ART & Food – Lunch for Friends – Christmas Crunch with Chèvre recipe
So once you have found yourself, what then?
This little still-life salad is in the last letter here.
Art & Food
Are chefs artists? Well, some are, and some are not, in my humble opinion.
If a chef is assembly-cooking dishes, then that is more like manufacturing than artfully creating. If they are creating a whole new picture of flavours, then they are. And like all pieces of art and food, it is up to you if you like it or not. In that way, putting food or art in front of someone is an excruciating process of waiting for approval and praise, or being braced for criticism and dislike. In that way, chefs and artists live with the same anxiety or completely disassociate themselves from the process as a survival tactic.
Healing, always healing
I have been through a healing process, one that has left me feeling stripped naked. Where I can only do what feels right for me, the things that work with my natural flow. Anything forced or false will make me feel unwell, virtually and realistically very sick.
After many, many years of unknowingly trying to be the person I thought I was supposed to be, I realised that it was not who I was at all. It was a performance of what was expected.
Really!
Real is never real; it’s an individual's idea of what is real.
When people say, "Was it real for you?" it opens up the possibility that it was not real for everyone. So maybe it’s not real at all. These questions can keep you up at night or make you some very philosophical friends at a wine bar.
Going with the flow
So, moving from creating food to creating art is no leap for me. It’s the process that is the same. The thinking and visualizing. The trials and the sampling. Then the execution, leaving you with a work to assess. Then there is the sharing.
Art for me is :
Art is a form of communication.
It’s a reflection of how we humans interpret the world.
It's therapy
It’s also the glue that holds the universe together.
Without it, we are just matter. And internalised emotion.
It's the context and the visual formation of the matter and the metaphorical.
It’s the intelligence and texture of nature.
Tap into the superpower of seeing the world as art, and you will be a whole lot happier for it. Even the every day can seem mesmerizing when you see it as art.
If this is all too far-fetched for you, just build your art repertoire and be pleasantly surprised. And remember, art is everywhere; it’s up to the voyeur
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Garden Party
I just finished my first little set of chairs. French garden chairs have personality. They seem too fragile to hold your weight. The legs are bent at odd angles at the end. The seats are supported with a crochet of wire. The backs can be links of curved steel. They have bows, lattices, and ribbons. A mix of these garden chairs imagined with a collection of assorted cushions makes for a magical setting. A little Alice in Wonderland-esque. Maybe it’s escapism. I find many French articles quite animated in nature. They have a childlike appeal. Maybe this is why they are so fun.
LUNCH FOR FRIENDS
I did this little menu a while back. I like to have everything on the table ready to go when everyone arrives. I don’t like being trapped in the kitchen. Especially as it took me so long to get out… years baby, I mean 35 or more years!
This menu is very doable in the cooler months. Except for the tomatoes, they are available but not in season. If you are a sensible seasonality snob, I would just do a seasoned herby sauté of olive oil & garlic on sourdough, topped with marinated anchovies instead.
STARTERS
- Sourdough
- Seasoned butter
- Fresh Chèvre with honey-toffee toasted salt and pepper almonds
- Blistered cherry tomatoes with garlic, a secret ingredient, and marinated anchovies
MIDDLES
- Wild Black rice with walnut oil, pumpkin, and shallots, with green walnut garlic pesto
- Fennel, persimmon & rocket salad
ENDS
- Chèvre with savoury and thin apple slices with toasted fennel seeds.
- Pamela brought pastries! Yay!
A RECIPE
Your TOAST SALT & PEPPER ALMOND HONEY CRUNCH is here.
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