Flags for the 4th!

Flag Day, Fifth Avenue, July 4th, 1916, by Childe Hassam

detail from Flags on the Waldorf, by Childe Hassam

Let your flags fly! American impressionist Frederick Childe Hassam was born in 1859 in the Boston area—in Dorchester, MA as a matter of fact. After World War I, Hassam painted a series of roughly 30 Patriotic "American Flag" canvases. Here are a few of my favorites, and a few other artist's works as well.

 Flags on the Waldorf, by Childe Hassam



The Avenue in the Rain ,by Childe Hassam

Allies Day, May 1917, by Childe Hassam

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Below, something completely different by artist Jasper Johns.

Three Flags (1958) by Jasper Johns

Okay, this last painting is of French flags 

and was painted by Claude Monet, 

but since we were in the red, white and blue spirit...

Rue Montorguiel, Paris 1878 by Claude Monet

Click here to see to read more about this last painting.

Potatoes, tomatoes + string beans

Potatoes, tomatoes and string beans with a classic French vinaigrette make a nice summer salad combination. photo, Diane Carnevale

Amelia—A 75-year old mystery

Amelia Earhart was one of those rare, amazing adventurers, who I admire greatly. She disappeared 75 years ago today—last heard from on July 2, 1937. All that is know is that she disappeared somewhere over the Pacific. Please have a listen to this absolutely beautiful and haunting song dedicated to the amazing Amelia by the Story (with the lovely vocals of Jonatha Brook).

Amelia, it's May and blossoms 1957

Single but bold

I see you, belle of the ball and

Hometown sweetheart, gifted
I want to tell you seize this day, let someone else go tend tradition

Take what's yours

No one else can tell your fire, paint with your words, sing with your voice

Take what's yours
Amelia, I see you all in white

And lovely, blinded by loveAnd he too, is beautiful and young

And blind
I want to tell you he's the wrong man

You'll look back

You were told that this is what you want but it will hurt you

You can't live for someone else
But you live

For me For me

For me
He would do things to make your life easier

But never talk to you, know you at all

You were his showpiece charming as you entertained

All his fancies
I wish I could have seized that day and torn it from your history

Now it comes down to a life that might have soared

But I can tell your fire, paint with your words

Sing with your voice, nobody can take what's mine
From me

From me

From me

From me

Wild about Wilde, #2

A little sincerity is a dangerous thing, 
and a great deal of it is absolutely fatal.

—Oscar Wilde

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This is another in my series of Oscar Wilde witticisms. In my humble opinion, O.W. was one of the cleverest men in literature. Loved him! Click on the red Wild about Wilde label below to read more Wilde witticisms.

grilled corn

photo, Dan Ryan

These grilled corn, red onions, and, Monterey Jack stuffed jalepeños

paired nicely with grilled tequila-lime chicken breasts. 

Blueberry, lemon spinach salad

Blueberries and lemons such are a natural together in sweet desserts, but they're pretty rockin' in a green salad too. Here I've paired blueberries with baby spinach and a quick lemon, shallot and olive oil vinaigrette, and you could even jazz it up further with goat or blue cheese and almonds or walnuts.

photos, Diane Carnevale

Art in the garden

photo, Diane Carnevale

I sometimes fantasize about being able to have a Dale Chihuly glass sculpture in my yard (sigh) but until then I have these cool glass balls (Japanese fishing floats) clustered and strewn about in the garden and pond. The largest one here, which I bought at an antique store in nearby Essex, MA, is about 12 inches in diameter. Directly to the left of this area is the fish pond that has several other green balls floating in it. Sometimes 'the Freds' (our goldfish) like to hang out underneath them for a bit of shade and protection. They give the garden character!

photos, Diane Carnevale

A taste of Morocco

This flavorful black lentil and carrot ribbon salad recipe uses all sorts of Moroccan flavors... cumin, cinnamon, coriander, orange juice, honey, mint and cilantro. It is from Martha's Whole Living magazine and I am so happy I found it because it's really tasty. I omitted the anise seeds from the original recipe by Sarah Britton, and I think it works fine as a cold salad too... think summer picnic!

