Old Friends (from the permanent collection)

Last week I took a day off work. I was not traveling and I did not spend the day on the playground. Instead I headed for the National Gallery of Art. As I made my way through the galleries, I visited some old "friends" and spotted some new works.

I have the softest of spots in heart for Andre Derain's Charing Cross Bridge. I had a print of this work years ago in my very first apartment. Of course no print can convey the vibrant colors and beauty. The pink sky still takes my breath away.


André Derain, Charing Cross Bridge, London, 1906, National Gallery of Art, Washington, John Hay Whitney Collection

Just feet away, hangs Tugboat on the Seine by a chum of Derain's, Maurice de Vlaminck. Did friends ever imagine some hundred years ago that their works would hang side by side in museums?



Maurice de Vlaminck, Tugboat on the Seine, Chatou, 1906, National Gallery of Art, Washington, Collection of Mr. and Mrs. John Hay Whitney

Robert Delaunay's work has a striking resemblance to the style of his wife Sonia Delaunay.  The same flat vibrant color. The same spheres. Surely today they would run a design studio and have their own Target product line.


Robert Delaunay, Political Drama, 1914 Gift of the Joseph H. Hazen Foundation, Inc.

On a wall just over is a portrait by the great Pablo Picasso, before he went off the deep end into cubism (I get it, just don't love it). A search for Petrus Manach, an art dealer, doesn't reveal much except this portrait that forever immortalized his likeness. Money well spent, Sir.


Pablo Picasso, Pedro Mañach, 1901 Chester Dale Collection

Despite the gentle colors, I have always found this work heartbreaking. It is their faces full of sorrow, the thought of what these haunting eyes have seen, their closeness and distance (Gorky's mother died of starvation long before this work was started).   Beautiful, fragile, and tragic.



Arshile Gorky The Artist and His Mother Alisa Mellon Bruce Fund

 

I confess, I have not heard of Lyonel Feininger before this visit, but the movement of this work, drew my eye immediately across the gallery. Dynamic and bright, it shook me out of melancholy of Arshile Gorky.

 

Lyonel Feininger The Bicycle Race, 1912 Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mellon

Yes, I know what I said about cubism, but this work takes breath away (literally, holds you still so to not make too much noise). For its diminutive size it packs a lot in, creating a feeling of standing in the middle of a cathedral and expecting to hear echo. It is fantastic!

Max Weber Interior of the Fourth Dimension, 1913 Gift of Natalie Davis Spingarn in memory of Linda R. Miller and in Honor of the 50th Anniversary of the National Gallery of Art

Klatch Kitchen's Fall Bounty

Fall is here. We've carved our first pumpkin. Drank the first cup of hot chocolate. Have been blitzed by acorns from our oak tree. And stocked the kitchen from Mom's and neighborhood Asian supermarket with cozy fall foods.

Not sure why anyone ever badmouths Brussels Sprouts. They must have only experienced them as overcooked bland mush. We roasted our first batch this weekend and Brussels Sprouts will most likely appear among Thanksgiving side dishes at our house.

Simplest and tastiest Brussels: quarter them, drizzle and mix with olive oil, sea salt, cumin, and coriander and roast at 375 degrees 30-35 minutes (just watch closely for golden brown, pulling out before they burn).  

 

This is no ordinary yam. Korean Sweet Potato (Goguma) is nutty and sweet, more akin to a chestnut's flavor than regular sweet potato.

 



Baked or roasted, Goguma is a tasty alternative to sweet potato with a unique flavor. Be sure not to undercook it, the texture is too firm and the flavor just isn't there until it is fully cooked.

 

We carved our first Jack-O-Lantern and toasted the seeds. Our kitchen is the coziest place in the world these days. Don't believe me? Come on over.

 

Pumpkin Seeds drying off before toasting.

 

Homemade spiced donuts getting some mileage out of my new donut pan! These are baked and GF (that's inside speak for Gluten Free). Kid folk was over the moon.

 

A year ago, I couldn't imagine making donuts at home. But it is surprisingly easy once you take the whole deep frying out of the equation. Donuts were especially good just out of the oven.

 

Chef Matt got me past my prejudice for beets but golden beets are a whole another ball game. For one, there is no staining to deal with. And they are so very pretty. Besides, aren't beets the trendy veg these days? Roasted and tossed in vinaigrette, excellent. 

 

 

 

Kabocha is a Japanese winter squash, rich in beta carotene, iron, and potassium. We've always stuck with butternut and acorn, how very dull. Until now (I mean a squash is a squash, right? How hard can this be?).

 

Kabocha awaits its fate in my kitchen.

 

A nod back to the summer, the makings of tomatillo salsa. Tomatillos, onion, lime juice, and jalapeno, into the food processor and done! Spicy tasty salsa to top off anything boring. I must say while the flavor was great, the texture of tomatillo was a turn off. Perhaps green tomatoes next time!

 

 

Happy Fall! Drop me a note and tell me what's cooking in your kitchen.