Pop Food

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7yKH8w7D0SjeYlGCvHcCj6ZOc65USFAbu3YoOhgTYuJS0FjWd7Zfzft0oc3U1yfN7UFnSuaMaKUmlk84diIUjOy2xZmLeK8wBdTCV7lc5oN5VHJVIflv1anW-eKGSCVANxSnqSqzx1Jqv/s1600/oldenbourg-pastry.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5628540230987067442" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7yKH8w7D0SjeYlGCvHcCj6ZOc65USFAbu3YoOhgTYuJS0FjWd7Zfzft0oc3U1yfN7UFnSuaMaKUmlk84diIUjOy2xZmLeK8wBdTCV7lc5oN5VHJVIflv1anW-eKGSCVANxSnqSqzx1Jqv/s400/oldenbourg-pastry.jpg" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 330px; height: 387px;" /></a><div> <br /></div><div>In the 1960s, commercial images of food inspired the Pop Art movement to depict food in a completely different way from the artists that preceded them. Claes Oldenbourg was among the early pop artists, and he often made gigantic sculptures of food (like the spoon bridge with a cherry in Minneapolis). He also made soft sculpture or moulded sculpture of meat, pastry, sandwiches, and other foods, like the case of Danish Pastry above. When I first saw Pop Art I felt as if it had showed me a whole new way to see the things around me. I still find these representations of ordinary foods to open my eyes in a special way. The context of Oldenbourg's representations is defined not by painting or sculpting the surroundings (as earlier artists usually did) but by using the same type of case in which real food in a diner or restaurant would be displayed to someone about to eat. Playful! Artful!<div> <br /></div><div>Andy Warhol started as a commercial artist, and combined the Pop Art vision with the commercial vision, as in the hamburgers below, which are re-drawn from ads. Of course his soup cans are much more famous, and even one remove from the food: you only see the label, not the soup itself. <br /><div> <br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdKlrKbMiOHjTuWzRcXO9uPB7V5LcElboSrj0d7LkqpFxrsVP3AXlw7x9vgNqSsBvldyoaduQ72ORDfHBFURxKZnzmB5JME3RM5lMwEgzY9kQ42zXLsDEZ48oMsByUS5CnuAUkfa6jnIsx/s1600/warhol-burger.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5628540225836568226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdKlrKbMiOHjTuWzRcXO9uPB7V5LcElboSrj0d7LkqpFxrsVP3AXlw7x9vgNqSsBvldyoaduQ72ORDfHBFURxKZnzmB5JME3RM5lMwEgzY9kQ42zXLsDEZ48oMsByUS5CnuAUkfa6jnIsx/s400/warhol-burger.jpg" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 196px;" /></a><meta charset="utf-8">Pop Art really differs from what came before, in my opinion. Artists like Jan Steen, Velazquez, Manet, Bonnard, and many others painted food in a social context: people were cooking, about to eat, or otherwise to engage in cooking or taking a meal. Van Gogh's potato eaters and Picasso's frugal diners put dining in the context of poverty, perhaps making a political point about the subjects. Still-life painters (whether classic, cubist, or romantic) made studies of the shapes and colors of foods, fruits, serving dishes, and related objects, at times also referring to symbolism associated with the objects in their pictures. Pop Art referred to another visual dimension of modern life.</div></div></div><div> <br /></div>

Pop Food

In the 1960s, commercial images of food inspired the Pop Art movement to depict food in a completely different way from the artists that pr...

