0 WORDLESS WEDNESDAY - UNSPOILED

0 One Nite Stands

Mignardises Freehand, watercolor, 9" x 11" An artist and her paintbrushes are like past lovers.
Some come and go so fast.
You can't remember what you ever saw in them.

Why is it in every new town, you go looking for a new one for amusement.

And why is it, old Frenchies (Isabey Petit Gris #6234) you were once so crazy about, are now stashed away in mothballs?

Your current French loves (Isabey Martre #6225) you discovered by chance in Paris and no where else, have suddenly become awfully pricy to keep around - they used to be so affordable...sigh Just like naughty gigolos.

An old favorite standby (these German DaVinci 'Junior synthetic') have stuck with me through thick and thin and are so affordable.

I still love YOU Babe!

I recently ran into an old boyfriend (a live one) and he flipped for these watercolors drawn with a paintbrush.

Naturalement I dragged out some old favorites and started messing with them.

Paintbrushes waiting on the back burner like forever are hoping to get a second chance with moi. Qui sait?

Actually the newest, hottest love of my life is this Winsor & Newton LARGE size watercolor pan - I am so in love with you BABE - I bought a bunch over the 4th holiday at Dick Blick. I can not wait till you arrive you darlings!

So are YOU madly in love with something and do you think if will last or just be a One Nite Stand?

Do tell all PBers!

BONJOUR OLD LOVES!

0 Roberta di Camerino

Back to Venice today to the Museo Fortuny and an exhibit of Roberta di Camerino.
Idiot moi did not even know who de Camerino was - a famous Venetian fashion designer.

Particularly famous for her trompe l'oeil bags that graced the arms of Callas, Princess Grace and were adored by Dali. She died in December of last year at the age of 92.
La Museo Fortuny with it's ancient figure sculptures was the perfect setting for her collections..
And Grazie tanti to Liz in London who sent me a Donna Leon signed (!) copy of her latest, Drawing Conclusions. Mio dio! I haven't read it yet but Commissario Brunetti never disappoints.
Camerino's jersey dresses fool the eye/trompe l'oeil...

With their printed drapery...

And criss-crossed faux pleats...

Especially over the derriere...

Here a faux cardigan and skirt set all in one-piece...

So witty, so convenient. Who has not left a cardigan in a restaurant or somewhere else? No chance of that when wearing a Roberta di Camerino!

If you have a di Camerino bag do you need to wear anything else?

Did the painting come first or the jersey dress?

These glasses turned upside down sitting out in the sun at a nearby Venice cafe reminded me of di Camerino's brilliant colors...

BUON GIORNO ROBERTA di CAMERINO!

0 Maison Blanc UK

Maison Blanc Petits Fours, watercolor, 9" x 11" Last May I was forced to immerse myself in petit four pastries day AND night. Really the correct French word is mignardises for these cuties.

I was forced to wolf down great quantities to find my inner, ultimate petit four self...

How else can you paint something?

If you don't know it...

Up close and personal?

I was commissioned to paint illustrations for Maison Blanc Patisseries in the UK.

June a year ago, by chance I stopped in at the Fulham Road Maison Blanc for a spot of tea...

A pleasent combination of Frenchness and British afternoon tea don't you think? Tres charmant French chef Raymond Blanc is their maitre in charge of every bite and their desserts are quite stupendous.

I had a bite of their luscious Concerto chocolate cake

Naturalemente I took a shot of the menu...

Inside and out...

And this past May I was immersed in doing illustrations for their new menu thanks to Paris Breakfast.

That's why all the petits fours and chocolate gateaux torture around here.

And it's why I spent my birthday in May getting upclose and personal with a tunafish sandwich too. If you're in the UK do stop in and say bonjour for me.
Bonjour MAISON BLANC & Bonne Fourth to YOU!

0 MY SWISS MÉMÉ'S CAKE - THE RAMBLING EPICURE

What children need most are the essentials that grandparents provide in abundance. They give unconditional love, kindness, patience, humor, comfort, lessons in life. And, most importantly, cookies.
- Rudolph Giuliani

Each of us had (or still has) a grandmother that holds a special place in our heart. Most people can speak about their grannies with much love and tenderness as it is impossible not to cherish someone who gave (gives) unconditional love, spoiled (spoils) them with gifts, was (is) a supportive figure in their life and had (has) a big influence on them.

Grandmothers are no less important than our mother as they are the pillar of the family and the beholders of a certain heritage. We will always remember those beautiful bonding moments we shared with them while attentively listening to them tell stories about the past, our parents' childhood, their misfortunes and youth or while baking cakes, preparing meals together and spending our holidays at their place. Those are valuable memories and indelible happy instants that we will never forget. As a matter of fact, we will certainly still continue talking about them when we reach a certain age ourselves.