Strawberries, spinach + goat cheese

Berry production in the strawberry patch is quickly winding down, so it's time to use them up while I can. A nice pairing is to mix them with baby spinach and arugula greens, onions, goat cheese, and a poppy seed dressing. I tend to make most of my salad dressings because they are generally filled with so much 'yuck,' but this is one that I buy and recommend—Marie's brand (which you can find refrigerated in the produce section).

Yellow jackets

photo, Diane Carnevale

The bees are busy too, and not just the honey bees. We have all sorts of beneficial bees and wasps doing their thing in the yard. Here a yellow jacket wasp takes a sip from a small birdbath that I keep on the side steps. Do you see it? Look closely, it's just above the yellow flowers. Chipmunks also sip from this little watering hole.

Tin roof, rusted!

The birds are very busy this summer, zipping back and forth through the yard like intrepid bombardiers. It's delightful to see a family of wrens nesting in our little tin roofed bird house. From dawn till dusk mamma wren comes home with nibbles, and the baby birds do a whole lot of squawking to get their share of worms, or bugs, or whatever it is that wrens eat. If you know the song Love Shack by the B-52s, then I don't need to explain the title to this post.

photos, Diane Carnevale

Summertime... and the living is easy

photo, Diane Carnevale

Summer is here! Welcome to long, hot, carefree days filled with sunshine, fresh air, bare feet in the grass or on the beach, picnics, armloads of vine-ripened tomatoes, string beans, sweet berries and sunflowers—all picked from your garden of course, bbqs, clam bakes, birds, bees, juicy watermelons dripping down your arms, and yes, even the fish are jumpin.' Then there's the starry nights with cool drinks and fireflies to keep company... enjoy!

Luscious!

It's been a fabulous spring here on Boston's north shore, and our garden has flourished with the magnificent weather. Here, in our sunken garden, the pachysandra is abundant and lush. And so, on this last full day of spring, I say farewell to what was a truly luscious spring season, and say hello to summer!

Purple petunias

photo, Diane Carnevale

These petunias, in delicious shades of purple, 

look like an abstract painting. Hmmm...

Broccoli stem salad

photo, Diane Carnevale

The inspiration for this plate was an Asian broccoli salad that I saw Ina Garten make once, using lots of garlic, olive oil, pepper flakes and soy sauce. I used only the stems of the broccoli, which I shaved into beautiful shapes using a mandolin, then I quickly blanched and shocked them to keep their vibrant color. I slowly simmered slivers of garlic in olive oil, then spooned the oil over the broccoli, and added crushed red chili peppers and lemon juice. The red pepper rings on top are the mini sweet peppers, not the hot kind. Nice crunchy salad!

Pétanque

photo, Dan Ryan

Sitting in our pea gravel allée at the base of a London Plane tree, are six shiny silver pétanque balls and a red 'jack,' ready for a stirring game of pétanque. A cold glass of anise-flavored Pernod is optional, but highly recommended, oui?

Beet and goat cheese mousse salad

Here is the casual cousin of the more formal beet and goat cheese stacked Napoleans. Beets are so earthy, and combining them with a goat or blue cheese is the way that I like them best. Here, I whizzed the honey and thyme infused roasted beets with goat cheese, cream cheese, and lemon thyme, then molded it. I plated the mousse onto a bed of arugula, baby Romaine lettuce leaves and various pink flower petals from the garden. Looks ravishing and tastes sublime.  The beet mousse recipe has all the flavors of this classic stacked Napolean beet and goat cheese salad. 

Roast the beets
Preheat oven to 375° F.  Scrub three medium beet roots. Coat beets lightly with oil. Wrap beets in aluminum foil and a dollop of honey and three lemon thyme sprigs before sealing. Place foil packs on a baking sheet and roast in the oven until cooked through—45-55 minutes. Remove from the oven, and let cool for 15 minutes before opening foil packs, then open packs and let beets cool for 10 minutes more before handling. They can get hot.

Make the mouse

Toughly chop and place the 3 beets into a food processor with 2/3 cup goat cheese and 1/3 cup cream cheese. The measurements can vary, this recipe does not have to be precise. Add in the leaves from 1 fresh lemon thyme sprig, juice of 1/4 orange, 1 tsp. honey, and salt and pepper. Wiz until smooth and creamy but still somewhat thick. Taste and adjust to your liking. Place mixture into molds of your choice lined with oil and plastic wrap for easy removal. A custard cup is a nice size—about 1/4 cup each. Chill for 3-4 hours or overnight. 

