David Shepherd - Wildlife Artist of the Year 2011

Wildlife Artist of the year competition 2011

With a fabulous top prize of £10,000 and all short-listed entries exhibited at the prestigious Mall Galleries in London the David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation's Wildlife Artist of the Year competition is now firmly established in the art calendar.

Open to all professional and amateur artists aged 17 and over entry for 2011 is now open by post and on-line.

closing date for entries – 31st Jan 2011.

The five categories are:

Endangered Wildlife - any wild animal or plant that is threatened or
endangered nationally or internationally
Wild Places - any scene or landscape showing the natural environment at
its most beautiful or dramatic
Wildlife in Action - any wild animal jumping, fighting, flying or any other
interesting behaviour
Wildlife in 3D - sculpture in any medium
Open - let your imagination go wild!

Judging will take place in three stages (dates to be confirmed). Prize
giving and exhibition at The Mall Galleries London, 6-11 June 2011.

Please visit http://www.davidshepherd.org if you would like to enter the competition and for terms and conditions.

SAATCHI GALLERY TALK: IS THERE SUCH A THING AS BRITISH ART?

Above painting is by Barry Reigate.

SAATCHI GALLERY

IS THERE SUCH A THING AS BRITISH ART?

Louisa Buck, Hew Locke and Barry Reigate in conversation
7.30pm, 29 November 2010
Tickets: £10 / £6 students - Book now

With the opening of Newspeak: British Art Now at the Saatchi Gallery, and the British Art Show 7 at Nottingham Contemporary, the question of British Art is once again in the spotlight. Both exhibitions include a host of radically divergent artists connected by 'Britishness'. Does this tag reveal anything more than shared geography?

Artists Hew Locke and Barry Reigate, and journalist Louisa Buck, discuss the problematic concept of British Art as a coherent context for artistic production. Is there a particular British sensibility, style or technique discernable in contemporary art produced in the UK today? Or, have we reached a point at which the idea of a national artistic identity has broken down leaving a multiplicity of artistic forms and languages?

Speakers:

Louisa Buck is a writer and broadcaster on contemporary art. She is a columnist for The Art Newspaper and a regular reviewer on BBC radio and TV. Her books include Moving Targets 2: A User's Guide to British Art Now (2007), Market Matters: The Dynamics of the Contemporary Art Market (2009) and Owning Art: The Contemporary Art Collector's Handbook (2006, with Judith Greer). Buck was a judge for the Turner Prize in 2005.

Hew Locke lives and works in London. Locke moved from Edinburgh to Guyana where he spent his formative years. Back in the UK he completed an MA in sculpture at the Royal College. Locke has exhibited extensively around the UK, including Tate Britain, The V&A Museum, The New Art Gallery Walsall, Rivington Place, The Bluecoat Gallery and The British Museum. In the US he has shown at The Luckman Gallery LA, The New York Museum of Art and Design, Atlanta Contemporary Arts and at The Brooklyn Museum. Locke has recently been shortlisted for the 4th Plinth Commission, and will be exhibiting as part of the Folkestone Triennial in 2011. He is represented by Hales Gallery in London.

Barry Reigate lives and works in London. He completed an MA in Fine Art at Goldsmiths University and has since gone on to exhibit internationally. His work has been included in major national shows such as Rude Britannia: British Comic Art at Tate Britain and Newspeak: British Art Now at the Saatchi Gallery, and in exhibitions at Trolley Gallery, Baibakov Art Projects, Moscow, Chapman Fine Arts, The Agency Gallery and Stephen Friedman Gallery. He is represented by Paradise Row Gallery in London.


Is there such a thing as British Art?
7.30 pm, Monday, 29 November 2010
Saatchi Gallery
Duke of York's HQ
King's Road
London SW3 4SQ
www.saatchigallery.com/talk
Tickets: £10 / £6 students - Book now

Partnered by Broadword Group

SAATCHI GALLERY,
Duke of York's HQ,
King's Road,
London,
SW3 4SQ

www.saatchigallery.com

Women On Fire - Judith Seelig

I am posting an update on a previous post regarding the 'Women On Fire' event in 2011

Myself and other artists will be taking part in an exhibition to be held at Central Hall Westminster

Here is Judith's update.

Women on Fire meet St George

A couple of years ago I led a retreat at St George's in Windsor Castle for women in senior decision-making roles. The subject was Fire and the Feminine Principle. My theme included the reminder that some seeds require fire to germinate. Economic and environmental crises have been burning brightly since that spring. Now we have seedlings to transplant.

