer’) which can be likened to a shandy. The typical recipe for a cerveza preparada contains tomato juice, Mexican beer and lime juice poured into a salt-rimmed glass. The Mexican Michelada is essentially a Bloody Mary with beer instead of vodka. In the 1940s it was popular to mix beer with hot sauce or salsa. It was during this time that the Michelada was invented. The drink has become commercially popular in the United States with Miller producing ‘Miller Chill’ made with a ‘hint of salt and lime’ as well as Anheuser-Busch producing ‘Budweiser Chelada’ which combines lager, lime, salt, and clamato juice (2).

{Michelada}

adapted from Gourmet

1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp chili powder
1 lime, halved
2 TB fresh lime juice
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
Splash of hot sauce
1 chilled dark beer

Mix the salt and chili powder on a small plate. Run a lime half around edge of a pint glass and then rub in the salt mixture to coat the rim.

Add lime juice, Worcestershire sauce, and hot sauce to glass, then top with the beer.