Feasting on Art

While completing a mental inventory of the refrigerator during my walk home, I began to reminisce about the flavours of the stacked tortilla torta from a couple of weeks ago. Clicking through my art archives, the two images below caught my eye, specifically because they are works by Rivera not painted upon a wall. Looking at them together inspired a shrimp taco recipe with a grape tomato, radish and spring onion salsa. The flavors are fresh and bright, helped with a squeeze of fresh lime to finish. In her essay Roadside Diners in issue 6 of Jamie Magazine, Alice Waters reminisces, “we engaged in a favourite pastime: adding recipes to our fictional cookbook Everything Tastes Better with Lime.” The line resonated with me and I began playing the same game, buying limes by the dozen to squeeze over everything. Out of 84 recipe posts on this blog, almost 20% include a finish with fresh citrus. In the case of the Mexican recipes, the splash of lime really makes the dish sing.

(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.

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The reduction of the genre of still life to its title produces a problem between languages.  In English, the name ‘still life’ carries certain connotations.  The word ‘life’ produces the idea of movement; the subject is living and has been captured or stilled within the painting.  The title creates the idea that ‘still life’ is a captured moment, perhaps a ‘snapshot’ of one’s Sunday dinner.  This name is entirely misleading, the still life genre often depicts fish, animals, plants, and commodities – all of which are dead.  The name still life is ironic, because life that has been stilled is death.  As French artist, Manet would have used the French title nature morte, which literally translates to dead nature.  The genre was previously known as vie coye, which roughly translates to ‘silent life.’ (1) The distinction between still life and dead nature is important.  Manet was certainly aware of the English title ‘still life,’ and this becomes apparent in the strange dichotomy in the painting between life and death.  The central image of the fish with its tail suspended in time embodies the living/dead aspect.  The fish looks like it is dead with its mouth gaping and eye bulging, yet the broad sweeping brushstrokes and tail flipped into the air, mentioned earlier, suggests movement and thus life.  This embodiment of the tension within the title of the genre is an aspect of painting unique to Manet.

Édouard Manet, Fish (Still Life), 1864
oil on canvas, 32.1 x 73.4 cm, The Art Institute of Chicago

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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

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I regret to admit that I am not adventurous when it comes to ordering from a menu. I tend to visit a restaurant because I have a craving for a particular meal and so, I cannot be easily dissuaded to impulsively try something new. Since my first taste of Phở I have yet to discover a dish to tempt me away. The savory broth coupled with the sour lime juice and heat from the sliced chili makes for a light yet filling soup that was so readily consumed last March that it is often referred to the period that we were ‘Phoed-out’. The October 2009 Daring Cooks’ challenge was brought to us by Jaden of the blog Steamy Kitchen. The recipe is from her new cookbook, The Steamy Kitchen Cookbook.

Frédéric Bazille, Soup Bowl Covers, 1864
oil on canvas, 22 x 35 cm, Private Collection

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Although I have not been very adventurous with the ingredients in the original Daring Kitchen challenge recipe, I did take many liberties with the proportions and the processes. Octopus is a very finicky ingredient that is very easy to overcook and turn into a rubbery mess. If cooked correctly it is succulent and yielding to the bite and is the perfect accompaniment to the paella-like dish. The original recipe called for only 3TB of the sofregit sauce leaving a rather large portion that would not be used in the conceivable future. To remedy this, I added all of the sofregit and reduced the amount of stock required so the rice would not become soupy. It is a delicious but filling dish that had me craving a Spanish siesta.

Luis Meléndez, Still Life with Tomatoes, a Bowl of Aubergines and Onions, c. 1771-1774
Oil on canvas, 36.8 x 49 cm, framed Derek Johns, London

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