I have teamed up with the environmental lawyer Polly Higgins to create Women on Fire, something that was initially seen as a one-day event but that has now burgeoned into something much bigger.

First the event: Celebrating Women on Fire at Central Hall Westminster, London SW1, 10am to 7.30pm (doors open 9am) on 23rd April 2011 which is Easter Saturday and St George's Day. The date is significant. Rarely does Easter fall so late that it coincides with April 23rd, the date on which England celebrates its patron saint George, slayer of the dragon. Dragons represent evil in medieval Europe, yet wisdom, strength and hidden knowledge in the Far East.

In many cultures the earth's own energy lines are symbolised by dragons uniting earth, air, fire and water in the form of a winged, fire-breathing serpent. Dragon energy is also synonymous with risen kundalini, the phenomenon by which the human spine experiences great heat rising from beneath the coccyx to fire changes in consciousness within the skull.

Renewal is a fundamental of Easter, not only in the Christian tradition but as Eostre the goddess worshipped in pre-Christian Britain, particularly in the fourth month of the year when the sun brought renewed fire to meet the earth's abundant waters. Seven hundred and eighty nine years after April 23rd was declared St George's Day we thought we might give the dragon another chance...

About Women on Fire
PURPOSE to power women as decision makers
WHY to develop and promote confidence in female intelligence, instinct and leadership
HOW
• connecting with the fire at the centre of the earth
• using the planet as a transmitter to connect women to women, cause to cause
• developing awareness of something that's freely available to all yet impossible to appropriate
• establishing banking facilities, financial education and advice for women by women
Celebrating Women on Fire is for women of all ages, creeds and nations. It will offer ground-breaking speakers in the fields of ecology, evolution, economics, fashion, wellbeing and women's place in politics and society. More news to follow.

Judith Seelig September 2010

http://www.womenonfire.co.uk

Cyprus and the Olive Tree

I have been busy researching, writing and painting for my book 'Cyprus and the Olive tree' One of the chapters covers the history of the Olive tree or Olea Europaea, the myths and legends as well as the many different uses and beneficial properties of this amazing tree.

The olive tree is the oldest and most important fruit tree in our history, thought to have originated in Asia Minor before establishing itself in the Mediterranean. On the island of Crete, there are some beautiful Minoan fresco paintings featuring the olive tree that date back to 3500 BC. In spain, olive seeds have been found that are eight thousand years old.

In Greek mythology, the Goddess Athena created an Olive tree as a gift to aid mankind. The Gods were so impressed they named the city Athens after her. Athena is often shown with an olive branch as a symbol of peace and abundance.
The Egyptians believed the Goddess Isis taught humans how to cultivate olives and in the Islamic world, 'the value of the Olive tree extends beyond that of a food crop, since the time of Adam, the Olive has been said to represent those seeking God through Science in vibrational herbal medicine'.

The 'Tree of Life' referred to in many religious texts, is thought to be the Olive tree'. If so it is easy to understand why. The olive trees low nutritional requirements, resistance to disease and tolerance to drought and salinity, make them incredibly hardy and long lasting. They can live for over a thousand years, with some said to be between three and five thousand years old. Once established, they would have provided a continuous source of food, oil and wealth to successive generations.

I was very interested to read about the healing properties of the Olive tree, particularly the leaves. Olive leaf extract is said to be one of the best antimicrobial products available and a marvellous substitute for antibiotics. The leaves contain a compound called Oleuropein, which has 23 ingredients, including Elenolic acid. The Elenolic acid combines with Calcium to form Elenolate.

During the 1960's - 1970's research conducted by the Upjohn company in Michigan and published by the American Society for Microbiology, found that the active compounds Elenol acid and Calcium Elenolate inhibited the growth of every virus, bacteria and fungus they were tested against. Perhaps Olive leaf extract is one of nature's defences against the rampant 'super bugs' that are now resistant to almost every known antibiotic?

For more detailed and authoratative information, Dr Morton Walker a health writer, investigator and Author has written a wonderful book called 'Olive leaf extract' .

Here is a home made 'Olive Leave Tincture' kindly given to me, with permission to publish, by Paul Blake aka The Herb Professor. www.theherbprof.com

HOME MADE OLIVE LEAF TINCTURE

Take some freshly picked olive leaves, enough to almost fill a blender. Paul advices that the optimum time to pick the leaves is just as the flower buds are taking shape prior to opening up.

