My Favourite Hospital part II

This was my view driving into work every morning- such a beautiful hospital. I'll miss it, as we're moving to a new hospital, so I decided to try to paint this to commemorate it a bit. This is from the final night, though it still needs work.

Below was the second or third night. Chui told me to mix red with either Naples yellow or Ochre with red and white for the sunlit buildings. Also this night the second building's windows were too dark, overall that building face has about the same tone. The greens of the roof tops had to be different too. The sky bluer, to bring out the buildings. The background trees were too detailed, he said just make it uniform reddish purple, the colour of trees in the distance. The tree bark is too dark, the trees are really greys in the winter with the haze. I removed the neuro building, it was sort of ghostly off in the distance and not nice. Chui put red in the branches of the tree, I wouldn't have, but since looking at nature I've noticed that it's true, the branches against the sky are really red. When I asked him if they should really be that red, he said "Bien sur!"

The photo I worked from. Notice the moving truck in front!

Venice Vacation

We decided that a little California sun would get us through to the end of this wretched winter, and stayed in Venice. Lots of canals just like the Italian Venice.

We walked to Venice Beach every morning, shopped on Abbot Kinney, went to Malibu and had drinks at Malibu Farm at the end of the pier http://www.malibu-farm.com/

We took a road trip to Joshua Tree National Park and stayed at the awesome 29 Palms Inn http://www.29palmsinn.com/

On the way home shopped at the Desert Hills Outlets and I got a cute DVF dress + shoes...

J's sister was super hospitable.

New Year's Renovations

Well we finally got the renovations mostly done on the house. It was a long and dusty painty process but it looks good.

The baby's room. The wall hanging was made a long time ago by my grandparents. The rug is an old Ikea one, and the lamp is from Living Lighting in Ottawa.

The bathroom, which was inspired (copied) from a page in a magazine- I loved the French looking coin floor tile pattern and the subway tiles. The paint is Betonel White Buck 10YY 72/021. The tub and shower are from Mondeau. The Mercer sconce is from Pottery Barn, but as you can see, the middle glass is broken, it arrived that way in the box, so we're trying to get that replaced which is such a pain.

This was the inspiration

The bedroom needs new bedding, more decor, more furniture and stuff for the walls. The color- when we repaint I want Balboa Mist

The sun room, with the wood stove hauled out of my Montreal place, as they've recently passed a by-law banning their use in the city. It's great in here, though it weighed a ton. The table was made by my uncle and we can play checkers/chess on it.

The kitchen was just repainted, but this shot shows the addition. The lighting is from a great store in Montreal called Beige http://www.beigestyle.com/ 

Ode to GOOP

Every Thursday I finish my clinic and crash land on my desk, and have lunch while reading Gwenyth Paltrow's great blog, GOOP. So last time I went to Paris, I had in mind her post: French Pharmacy

I love lip balm so bought her recommended Apricoderm in a French pharmacy, but it doesn't taste like apricots; it tastes like nothing. It is still nice though, and I use it every night before bed. However, in a Paris pharmacy I found something as good as Sugar's $26 lemony lip balm but only 3 Euros - Amilab. The downside is that the stick melts if it gets too warm (like in the sun). Still recommend it, it is very hydrating and tastes like creamsicles.

 And Nuxe is, OK but the smell of Lierac moisturiser or moisturising oil, also from Paris, is lily of the valley, with a hint of rocket popsicle. It's easy to find in any French pharmacy, but can also be found in Canada and the U.S.

Avibon for the skin of a French movie star sounds great, but has apparently been discontinued, after a million years of making it. It is now selling on amazon for $200 a tube. When I was in Paris I got a tube for my mother, it was 9 euros. It is yet unopened- I wonder if I should sell it! Anyway. I have it on good authority (a friend's husband is a dermatologist) that Retin A Micro is what all the smooth faced gals are using stateside. You need a MD prescription, though, this cream means business.

 Finally, not from a pharmacy but from a French grocery store, Ricore is a (nearly) caffein-free cappuccino-like chicory drink. I have loved this since back in the 90's, first trying it at my friend Olivier's, he served it in a big bowl with milk and a croissant on the side. Yum. I make it in the morning and then buy a coffee at work so that don't get too buzzed up on caffeine.

Sadie Painting

Did I mention that Sadie died in September and we're still heartbroken?

