Pears - the Most Symbolic Fruit?

A neighbor recently gave us a large paper bag full of pears that had fallen from her tree and were on the verge of going bad. Bruised and covered with not a few brown mushy spots, the pears could easily have been dismissed by the casual onlooker as rotten and tossed in the trash.

I was convinced that I could still make use of some of the pears. I was amazed by how many of the fruits yielded a creamy white, beautifully ripe interior when I sliced them open. My battered pears yielded a huge pot of warmly spiced pear/apple sauce, and a lovely simple pear tart, with firm pear slices pinwheeled through a crunchy golden crumb.

I suppose many people we meet every day are like my pears- the life-battered surface level fails to reveal the pure goodness that often lies within. These pears reminded me that you cannot always judge a fruit by its appearance, much less a person.

Water Footprint?

In a recent article by National Geographic, I learned that the average American household is fueled by 2000 gallons of water a day. The surprising part is, the obvious suspects here such as dishwashers, showers and lawns only make up 5% of this amount. The rest comes from factors we generally don't see and therefore fail to consider.

I took this fun, 10 minute Water Footprint quiz about my lifestyle that measured the water I consume. If you take the quiz, some of the questions might startle you as they did me, as you realize that the number one culprit in water consumption is our food system.

I consider myself an occasional meat eater. I put down on average a modest estimate of twice a week consumption of pork, beef, and chicken, with very little dairy. (This is far below the national average of 6-7 weekly servings of each.) My lifestyle equated to about 1130 gallons of water a day, which is far below the national average of 2000; yet even still, my diet constituted 65% of my Water Footprint.

Surely there is something we all can do to be a little better at conserving one of our most precious resources. Check out the quiz and see how well you fare in comparison, or try this list of the amount of water it takes to create popular, common commodities.

The Bath

Here is one more painting that I loved from the Birth of Impressionism exhibit. Belgian artist Alfred Stevens painted this portrayal of a woman relaxing in her bath. Surprisingly, this painting created a scandal when it was displayed in 1867, despite the fact that the woman is not even nude.

The pocketwatch in the white soap holder, the white roses, the open book, and the woman's expression all invite speculation as to the meaning of this particular moment. Is the woman an indulgent, romantic dreamer lost in thought? Or a bored, too-pampered borgeoise? Or a mistress pondering her next rendez-vous with her lover? Perhaps it's the ambiguity of the painting that captured my attention.

Either way, it makes me want to steep my body in a hot bath.

Birth of Impressionism Exhibit in San Francisco

This weekend, my husband and I took a delightful trip with friends to the De Young Museum in San Francisco to view the Birth of Impressionism exhibit. The first of a two part exhibition, this first half focused on the French state-approved Salon art, then gradually introduces pieces by the radical Impressionist group.

The Salon art sought to edify and educate the public by depicting straightforward religious and mythological themes. Women’s bodies were idealized, flaws were invisible, men were noble and legendary. Ironically, I did not recognize any of the Salon art, which has fallen from fame today. Instead, the modern art lover recognizes the work of the rebels of the day - the group of artists called the Impressionists. An art critic dismissed an early presentation of their work by calling them "just a bunch of impressionists" and the name stuck.

The Impressionists sought to convey their a private perception of reality rather than the solid, photographic-like representations of Salon-approved paintings. Common scenes of everyday life became the source of "high art" as subject matter the Salon deemed "coarse" was captured and immortalized on canvas. Varying degrees of light and diverse weather were favorite points of interest, and the artists would often paint outdoors, presenting the same scene in a variety of seasons and at different times of day.

I have always favored Monet since viewing much of his work and home while studying abroad in France. This visit taught me much more about his Monet’s fellow artists including Manet and Cezanne, along with their favored subject matters and individual painting styles.

Renoir was quoted as saying that he liked to paint scenes you wish you could step into and walk around in! That’s just how I feel about scenes like this:

I find myself liking the art of Pisarro more and more, with his focus on the connection between agriculture and society, people and the land, nature and beauty.
I was also impressed to find that a female Impressionist artist named Berthe Morisot was well respected amongst her peers for her ability to capture the domestic scenes that were familiar to her as a woman in that time period such as the maternal scene below.

If you get a chance, be sure to visit the exhibit while it's still there. Coming soon is Part II - I look forward to it very much!