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Two Sad Meals by Picasso

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA6FEgYObGC9138rHf5KUl8w2Z49YBGV8e8BBM_pLKbJiDuMULnzpuv4MzEee1Y7VYxYI0jpSbR4m2pHWUFQ817KERe1i_zi5GxUb3pK2InVes_dU8AueVBq_ebTsP4wXTuMqpAkFhbSSr/s1600/picasso-repast-frugal2.jpeg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5627082447457635970" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA6FEgYObGC9138rHf5KUl8w2Z49YBGV8e8BBM_pLKbJiDuMULnzpuv4MzEee1Y7VYxYI0jpSbR4m2pHWUFQ817KERe1i_zi5GxUb3pK2InVes_dU8AueVBq_ebTsP4wXTuMqpAkFhbSSr/s400/picasso-repast-frugal2.jpeg" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 326px; height: 400px;" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv9FgCaefypjrGhMPvfR8eJe7CTuYCYf0ubRH-SjTkwO4xaCWYBGEiLIsKzlGCdE-tDYDMooSmPxumHDS7ySG9EycizL7xKSarQphZnSlPgimr3EkivBWL4Tlrlnt8uX43z_CeLpUtuGXN/s1600/The+Blindman%2527s+Meal+by+Pablo+Picasso.jpeg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5627082440960783970" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv9FgCaefypjrGhMPvfR8eJe7CTuYCYf0ubRH-SjTkwO4xaCWYBGEiLIsKzlGCdE-tDYDMooSmPxumHDS7ySG9EycizL7xKSarQphZnSlPgimr3EkivBWL4Tlrlnt8uX43z_CeLpUtuGXN/s400/The+Blindman%2527s+Meal+by+Pablo+Picasso.jpeg" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 400px;" /></a>It's well known that in his early days in Paris Picasso was often hungry, maybe even offering paintings in exchange for something to eat. The first of these two works, "The Frugal Meal" is often reproduced; the second, "The Blindman's Meal," is less famous, I think. The people depicted during Picasso's blue period are often depressed looking, but these works seem even sadder. Both suggest the desperation of hunger and poverty.<div><br /></div><div>I need to look more thoroughly for later Picasso paintings of people eating, perhaps even enjoying food. I would not expect to find a painting of food preparation, at least my current knowledge of Picasso's biography wouldn't lead me to expect such subjects. He did later paint still-life subjects, but that's more for the shape and color of fruit and other objects on a table, not really about eating them.</div>

Two Sad Meals by Picasso

It's well known that in his early days in Paris Picasso was often hungry, maybe even offering paintings in exchange for something to eat...

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Velazquez paints food

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjME7LDwhzGZEjeCU20OqC8_hy2z5i63VOgHetuyG59FvPwki3EUPGiyQdUv0BGKMXC1yeFl3HjCv1rxiEK_dMxd6UcjjtJloIupqrcDrg6a3rmOaPbC8pnKkj55Zwub-LjFkxkSttg3CBs/s1600/velazquez_frying_eggs.jpeg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5627075091734357330" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjME7LDwhzGZEjeCU20OqC8_hy2z5i63VOgHetuyG59FvPwki3EUPGiyQdUv0BGKMXC1yeFl3HjCv1rxiEK_dMxd6UcjjtJloIupqrcDrg6a3rmOaPbC8pnKkj55Zwub-LjFkxkSttg3CBs/s400/velazquez_frying_eggs.jpeg" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 344px;" /></a>We're home again from our long trip out west. And I'm again looking at the topic of how artists (maybe not many of them) have pursued the topic of food and cooking. It seems that one such painter was Velazquez (1599-1660). I am especially interested in the picture above, "Old woman cooking eggs," painted when Velazquez was very young. I have little information about what he was thinking or any meaning beyond a realistic depiction of a simple subject. The contemporary Dutch painters' still life works had a great deal of symbolism in them. Here? I don't know.<br /><br />There are quite a few more, including this one:<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbOleYNezWobrMLWW2JWm9py2C4j6sFxO3ppbqL9l_jb61sjKdKCtxpf-4vYHYwcVbyd354uzE_gVTAUt7EubQAqh8K7v29HeEmT8LUykFQWHidVaGCgx2eCFRbR4xs0B7e8s2cghyphenhyphenc_yd/s1600/+velazquez-food.jpeg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5627075101296492898" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbOleYNezWobrMLWW2JWm9py2C4j6sFxO3ppbqL9l_jb61sjKdKCtxpf-4vYHYwcVbyd354uzE_gVTAUt7EubQAqh8K7v29HeEmT8LUykFQWHidVaGCgx2eCFRbR4xs0B7e8s2cghyphenhyphenc_yd/s400/+velazquez-food.jpeg" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 375px; height: 400px;" /></a>

Velazquez paints food

We're home again from our long trip out west. And I'm again looking at the topic of how artists (maybe not many of them) have pursue...

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George Lang 1924-2011

The <span style="font-style: italic;">New York Times</span> today published the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/07/nyregion/george-lang-of-cafe-des-artistes-dies-at-86.html?_r=1&ref=dining">obituary of George Lang</a>, a cookbook author and an impressario of restaurants, most famously the Cafe des Artistes in New York, and the post-communist reincarnation of the historic restaurant Gundel in Budapest. Lang was born on July 13, 1924, in Szekesfehervar, Hungary. He originally studied music, and intended to be a musician. His first deviation from his plan was to be in the resistance in World War II after escaping from a Nazi prison camp. As a Jew, he had little choice but resistance, but by joining the fascist Arrow Cross militia was able to assist other Jews in hiding. His parents died in Auschwitz.<br /><br />Lang escaped to New York and resumed his intended career as a musician, but eventually discovered his talent for designing and running restaurants and also for writing cookbooks. <span style="font-style: italic;">The Cuisine of Hungary</span> is one of my favorite ethnic cookbooks, which the obituary says was the first Hungarian cookbook in English.<br /><br />According to the <span style="font-style: italic;">Times:</span><br /><blockquote>"Mr. Lang often enjoyed constructing fantasy meals, including his last. The ideal final meal, he told The Village Voice in 2007, would include some of the great dishes from his restaurant career but above all his Hungarian favorites: fisherman’s soup, stuffed goose neck, sour cherry soup, layered cabbage, stuffed peppers, plum dumplings, pancakes with apple meringue, and whipped-cream strudel.<br /><br />"'And then I will have what it takes to get to another world,' he said."<br /></blockquote>