Place the leaves in a large clean bowl with 1/2 cup of vinegar and 2 tablespoons of salt, to clean off the dust and air pollutants, then rinse thoroughly with clean water.

Take the clean olive leaves and place them inside a blender until it is 3/4 full.

Pour some grain alcohol ( vodka or gin 100 proof ) over the leaves to completley cover them. (grain alcohol is an excellent extractor for most herbs)

Cover and blend until the leaves are finely chopped and the contents look like a green smoothie. If the blender is running slow, swithch off and add a little more alcohol.

Pout the contents into some clean jars, cover and leave in a cool dark place.

shake each jar once a day for 3 months, to allow the alcohol to extract all the healing properties of the olive leaves.

Take a large clean bowl and cover with a clean sheet of muslin or sim ilar material.

Pour the contents of the jar onto the cloth, carefully bring up the edges and twist to form a pouch.

Slowly squeeze and twist the pouch to release as much of, what is now the tincture, into the bowl. Discard the remaining leaves.

The tincture can be stored in amber coloured glass dropper bottles. You can make your own labels for them.

Stored in a cool dark place, the tincture has an indeffinate shelf life.

For more information on uses and dosage please visit Pauls website at www.theherbprof.com

Cyprus and the Olive Tree - Stuffed Courgette flowers

On a beautiful hot summers day last July, my son and his bandmates 'Keeffe and the Bees' along with other local bands, were invited to play at an outdoor event organised by the owners of a nearby recording studio. An impressive stage and marquee were set up in a huge garden overlooking fields and countryside. Live music, cold drinks, a BBQ, outdoor swimming pool and a field to camp in, made it more like a mini music festival.

The following day, I went over to collect my son. While he was collecting up his guitar and amplifier, I got chatting to the lady in whose garden the event took place. I couldn't help admiring her flowering courgette plants on the patio, they reminded me of the beautiful stuffed courgette flowers dish my Mother would sometimes prepare. After we discussed how the flowers could be cooked and eaten, I promised I would post a recipe on my blog. Here it is along with my new painting of a courgette flower.

Stuffed courgette flowers.

20 courgette flowers.
1 cup rice.
1 onion.
3-4 tomatoes.
1 cup olive oil.
1 tbsp tomato puree.
1 tsp dried mint.
salt, pepper, cinnamon for seasoning.

Rinse the rice until the water runs clear.
Grate the oinion and tomatoes and add to the rice along with all the remaining ingredients.
Add 1 tbsp of the mixture into the courgette flower and gently press to fill out the flower.
Take the edges of the flower and neatly fold them over.
Place the stuffed flower into a large sauscepan with the folded edge pressed up against the saucepan's edge.
Continue until the flowers make a tightly packed outer circle.
Create another smaller circle within the remaining space.
Starting a second layer, repeat the process until all the flowers have been used up. Cover the courgette flowers with a plate, this helps to keep everything in place and add 1 cup of water.
With the lid tightly on, place the suacepan on a low heat to simmer untill all the water has evaporated.
Turn off the heat, remove lid and place a clean tea towel over the pan.
Place lid over the tea towel and leave for aprox 20 mins. This allows the rice to continue cooking and expanding.
Serve as a delicious vegetarian lunch with fresh crusty bread, salad and some yogurt.

New recipe - Cyprus and the Olive Tree

Katmer - Filo pastry with almonds and fresh cream.



There are some lovely flavours combined in this filo pastry with Almonds and fresh cream. I have made my recipe using filo pastry for easier use. As a child I remember my Mother and Grandmother making their own pastry, rolling it out on a large floured surface with slender three foot long rolling pins until it was paper thin.

Here is the recipe.

I pack filo pastry
400g chopped almonds
300ml fresh single cream
1 stick of cinnamon
1 3/4 pints water or 35 floz
4oz caster sugar

First we need to make a syrup. Place the water, sugar and cinamon stick in a pan and boil, turn the heat down low and allow to simmer until the liquid has been reduced by at least half. Remove the pan and leave to cool down.

Grease a medium sized, round baking dish.
Spread out a sheet of filo pastry and brush generously with the fresh cream.
Top with a generous sprinkling of chopped almonds.
Gently roll up the filo pastry and arrange neatly inside the baking dish.
Repeat this process, starting from the outer edge, working towards the middle, until all the mixture is used up. The filo pastries should look like a coiled snake.

