Mr. and Mrs. Andrews, Gainsborough, 1750

The museum near where I grew up had a large and beautiful painting entitle Blue Boy by Gainsborough and I have since liked him quite a lot.  Maybe it is the familiarity, but I do like things from the mid-eighteenth century because I come from Revolutionary roots.
This portrait is the masterpiece of Gainsborough's early years. It was painted after his return home from London to Suffolk in 1748, soon after the marriage of Robert Andrews of the Auberies and Frances Carter of Ballingdon House, near Sudbury, in November of that year.  So very much the class-conscious England of the day.
The landscape evokes Robert Andrews's estate, to which his marriage added property. He has a gun under his arm, while his wife sits on an elaborate  wooden bench. The painting of Mrs Andrews's lap is unfinished. The space may have been reserved for a child for Mrs Andrews to hold.  What happened?  We do not know.
The painting follows the fashionable convention of the conversation piece, a (usually) small-scale portrait showing two or more people, often out of doors. The emphasis on the landscape here allows Gainsborough to display his skills as a painter of convincingly changing weather and naturalistic scenery, still a novelty at this time.

Apple Fennel Salad

This was a recipe that was floated as a lighter salad that could be on the Thanksgiving table.  I would agree with that (especially if you left the cheese out, as I did), but at this point, our kids absolutely want their favorites and that doesn't leave much room on the groaning table, so I made it early, with a fennel bulb that came with our CSA.

• 3 tablespoons lemon juice, plus more to taste
• ½ teaspoon fine sea salt, plus more to taste
• Freshly ground black pepper
• ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 3 large fennel bulbs, thinly sliced on a mandoline
• 2 Granny Smith apples, halved and cored, thinly sliced on a mandoline
• 3 celery stalks, thinly sliced on a mandoline
• ⅓ cup fennel fronds or roughly chopped parsley leaves
• ½ cup toasted walnuts
• 2 ½ ounces Parmesan, shaved with a vegetable peeler (about 2/3 cup) (optional)

1. In a small bowl, whisk together lemon juice, salt and pepper. Slowly drizzle in oil, continuously whisking, until dressing is emulsified. Taste and add more lemon juice and/or salt if needed.
2. In a large bowl, toss the dressing with fennel, apple and celery. Fold in fennel fronds or parsley and walnuts. Top with Parmesan just before serving.

Monsoon Wedding (2001)

Right about now I am just hoping that the smog problem in Dehli subsides and that flights are resumed, but this was a nice introduction to the city.  The story revolves around an extended Indian family that are well off but not ridiculously wealthy.  They are preparing for the arranged wedding of their daughter, and that is at the center of the movie.
The various family members create different threads of the story, many of which require going out and about in the city, which for us was one of the reasons to watch the movie.  Another would be that if you haven't experienced a traditional Indian wedding, then this is a great rendition of one, and well worth watching for that alone.  There is a lot of drama and pathos here.  The colors are spectacular, Dehli comes off looking a bit shabby, but then the high points of the city are not front and center here, and Mira Nair's films are well worth seeing.

Plastic from Plants

Polymers protect us from the elements, increase the fuel efficiency of cars, protect food from pathogens, help cure disease, and enable renewable-energy technologies. To promote, foster, and enable a sustainable society, we need polymers. Yet polymers can also create serious environmental challenges. Nearly all plastic packaging produced—more than 80 billion kg annually—originates from fossil resources and is disposed of after a relatively short period of use.
Biodegradable plastics are those that can be completely degraded in landfills, composters or sewage treatment plants by the action of naturally occurring micro-organisms. Truly biodegradable plastics leave no toxic, visible or distinguishable residues following degradation. Their biodegradability contrasts sharply with most petroleum-based plastics, which are essentially indestructible in a biological context. Because of the ubiquitous use of petroleum-based plastics, their persistence in the environment and their fossil-fuel derivation, alternatives to these traditional plastics are being explored. Issues surrounding waste management of traditional and biodegradable polymers are discussed in the context of reducing environmental pressures and carbon footprints.  Plants naturally produce numerous polymers, including rubber, starch, cellulose and storage proteins, all of which have been exploited for biodegradable plastic production. Bacterial bioreactors fed with renewable resources from plants--so-called 'white biotechnology'--have also been successful in producing biodegradable polymers.

