grow some grass

Here is my mid week inspiration:  get some seeds, grow spring sprouts! I put them into my salads and soups, and into my dog Shei's bowl. She never leaves any on her plate...in fact I just caught her having an early snack from a plant pot on the balcony, full of wheatgerm...a cow of a dog she is!
Luckily it grows back pretty fast.
This is what it looked like...

...before this happened.

She doesn't look too guilty.

I also have rye sprouts, lemon mint, and cockooflower...

Lots of cockooflower. It tastes a bit like chives.

   Give it a go!                                      All photos by Galeria Rocco

spring cleaning

Hello again!
I had a break from blogging for a couple of months, due to travelling to New York and recently Ukraine, and also a winter hibernation mood I will not apologise for...The dark European winter can make you like that, force you to recharge your skittish batteries and seek some time out.
 However I can't pretend the spring is not here any longer. With it comes a wish for a blast, for a clean, sweeping change, readjustment, discarding and shedding a outworn skin. Or, at the very least, for some clean white paint.
So last weekend I looked at some very outdated items from last fall and decided to give them a fresh linen look. And, as I have a thing for painting old books, I added a couple of them to the mix.
So here is my spring meditation in starch white and gilded gold:

All photos by Galeria Rocco

My old goodies are out again…

photos by Galeriarocco

tart-rustic

A moody, blue hour photo of a very edible Sunday shortcrust tart filled with mascarpone, dates, almonds...tiny bits of green candied pomelo and cantelupe melon, just because I had some...grapefruit juice...topped with apricot jam...all true blue, as we say in Australia. 

    photo by Galeria Rocco

gomashio

I just prepared the Japanese sesame salt, or gomashio, a delicious condiment I periodically make and always keep. It consists of sea salt and unhulled, fresh sesame seeds, roasted, and then grinded. It will add so much oomph and flavour to your dishes, you will never look back...Sprinkle it on anything just like salt - veggie dishes, eggs, meat, salads...my sweet cherry tomatoes never tasted this good before.
And it keeps in a dark, cool place, or a fridge, for many weeks.  So here goes:

First roast two tablespoons of sea salt on low heat for 3 min. (this time I run out, so I used Himalayan).
Next, add half a cup + two tablespoons of unhulled sesame seeds (white or black, or mixed):

Keep stirring and roast it for a while, until they are a little darker. Make sure they don't burn.
Then grind the lot in a mortar, enough to release the flavour, but not too much, so some seeds are still whole:

Cool and put in a airtight jar. Done!

         All photos by Galeria Rocco

peony season

Yes to Peony Season and my favourite spring flower.

Peony is the Chinese symbol for spring, and Feng Shui staple for wealth, distinction and romance (sounds like a diamond, doesn't it?), balancing the opposites and calming the mind. 

                                                 via Peonies-in-Art-and-Life




Me, I just love the smell and soft ruffles.

Marco Polo described them as "roses, big as cabbages"...

...and apparently ants are needed for the buds to open properly!

                               
photos by Galeria Rocco

ocean waves

More experiments with polymer clay a few days ago led to this ocean swell inspired necklace.
I used mineral pigments to evoke ocean waves and swirling beach sand patterns in semi opaque, muted colors. The contrasting dark shimmering green beads are like sea algae... It took me a while to get the colors exactly how I imagined them, but it was well worth the effort. And did I mention how hard it is to make a perfectly round bead? You never know, until you try…

                     All photos by Bauble Arcade Jewelry

While i was writing this…the necklace was found and bought by a dear friend…it is leaving for Toronto tomorrow! Time to make some more...