Brush the surface with the remaining cream and bake in a pre heated oven for 25 mins gas mark 6 or 200 C

Allow pastry to cool then pour over the syrup.

You can of course use a variety of fillings which I will include in my book 'Cyprus and the Olive Tree.

Royal Institute of Oil Painters

ROI 123rd Annual Exhibition - Mall Galleries, London
Non members are invited to submit work for the Annual Exhibition.

For further information contact the Mall Galleries on 020 7930 6844 or visit : www.mallgalleries.org.uk

Entry forms are now available to download here : Registration Pack

Receiving days

Friday 5 and Saturday 6 November, 10am-5pm. Select this link for information on regional handing-in points.

It has been a while since I last posted. Sad, unsettling events occur, not just on a personal basis, but all around us. The world seems to be hurtling into an unknown future taking all of us with it. long term, I can feel optimistic but short term it feels like a chaotic unknown with many difficulties and hardships yet to come. I am normally very positive and optimistic and like to think that forward looking projects like the 'venus project' www.thevenusproject.com can one day become a reality.

To come back down to earth, I have been working on a book about my family's ancient olive grove and my Mothers recipes entitled 'Cyprus and the Olive tree' (this title may change, if you have any suggestions for a title I would welcome them) I am about ready to hand in a submission now, showing three chapters a front cover with painting plus two pastel roughs showing ideas for chapter openings and a synopsis. It is time to get some feedback and advice.

Here are some of the pastel roughs.







I am also working on some paintings for an event next year. Here are some initial pastel roughs for paintings. I like the subject so much I may develop more for a mini exhibition. I will give more details soon.

Today's Drawing - Ayla

I completed this drawing of Ayla yesterday, using 4b and 9b pencils on smooth cartridge paper. I will post more drawings soon including ones by other Artists.

I will post another recipe shortly, filo pastry with a sweet filling.

Next week I will be working on my recipe book, writing and developing ideas for the chapter headings, paintings of fruits and vegetables, including the landscape, flora and fauna of Cyprus.

Have a great weekend

Hani

JUDITH SEELIG - WOMEN ON FIRE EVENT - ROYAL ALBERT HALL

This is an event being oraganised by Changemaker and Shaman Judith Seelig and Environmental Lawyer Polly Higgins to coincide with International Women's Day 2011.


A couple of years ago Judith led a retreat at St George's in Windsor Castle for women in senior decision-making roles. The subject was Fire and the Feminine Principle. Her theme included the reminder that some seeds require fire to germinate.

'Economic and environmental crises have been burning brightly since that spring. The seeds sprouting in my department have matured at their own pace. Now I have much to transplant.

ROYAL ALBERT HALL 13 MARCH 2011 WOMEN ON FIRE

I'm teaming up with the environmental lawyer Polly Higgins to create a Women on Fire day at the Albert Hall next March.
We are planning simultaneous events in Jerusalem and New York.
The idea is to connect women around the globe through the earth, literally using the planet as a transmitter.

We have a broad spectrum agenda. Polly set up a trust on behalf of the earth. I've been looking at bridging the gap between man-made law and natural law, as in the cycles of nature.. Both of us see fundamental change coming through women.

Would you like to contribute to/participate in this event?

Here are a few pointers. I have given up trying to modify the language that I use. What I'm proposing is unusual, radical. Some might think it ridiculous. So be it. We need to be thinking miles outside the box to save ourselves from ourselves.

1 the female pelvis is specifically designed to grow the new.
Let's use it creatively, to the power of a unified female field

2 balancing out masculine and feminine principles, male and female, isn't going to happen men to women, continuing patriarchy makes too strong an imprint. I'm proposing to facilitate women connecting to women via the earth, that connection rising as fire into each pelvis, employing the existing route of fire in the human body, as in risen kundalini **

3. inviting Gaia* to guide and inform women across the globe we cannot live without the earth and its cycles, so to offer the intelligence of our bodies to the intelligence of what sustains and maintains us is intelligent

4. decisions about the earth and its resources are still made predominantly by men yet worldwide it’s women’s hands and feet that do most of the cultivating, gathering and gleaning.

