The Urban Foodie: Seasonal beauties...the ornamental gourd

Saturday, 29 September 2007

Seasonal beauties...the ornamental gourd

I have always loved gourds and I collect them in different shapes and sizes, from massive bloated ones (a half of one is a vessel for magazines), to ones that have been intricately pierced and scarred with patterns that resemble African tribal markings. These coloured ones I fished out of my local farmer's market, and since I bought them I haven't had the heart to chop them up into one dish or another.
Instead they are going to sit around like a vegetal still life and play at being a Francis Bacon in my kitchen. I could, like Martha Stewart immortalise them as lampshades or as a snazzy clutch bag (see other images), but instead I'll take great joy in watching their colours gently fade.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...: Hi Steven,
Have just watched the final show of Masterchef here in New Zealand and wanted to pass on a big CONGRATULATIONS!!
You are certainly entering an exciting and ever changing world!
I have been in the industry for just over 10 years.
You certainly have an amazing future ahead of you, best of luck with your future endeavours.
Warmest regards
Jan; 29 September 2007 at 05:12
Anonymous said...: Hi Steven, as the previous person just wrote, we have just viewed the final episode here of Masterchef. Congratulations - you all did an amazing job this year and I think it was much harder than previous years. I am so glad you won, you totally deserved it and I am also wrapped to read that you and Hannah have become good friends!

Lynda, New Zealand; 30 September 2007 at 03:10

MUSINGS AND QUOTES ON FOOD

"My weaknesses have always been food and men, in that order."

Dolly Parton

"Fish, to taste right, must swim three times - in water, in butter, and in wine."

Polish Proverb

"A fruit is a vegetable with looks and money. Plus, if you let fruit rot, it turns into wine, something Brussels sprouts never do."

P.J. O'Rourke

"An empty belly is the best cook."

Estonian Proverb

"A gourmet who thinks of calories is like a tart who looks at her watch."

James Beard

"The smell and taste of things remain poised a long time, like souls, ready to remind us...."
Marcel Proust

"When the girl returned, some hours later, she carried a tray, with a cup of fragrant tea steaming on it; and a plate piled up with very hot buttered toast, cut thick, very brown on both sides, with the butter running through the holes in it in great golden drops, like honey from the honeycomb. The smell of that buttered toast simply talked to Toad, and with no uncertain voice; talked of warm kitchens, of breakfasts on bright frosty mornings, of cosy parlour firesides on winter evenings, when one's ramble was over and slippered feet were propped on the fender, of the purring of contented cats, and the twitter of sleepy canaries."
The Wind in the Willows, by Kenneth Grahame

"People are more violently opposed to fur than leather because it is safer to harrass rich women than motorcycle gangs."
Unknown

"Scallops are expensive, so they should be treated with some class. But then, I suppose that every creature that gives his life for our table should be treated with class."
Jeff Smith, The Frugal Gourmet

"Never eat more than you can lift.."
Miss Piggy, Diva.

"The squid is so cooperative. Its body forms a tube that can be stuffed with marvelous fillings. You don't have to be Greek to enjoy this one. "
Jeff Smith, The Frugal Gourmet

"The joys of the table belong equally to all ages, conditions, countries and times; they mix with all other pleasures, and remain the last to console us for their loss."
Jean Antheleme Brillet-Savarin, The Physiology of Taste