"Grandmas are moms with lots of frosting."
- Author Unknown

Some people had doting grandmothers who were not afraid of showing their affection, whereas others had indifferent and teacher-like grandmothers. Unfortunately, even if mine were far from being unkind, they weren't either very close to their grandchildren. I can't recall seeing them go completely ga-ga over me and my sister. They just treated us with the same deference with which they handled non-family members, but we never got a special treatment or extra kisses and hugs.

Anyway, for somebody like me who is particularly attached the the culinary aspect of things and who was not blessed with the most demonstrative of grandmothers, you won't be surprised if I tell you that what I especially treasure are the times I spent watching my English Nana and Swiss Mémé busily bustling around the stove. I might not have been shown how to prepare many recipes with my grandmas (as a matter of fact none of them passed any of their recipes on to me), but looking at them cook has made me learn a lot and develop a passion for creating meals from scratch with natural ingredients and for eating in a responsible way. They have helped me become the seasoned home "chef" that I am now and I am very thankful that they have enlightened me with their knowledge, which has been passed on from generation to generation.

I am so proud and happy to be in possession of certain of their kitchen "secrets" hailing from a revolved era and to have been able to witness a way of living that nearly no longer exists. As I owe them a lot, I decided to rightfully commemorate those two unique beings by writing articles about both of them and spreading their gastronomic heritage as much as possible so that others can profit from it as it would be too sad to be greedy and keep it all for myself...

"In our modern world, most women choose or have to work, and countless couples don’t have the time or energy to become kitchen bees. Many people prefer buying prepackaged food and don’t see any point in spending their free time preparing homemade snacks. The majority of 21^st-century grandmothers hail from a generation of females who cut themselves off from old traditions..."
- Excerpt by me & taken from my latest article on The Rambling Epicure

So, if you are interested in reading more about my Swiss grandmother and discovering her recipe for a simple, yet versatile sheet cake named "Galette Du Pont", then please visit the The Rambling Epicure, a daily international food chronicle and online newspaper for which I am a freelance writer and ponder on the meaning as well as significance of food in everyday life. There you'll find my latest article "My Swiss Grandmother’s Cooking: The Deep Roots, Bonds and Nostalgia of Food" which I hope you'll enjoy...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Beaucoup de mes lecteurs francophones ne comprennent pas forcément l'anglais et malheureusement peu d'entre-eux auront la chance de lire mon dernier article en date sur le site The Rambling Epicure, alors étant donné que vous m'êtes chers, je me suis permise de traduire la recette de ma grand-mère paternelle qui s'y trouve car je pense qu'elle pourra vous intéresser.

J'espère que le cake simple, humble et à usage multiple de ma Mémé, qui était originaire du canton de Vaud en Suisse Romande, vous plaira. Cette gourmandise a bercé toute mon enfance et occupe une place toute particulière dans mon coeur...

~ Galette Du Pont ~
Recette par Rosa Mayland, Mai 2011.

Pour un grand cake rectangulaire de 24x37cm.

Ingrédients:
500g de Farine blanche
3 CC de Poudre à lever
1/2 CC de Sel de mer fin
125g de Beurre non-salé
250g de Sucre cristallisé
2 CS d'Huile d'arachides (ou toute autre huile ayant un goût neutre)
2 1/2 CC d'Extrait de Vanille pure
4 Gros oeufs, à température ambiante
16-18 CS de Lait (assez afin d'obtenir une consistance de pâte à cake)

Méthode:
1. Préchauffer le four à 180° C.
2. Beurrer un moule à cake rectangulaire et tapisser le fond avec du papier sulfurisé.
3. Dans un bol moyen, mélanger ensemble la farine, la poudre à lever et le sel. Mettre de côté.
4. Dans le bol de votre robot, battre le beurre avec le sucre en crème/pommade.
5. Ajouter l'huile et la vanille. Battre à nouveau afin que ces ingrédients soient bien incorporés.
6. Ajouter les 4 oeufs, un à un et bien mélanger en nettoyant les bords à l'aide d'une spatule en caoutchouc (après chaque ajout).
7. Incorporer les ingrédients secs en alternance avec le lait et bien mélanger afin d'obtenir une pâte lisse et homogène.
8. Verser dans le moule et répartir de manière égale.
9. Cuire pendant 45 minutes ou jusqu'à ce que la pointe d'un couteau inséré à l'intérieur du cake en ressorte propre.
10. Laisser refroidir dans le moule et sur un grille.

Remarques:
Vous pouver sans problème diviser cette recette.

Idées de présentation:
Servir ce cake à l'heure du thé avec un bon café et un thé noir.
Il est délicieux lorsqu'il est servi seul (c'est comme ça que ma grand-mère nous le faisait manger) ou recouvert d'un glaçage, coupé en deux et fourré (crème au beurre, confiture de fraises, Nutella, crème pâtissière, etc…) ou encore tout simplement présenté avec des fraises et de la crème fouettée.