Travel with JoY

Isn't the whole point of things, beautiful things, that they connect you to some larger beauty. The Goldfinch, Donna Tartt I am an art collector and I am an artist. Those are two identities that I claimed with a bit of self doubt at one time in my life. First came the title artist. As a child, being an artist was one of three potential chosen professions. But being an art collector; hadn’t crossed my mind until years after I had begun to collect art. Like calling myself an artist, thinking of myself as an art collector somehow seemed too high blown for someone like myself raised in a working class family from Iowa. Both the title artist and art collector beg the question of definition. Being an artist is easier to define, whether we are talking professional or amatuer, an artist is someone who makes art. But then does it follow that an art collector is someone who collects art? Of course that is the case. But I think what is even more important is to differentiate  an art col...

Just finished a week with thirty artists in my gallery painting within the area, a culminating exhibit and now more show and sales. But moving on to the Fresh Art Tour next weekend June 3-4-5. I'll be exhibiting many new pieces painted while in Grenada this last winter.  This is one of the more unusual ones. But very intriguing. Title?  36 x 36 " acrylic. -- Jean Accola Accola Gallery 502 2nd Ave East Durand, WI 54736 715-672-8188 www.accolagallery.com

No I didn't get a massage with oil, and no I didn't get an oil change, but instead finally found one of the last three servings of Oildown, the national dish of Grenada at Babes.  Oildown is a culinary staple of the island, and the reason there were only three servings left at Babes restaurant is because when they make Oildown, there is, as Andre our driver said, "never any left".  If Oildown is available on the menu, that is what the Grenadians have.  Unfortunately for Andre who took us to Babe's we got the last three servings.  It was better than I expected. I'd heard about it; how you layer assorted meats or seafood, breadfruit or root crops, green bananas, yams, coconut milk and greens and stew it down until what remains is a savory stew with a coconut oil sauce.  I asked Babe how she made it and this is how she described it. She sauted the green spices: green onion, celery, thyme, possibly dill, and any assortment of green herbs, but very likely Shadon Be...

In the Year 2100, 12 x 12 acrylic Azure Tube Sponge, 24 x 36 acrylic

Looking at the menu for one of the best restaurants in Grenada I noticed that they offered Butternut Squash Ravioli with Brown Butter Sauce.  I've made this a few times in the past and always enjoyed it, improving on my technique each time.  I had some Brie cheese that was near expiration so I ventured that that might be nice to incorporate into the ravioli as well. It was a great combo! Butternut and Brie Ravioli Makes about 20 to 24 raviolis 1 small Butternut Squash (when cooked you'll need about 3 cups of squash) Wonton or Eggroll Wrappers (you can make four raviolis with 2 Eggroll Wrappers 1/4 pound of Brie cheese salt to taste 1/8 tsp fresh grated nutmeg 1/2 tsp ground ginger 1 egg Olive oil 1/2 stick of butter Steam squash until soft. Mash it in a bowl adding the spices and mix well. Drop 1 heaping tablespoon of the squash mixutre in each corner of the Eggroll wrapper. Place a thumbnail sized slice of Brie on each squash.  Make an egg wash with the...

Calvigny, 24 x 36" Self-portrait, 12x12" Venus' Nipple, 12x12" Conch, 36x36"

 This recipe is almost entirely from the book The Spice Necklace by Ann Vanderhoof 4 Tuna Steaks cut about 3/4 inch thick 4 T ground cocoa powder ( I used the cocoa balls which are infused with spices and used for a 'tea') 1/4 tsp cayenne 1/2 tsp salt 1/2 tsp black pepper 1/4 tsp cinnamon 1 T brown sugar 1 T coconut oil Rub steaks with the spice/cocoa mixture. Heat pan with the coconut oil. Sear steaks to desired degree.  Turning once. (about 2 minutes per side for medium/medium well) Passionfruit ginger sauce: 4 T butter 2 finely chopped garlic cloves 2-3 inches peeled and finely chopped fresh ginger root 3 T coconut milk powder 2 T flour 3/4 c. passionfruit juice 1 T dark rum 1/4 tsp tumeric Saute garlic and ginger in the butter until lightly golden. Add flour and coconut powder and stir the resulting paste until it's a nice dark gold.  Then add the juice, rum and tumeric and cook until it thickens.  Serve over or alongside the steaks. Thi...

