Autumn

What I love about Autumn is the way this season arrives quietly. Then, with it's palette of earth tones and brilliant yellows, reds and oranges, it slowly paints the landscape. In color and flavor, this palette perfectly matches the Fall harvest: mushrooms, apples, pears, squash, nuts,

Why I Love Eggplant

The eggplant is the queen of summer. Not only is the color associated with royalty, the shapes are amazing. Maybe this is the summer equivalent of the pear in fall:  the still life painter's nude. In the PNW we don't see eggplant until mid to late

Inspiration, It’s A Piece Of Cake!

I am content if the dessert I order is sweet and satisfying. But there are times when that dessert is so much more and takes on a life of it's own. This was the story of a generous slice of cake I recently shared with

The Incredible Edible…

That's the industry slogan, and they are incredible when you consider the spectrum of dishes in which they appear. Is anyone baking today? How about that souffle, or lemon meringue pie that you love to show off? Or 'THE' perfect omelet that  took a few

Contemplating The Role Of The Hostess

I love to thoughtfully consider the icons of food, and why they remain so popular. Enter the well known Hostess Cupcake. At one time I occupied a studio space directly across from the Hostess plant in Seattle. I faced a wall with a protruding pipe labeled

Pairing The Pear

Artists love pears. They are figurative, and like the figure, come in many colors and shapes. They also stay ripe for quite a long time, which is the best part: you can use them in a still life to paint, and then eat them. Those of

Does My Blog Look Good In This?

Calling all you fabulous food bloggers! Serve that delicious image that you posted in February to 'Does My Blog Look Good In This?'! You can find the March entry info here:  'DMBLGIT?'! Wouldn't you love the bragging rights!!

The Beautiful Napoleon

What a wonderful pastry! Traditionally made with alternating layers of puff pastry (mille-feuille) and pastry cream, then decorated with a shiny poured fondant and chocolate drizzle pattern of varying designs, it is elegant, delicious, and graphically beautiful. I read through many online recipes, as well as

The Luscious Last Local Tomato

I know I am not the only person eating tomatoes several times a day during tomato season. There is no substitute for the flavor of a tomato in season. And in the Pacific Northwest, tomato season can last into late Fall because our summers don't

The Match Made In Heaven

There are those flavors that just work together naturally. Peanut butter and chocolate is one of these perfect pairings. I love the colors as well as the flavors. How classically beautiful is a caramel color paired with a deep, dark brown. On the artist's palette