Cauliflower and Pomegranate Chaat

The stars aligned just right for this dish to be made.  My youngest son is making Indian food on a regular basis with a friend, and so the spices and the cookbooks are out and about.  This one is from Meera Sodha's latest book, Fresh India, which is vegetarian dishes.
I had cauliflower from my CSA, pomegranates from Costco, and some vegans coming to dinner so I needed some dishes that packed some protien.  The chaat masala, which blends dried ground mango and ginger, drives the show in this.

• 1 medium cauliflower (about 650g)
• Vegetable oil
• 1 can of chickpeas, drained
• ½ cucumber
• Seeds of ½ pomegranate
•  fresh cilantro chopped
• 1 1/3 tbsp chaat masala (see above), plus extra to serve
• Juice of ½ lime

1.  Using your fingers, break the cauliflower into small florets, so that each one is 1.5cm-2cm across. Put 2mm of oil into a wide-bottomed frying pan over a high heat.
2. Once hot, add the florets and have them in one layer, so that they char a bit as they fry.  Stir infrequently until they have a bit of brown, then add the drained chickpeas.  I added a bit of salt at this point, but that is not what the original recipe calls for.  Toss until cauliflower is a bit creamy, then set aside to cool. 
3.  Do not assemble until ready to serve.  Toss cauliflower, chickpeas, and cucumbers, add the chaat masala and mix.  Then add the pomegranates, mix lightly, then sprinkle with cilantro and squeeze a lime over the top and serve.

Octopussy (1984)

This film is set in Udaipur, and as part of the preparation for places that we are hoping to go in December, this was our first stop in films.  Odd, you might think, but we have watched a lot of James Bond together over the decades, and it was a light place to start.  Rather than watching something with crushing poverty, or revisiting the terrifying moments in Lion, which we did in February.
I missed that it was filmed in India the first time around, and Udaipur is called the Crystal City, with some impressive white architecture that while not highlighted in the film, is present.  The film itself is the end of the Roger Moore as James Bond era, and while he is his usual annoying polished self, it is not one of the best of that genre.  None-the-less, it is is entertaining in a slightly dated manner.

Fiber Art, Jan Friedman

Jan is an artist who resides in my home town, so I have the opportunity to see her work with some frequency.  In addition, I have one of her pieces, and so do a couple of my friends, so I can see her fiber collages hung in familiar surroundings on a regular basis.  
She has been weaving for more than 40 years.  I got a loom soon after the birth of my third child, and managed to get it warped once, and completed a really beautiful, if inexpertly woven, summer and shade pattern that I really loved and found soothing.  But it gave me a window into just how hard this work is to produce.
Her tapestries use hand-dyed wool, cotton, rayon and silk as well as a variety of other natural materials. Her work frequently has a nature theme because the inherent beauty of a leaf or a tree, for instance, inspires her. According to on-line sources, Friedman received her M.A. in Textile Design at the University of Iowa in 1980. She is self-employed, works out of her home, which has a well designed studio area, and marches to her own drummer. When she began weaving, she mainly was creating tapestries. Eventually she shifted to framed fiber collages because she could vary the materials and protect her work under glass.  She incorporates real elements of nature, like actual leaves, as well as images taken from nature, in her work.  It is gorgeous, so check it out when she is at an art festival near you!

Red Lentil and Squash Sambar

I made this out of Meera Sodha's new cookbook, Fresh from India, which I love the look of, and if this recipe is any indication, I am going to also love the results.  The original calls for eggplant, but since in my hemisphere, squash and eggplant are not overlapping seasons, I made it with squash, and will try it again next summer with eggplant instead.  The melding of the sweetness of the squash with the sour of the tamarind is delicious, and it is hearty because of the lentils.