A Secret Love Confessed

I am a lover of beauty in all forms. I love dance and over the years have taken classes in jazz, ballet, tap, clogging, Irish dance, folk dance, modern, hip hop, Latin, and ballroom dance.

My favorite is still ballet. I have neither the correct physical form nor the proper technique to excel at this strict discipline, but I still love it. Maybe it’s ok to love things you’re only mediocre at, to love them for the way they make you feel. When music and motion are in unison, I feel a freedom of expression that has been hard to find elsewhere.

I’m out of school now, dance classes have ended, and I haven’t danced in a long while. Dance classes cost big money and aren’t an option right now. But last night after a tedious day at work, I turned on some music and slowly did my old dancing stretches in my living room. It felt wonderful to loosen my tight, desk-bound muscles. It occurred to me that maybe I need to stop focusing on my restrictions and celebrate what my body still loves to do more often.

What do you do because you love how it makes you feel?

Vegetable Chickpea Curry

Photo courtesy of Cooking Light

It is a truth universally acknowledged that a slow cooker is a working (wo)man’s best friend. However, many slow cooker recipes yield a boring chunk of meat that has been cooked in its own fat for several hours. Or maybe small chunks of cooked meat. In a sauce. There's nothing wrong with comfort food. Yet sometimes you want more than a hunk of meat for dinner, especially if you (like me) observe Meatless Monday or are attempting to lower your overall consumption of meat.

So off I went, scouring the Internet for a good meatless slow cooker recipe. Cooking Light came through for me once again, and I found this amazing recipe. The texture of the vegetables comes out perfectly done, not mushy at all, and the flavors are vibrant. Serve with brown basmati rice and a squeeze of lemon, and you’ve got yourself a tasty meatless dinner, packed with protein, fiber and of course, excellent flavor.

Vegetable Chickpea Curry

Yield: 6 servings (serving size: 1 1/3 cups vegetable mixture and 1 lemon wedge)

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 1/2 cups chopped onion

1 cup (1/4-inch-thick) slices carrot

1 tablespoon curry powder

1 teaspoon brown sugar

1 teaspoon grated peeled fresh ginger

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 serrano chile, seeded and minced

3 cups cooked chickpeas (garbanzo beans)

1 1/2 cups cubed peeled baking potato

1 cup diced green bell pepper

1 cup (1-inch) cut green beans

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper

1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained

1 (14-ounce) can vegetable broth

3 cups fresh baby spinach

1 cup light coconut milk

6 lemon wedges

Preparation

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add onion and carrot; cover and cook 5 minutes or until tender. Add curry powder, sugar, ginger, garlic, and chile; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly.

Place onion mixture in a 5-quart electric slow cooker. Stir in chickpeas and next 8 ingredients (through broth). Cover and cook on HIGH 6 hours or until vegetables are tender. Add spinach and coconut milk; stir until spinach wilts. Serve with lemon wedges.

Fall Reading

Who says that reading lists are only for summer? Here are some of my ideas for fall reading.

The Spice Necklace: Remember how I was promised this book for free? I finally received a copy by mail from Houghton Mifflin a couple weeks ago. I have only read a few pages, yet already the exotic descriptions of life in the Caribbean are making my mouth water and appealing to my sense of adventure. I am all about vicarious living, and can’t wait to read more... especially since I could use one last summer vacation.

Tess of the D’Urbervilles: I recently reviewed my goals for the year and remembered that I still have one great classic novel left to read in order to meet my goal of three for 2010. I chose this one, which has long sat on my shelf. I confess that in all of the British Literature classes I took in college, I never was assigned anything by Hardy. Once the weather turns chill, I look forward to a warm cup of tea and a walk with Thomas Hardy through the vicissitudes of Victorian England. When I finish, I will reward myself with a viewing of the 2008 BBC version. Lovely!

The Help: This story of the complex relationships between white residents of Jackson, Mississippi and their black domestic servants in the 1960's has completely absorbed me. I checked out the audio book from my library and am about halfway through. I look forward my daily commute because I know I can listen to the next part unfold. (It doesn't get better than that, does it?) The storytelling is excellent and I feel like I am immersed in the middle of every personal conflict, not to mention the Civil Rights Movement. I am pummelling through it and plan to finish soon.