It’s spring again! As Montalvo Arts Center’s Culinary Artist, I have the pleasure of cooking meals for the other creative thinkers, dancers, composers, and visual artists who work and live alongside me here at the Lucas Artists Program. My inspiration comes from Montalvo’s grounds where I look for edible plants and mushrooms to use in our daily meals. Vibrant food is my muse, as are the creative folk I am surrounded by every day.
ABOVE: Culinary Artist Andrea Blum. Photo by Kija Lucas.
In addition to my individual practice as a culinary artist, I also often find myself collaborating with and being inspired by other visiting artists. Currently, I am working with visual artist Kija Lucas who has opened my mind to seeing ingredients—my raw materials—in new ways. Kija has created stunning photographic portraits of the foods I use regularly. She beautifully captures the sense of wonder I feel when I discover edible delights in the woods or at the farmer’s market.Kija and I are working on a cookbook project that will capture the shifting seasons and what I love to do: forage, cook, and create community around the dinner table. Soon we will have a bevy of recipes to share and some pop-up dinners to test out our new culinary creations. This cookbook is an extension of my own photography project called My American Pantry , an atlas that celebrates American artisanal food.
Here are a few photographs taken by Kija that document the spring harvest.
ABOVE: Kija Lucas, Chantarelles, 2016.
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One beauty is the chanterelle, a wild mushroom that lives under live oaks and bay laurels (it is an unspoken tradition that once you find your mushroom patch, it remains yours unless you choose to give it away to a fellow forager). Mushroom hunters are notoriously secretive about their spots, but understanding the ecosystem of where mushrooms thrive will help you in your own search. Always go mushroom hunting with someone who is an expert and knows their mushrooms. Never eat any plant or mushroom unless you are 100 percent sure of its identity. This is the number one lesson for any forager!
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Above: Kija Lucas, Miner’s Lettuce, 2016.
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The next image depicts the ubiquitous miner’s lettuce—a vitamin A staple with a fresh flavor that captures the tastes of rain and earth. They are springing up all over Montalvo’s grounds right now. I use them in soups or in salads—like spinach.
Kija and I hope that the photographs created as part of our cookbook project will inspire others to become familiar with all the wonderful bounty of edibles available all around us in the great outdoors and on Montalvo’s grounds. |
ARTICLE BY ANDREA BLUM, CULINARY ARTIST AT THE LUCAS ARTISTS RESIDENCY PROGRAM.