Eve's Salad perfect for ANZAC Day



Pomegranates and figs in Tuscany

 

Warm fig and pomegranate salad

This ticked all the boxes for me when I took it along to a friend’s ANZAC Day BBQ , which actually turned out to be a fabulous dinner party!! Luckily I had chosen an elegant salad rather than “Diggers Delight”.

OK, so why did it tick the boxes, you ask?

· The pomegranate dressing has an interesting flavour due to my new 'must-have in the frig’, Pomegratate Molasses. ("Molasses… Molasses… it's icky-sticky goo, Molasses… Molasses… it al-ways stick -to -you"). No, this is not your usual molasses. It adds a complex but not too sweet flavour to many dishes.

Pomegranate seeds add an interesting crunch as each little seed explodes in your mouth.

· The warmed figs – I love figs in every form and have happy memories when G and Istole them from an ancient tree in the garden of a long deserted villa. They were firm, sweet and were warmed by the Tuscan sun; I felt like Eve. Perhaps Adam and Eve ate a fig and not an apple which makes sense since they were wearing fig leaves. So the BBQ’d warmed figs hit a high note with me.

Here it is... for 4 servings

Eve's salad

4 large ripe figs cut in half . Brush or spray cut side with olive oil. 1 pomegranate - cut in half. With a citrus juicer, juice one half to yield 1 tbsp juice after removing some of the seeds to retain with seeds from other half.
70g goats cheese or Danish feta crumbled

Dressing
Combine 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil with 2 tsp pomegranate molasses, 1 tbsp pomegranate juice and a squeeze of lemon juice
Season with salt & cracked pepper

To serve Combine 50g rocket leaves with a handful of basil. Just before serving, warm the figs through , cut side down, on a BBQ. Add figs

and cheese. Drizzle with dressing and scatter with pomegranate seeds

It would be great to receive your feedback or suggestions. Click on "0 comments". You can choose 'anonymous' from the drop down menu if you don't have a google account. Or send an email - mosmanmeanders@gmail.com
 

"My time must be spent doing my work" Ruth Burgess

'Meandering around Mosman'  today involved spending time with Ruth Burgess at Mosman Art Gallery. 

With the  Mosman Art Gallery backdrop of a lifetime of images from her backyard forest, expressed through Ruth's  woodblock prints - she guided us through how it was done. 




Mosman  Art Gallery - 
Ruth Burgess - Artist  

 

 

 

Hand of the printmaker

 

 

Material of the artist




Woodcut with paint applied

 

 

The final woodcut - three block, printed on Japanese paper



Interpretation of  forest 

For a long time I have lived in this forest,  

symbolic inspiration of the printmaker
to express the landscape's power and energy.
Forest canopy and its understory
insects, birds, moon, distant sky, wind
create chaotic order; an  enigma of illusion.

 Meditative Zen-like  process
equalises wood, ink, paper, tools
with the imagery and hand of artist.
There is no formula; you are not alone
wood and paper work with you,

ink the servant of the woodcut.

 

'My time must be spent doing my work'  Ruth Burgess 

Poem from Ruth's words - Claire Mitchell

 

 

 

 



Shopping in Mosman - the right length for skinny jeans?

Hi there

 "I shop therefore I am" - a new twist on an old saying.  And of course the first item we need is a pair of well fitting black jeans to kickstart the season.  In Mosman we have an enviable variety of boutiques which showcase a well chosen selection of the best designs - not always the most expensive.
So today, I found a great pair of semi skinny, not too low rise and in a fabric that kind of keeps you in.

 A few years ago, I visited my friend  R, who owns a beautiful store 'Shop at Next Door' which stocks an extensive range of jeans with fabulous tops and accessories.  I  learnt the ins and outs of how to wear skinny jeans - with boots of course but also with killer heels, flats and flip flops. R says that the worst mistake you can make when taking up jeans is to make them too short - flared jeans need to be almost to the ground but skinny jeans are a little tricky to get right. Have them as long as you can make them without cupping the bottoms too much; a certain amount of cupping however is necessary for the look and with summer jeans you can fold up the bottoms for a casual look.


This is what she says on her site http://www.shopatnextdoor.com/ - click on Jean Scene at bottom of Home Page.


'No, you do not have to be skinny to wear skinny jeans. It's all about how you wear them that makes the difference. Going into a Wisconsin winter, we all know how great it is to throw on your favorite skinny jeans with a pair of boots and a big oversized sweater. It's the one time that living in the frozen tundra makes fashion fun as well as practical. But thankfully that is all behind us for another seven months or so. So now what? Well a picture is worth a thousand words. Wear skinny jeans with killer heels, your favorite flats, barefoot if the moment is right and of course your favorite flip flops. You can wear a skinny jean scrunched around your ankle or cuffed for a casual look. That solves some of the length issues, which is nice for us as well as you. Of course we'll always shorten them for you if need be.'


I'm off now to take up some jeans - because they're usually too  long for me.  I learnt from R how to do a professional job but am under threat of dire consequence if I devulge the secret. Sorry!
Claire
By the way - if you want some tasty food ideas that will help you to be able to fit into your jeans go to www.fitinyourjeanscuisine.com
 

Ruth Burgess is a star

 Hi there
Make sure you see this exhibition.
I'm passionate about it because it's not only amazing from a exhibition of her works, but also from the physical process which leads to the producing of these works.
Claire

Ruth Burgess: From the Forest - 30 years of woodcuts and wood engravings

Saturday 16 March – Sunday 19 May 2013

From the forest celebrates the art and life of Ruth Burgess, who has had a career spanning three decades and is widely regarded as a leading force in Australian printmaking as an artist, teacher and mentor. With her home and studio immersed in a verdant rainforest in Turramurra on Sydney’s northshore, the enduring themes evident within her work are the spirituality and the immediacy of her bush environment and the interconnectedness of man and nature.
Ruth Burgess’s first visit to China in 1988 proved an artistic and spiritual revelation and her life and practice has been profoundly influenced by China’s paintings, calligraphy and Buddhism ever since. While her artworks share many of the aesthetic qualities of Chinese and Japanese woodcut traditions, Burgess’s works have a distinctly Australian sensibility and a visual iconography developed through living with such proximity to the Australian bush, its flora and fauna.
Ruth Burgess’s art practice stands apart from her peers through her intensely original, distinctive and compelling woodcuts and the palpable sense of unfettered energy they contain. Together the artworks in this exhibition reveal the artist’s continuing journey through landscape, figuration and abstraction and the marriage of process and material in her work.

 

Great support for Balmoral Burn

There are many organised activities around Mosman but what always amazes me is how many people participate in or support them. 

The next major sporting fundraiser is the Balmoral Burn and anyone who has walked up Awaba Street can imagine the burn that running up this very significant hill would incur.  The start line is at the bottom of Awaba Street, Balmoral. The course is 420 metre straight up Awaba Street hill. There is a race category for everyone!
See you there (but as a supporter only!)
Claire

From the Mosman Daily