During my interview with John Lehndorff last week, we talked a little about pie and our love for this delicious concoction.  The pie I tasted with him was okay but it inspired me to make my own using a fabulous recipe for the crust that can be found in my book.  (I’ll write it here for you too.)  Organic blueberries were on special at the market and I bought a few punnets for my pie.  Since June is Bud’s birthday month the pie would be part of a studio lunch celebration.

I prepared the berries and let them sit while making and chilling the pastry.

I  combined 4 cups blueberries with 6 tablespoons sugar, a teaspoon ground ginger and a tablespoon of instant tapioca.  (James VanDyk turned me on to ginger with blueberries at his Gateway Cafe.)

The pastry:

Combine in the Cuisinart 2 ½ Cups unbleached flour, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 Tablespoon sugar and pulse 5 times to sift.  Add 10 ounces (2 1/2 sticks) cold, unsalted butter cut into tablespoon pieces and pulse 5 times.

Add, in three parts, 6 Tablespoons ice water and pulse each addition twice. Dough should not turn into a solid mass.  Turn crumbly mixture onto the countertop and grab together to make a cohesive dough.  Do not overwork. It may seem a bit dry but resist adding a little water unless it really cannot be compressed.

Divide into two, one a little bigger than the other. Flatten each piece into a disk, wrap in waxed paper, and refrigerate ½ hour.

Roll each piece to about 3/8-inch-thick between sheets of lightly floured waxed paper.   Place the larger piece in a pie pan and fill with the berries. Cover with the second piece of rolled dough. Trim any excess and press the two edges together.  Don’t worry if the pastry breaks, you can patch with the trimmings. Flute the edges. Save the trimmings for a tiny tart or bake with a coating of cinnamon sugar for a cook’s treat.

Pierce the crust in several places, then brush with cream or half-and-half .

Bake, on a baking sheet to catch any spills, at 450° for 45 minutes until brown and the berries bubbly.

Top: Apple Pie, oil on canvas, 46 x 46 inches

(Maggie Gilboy and Roseanne Colachis, our other resident pie baker)

 

Just a reminder that I will be signing books at the Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art on Wednesday, June 20, 5:30 ’til 7:30.  Several paintings will be on display and books will be available for purchase.

A couple articles about the book came out this week.  One by John Lehndorff in the Boulder Weekly and one by Susan McCann in the Redstone Review.  Here are links: http://www.boulderweekly.com/cuisine/the-art-of-dinner/ and https://issuu.com/sdcmc/docs/redstonejunejuly2018/10

Lehndorff quotes me as saying I don’t like to repeat myself in the kitchen and that’s true.  I vary a dish each time I make it, either out of forgetfulness or boredom or the contents of my fridge. One constant in our life is a breakfast of granola, yogurt and fruit.  We take homemade granola on our travels to art fairs and on camping trips. Bud in particular even orders granola for breakfast in restaurants. I don’t go that far as I like something different every now and then such as pancakes or eggs and bacon. (Those cravings are satisfied by preparing breakfast for supper.)

This week Connie Zweck had organic strawberries at her farm stand, the perfect complement to my granola.

 

My current recipe for granola includes nuts, seeds, coconut and oats.  I make it without  oats for visitors preferring a grain-free dish.

I chop the nuts in my Cuisinart, almonds first as they are the hardest. Then in go walnuts, cashews, pecans and hazelnuts. I dump these into a large bowl to which I add seeds, seasonings, sweetener and oil.

Here’s the recipe:

In the Cuisinart chop with several pulses ─ or by hand:  6 ounces raw almonds, (about 1 1/4 cups), 6 ounces raw cashews, (1 cup), 6 ounces other raw nuts ─ walnuts, pecans, hazelnuts, (1 cup). You’ll end up with various sized pieces from crumbs to chunks.  Don’t overprocess.

Place in a large bowl with 1 cup pepitas, 3/4 cup sunflower seeds, 1/4 sesame seeds and/or flax seeds. If you would like to include oats, add 2 cups.

Stir in 1 cup unsweetened coconut flakes and 1/2 cup shredded, unsweetened coconut, 1/3 cup cacao nibs, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 1 teaspoon ground ginger, 1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg, (about half of a nut) and a big pinch of salt.

Over all this, pour 1/3 cup honey or maple syrup and 1/3 cup canola or your favorite flavorless vegetable oil. (Though I think olive oil would bring a fruity deliciousness.)

Stir until well combined and moistened. Spread in a high-sided baking pan,  9 x 13 inches, and roast in a 350° oven for 15 minutes.  Stir up and continue roasting, about 15  minutes, until browned, toasty and fragrant.  Cool, then store in a jar or tin.

This makes enough for a week of 1/2 cup servings for two. Pictured here in a bowl by Kate Villareal.

Top: Ginger Flowers, oil on canvas, 60 x 40 inches

(our niece, Hilary Niceswanger Smith in the Holualoa kitchen)

We were leaving the next day for San Francisco and the opening of an exhibition of the monoprints Mildred Howard made with Bud this spring.  I needed to empty the fridge.  In it were the remains of a container of ricotta and a big, fat artichoke that I had bought, forgetting we would be away.  I couldn’t waste it so made it the star of our last dinner before flying off to the show and a visit with our Bay area pals.

Above is a drawing from a get-together at Hung’s Oakland studio a few years ago.  Probably more than a few but who can count? We were excited to see everyone, Mildred and John, Hung and Jeff, Kara and Enrique, Hardy and Francesca.

But back to that artichoke.  I remembered a recipe I had made several times from a wonderful cookbook by Evan Kleiman called Verdura, and pulled it off the shelf to remind myself of the ingredients.  Great, I have everything.

First I prepared the artichoke by pulling off the small, dry leaves, halving it, and cutting out the choke, rubbing the cut areas with lemon as I went.  I dropped the halves into boiling water with the chunk of lemon and cooked them until tender, about 12 minutes.  I tested them periodically with a skewer to be sure I didn’t overcook them.

The drained artichoke halves went into a baking dish. I preheated the oven to 375° and prepared the filling.

In a small bowl (made by Setsuko Morinoue) I combined a crushed clove of garlic, the zest of half a lemon, and a couple tablespoons of parmesan, a little salt and pepper with a cup of ricotta. Then I lightly toasted a small handful of pinenuts in a dry iron skillet, watching carefully and shaking the pan so they didn’t burn.  It took about 3 minutes.  (Walnuts would be a good substitute.)

This stuffing went into the artichokes, topped with panko, a little more parmesan and a drizzle of olive oil. They were ready to bake at 375° for 20 minutes until hot and browned.

To accompany the artichokes I made a simple green salad topped with a few grilled shrimp, some julienned radish and sliced avocado.  I squeezed the bald lemon half to make a dressing with olive oil, salt and pepper.

The artichokes perched on dragon plates made by Priscilla Cohan of Lyons.  To eat, a messy proposition, we pulled the bottom leaves off the artichoke and scooped up some filling.  When we reached the heart, we used fork and knife to finish the delectable dish.

Top:  Hung’s Party, pastel and charcoal on paper, 30 x 42 inches.

(Hung Liu and Manuel Ocampo)