• 1 cup red lentils
• 4 tablespoons canola oil, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon fenugreek seeds
• 2 teaspoons coriander seeds
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cumin seeds
• 3/4 teaspoon black mustard seeds
• 12 fresh curry leaves
• 4 shallots, finely sliced
• 8-16 ounces butternut squash, cut into 1-inch cubes
• 4 medium, ripe tomatoes, chopped
• 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
• 2 teaspoons tamarind paste
• 1 1/2 teaspoons nice red chili powder
• 7 ounces green beans, trimmed

1. Wash the lentils with cold water until the water runs clear, then put into a deep saucepan, cover with three times the amount of water, and bring to the boil. Simmer for 25 minutes, or until soft, scooping off any foam.
2. Meanwhile, put 1 tablespoon of oil into a wide, lidded frying pan and add the fenugreek, coriander, and cumin seeds. Stir-fry for a minute, then take off the heat and grind to a coarse paste with a pestle and mortar.
3. Put the remaining oil into the frying pan over a medium-high heat. When hot, add the mustard seeds and curry leaves, followed closely by the shallots, and cook for around 10 minutes, until the shallots are golden. Then add the diced squash and a couple of tablespoons of water, cover with the lid, and cook for 5 minutes.
4. Add the tomatoes, along with the spices you ground earlier, the salt, sugar, tamarind paste, and chilli powder. Cover again and leave to cook for a further 5 -10 minutes, until the tomatoes have broken down and the squash is tender. Add the lentils to the vegetables (or the other way around, depending on which pan is bigger), then add the green beans and enough water to make a thick, soupy texture, and cook for a final 5 minutes. Taste and adjust the salt, sugar, and tamarind as you wish.

Mother's Day (2016)

This film was panned,and in someways I see where that sentiment is coming from.  There are some great actors in this who are to a greater or lesser degree are limping along with a less than perfect script, and to a lesser extent, the story line is weak at best.  Despite all of these limitations, I really enjoyed this movie, with some laugh out loud moments.  I streamed it from the United Airlines app during a flight, something that I rarely do, but it is a nice option to use when it works.  There are five main stories that have some interconnection with each other, and centering on the role of parenting children across the lifespan.  There are a number of issues that resonate with me, like parents who have different social values, mixed marriages,  and mothers who die and leave the parenting to the remaining spouse and then some things that I don't worry about but that are very real, like co-parenting without an on-going relationship.  So something for everyone, and not to heavy.  So, yes, the script could have been better, but enjoyable none-the-less.

The Cenetaur by Charlotte Mew

Not yet will those measureless fields be green again
Where only yesterday the wild sweet blood of wonderful youth was shed;
There is a grave whose earth must hold too long, too deep a stain,
Though for ever over it we may speak as proudly as we may tread.
But here, where the watchers by lonely hearths from the thrust of an inward sword have more slowly bled,
We shall build the Cenotaph: Victory, winged, with Peace, winged too, at the column's head.
And over the stairway, at the foot - oh! here, leave desolate, passionate hands to spread
Violets, roses, and laurel with the small sweet twinkling country things
Speaking so wistfully of other Springs
From the little gardens of little places where son or sweetheart was born and bred.
In splendid sleep, with a thousand brothers
To lovers - to mothers
Here, too, lies he:
Under the purple, the green, the red,
It is all young life: it must break some women's hearts to see
Such a brave, gay coverlet to such a bed!
Only, when all is done and said,
God is not mocked and neither are the dead.
For this will stand in our Market-place -
Who'll sell, who'll buy
(Will you or I
Lie each to each with the better grace)?
While looking into every busy whore's and huckster's face
As they drive their bargains, is the Face
Of God: and some young, piteous, murdered face.