George Lang 1924-2011

The New York Times today published the obituary of George Lang , a cookbook author and an impressario of restaurants, most famously the Caf...

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Picnic Game Day

Happy picnic day: don't forget to check <a href="http://monthsofediblecelebrations.blogspot.com/2011/07/its-time-for-2011-picnic-game-round-up.html">Louise's blog</a> for a complete list of 26 picnic foods in alphabetical order! My post,<br /><h1><a href="http://regional-food.blogspot.com/2011/06/picnic-game-from-louise.html">A-Apricot Cobbler</a></h1>has been up for around a week. There are 16 recipes for desserts and sweet baked goods, and a very interesting Portuguese dish that starts with "X" among the delicious foods for this virtual picnic.

Picnic Game Day

Happy picnic day: don't forget to check Louise's blog for a complete list of 26 picnic foods in alphabetical order! My post, A-Apri...

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Aspen Water Tastes Better

The insistent marketing of Fiji Water in Aspen has infuriated me. Aspen tap water comes from local mountain springs, and trucks aren't necessary to bring it up the mountain, nor boats to bring it from distant exotic islands. Fiji Water sponsors many of the Aspen events, thus buying the right to have its logo all over town. I think it's shameful! Aspen tap water is delicious.<div><br /></div><div>Today I was happy to read <a href="http://www.aspentimes.com/article/20110630/NEWS/110629796/1077&ParentProfile=1058">(here)</a> that the city of Aspen is rolling out an effort to create appreciation for their own local water. According to a city official: "When people talk about bottled water, they have this image that comes from mountain streams and pristine environments, and they don't realize that's exactly where Aspen's tap water comes from."</div><div><br /></div><div>Like several national parks that I visited lately, Aspen is installing "filling stations" where tourists and locals are encouraged to fill their re-usable water bottles instead of buying plastic ones and throwing them away. The city is selling stainless steel bottles with the logo "Aspen Tap" and the words “Better Than Bottled.” The national parks have also instituted a policy that park-located shops sell only re-usable bottles, not bottled water, a policy that wouldn't work in a city with private enterprise. I hope that they can counter the pernicious advertising efforts.</div><div><br /></div>

Aspen Water Tastes Better

The insistent marketing of Fiji Water in Aspen has infuriated me. Aspen tap water comes from local mountain springs, and trucks aren't n...