5. the aim is to underwrite clear thinking, strong voices, wise and loving hearts with fire in our bellies

6 to invite the fire at the centre of the earth to ignite and power creativity in women for the mending of our human part in the web of life

7. to make the fire in the female pelvis our common, impersonal thread that funds, interconnects and sustains spectacular diversity

8. to connect up our individual brilliance, intelligence, creativity and female power via the earth

9. to use the earth as a transmitter

10. to offer the fire to named projects, causes, peoples

* the earth as a sentient being

**kundalini is its Sanskrit name. The goddess lies coiled at the base of the spine like a sleeping serpent. When awakened she travels up the spine as fire. (risen kundalini substantially alters one's life, as it did mine, and is possibly the root of this inspiration: birthing itself or herself)'

http://www.judithseelig.com/

If you would like to get involved, particularly if you work in the art, dance, music or fashion areas, a meeting is being held at:

Dragon Hall in Covent Garden
17 Stukeley Street, London, WC2B 5LT
11th April 2010 - 3.00 - 5.00 pm.
Tickets on the door: £5 with invite to pay more

SAATCHI GALLERY DEBATE - ART FAIRS ARE ABOUT MONEY NOT ART

DEBATE AT THE SAATCHI GALLERY ON 29 MARCH 2010

Art fairs, scoff the critics, have become shopping malls for the super-rich. They are giant marketplaces for the wealthy to buy, invest and speculate on the commodity of art. Galleries pressure artists to churn out 'safe', sellable works, which are not so much looked at as bought in bulk. As the critic Jerry Saltz put it, 'art fairs are perfect storms of money, marketability, and instant gratification'. Is this criticism justified? Or are art fairs in fact the perfect format for visitors to see art from all over the world which they wouldn't otherwise see? And by allowing artists to show their work to potential buyers en masse are these shows a crucial lifeline for artists today?

This debate is part of a new initiative presented by the A Foundation called The Economy of the Gift, a boutique-scaled art fair which will take place in Liverpool, 9 April - 22 May 2010. It will present eight artists and eight galleries, and will explore the idea of value in a time of market crisis. The Economy of the Gift has been designed to build on the cultural legacy of Liverpool's role as European Capital of Culture in 2008 and will be an annual affair.

The debate will take place at: The Saatchi Gallery.

Doors open at 7:15 pm. The debate starts at 7:30 pm and finishes at 9:00 pm.

Tickets: £15 each

To book tickets visit:

http://events.intelligencesquared.com/current-events.php?event=EVT0223

Speakers for the motion:

Louisa Buck Writer and broadcaster on contemporary art, contemporary art columnist for The Art Newspaper, and a regular reviewer on BBC radio and TV. Her books include "Moving Targets 2: A User's Guide to British Art Now", "Market Matters: The Dynamics of the Contemporary Art Market" and "Owning Art: The Contemporary Art Collector's Handbook (co-authored with Judith Greer). She was a judge for the 2005 Turner Prize.

Matthew Collings Artist and writer. He was one of the panellists in the TV series "School of Saatchi" aired on BBC 2 in Nov-Dec 2009. He is currently working on a major series about the Renaissance, also for BBC2. In February 2010 his collaborative paintings - made with Emma Biggs - were shown at the Fine Art Society, Bond Street, London.

Speakers against the motion:

Sir Norman Rosenthal Freelance curator and writer. He became Exhibitions Secretary of the Royal Academy of Arts in 1977, where he stayed for 30 years, overseeing loan exhibitions and working with distinguished curators. He has been awarded the highest Honours and Decorations from the Italian Republic, Federal Republic of Germany, French Republic and the Federal Republic of Mexico.

Matthew Slotover Co-founder of Frieze magazine in 1991 and the Frieze Art Fair in 2003, an international contemporary art fair that takes place every October in London's Regent's Park. The fair, which Slotover oversees with co-founder Amanda Sharp, showcases new and established artists to visitors from around the world.

Richard Wentworth One of Britain's leading sculptors. Previously Master of the Ruskin School of Drawing and Fine Art, Oxford University, he is now Head of the Royal College of Art's Sculpture Department. From his involvement with the YBAs in the late 1980s, through to his work with the Architectural Association in the 1990s, and latterly through his recent work at the Ruskin, he has played a hugely influential role in contemporary British art.

Remaining speaker to be announced.

Chair:

Simon de Pury Chairman and Chief Auctioneer of Phillips de Pury & Company. He is one of the art world's leading figures, renowned for his legendary performance on the auction podium and for his deep and longstanding knowledge of the global marketplace.