This started out as a sketch as above. Chui said to make the eyes bigger, and fixed the reflection not to be a precise dot, but more diffuse on the eyeball. Also he had me compare the whites in the couch vs. her fur, which was the lightest part of the painting. The detail on the pillow is not too detailed, which would look finicky. The painting is inspired by a number of Cavalier paintings, one sent from a friend who photographed this Manet.

Chui himself made this sketch of Sadie which I've posted before, it's lovely. The fur is amazing.

And various other artists:

 

From a friend's house, don't know the artist

Karalan Piirakat - Karelian Pastries

1. Rice porridge 2. Dough rolled into log and divided 3. Pirkko showing rolled out oval
4. Ready to bake 5. Brushed with butter

Karelia is the part of Finland that borders Russia, and they have a unique cuisine that I grew up loving. These "pastries" originate from Karelia, but can be bought all over Finland, in fact no one makes these there, they are so easy to find in the grocery stores. They are eaten at breakfast or lunch, and are savory, not sweet. For us here in Wakefield (or as it happens, Montreal for this post), they are a special treat, and our friend Pirkko came over and taught us how the make them.

Rice Porridge:

3 dl arborio rice (= 1.27 or 1 and 1/4 cups)
2 1/2 dl water (= 1 cup)

boil until water is gone (watching carefully). Then add 1 L milk (add 2 cups at a time) and cook on low heat to make porridge, cook until milk is absorbed then add more as needed until porridge consistency and rice is cooked. It takes about 4 cups)

Dough

4 dl rye flour (1 3/4 cups)
1 dl white flour (0.4 cups, that is a bit more than 1/3 cup but less than 1/2 cup)
2 dl water (warm)
1-2 tsp salt

Mix in mixmaster or by hand (Pirkko did by hand with a wooden spoon). To roll out, use a lot of flour on the board or mat. Roll dough into a log and divide, then roll pieces by hand into balls and then use rolling pin to flatten into oval shape (see photo). Put rice in centre and pinch sides first, then continue pinching into shape as above. Bake at 400 F for 10 minutes or until bottom of pastry is brown. Brush generously with melted butter and serve with hard boiled eggs.

Christmas Turkey?

Could you eat this bird? We were supposed to have her for Christmas dinner, but I don't know if we will have the heart to do her in. We had 10 turkey chicks, and when there are many you don't get to know them. But this year, the raccoons killed 9. So... this one turkey is left, and we got to know her, and she is nice. So I don't know... maybe we'll have ham this year.

Still Life with Coffee Pot

Final night

First + second night

3rd night

I had a hard time with the background grey, it is french ultramarine blue with sienna brown. I guess all greys are a mix of blue with orange or brown, as my father told me. Trying to make the pot look metallic was not so hard when I tried to just copy the colours one by one, and their shape, and darkness or lightness, without thinking to much about the whole.

The real thing. Fake flowers though.

Butter Chicken

This recipe is from my friend Rachel, who got it from an Indian Restaurant Cookbook which has long since been out of print. I have made this recipe a great many times for dinner parties, and served over basmati rice it is delicious, and easy to make as well. This pic shows chicken from our farm, all cooked up. It seems like a lot of ingredients, but they are mostly spices. From the book: "Butter chicken is made from freshly cooked tandoori chicken joints reheated in tomato sauce laden with butter and cream." Mmmmm. Serve with some jarred lime pickle, I like Patak's.

Tandoori Chicken

8 pieces of fleshy chicken
1 cup thick plain yoghurt
2 tbsp tandoori spice mix (I use Patak's in a jar)
2 tsp ground coriander
2 tsp paprika
1 tsp turmeric
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 cloves garlic

1. Make deep cuts in the chicken with a sharp knife, arrange in a single layer in a glass dish for marinating and baking

2. Mix yoghurt with all spices, lemon and crushed garlic, salt.

3. Spread mix thickly over chicken, cover with foil, put in fridge to marinate x 8 hours

4. Bring back to room temperature x 1 hour then remove foil, cook in preheated oven at 350F x 45-60 min  or until cooked through.