French vinaigrette dressing

2 tbsp. champagne vinegar
4 tbsp. grapeseed oil
1 tsp. Dijon mustard

1 tbsp. minced shallots

Salt and pepper

Shake like mad in a lidded mason jar until emulsified.

Assemble the salad

Unmold the beet and goat cheese mousse onto your salad of your choice (I like arugula or baby romaine leaf mixture). Dress and garnish as you wish. I used a simple French vinaigrette and then placed on flowers from the garden. You can also roast 1-2 extra beets and serve slices of the beets on top of this this salad, or serve shaved raw beet slices. Makes about 4-6 servings, depending on your mold size and fullness.

Art in the Barn, 2012

Autumn flush

I have three paintings in the annual Essex County Greenbelt Association's 'Art in the Barn' show, including the two shown here. The group is this three days only—today, Saturday and Sunday, and there's loads of paintings, pottery, jewelry, and sculpture to oogle at and buy. This organization is "...the region’s most effective champion of land conservation, working to conserve the farmland, wildlife habitat and scenic landscapes of Essex County," so any art that you buy supports beautiful open spaces of the North Shore. Click here to view more of my paintings on my website.

Fox Hollow

Blushing Haystacks

Home grown strawberries

photo, Dan Ryan

We have a great crop of strawberries this year! There's nothing like picking these bright red jewels from your garden—so juicy and sweet. The chipmunks think so too, but hopefully there's enough for all of us to share. 

Kale and butternut squash salad

This kale salad was mad delicious! On top of the quickly sautéed kale leaves, I added crispy pancetta, pecans, and sweet roasted butternut squash. I have also added crumbles of blue cheese to this warm salad combination. Why wait until autumn for a meal like this?—it's great on a cool spring evening too.

Knockout!

photo, Dan Ryan

I finally got some roses in the garden again. For years I had some fussy floribunda roses which always seemed to be riddled with Japanese beetles (or some other garden curse), in spite of our grub-free lawn. Besides, I decided that I didn't want any prickly things in my long flower border anymore. And then... we made a new bed for a lilac tree. Well, surely I needed some color in there after the lilacs faded, right? I was at Lowe's and was absolutely smitten, knocked out even, by an entire table of these pink Knockout roses in full bloom, so home they came with me. Fingers crossed that they aren't prone to Japanese beetles!

Gorgeous portrait—Greta Garbo

What a face—and what a star. Born in Stockholm, Sweden 1905, Greta Lovisa Gustafsson became Greta Garbo, an actress and ultimately, the Swedish Sphinx. My favorite Greta Garbo films are Ninotchka, Queen Christina, Camille, Conquest, Anna Karenina and Grand Hotel. She set the record straight when when declared "I never said" 'I want to be alone.' I only said, 'I want to be left alone.' " There is a whole world of difference.

Click on the gorgeous portraits label below for more gorgeousness!

The color indigo!

Inspired by... the color indigo.

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

Watermelon starburst

Love these small little watermelons. A great sweet and salty appetizer using them is to combine cubed watermelon and feta cheese. I've made them in a formal plated salad, served them on skewers (click for link), and this is one more serving idea—bursting out of the watermelon rind.

photos, Diane Carnevale

New obsession... Pinterest!

Recently I've wasted a colossal amount of time exploring and 'pinning' images on Pinterest—a virtual pinboard. Serendipity is just a few mouse clicks away as you feast your eyes on myriad images, and you pin and hoard them into categories called 'boards.' Thankfully it was a rainy week here in the Boston area, which has kept me away from my garden chores anyhow, but seriously, I need a family intervention and a 12-step program. As an artist and designer I am inspired by everything visual (That explains all of my books and magazines mom!) and I tend to see the world by colors, textures, typography, etc. I was attracted to Pinterest as a tool to help me organize all that visual, virtual stuff on my computer (and BTW, George Carlin would surely poke fun at virtual stuff, were he still alive), but I seem to be slightly derailed and sidetracked with my quasi OCD and ADD tendencies. You can have a peek at my 'boards' (sample above) by clicking here—For the most part I have arranged them all by color. But please know that if you are like me, Pinterest is ridiculously, obsessively, and compulsively addicting! Consider yourself warned.