To book tickets visit:

http://events.intelligencesquared.com/current-events.php?event=EVT0223


SAATCHI GALLERY
Duke of York's HQ, King's Road
Chelsea, London, SW3 4SQ, U.K.

Vincent Van Gogh - Peasant of the Camarque

Vincent Van Gogh - Peasant of the Camarque (Patience Escalier)
August 1888 Reed pen and brown ink on white paper.


I fell in love with Vincent Van Gogh's work when I was fifteen years old. For me, he has always been one of the greatest of Artists. Whenever I look at an original drawing or painting of his, it takes my breath away. His work blazes with life and passion, showing us new ways to look at our world.

Vincent's wonderful portrait of Patience Escalier, is so much more than a preliminary drawing for the final paintings he did. It is a fully realized and complete piece of work in it's own right, radiating empathy and compassion for this man and his life. The absence of colour is more than compensated for by the rich variety of expressive, energetic marks, that describe the shapes and forms within this picture.

You can almost feel the texture of the sunburnt skin, and the underlying bone structure, particularly the prominent cheek bones. The deepset eyes have a compelling, penetrating gaze, that provide the main focal point for the viewer. You can't help but look at them.

Sitting on top of his head is a simply drawn straw hat bathed in bright sun light. For the background, Vincent has created a complex pattern of dots and lines that seem to dance in the air like particles of shimmering light. You can feel the intense heat.

The strong, angular, almost carved out outline, adds contrast and definition to the densely textured areas, emptier spaces and brilliant draughtsmanship. All of which creates a memorable and moving drawing.

The following excerpt is taken from a letter by Theo Van Gogh to his wife Jo, describing his brother Vincent.

'That head of his has been occupied with contemporary society's insoluble problems for so long, and he is still battling on with his good-heartedness and boundless
energy.His efforts have not been in vain, but he will probably not live to see them come to fruition, for by the time people understand what he is saying in his paintings it will be too late.He is one of the most advanced painters and it is difficult to understand him, even for me who knows him so intimately. His ideas cover so much ground, examining what is humane and how one should look at the world, that one must first free oneself from anything remotely linked to convention to
understand what he was trying to say, but I am sure he will be understood later on. It is just hard to say when'.

If you would like to know more about Vincent Van gogh,you can visit this excellent website dedicated to him at http://www.vggallery.com/ The website is the work of Author David Brooks and is a real labour of love.
*Many thanks to David for sending me the above high resolution image. Just click on the image to see more detail.

The Royal Academy in London have superb exhibition of Van Goghs paintings, drawings and letters on at the moment until 18th april 2010.

Today's Drawing - James

My belief, for what it is worth, is that Drawing is the foundation for EVERYTHING in Art, no matter how simplified or abstract your work is. It is only by studying and regularly drawing from life, particularly LIFE DRAWING, that the skills to create with authenticity and confidence are acquired. That process of studying a form and expressing your response to it, really helps to develop your own personal visual language. I know that I need to draw much more regularly, so as much as anything, this is a reminder to myself.

I would like to post drawings by other Artists as well as my own. Perhaps get a discussion going on the importance of drawing and the many styles and techniques that can be used and which drawings from artists past and present we admire. I will start off with a drawing by Vincent Van Gogh next week.

The above drawing of James, was drawn on winsor and Newton cartridge paper with a 4b Derwent sketching pencil.

Spinach, Sultana and Bulgur Wheat Borek

Spinach, Sultana and Bulgur Wheat Borek's
Makes 20-22 Boreks / pastries.

These lovely pastries make delicious snacks, great for long journeys or lunchbox's. My Mother would spend a whole morning making these, rolling out the pastry paper thin and using a variety of fillings such as a sweet curd cheese mixture called 'Nor', Halloumi cheese and mint, Savoury minced meat, and the following recipe.

500gm Flour
100ml Olive oil
1/2 tsp Salt
15 fl oz water
300g Spinach
100g Bulgur Wheat
150g Sultanas
Salt and Pepper

Wash the spinach thoroughly and place in a large saucepan.
Allow the spinach to gently sweat over a low heat for aprox 10 minutes.
Pour the spinach into a sieve to drain the excess fluid.
Place the spinach into a bowl, and stir in the sultanas, bulgur wheat and seasoning.

