lummi island wine tasting may 26 ’17 Artists Studio Tour Weekend
(note: some photos will enlarge when clicked)
Bread this week
Buckwheat Walnut & Honey – a nice flavorful artisan bread. Made with fresh milled buckwheat and bread flour. A little honey to balance the earthiness of the buckwheat and some toasted walnuts for a nice crunch. This bread goes well with meats and cheeses – $5/loaf
Spelt Levain – People often ask if I ever use spelt, I have in a few things including some really delicious scones I made for the island cleanup. This will be the first time for using in bread for me. Spelt is an ancient grain similar to wheat and has a nutty, slightly sweet flavor. It has gluten but it isn’t as strong as the gluten in traditional wheat. This bread is made with a levain, or sourdough, traditional bread flour and about 1/3 spelt flour and fresh milled whole spelt. It should make a great all around bread – $5/loaf
And for “pastry” this week…
Hamburger Buns! Made with bread flour and freshly milled whole wheat, some milk and butter for a tender crumb, and topped with a flavorful onion topping. These are nice soft buns that go well with everything. 4/$5
Bread pickup and weekly Wine Club Happy Hour Friday 4-7.
Studio Tour Artist: Anne Gibert
As we mentioned last week, our Studio Tour artist this weekend is Anne Gibert, our talented neighbor a few hundred yards down the road. Anne likes to paint from her own photographs, taken at random here on the island, or in Alaska, or wherever. Her photos, and therefore her paintings, include a number of Islanders, including men and women and various critters that many of you will recognize.
Many of you will recall Anne’s show a couple of years ago of Twenty Two Portraits of Lummi Island Women, which drew a lot of enthusiastic interest. Unfortunately this time only a Lucky Half-Dozen will get the “Pow’r the giftie gie us To see oursels as ithers see us!”
Nevertheless, even with only six “surprise” Portraits, one of the subjects (not a Pigeon!) was offended to the point of asking that the painting be removed from display. And so we have yet another example of the Reciprocal Nature of “Rights.” Does the Artist have the right to photograph Anyone and Anything and then render that photo into a painting? Or does the the Subject have the Right Not to be photographed or painted? This is one in a nearly infinite number of cases of reciprocal impacts about which the Law is Undecided. Should the Artist have to pay the Subject for the Right to Paint and Display, or should the Subject have to pay the Painter for the Right to Withhold From Display?
As of this writing, the Law appears to be with the Artist, so it is Most Gracious of Anne to remove the painting solely for the Comfort of the Subject. And it seems Most Self-Absorbed for the Subject to Castigate the Artist for creating an Artifact that in the Main has Nothing Whatsoever to do with the Subject (I Bet You Think This Song is About You…).
Reminder: Studio tour hours are Saturday and Sunday from 10-6. Meet the artist from 10-1 each day, followed by wine tasting from 1-6.
Polarities
Every once in a while I recall a scene from the old Kung Fu TV series, in which David Carradine played Caine, a wandering Shaolin monk in the US West. Each episode was punctuated with several instances of his young self being taught by the Shaolin Masters.
In one episode, Caine had sold a sextant that had belonged to his Father. His teacher asks why, when he has very few mementos of his father. Caine replies, “But Master, have you not taught us that to Dwell in the Past is to Rob the Present?” To which the Master replies, “It is true, to Dwell in the Past is to Rob the Present; but to Forget the Past is to Rob the Future!”
So it strikes us this week with the Removal of the Confederate Generals from various Memorial sites in New Orleans this week. Lee was a West Point Grad torn between conflicting Loyalties. It costs us little to admire him as a Tragic Hero in a Difficult Time, and though Times have Changed in the 150 years since Lee walked in the World, the Confederacy is a vital part of our History. To Remember is to Consider, not to Glorify. And to Forget is to Lose Perspective.
Mar a Lago Update 5/25/17
It has been a Strange Week for the Royal Family. At home the Media Jackals are sensing Weakness and Jumping Up and Down in True Chimp Fashion as more and more information seems to indict many Administration Players for Wrongdoing. Abroad the Acting King visits Foreign Courts with Scripted Praises aimed at the Two-Year-Old Audience.
Just today the Crown Prince was named as an Important Witness with possible Light to Shed on the Broad Topic of WTH is Going On. Each day the entire situation becomes more Surreal; i.e., we are all Bruised from Pinching Ourselves every few minutes and asking, “Am I Crazy? Is This Really Happening?”
Meanwhile back in what passes for “Government,” Dissembler in Chief McConnell draws a Sharp Line in the Political Sand, paraphrasing Stephen Decatur’s famous Toast from 200 years ago: “My Country–May she ever be Right! But Right, Far Right, or Outa Sight Right, My Country!”
This week’s wine tasting
Barone Fini Valdadige Pinot Grigio ’15 Italy $14
From the high Italian Alps of Alto Adige; crisp, clean, and focused on the palate, with ripe, juicy flavors of honeydew melon and ripe apples, bright acidity, warm minerality, and a lingering finish.
Mas des Bressades Rosé ’15 France $12
Spicy aromas and flavors of ripe red berries, orange, and pungent flowers; Nicely concentrated and supple, gaining weight with air, picking up bitter cherry and melon notes and a lingering red fruit liqueur quality.
Monte Antico Rosso Toscana ’12 Italy $10
A blend of sangiovese, merlot and cabernet sauvignon. Medium to full body with dried cherry, milk chocolate and light chili aromas and flavors. Long and delicious. Caressing mouthfeel with bright acidity.
Dom. Mas Blanc Collioure Piloums ’14 France $12
Unique, easy drinking soft blend of syrah & grenache; earthy, toasty, and pruney aromas lead to an unusual palate with notes of cherry and tobacco, good body, a bright thread of acidity and a touch of bitters. A great value!
Goose Ridge g3 Red ‘`14 Washington $14
Syrah-cab-merlot blend; supple ripe plum and blackberry notes with hints of spice, vanilla, black currant and Bing cherry. Nicely balanced with a lush, round mouth and a long, lingering finish.
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2072 Granger Way