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Thursday, September 3, 2009

En Plein Anniversaire

Making art, visiting, eating: these are a few of my favorite things and today I attended a birthday party where that's exactly what we did. J chose to draw one of her exquisite savoy cabbages and I continued to work on my moth series in pencil crayon and ink.

The sun came and went, but it stayed warm enough for us to work and eat outside in J's garden where we watched her chickens roam the yard. Apparently one of the chickens is starting to look and act more like a rooster, and if she turns out to be a he, he's in big trouble because of the noise bylaws. J. is hoping she's transgendered. We're waiting to see if Rusty crows or she lays an egg. What if he/she does both? J's friend the nurse keeps turning to me and saying sotto vocce, "I don't know chickens, but that is a rooster." And whatever the gender, it is a prime example of a glittering Rhode Island Red. The poultry pair are inseparable, taking dust baths together, and otherwise remaining within eyesight of one another.


Princess is ambivalent towards the poultry, because they are the peasants of the animal world.


J's green house is absolutely teeming with tomatoes.

When I saw the cobalt blue color of this dish I had to pick some borage flowers to set it off.

I made these fried chick peas, inspired by the appetizer at Campagnolo. I fried them up in a tbsp. of olive oil, 1/4 tsp. coriander, 1/2 tsp. turmeric, 1/2 tsp. harissa, salt and pepper and some orange thyme from my garden. When they start to smell like popcorn, they're done (about 7 minutes). (The recipe is modified from Ceci Fritos by Kevin D. Weeks at About.com.)

J made Jamie Oliver's zucchini salad with basil and a lemon juice and olive oil vinaigrette.

Plus she made this Greek salad with her own tomatoes. It was bursting with flavor.

C made an intensely flavorful raspberry blackberry crumble sweetened with jam. I want the recipe!

We drank Earl Grey rooibus and sang for the birthday girl.

Sweet summer.