To make the pastry, place the flour into a large bowl and add the olive oil.
Gradually add the water and mix in to form a dough like consistency.
Place on a floured surface and knead for five minutes.
Cut the dough into four pieces.
Using a rolling pin, roll each piece out as thinly as possible to aprox 1/8 cm.
Taking a tablespoon at a time, place the spinach mixture onto the dough to form evenly spaced out rows. (as you would with ravioli).
Brush the pastry around the mixture, with cold water.
Place a second sheet of pastry on top and press down around the mixture.
Using a pastry cutter, cut around the mixture to form squares.
Repeat until all the dough has been used up.

Heat some oil in a large pan, enough to cover the pastries. Fry three or four at a time for 4-5 minutes until golden and crispy. Drain on kitchen paper.

Food from Cyprus - Chicken in Rich, Aromatic Tomato Sauce.

This is one of my favourite dishes, Warm, hearty and absolutely delicious. I just love the combination of the slightly sweet, cinnamon scented tomato sauce, topped with grated halloumi / helim cheese and fresh mint, served on a bed of pasta.

Lots of childhood memories of summer days playing in the garden, with Mum cooking this dish, its wonderful aroma's drifting through the kitchen window, and the gentle sounds of Melina Mercouri's Never On A Sunday playing in the background.

Serves 4 - 6

1 whole chicken
(you can buy ready cut up chicken pieces if you prefer. Allow enough for 4-6 people).
2 medium to large onions
2 x 400 gm Tins chopped tomatoes
1 - 2 tbls Tomato puree
Halloumi or helim cheese
2 tbsp Fresh mint or 1 tsp dried mint
¼ tsp Cinnamon
5 fl oz (150 ml) Cooking oil
Salt and Peper
½ Lemon

Cut up the chicken into 8 – 10 pieces, rinse and pat dry.
Pour the cooking oil into a large saucepan and heat on a stove until hot. Add the chicken peices to the pan in batches of three at a time. Fry until golden and really crispy all over. Place the fried chicken onto a plate and set aside.

Peel and slice the onions, add to the saucepan and fry until dark brown in colour.
Add the chopped tomatoes and fry for a further five minutes, then stir in tomato puree and fry for two minutes. Season with salt, pepper and cinnamon.

Stir the chicken into the tomatoe sauce, bring to the boil, add the squeezed lemon juice, cover pan and simmer for 45 minutes. Be sure to check the sauce while it is cooking and give it a stir. This will prevent it from sticking to the bottom of the pan. Add a little water if needed.

While the chicken is cooking, grate the halloumi / helim cheese into a bowl and mix in the finely chopped fresh mint or dried mint.

Serve chicken on a bed of pasta, topped with a generous sprinkling of grated halloumi and mint.

* Photos and drawings to follow plus recipe for Spinach, Sultana and Bulgur Wheat 'Boreks' pastries.

Olives, Bougainvillea and lemons

This is my latest painting, Olives, Bougainvillea and lemons, painted in acrylic on canvas. As mentioned in a previous post, it is one of a series of paintings for my book on food from Cyprus and I may use it as the book cover.

I am preparing two more recipes and some drawings to post over the weekend.

Have a wonderful weekend.

Hani

Update

My studio became a music recording studio for most of last week / half term, for my Son, and his band mates, all very talented, motivated and full of ideas. For a fairly new band, it is quite impressive how much they have deveoped in a short space of time. They are working on some recordings and will set up a website once they are ready. With their permission I would like to add a link to their web site once it is set up.

There is a fully equiped recording studio nearby, that they use regularly. The studio was built and equiped by two young lads, who also run it as a business. They are now in the process of constructing a path and patio area outside their studio.
I am quite chuffed to be surrounded by such enterprising, motivated and creative young people. They are all very inspiring and I wish them every success, they deserve it.

I am back painting this week. I will post it on my blog and discuss it a little more when I have finished. After this, it will be back to writing my recipe book. I will post a couple of recipes and some drawings this week. Appologies for not having done this last week, as my studio was being used, I decided to concentrate on the numerous DIY jobs waiting to be done, including figuring out how to construct a stud partition wall lol!.

Have a good day.

Hani

New painting

Last week I made a start on a new painting which I have continued to work on all week. It is one of series of ideas I am exploring. I have lost count of the number of times I have swung from thinking 'yes, it is going well' to 'No, it bloody well isn't' or words to that effect!.

