paintings + drawings

Delicious Cold Pickles

from Douglas Witmer

ingredients
3 qt. sliced cucumbers
2 3/4 cups sugar
1 green pepper, chopped
2 cups Musselman's vinegar
2 large onions, sliced
2 Tbsp garlic salt
1 4oz jar chopped pimento
1 Tbsp celery seed

directions
1. Combine all the ingredients in a large container with a tight lid, making sure everything is mixed thoroughly.
2. Refrigerate for three days.  During this time, shake container twice daily.  Use within two weeks.


This recipe is from my grandmother Mary Wert, published in her Mennonite church cookbook.  It's classic "Lancaster-County-Pennsylvania-in-the-summertime."

Three Days Left

Just a quick reminder that MY CERTAIN FATE, the group show I organized at Pharmaka, is drawing to a close. The last day to see the exhibition is this Saturday, June 6. All modesty aside, the show looks super (basically because of the work from its stellar line-up) and is worth your while to check out. (And a big thanks to everyone who has already stopped by, why not come in again?)

Napalm Cider

from Kevin Parks Hauser.

ingredients
1 liter of orange juice
1 pint whiskey
2 tablespoons cinnamon
1 table spoon brown sugar

directions
1. Bring orange juice to a boil.
2. Add whiskey, cinnamon and sugar. If the flavor is too much, you can also cut it with some hot water.

My friend and I made this drink a few years back. It's from a book of recipes we were working on together. The drink is similar to a hot tottie. Perfect for a cold or a cold winter's night.

Meatball Soup

from Sylvia Fragoso

Meatballs

ingredients
2 pounds ground beef (or substitute with ground turkey)
1 or 2 cloves of garlic, diced or mashed
1/8 tsp. pepper
1 medium onion
1 cup breadcrumbs
2 eggs

directions
1. Combine all ingredients and shape into meatballs about 3/4" in diameter.
2. Put in a baking pan with a rim and bake at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes.
3. Remove from the baking pan and drop carefully into the soup.

Soup

ingredients
1 bunch of celery
3 onions
2 carrots
2 potatoes
2 whole cloves
1 tsp. thyme or oregano
1 tsp. cilantro
1 tsp. parsley
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 pounds of tomatoes, coarsely chopped
1 cup of wine (optional)
2/3 tbs. corn starch
1 cup of olive oil

1. Coarsely chop vegetables. 
2. In two tablespoons of olive oil saute vegetables and spices for 15 minutes. 
3. Add 3 quarts of water or vegetable broth and a cup of wine, bring to a boil, drop in meatballs and bring down to a simmer for 20 minutes. Add fresh herbs, salt and pepper, and correct seasoning if necessary.

Raw Zucchini With Avocado And Pistachios

From Nina Zurier.

ingredients
4 smallish (6" long) zuccuni
1 avocado
handful of raw shelled (unsalted) green pistachios

directions
1. Using a potato peeler on the zucchini lengthwise, make long wide "noodles" as thin as possible.
2. Place in a bowl and toss with olive oil and lemon juice.
3. Transfer to platter and put slices of avocado on top and then sprinkle pistachios. Serves four.

This is my favorite summer vegetable dish.

Cannellini Bean Casserole (Alla 3rd Street)

from Michael Macfeat.

ingredients
3 links of grilled mild Italian sausage, cut into 1" lengths
3 cans of Cannellini Beans
3 onions, chopped
3 stalks of celery, cut into 1/4" lengths
3 cloves of garlic, sliced
1/2 cup of white wine
fresh thyme
sprinkling of Herbes de Provence
salt & pepper to taste


directions
1. Grill the 3 links of Italian sausage, let cool and cut into 1" sections.
2. Saute onions in 2 tablespoons of butter. Add cut celery. Add garlic. Add beans, wine, chopped fresh thyme, sprinkling of Herbes de Provence, and salt & pepper.
3. Simmer for 30 minutes.

The recipe may be heavy on the wine. Start with a 1/4 cup and see what it looks like. You don't want it too soupy.

I definitely make more elegant meals but the bean casserole, which I made up by the way, always gets rave reviews. What convinced me of its success is that people that don't think they like beans love it. It tastes better than it looks on paper. It is very good with a rack of lamb (marinated in balsamic vinegar and chopped fresh rosemary, and then grilled).

My Certain Fate

Pictures Of The Exhibition

My Certain Fate at Pharmaka.

See You There

When It All Began

I made my first mix tape in 1979 while staying up late trying to record Pink Floyd’s runaway hit song “Another Brick In The Wall, Part One.”

The 45RPM had been sold out at my local record store for weeks. I had only heard snippets of it on the radio, but its message had become legendary with my middle school crowd. I had to own it.

Lying on the floor with my RadioShack portable cassette player – its microphone jammed against my clock radio’s speaker – waiting for Pink Floyd to come on, I realized that I could go beyond recording that one contemporary song of rebellion. I was soon jotting onto tape anything that evening that seemed connected to that song: Blondie’s Heart of Glass, Billy Joel’s My Life, M’s Popmuzik, The Knack’s My Sharona, Herb Alpert’s Rise and Don’t Bring Me Down from ELO.