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Wrap up: Simple Cooking

During our 3 weeks in Aspen (we leave Sunday), I've been paying a lot of attention to the contrast between elaborate restaurant meals and simple, more healthful home cooking -- as I've mentioned. When we arrived, I set myself a challenge: to cook without many condiments, spices, and extra ingredients; that is, I've been trying to buy only plain, unprocessed foods that are intended to be eaten at one or two meals. I'm avoiding a lot of food that normally remains on the shelf or in the refrigerator and would go to waste when I leave. Even peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwiches or hot dogs with crisp rolls and mustard qualify for my simple fare. <br /> <br />Here are a few things I've done. One night, I flavored pan-fried lamb sirloin with strips of red pepper, and served it with mustard, a few tomato wedges and sprigs of cilantro, and a side of steamed broccoli.<div> <br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8FHnv_eivz11mvz-i9yz-w6QDqEh8yix02U2JhnjqiRoxU07lrTi3IWoO4pMopAhGmDq_ZZn43FpTTy3roRfYfps4xJhV4nqgmIKQRFa8MQ0M4oEvp7dMz4BhPhvMkg8uaU2a97Z17SZl/s1600/simple7134.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5624116918366239682" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8FHnv_eivz11mvz-i9yz-w6QDqEh8yix02U2JhnjqiRoxU07lrTi3IWoO4pMopAhGmDq_ZZn43FpTTy3roRfYfps4xJhV4nqgmIKQRFa8MQ0M4oEvp7dMz4BhPhvMkg8uaU2a97Z17SZl/s400/simple7134.jpg" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" /></a>For dessert we ate fruit: cut-up cantaloupe, and strawberries. The cantaloupe was unadorned, but I glazed the berries with a mixture of 1/3 cup apricot jam (initially destined for PB&J) and 2 tablespoons of my wonderful wine vinegar made from Italian Pinot Grigio. I heated the glaze in a pyrex cup in the microwave so that it would melt together and be able to coat the strawberries. Sugar would be easier -- but bulk items like sugar or flour weren't on my very short list of pantry staples.</div><div> <br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhue-qjfqp8CYGgkItwifIlqU-h_vQ1Bf_BjDIzhlJe2R4xnn4dTZNxl1A9wgkl7xii85sySYKFaHOlWzynZbVa_n1YrHpDksWcY7uPWVvJWjW0w2S-Ui6P3sRleaRWLG8M8DPNlAYm6n0F/s1600/simple7136.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5624116923101834834" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhue-qjfqp8CYGgkItwifIlqU-h_vQ1Bf_BjDIzhlJe2R4xnn4dTZNxl1A9wgkl7xii85sySYKFaHOlWzynZbVa_n1YrHpDksWcY7uPWVvJWjW0w2S-Ui6P3sRleaRWLG8M8DPNlAYm6n0F/s400/simple7136.jpg" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" /></a>Another day, I made meatballs with sweet-sour sauce from some moderately low-fat ground beef. <div> <br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYM4vm_su7QMin22M82hl1JDYQB9nI2oFjlP1YX5uULtARd7A_shcqkv6E1EQp6mQvnqWvZ_Nm_w3maD4uy-rYszu5ssMdEDL8D-CNwr0tFeXTTLT7gLaeGcxQyki2YFnVa9RvC5KeqCAD/s1600/simple7218.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5624120086113315490" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYM4vm_su7QMin22M82hl1JDYQB9nI2oFjlP1YX5uULtARd7A_shcqkv6E1EQp6mQvnqWvZ_Nm_w3maD4uy-rYszu5ssMdEDL8D-CNwr0tFeXTTLT7gLaeGcxQyki2YFnVa9RvC5KeqCAD/s400/simple7218.jpg" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" /></a><meta charset="utf-8">To make the meatball mixture, I had no flour or prepared bread crumbs, but I crushed a few AkMak sesame crackers to serve that purpose. Besides fixing the texture, this gave the meat balls a bit of sesame flavor. Other ingredients: an egg, some chopped onion, and of course my Spanish smoked paprika and Trader Joe's salt, the two trusty spices I brought with me. The meatball mixture also had a tablespoon or two of the sweet-sour sauce I made. In this: a can of prepared organic tomato sauce, a drizzle of my wonderful vinegar, a shake of salt and paprika, and 2 purloined packets of brown sugar from a cafe (yes, that's cheating, I know, but I did buy a cup of coffee). I sauteed the meatballs in a bit of olive oil and added the sauce, which I'd heated in the microwave. Garnish again: tomato and fresh cilantro. On the side: fresh pineapple chunks also from the supermarket.</div><div> <br />Not all restaurant cooking is that much different, though it frequently has considerably more added fat and salt. Here is an admittedly delicious restaurant salad at Mezzaluna restaurant that wasn't that much more complex than my concoctions:<div> <br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXCGo02w0A5Z9uNMc0mjFDv75y560cKjMEmKyBRGWn-ICiWU3H4HG75aZ9Abd2tsbJiliIkRcknbHvqhkVSDBOkH1ZYfaF7I6SpiYzD5jkkCEbRBeisw31gqjO0ScZBjOmJMSC399imfFs/s1600/simple7202.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5624116919414838130" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXCGo02w0A5Z9uNMc0mjFDv75y560cKjMEmKyBRGWn-ICiWU3H4HG75aZ9Abd2tsbJiliIkRcknbHvqhkVSDBOkH1ZYfaF7I6SpiYzD5jkkCEbRBeisw31gqjO0ScZBjOmJMSC399imfFs/s400/simple7202.jpg" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 299px;" /></a></div></div><div> <br /></div><div><meta charset="utf-8">The restaurant salad did contain quite a few more ingredients than most of my productions. The price was also a lot higher than cooking at home -- the overwhelming cost of restaurant meals is another motivating factor here in Aspen more than most places. </div></div>

Wrap up: Simple Cooking

During our 3 weeks in Aspen (we leave Sunday), I've been paying a lot of attention to the contrast between elaborate restaurant meals an...

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