Painting involves a sort of Alchemy. You take something elusive like an idea, retain it as fully as possible in your mind's eye, with all of its subtleties, passion, energy and colours, retain the feeling of every mark and brush stroke you want to make, then as if by magic, breathe it onto the canvas. Fresh, spontaneous, effortless.

Right now, painting is feeling like a wrestling match, and I am tempted to put my foot through the canvas. However, I've started so I'll finish. If I am not happy with it, I will take everything I have learn't and start again.

Have a good weekend.
hani

Food from Cyprus - Kofte

These little meat balls are ideal to serve as a starter or 'meze'. They would also make a lovely lunch served in warm pitta bread with salad and humous or Raita. They are great with chips too!


Here is the recipe:

1 lb Minced lamb
2 Large Potatoes
1 Medium to large onion
Bunch of Parsley
Pinch of cinnamon
Salt and Pepper

Peel, wash and grate the potatoes and onion into a bowl, then using a sieve, squeeze out the excess liquid.
Add the minced lamb, chopped parsley, cinnamon and salt and pepper and mix together.
Form the mixture into little balls and deep fry for about 10 minutes or until thoroughly cooked. Drain on kitchen paper and serve.

(For a vegetarian option omit the mince for 2 potatoes. Using 4 potatoes in total).

Next week I will post a main course recipe along with some drawings.

More Paintng today, I am not able to paint everyday so I appreciate every day I can have for painting. I hope to post some new paintings soon.

Food from Cyprus - Recipe for Rustic Bread with Olives and Halloumi cheese.

From my food from Cyprus book.
I spent this morning trying out the above recipe and it works a treat. Very easy to make and the end result is delicious. The photographs show my efforts before and after baking. If you decide to try it out, please let me know, I would love to hear your comments. Here is the recipe.

1 kg Self raising flour
3 tbsp Yeast
1 level tbsp Salt
1 Teacup (5fl oz) Olive oil
15 fl oz Warm water
1 teacup kalamata olives
Small bunch fresh parsley
1 tbsp fresh mint or 1tsp dried mint
110 grams Halloumi cheese ( half a halloumi cheese )
1 medium sized onion.

Pour the flour, yeast, salt and olive oil into a large mixing bowl. Add the warm water and mix until you have a bread dough consistency and knead for 5 mins on a floured surface. Place the dough back in the mixing bowl.

Cut the hallouni cheese into small cubes. Peel, wash and finely chop the onion. Rinse and chop up the parsley and mint. Add these to the mixing bowl with the olives and fold all the ingredients into the dough. Pour the dough into a well greased large baking dish or tin. If you prefer, you can divide the mixture into two smaller dishes. This mixture would make great savoury muffins as well.

Cover the dough and place in a warm place to rise for 1 hour.

While the dough is rising, pre heat the oven to gas mark 5 or 180 for electric cookers. Place dish in the oven on the top shelf and bake for 45 - 50 mins ( less if you have divided the mixture).

My drawing for the day features some of the ingredients from this recipe.


Halloumi Cheese

Recipe Book update

I have been busy researching and gathering recipes and information for my book and writing them up. There are so many delicious recipes for starters, pastries, breads, and main courses. Starting this week, I will start posting some recipes here on my blog. The first recipe will be a lovely, healthy rustic bread with olives, hellim or halloumi cheese and parsley. It is so sustaining, you could climb a mountain on this bread alone!. I am going to bake it myself today, to make sure I have the correct ingredients and measurements. Basically, if I can bake it anyone can!

This week I will be working on my painting for the book cover. I have also decided to start a new regime of one drawing a day no matter how many other things I have to do. I will post some of them from time to time.

Raw Business - Edition 9

I was recently featured in Raw Business magazine, a bi-monthly magazine featuring high profile Entrepreneurs and business based content. Here is the link to my feature on page 21 of Edition 9. http://www.nxtbook.com/nxteu/Million_Impossible/RawDec09/#/20

Raw Business magazine is available online and as a hard copy. All details on how to subscribe are on the Million Impossible website at http://millionimpossible.com/default.asp

My thanks and gratitude to Entrepreneur, MD and Publisher Bradley Chapman.

On the way to the village shop

With Schools closed for several days lately and people unable to get to work or the supermarkets due to the snow, we have been relying much more on our two local village shops for provisions and I am so grateful to them. It was good to see so many people out and about in the village, stopping for a chat, walking their dogs and playing or sleighing in the snow. The large igloo built several days ago in the middle of the park, is stil standing.