I haven't updated my paintings in a while.  As I mentioned in an earlier post, they suffer from a bit too much inspiration in that the subjects, and approaches are all over the place, from palette knife to decorative borders; from a colorful tropical palette to a subdued tone on tone grey piece. Jazz in 4/4 Time, 36" x 36" acrylic, with collaged fabric from Artfabrik (Grenada) Reef Impressions, 12" x 12" acrylic Fall Edge, 6pm, 36" x 36" acrylic Rocks & Waves V, 12 x 12 acrylic Flotsam, 24" x 36" acrylic North of Gouyave, 12" x 24" acrylic Grenada Cottage, 12 x 12 acrylic Homage to Breadfruit, 12 x 12 acrylic Sailin II, 12 x 24 acrylic, a tone-on-tone palette knife piece.

Stovetop Key Lime Pie Yesterday was Valentine’s Day.  It was a Sunday. We decided to take a bus to the Carenage and treat ourselves at the Grenada Chocolate Company Shop.  We got off early when we saw the gates to the Botanical Garden were open and we’d not been there yet.  We’ve seen some great botanical gardens over the years but this one we would not recommend for any reason. It didn’t even have much in the line of picnic benches to sit in the shade under while escaping the sun’s rays.  It had no labelled specimens, nor collection of native trees.  It essentially was the groomed front yard to a number of government buildings. We left there and walked through the Marryshow area to the shore, a two or three block stretch which was the site of the riots and rebellions of the youth groups and nurses during the 1960’s led by Maurice Bishop.  Like current day Tunisia and other countries of the Spring Revolution, the revolt is usually led by the young ...

This recipe is originally from Tunisia and I altered the ingredients  to turn i into a West Indies style dish.  The curry replaces paprika and the coconut milk replaces water.  Cilantro for parsley (which I'm allergic to anyway).  Otherwise it's pretty similar. West Indies Shakshuka [Eggs Poached in Spicy Tomato Sauce] Adapted from  S mitten Kitchen Serves 3-4 2 T coconut oil 2 green peppers sliced 1 med yellow onion, chopped 2 cloves garlic, crushed then sliced 1 teaspoon ground cumin 1 tablespoon West Indian Curry powder 1 tsp tumeric powder 1/4 tsp cayenne 2 T tomato paste 4 medium tomatoes chopped 1 cup coconut milk salt, to taste 3 eggs 1/4 cup feta cheese, crumbled 1 tablespoon chopped cilantro Warm pitas, for serving Heat oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Add peppers and onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft and golden brown, about 6 minutes. Add garlic, cumin, curry, tumeric, cayenne, and cook, stirring ...

My paintings as well as my cooking suffer from a bit too much inspiration and possibilities. My pantry is well stocked now and I've been reading a travel book with recipes that takes place in the Caribbean including Grenada, The Spice Necklace. The following recipe is an amalgam of her Starburst Salad and a Yummly recipe I saw.  The Tropic of Pasta I avocado 2 T fresh lime juice 1 chopped tomato 1 c chopped cucumber 1 T banana ketsup 1 T pepper sauce (opt) 1/2 cup fresh coconut meat coarsely grated 1/2 c cilantro chopped 1/2 pound cooked and cooled pasta 1/2 cup or more dry roasted salt peanuts Mash the avocado adding the lime juice, banana ketsup, pepper sauce and cilantro. Combine well with pasta. Add remaining ingredients and top with crushed peanuts. 

Sailin’ past Kick ‘Em Jenny The swells were as big as a small house, with winds gusting to 28 knots….. I had downloaded Windfinder to my phone and it turned out to be perfectly accurate in its prediction of 25 knot winds (with gusts to 28) for Tues and Wed of our trip.  Yata and I being neophytes to this sort of sailing; we had only sailed on Lake Pepin and the Great Lakes a time or two; didn’t quite know what to expect. We sailed Sunday to Sunday, Jan 24 to 31st on the Chinook, a 42” mono-hull Bavaria yacht with three berths with Kay Hamilton, Dwight Jelle, Jeri and Dave Erickson.  Dwight was the captain and he and Kay have had a lot of experience including racing as well as weeklong trips through the British Virgin Islands and the Grenadines.  Dave and Jeri purchased Kay and Dwight’s Tartan sailboat and have it at the Pepin Marina. So they too have years of sailing experience.   We departed Sunday about 2pm after a couple hours of loading and instruc...

An excellent recipe by 1st mate Kay. Or should I say galley wench! Boat Babe Curry by Kay 2 onions chopped 3 fingers ginger, minced 3 cloves garlic minced 1 red bell pepper chopped Sauté above in 2 T coconut oil.  Add 1 c chicken broth 1/2 can coconut milk 2 T tamarind sauce 1/4 c peanut butter Salt Pepper 1 T turmeric or more 1 T cinnamon  1/4 c coconut cream 1 T fresh thyme Simmer