Now use this to make the butter chicken:

Ingredients:

1 large onion, finely chopped
1 clove finely chopped garlic
1 cm ginger peeled and finely chopped
1/3 cup butter
1 tbsp ground cumin
1 tsp EACH ground ginger, paprika, chili powder
2 tsp garam masala
1/2 tsp ground fenugreek
2 tbsp tomato paste
1 tsp ssugar
1 tsp salt
1 can of chopped tomatoes drained
juice of 1/2 lime or lemon
2/3 cup whipping cream
4 tbsp fresh chopped coriander


1. Fry the onion, garlic and ginger in butter until light gold, about 5 minutes on med heat

2. Stir in all the spices followed by the tomato paste, sugar and salt. Add the tomatoes and lemon juice. Leave on low heat

3. When cooked chicken is cool enough to handle, cut into small neat pieces and add to the tomato mixture, simmer half covered 20 minutes  until chicken is well heated through. (Note: I put in all juices and sauce from tandoori chicken).

4. Gradually blend in the cream, stir and reheat briefly. Serve sprinkled with fresh chopped coriander. And the jarred lime pickle on the side.

Scones for Breakfast

This is a great recipe from a medical student that I worked with named Colleen, and it makes me wonder what she is doing now- I think she became a surgeon. I should look her up. Anyway it's a wonderful recipe that she gave me to make with cranberries, but it really works well with any kind of fruit - I made these for J using blueberries.

Ingredients

3/4 cup buttermilk or plain yoghurt
1 egg
2 3/4 cups flour (for whole wheat scones substitute 1 cup with whole wheat flour)
4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter melted a bit in the microwave
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup fruit blueberries here (but I often use frozen cranberries, chopped strawberries, whatever is on hand)

Preheat oven to 375 F. Mix yoghurt + egg and set aside

In a large bowl mix flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
Mix in melted butter.
Mix in cranberries, sugar.
Add wet ingredients and stir until soft dough forms. Use hands to form a large ball and put on a dinner plate, pat into a circle and cut into 8 wedges like pie pieces.
Place on cookie sheet covered with parchment paper and bake for 15-20 minutes. They don't need a lot of room as they don't expand when baking. While still warm brush with melted butter and sprinkle with icing sugar. Makes 8 large scones.

Unbaked scones on baking sheet

Ready to eat

Carrot Haul 2014

We dug up about 100 lbs of carrots this year, a record.

The best find was the giant carrot

It looks only medium sized on its own

Then compared to the dog  it looks bigger (the pumpkin had some animal was gnaw on it- it wasn't the dog, she even spits out the vegetables when we give her leftover stew).

The best size comparison is the baby

Below is soup a recipe from my friend Sylvia, and we have made this soup many many times now- delicious.

Moroccan carrot soup

Yield: Makes 4 servings

Active Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes

Ingredients

2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter

1 cup chopped white onion

1 pound large carrots, peeled, cut into 1/2-inch dice (about 2 2/3 cups)

2 1/2 cups low-salt chicken broth

1 1/2 teaspoons cumin seeds

1 tablespoon honey

1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

1/8 teaspoon ground allspice

1/2 cup plain yogurt, stirred to loosen

Preparation

Melt butter in large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion; sauté 2 minutes. Mix in carrots. Add broth; bring to boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer until carrots are very tender, about 20 minutes.

Stir cumin seeds in small skillet over medium-high heat until fragrant, 4 to 5 minutes; cool. Finely grind in spice mill.

Remove soup from heat. Puree in batches in blender until smooth. Return to same pan. Whisk in honey, lemon juice, and allspice. Season with salt and pepper.

Ladle soup into bowls. Drizzle yogurt over; sprinkle generously with cumin.

Per serving: 154.7 kcal calories, 42.1 % calories from fat, 7.2 g fat, 4.5 g saturated fat, 22.1 mg cholesterol, 18.7 g carbohydrates, 3.2. g dietary fiber, 11.8 g total sugars, 15.5 g net carbohydrates, 5.0 g protein

Nutritional analysis provided by Bon Appétit

I Love New York

I love New York. I love it like a person. So I wanted to paint it. This is the Pomona statue in New York, which is in front of the Plaza hotel; I took the photo in the springtime, and when the exercise was to paint from a photo, I brought it to class. Chui told me to zoom in on the statue, because otherwise it would be lost in the painting. There are a lot of blues in the trees, much more than I thought, until Chui corrected me, and the shadow under the fountain is very dark. He told me to make the statue itself "more elegant" and shaved off a lot of the fat by painting over it. A lot of viridian green in that. However, the original statue is even more elegant, and fluid. I don't know how they did it, those bronze masters; Bitter, the sculptor, sadly, died in a car accident before he completed it.The fountain and monument were commissioned by Pulitzer and the story about that is found here.

This is what happens when Sempe comes along: