Purple potato soup

 Oh hello there, purple potato and cauliflower soup. What a nice way to welcome in September! 

Addie & Lilly

Here's something very exciting! I've been collaborating with David and Lance at Parker Kennedy Living to create eating a new artwork line called “ADDISON & LILLY.”

The artwork series is inspired by famed architect Addison Mizner and the colorful life of the legendary Lilly Pulitzer. Instagrammers—please join David and me tonight at 7pm eastern on the @PKLthecellar account to hear us chat about the new collaboration and the details of what inspired it. Hope to see you, but until then, make it a pink and green sort of a day!

Chowdah!

My husband. Dan, makes a damn good bowl of New England clam chowder,  he made a briny batch for our 4th of July dinner. The clams are paramount, of course, but the crispy salt pork cracklings are beyond. I also add chives, pink peppercorns, and blue borage blossoms. Fact; Dan stood in line for one hour and 45 minutes to buy the littleneck clams from our fave fishmonger. Gold star!

Golden sky

Painting on the pergola this afternoon with buttery colors. Evening sail. Oil on canvas. This is a very small canvas, it’s only 4 x 6. I’m hoping to get a lot of these done for the summer season. Looks beautiful in a big chunky frame, and it’s affordable art!  Available via Room Tonic Decor, Marblehead, MA.

Parisian café

Bonsoir! It’s Friday and getting close to happy hour, so here’s a Parisian café scene to get us all in the mood for a frosty libation. I do miss the sounds of a lively and convivial café. This one is at the corner of Rue de Seine and Rue de Buci in Saint-Germain-des-Prés. Cheers!

Pain grillé with foie gras

Something yummy to start a special birthday dinner for Dan; buttered pain grillé with foie gras, champagne gelèe and pomegranate seeds.

La Belle et la Bête

We now interrupt our regularly scheduled springtime weather to bring you a bit of meteorological magic!! There’s nothing like a little snow in April to make our white garden look a little more, well, white. Love it!! I’m calling this photo ‘La Belle et la Bête.'

Blackberry panna cotta

This blackberry panna cotta with a crème de cassis infused blackberry coulis was our Easter dessert. La dolce vita.

Asparagus + hollandaise

Simplicité. I love anything lemony, especially hollandaise sauce. 🍋 Happy Easter, dear friends and fam—both near and far.

Lemony shrimp scampi

Oh hey there, shrimp scampi, it’s been a few years. Thanks for the comfort.

Moroccan lentil + carrot salad

We rocked the Casbah for today’s lunch with a salad of black beluga lentils, carrot ribbons, mint and cilantro, with a dressing made with Moroccan spices, orange juice and honey, along with a glass of mint tea. Light and refreshing.

Beet + goat cheese Napoleon

Oh—just a typical Wednesday night dinner at Chez Carnevale. 😂 Beet and herbed goat cheese Napoleon with honey orange syrup, toasted walnuts, orange zest, kale sprouts, all on a bed of frisée lettuce. I would have preferred adding micro greens instead of the kale sprouts, but it’s all that I had in the fridge, and no quick dashes to Whole Foods are allowed with Covid-19. Beets last for a really long time so I’ve stocked up both red and golden ones.

Ascend

Fresh paint— and a very small piece at only 5 x 7.“ This will be one of four paintings that I will be exhibiting at the annual Crane Estate art show (Castle Hill, Ipswich), coming up in a few weeks. The theme of this year’s show is “Dynamic Motion.”

Tomato + goat cheese tart

It's tomato season and the days are finally cooler, so it's a fine time to fire up the oven to make this colorful beauty! Here's how to make this cheesy tomato tart. I used Martha Stewart's Pâte brisée recipe for the crust, which makes enough for two, so why not make a second one to bring to work or give to a neighbor? You could also freeze one half of your dough for a later time. The recipe below is for one tart.

Once you've got the dough made and placed into your pan of choice (round, square or rectangular shape) you must let it rest in the fridge or freezer for 30 minutes first, or else when you blind bake it the dough will pull away from the top of your pan edges and shrink.

To blind bake your tart shell:

Once your tart dough has rested, remove the shell from the fridge or freezer, prick bottom with a fork, and line with parchment paper cut to fit. Fill with dried beans or metal pie weights. Bake in preheated a 375° oven until the crust is just beginning to brown, about 15 minutes. Remove from the oven, and remove beans or weights. Return the crust to the oven, and bake until golden brown, about 10 minutes more. Remove from the oven, and set aside on a wire rack to cool before filling with our cheese mixture and tomatoes. Keep the oven on. 

To make the cheese filling:

While your tart is baking, make or the cheese filling. I like to use a mix of Boursin herbed cheese, goat cheese, and cream cheese. The cheese is rich, so I also add in some lemon zest or a tsp. of dijon mustard to brighten up the flavors. 

1 package Boursin cheese

1/3 cup goat cheese

1/3 cup cream cheese

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

Mix all these ingredients into a bowl, then spread on the bottom of your tart. 

Top with the tomatoes:

Now comes the creative part... adding the sliced tomatoes! You may use any color or size of tomatoes  and make any pattern you wish. Slice the tomatoes into 1/4" slices, and the smaller grape tomatoes can be cut in half. For this tart I used a random pattern using several colors and sizes of tomatoes, but you could also use just one color tomato and layer them neatly, or alternate two colored tomatoes. 

To bake:

Once the tomatoes are on the tart spray with an olive oil spray (or brush with olive oil) to help the tomatoes brown. Place the tart on a sheet pan, and bake it in  a 375° for 15-20 minutes oven until the tomatoes and cheese just start to bubble. Remove tart from oven, and place on a wire rack to cool slightly before serving. Enjoy!

August Marsh

August Marsh 12 x 12"

My love affair with our North Shore marshes continues. I mean... isn’t this view sublime?! So after snapping such a pretty photo of my fave salt marsh last night (see below) I had to paint it this afternoon, while it was still fresh in my mind. This is Fox Creek Marsh in Ipswich, MA.

Madame butterfly

NEW WORK: Madame butterfly 8 x 10

I painted this to pay homage to our 11-year old yellow magnolia tree that died over this winter. We had a lot of rain last fall followed by intense cold temps. Lots of perennial plants in my garden died, also. The saddest part was that it was planted in remembrance of a fine young woman who died of her own hand, far too young. 

Painting donation to MGH

My Ipswich salt marsh painting was unveiled today at a reception at Massachusetts General Hospital  in Boston, where it will hang on the Blake 6 transplant floor. This painting is my humble way of thanking the lovely and amazing doctors, nurses, etc. — particularly on the Blake 6 transplant floor — who cared for me before, during and after my kidney transplant surgery and subsequent infections. I had a nice, cozy bed there for a total of 22 days over three stays. The staff at MGH are all titans in their medical profession. When it’s eventually hung on the walls of the transplant floor, I hope that this painting, which I have named ‘Radiance’, will bring joy to other transplant patients as they recover from their surgeries. This was such a nice way for them to acknowledge my little gift.. #forevergrateful #MGH

Below is the note I put on the back of my Radiance postcard, which I will keep a supply of in the Family Room on the transplant floor at MGH. I hope it supports and inspires future transplant patients!

Warm greetings, transplant friend—

Transplantation is an extraordinary journey that tests the limits of one’s strength and courage. In addition to commitment and faith, it requires strong mental and physical preparation as well as endurance. But you already know that. If you can endure transplantation, you can conquer anything that you set your mind to. The tough part is over. Now it’s time to let your body heal so your inner radiance and spirit shines through again. Wishing you well as you continue on your own transplant journey.

—Diane Carnevale

Kidney transplant recipient

October, 2018

Ranunculous blossoms

Happy and cheery spring ranunculous flowers will always remind me of my mom, who adored them... exclusively the yellow and orange blossoms. The ombré cooors of the golden blossom above reminds of the ruffles of a party dress.

Radiance II

Radiance II    36 x 48"

Remember that Ipswich salt marsh painting that I made last October? This larger version of it, my thank-you gift to some very special people, is all dry and about to be wrapped up and delivered to its new home tomorrow! Stay tuned...


 to donate to the lovely Transplant staff at MGH, Boston to thank them for the fantastic care I received from them after my kidney transplant surgery in late October. More to come.

Provençal fish

How lucky am I to get my fish delivered to my door each week? I prepped the sole that was left on my doorstep yesterday in a Provençal manner, with roasted garlic, kalamata olives, grape tomatoes, a dash of red pepper flakes and all anointed with lemon olive oil. Just bake for ten minutes and dinner is done. If you live on Boston’s North Shore you need this delivery service, too!

See Kim’s Fabled Fish Route

Radiance

Radiance   18 x 24"  

The marshes win my heart with every season. Here, autumn is just beginning and the marsh grass has gone to seed, showing an intense blushing red. This gorgeous wind swept day, along with the colors, was an exhilarating inspiration for me.

This painting is one of three that I will be exhibiting at the annual Crane Estate art show & sale in Ipswich, Massachusetts, being held November 2-4.

Roasted tomatoes

What to do with that avalanche of ripe backyard tomatoes?... Roast 'em! I slice mine in half and place them cut side up, on an oiled sheet of tin foil for was cleanup. Generously sprinkle with salt and pepper. Crank that oven up to 400º and let your tomatoes get good and charred. I sometimes even broil them for the last 5 minutes to get the them charred the way I like it. 

Now what you do with your tomatoes is entirely up to you. They are delicious just like this, as a side dish with eggs in the morning, or for lunch or dinner. I like to mix the roasted tomatoes with white cannelloni beans and basil to make a nice warm Italian salad. Freezing to make a marinara sauce is a good option, as is this wonderful smokey tomato soup. Lately I've been adding in some crumbled chicken sausages, also. Get roasting!

Song of the Sea

Song of the sea  18 x 24" 

Here is the progression this seascape, from the initial color block wash, to the final thick, impasto paint. I enjoying seeing and revisiting my process. I visualize and 'paint' a painting in my head well before I ever get out my paints, but the final painting itself surprises me every time.

Cobbster salad

Special friends and family call for a special dinner. For this night I decided to make a lobster salad, but I call this my Cobbster salad because it combines elements from a classic Cobb salad, including avocado, blue cheese, corn, and tomatoes. There are great textures in this salad, with the velvety avocado and blue cheese, and crunchy corn. I garnished my layered salad, formed into pyramids using triangular molds with flowers and baby veg from my garden—baby French breakfast radishes, baby purple pea pods, navy yellow beans, nasturtium blossoms and leaves, and borage blossoms.

I made six of these plates, so it was 

imperative that I had an organized 'mise en place' 

station all set up for speedy assembly. 

I made 7 of these plates, so it was imperative 

that I had an organized 'mise en place' station all set up.

My sister-in-law, Sheri, helped with this task, my twin 

brother supplied the lobsters, and they both 

supplied the beautiful seaside setting. 

Dinner by the sea is served!

Color inspiration—plums

A basket of earth colored Reine Claude plums is a wistful reminder that summer is waning and autumn is waiting in the wings. Photo by David Lebovitz

To see more colors, click on the red "color inspiration" label below.