A welcome day off from teaching and practicing– we headed north to the Clark Art Institute in Williamstown, Massachusetts. Almost at the Vermont border, the mountains are higher and the trip there always feels as if we are on a small vacation.
Looking outside a museum window, the landscape reminded us of a scene from an old classic black and white film.
In the distance, a lone skier traversed across a snowy field.
Staying with the black and white color scheme, we viewed the current exhibition of intricate lithographs, “Shadow Visionaries: French Artists Against the Current”:1840-1870.
Here is a description from the exhibit:
“The mid-1800s in France was a tumultuous era that witnessed dramatic political, social, and cultural change. The impact of those transformations on the art of the period has often been measured by the painting and sculpture shown at government-sponsored Salons, Universal Expositions, and other prominent exhibition venues, which tended to uphold official narratives of progress.
Yet a focus on more private media, such as printmaking and photography, tells a different story. In fact, many artists felt at odds with their era’s celebration of material advancement and modernization.
Rejecting the prevailing current, such figures—described as “Shadow Visionaries” for this exhibition—chose dark subject matter oriented toward the irrational, spiritual, and fantastical. They used the distinctive characteristics of black-and-white media to convey intense emotions, while producing works of unsparing directness and rare beauty. Although some of the Shadow Visionaries evoked nostalgia, others dreamed boldly toward an alternate future, anticipating later art movements such as Symbolism and Surrealism.”
I was particularly drawn to the lithographs of trees and forests; the contrast of light and shadows was mesmerizing along with their magical unworldly character.
We next visited the permanent collection of Impressionist paintings. As we entered a large room filled with paintings by Monet, Manet, Pissaro, Millet and Renoir, we were greeted by warm brilliant colors.
I sank down on a plush dark blue velvet couch in front of Monet’s “Tulip Fields at Sassenheim” and drank in the beautiful colors; a perfect antidote from the grey monochrome winter day! On a Tuesday afternoon in February, we were the only visitors in the room; we pretended that this was our own private art collection- a slice of heaven!
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On my pantry shelf at home, a small jar of cute little heirloom beans that I purchased last summer has waited patiently for me to put them to use! I got them at the excellent organic Honey Dog Farm in Hillsdale, New York. A winter day in February is the perfect time for a long simmering pot of bean soup!
The heirloom beans are a variety called Coco de Boheme and are described as “a hearty meaty bean that holds it’s shape well”. I decided to make a bean and kale soup with a southwestern flavor. I sauteed onions and added a diced poblano chile, carrots, diced fire roasted tomatoes, celery and lacinato kale and seasoned the soup with dried thyme, dried oregano, bay leaf, cumin and smoked paprika with salt and pepper to taste.
The cooked beans tasted creamy and at the same time were firm and held their shape. We served the soup for dinner with freshly ground pepper and a sprinkle of grated pecorino cheese along with a salad and crispy squares of potato & leek focaccia (recipe to come in another blog!).
Heirloom Bean and Kale Soup
Ingredients:
1/2 pound dried beans ( pinto or cannellini beans would also work well)
1 medium onion diced
1 small carrot cut into small pieces
1 stalk celery with leaves cut into small pieces
5 or 6 leaves of lacinato kale (remove tough center stems) Tear kale into small pieces
1 small can diced organic fire roasted tomatoes (add juice in can to soup pot)
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon dried oregano
2 teaspoons cumin powder
2 teaspoons smoked paprika
1 large bay leaf
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
water to cover beans and vegetables
To Make Soup:
Quick Soak the beans. Rinse and sort the beans in cold water. Drain and add to a large pot. Cover with cold water and bring to a boil. Cover and remove from heat and let sit for at least 2 hours. Do not drain. Use soaking liquid for soup.
In a separate small pan, heat olive oil and saute onion and slightly softened.
Add onions and all other ingredients except kale to soup pot. Cover everything with water and bring to a boil. If soup seems to thick, add more water. Reduce heat and cook at a low simmer until beans are tender. Add salt and freshly ground pepper to taste.
The cooking time can vary greatly. The older the beans, the longer they will need to cook to soften. After cooking the soup about 1 1/2 hours add kale for the rest of the cooking time. The flavor of the soup improves after a day or two in the fridge. ENJOY!!
AND: As always, here is the “Tree of the Week!”
STAY WARM!!
A Musician's Travels 