Model Vegetables

NOTE: After the last post and an urgent visit to the doctor, I was taken off work; my back and leg pain being just too extreme to handle the commute and workday any longer. Since then I’ve been getting lots of rest and taking my medication when needed — a godsend. More treatments and physical therapy will follow, but for now I’m home. To stave off boredom and the vegetative state induced by daytime TV I will be engaging in simple, non-taxing, projects. And, speaking of vegetables …

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THE REMORSEFUL SOUSE

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I love when the mailman delivers a book I’d forgotten I’d ordered; last week’s surprise tome was ‘Pretty Ugly: Visual Rebellion in Design’ (buy it here). An examination of the “new ugly” in design, it’s full of examples of high style that’s purposefully low-brow … think garish colors, bizarro fashions and furniture, amateurish photography, cringe-worthy typography. You should know I love it … and what a great book to receive right now; I haven’t been able to put it down. I was thinking of this book Saturday morning when Paul came home from the farmer’s market with a Japanese eggplant that had something extra: a ski nose that Bob Hope might envy. Silly, I know, but I had to memorialize this special veggie before it became ratatouille … why not have it star in a ‘Pretty Ugly’-style scene of domestic drama? I have plenty of gaudy-hued stuff around the house I can use as a backdrop and I am a fiercely amateur photog, after all. Well, I thought the photo turned out so well I targeted two additional far-mar veggies for tableaux; they follow. The wayward eggplant was our ratatouille’s delicious main man Sunday morning, but I think next time I’ll try this savory version that features capers and fresh mint.

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UNDER THE VENUSIAN WATERFALL

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Beneath polka-dotted paper skies, Chinese long beans cascade over chola-browed alien princesses; the same beans cut down were added to Sunday’s ratatouille. Next time I think we’ll pickle them; click here for the tangy recipe.

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IN THE PRESENCE OF HIS MAJESTY’S BENEVOLENT GOLDEN GLOW  

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Finally, this imperial vision comes courtesy of a halved acorn squash and some collected African busts. Inspired by the pairing I tracked down a recipe for African Peanut & Squash Stew. As always, I altered the recipe to suit my tastes, doubling the spice amounts and using a large jalapeño pepper in place of a small red one. Easy and quick to prepare and delicious … Paul’s having some for breakfast with a hard-boiled egg sliced into it.

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I enjoyed putting this post together, it got me off the couch painlessly and kept my mind from becoming mush … Now to tackle that huge stack of art and photography books in my office, there’s inspiration between those covers!