The peppermint candy, commonly associated with Christmas, makes for a mint-flecked ice cream that is both sweet and soothing. Around the holidays, after countless lavish meals and heavy desserts, a palette cleansing mint dessert perfectly fits the bill.
Joseph Decker, Hard Candy
oil on canvas, 22.8 x 35.5 cm, Private collection
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. I was recently given an anthology detailing Kahlo’s entire body of still life paintings and have become so enamored with her work that I will be completing a five part series of my favorite artworks. This is not the first time Kahlo’s art has appeared on this site and I hope by the end of this series you will adore her work like I do.
Frida Kahlo, Lágrimas de coco (Coconut Tears), 1951
Oil on masonite, 22.8 x 29.8 cm, Los Angeles County Museum of Art
I am delighted to introduce my October blog collaborator, Siri from The Transplanted Baker. The title of her blog refers to Siri’s status as an American ex-pat living on the west coast of Norway. We decided to continue with the Norwegian theme with the art selection so we chose the famous painting The Scream by Edvard Munch. If any of you are familiar with the Ice Cream song by Johnson, Moll & King, I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream!, then our recipe selection should not be much of a surprise. I proceeded with my savory theme by making salt & pepper sweets but be sure to visit Siri’s site for her recipe for Red Currant Ice Cream made from hand-picked, home-canned currants!
Edvard Munch, The Scream (Skrik), 1893
oil, tempera, and pastel on cardboard, 91 x 73.5 cm, National Gallery, Oslo
I can’t stand passing up a good bargain and last week lemons were on sale. Like my carrots from my previous post the lemons were beginning to look a bit tired. They had sat prettily in my shell shaped bowl on my counter with only one being sacrificed for a tangy lemon vinaigrette. I will try not to pick art based on the current contents of my fridge but I was craving something fresh and light and I just happened to have a heap of lemons. This week I am sticking to my American roots and I am making a no churn (the best kind) ice cream with orange and lemon and a hint of mint. The painting you ask?? Why it is by none other than the great Raphaelle Peale who is considered to be American’s first professional still life painter (1).
Raphaelle Peale, A Dessert (Still Life with Lemons and Oranges), 1814
oil on panel, 33.97 x 42.26 cm, National Gallery of Art, Washington
