What’s Cooking? Knock on Wood!
What is so very irresistible about running your fingers along a polished piece of wood? In the hands of a master, wood comes alive. Its solid nature takes on many beautiful forms; its fluidity is accentuated by carving, sanding and rubbing. Our homes and furnishings are largely built of wood, and we find solace in natural woodlands. Even fire, the very source of civilization, comes from wood. And a mainstay of our childhood was Joyce Kilmer’s poem, which begins, “I think that I shall never see… a poem lovely as a tree.”
This week’s curated Marketplace theme, “Knock on Wood”, paints wood with broad strokes. You’ll be delighted by the whimsical, narrative woodworking of Mark Del Guidice and Tom Dahlke. Scott Sober’s collection speaks to the grace and solidity of studio furniture. The sinuously carved shelves of Scott Deming are the ultimate expression of fluidity in cherry, maple or walnut. James Borden’s magnificent hardwood wall clocks are functional sculpture. And then there’s the totally unexpected, like Sharon and Mark Diebolt’s wooden handbags!
Painters, photographers, fiber artists and printmakers celebrate the beauty of the trees and woodlands that surround us. Christina Meyers pieces together tiny bits of fabric to create perfectly realized visions of trees. Marlene Rye punches up the color in her painterly pastels of maples transformed by New England’s fall foliage season. Vermont’s verdant forests and branching white birches inspire Daryl Storrs’ pastels, woodcuts and even her jewelry.
Take a guided walk with us deep into the woods on this week’s Marketplace. Each image links to an artist’s site where you can purchase current work. Some take you directly to their fully functional online store while others show collections of work that are ordered via phone and email. Just like at our shows, you are buying directly from the artist.
What else is cooking at Paradise City? Read this week’s recipe for a Caribbean-Style Dutch Baby.
Featured Artists
This Week’s Recipe
A Dutch Baby is really a delicious baked pancake, which can be adapted for any meal of the day. We invented this version long ago on a Caribbean island when we had a surplus of native bananas. But be creative, use what you have!
Caribbean-Style Dutch Baby
For each serving:
1 egg
¼ cup flour
¼ milk (can be low fat)
Pat of butter (about a teaspoon)
½ banana, sliced lengthwise
Sugar to sprinkle (regular, turbinado, confectioner’s or cinnamon & sugar)
- Preheat oven to 425°. Select a baking pan with about 2” high sides, and large enough for the batter to come around half-way up. For example, a 6” x 9” pan will fit 6 servings, give or take.
- When the oven is hot, add butter to the pan and place it in the oven to melt.
- Remove the pan and add sliced bananas to cover the bottom. Put back in the oven.
- Using a whisk, mix the eggs, milk and flour together well. Take out the hot pan and pour in the batter. Place the pan back into the oven.
- Bake for 25 minutes, or until the top of the Dutch Baby is puffed and golden.
- Sprinkle with the sugar of your choice, cut in pieces and serve. It will collapse once cut.
This can be made the traditional way without fruit, sprinkled with confectioner’s sugar and a squeeze of lemon. You can substitute berries or sliced, peeled, cooked apples for the bananas. Add chocolate chips and nuts to any fruit version and serve with ice cream for dessert! We’ve even made a savory version with seasoned crabmeat on the bottom, sprinkled with parmesan instead of sugar.
