William Kurelek at the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria

Went to the opening of William Kurelek: The Messenger at the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, last night.

Was struck by the incredible detail of Kurelek’s paintings, and also the window onto his life’s experiences, in particular growing up on the prairies.  Paintings of twisters and hail storms, the Northern Lights and dawn, Polish weddings and Ukrainian parties – painted from the artist’s memories.  An artist who worked as a framer, Kurelek made frames for his paintings, decorating the edges with ribbon or traditional Ukrainian designs.  In one frame, the bottom edge deeper than the sides or top, Kurelek has painted himself as a young man, lying in his bed reminiscing, while the painting contained within the frame depicts the memory.

kurelek – the maze (from a van hallen cover) (Photo credit: pabojon)

There are also paintings from his time in a mental hospital in England in the 1950′s, when works take on the surrealism of Dali or the emotional angst of Munch.

Related articles

• In Vancouver: William Kurelek, the visionary messenger (blogs.vancouversun.com)
• Important Canadian paintings could fetch six-figure prices (ctv.ca)
• Art selloff planned by Foreign Affairs (cbc.ca)
• Feds selling off priciest works of art to save cash (ctv.ca)
• Baird is right to hold onto art (theglobeandmail.com)

Cannellini Bean Salad

Soak overnight and cook 3/4 cup cannellini beans.  After cooking, add a clove of minced garlic and let the beans stand for a day in the fridge in the remaining water (you want water to barely cover the beans, about the same amount of juice as would be in a can of cooked beans).

To prepare the salad, add to the beans and liquid, 1/4 cup each of the following, coarsely chopped:

•  red onion
• celery
• yellow sweet pepper

Plus

• 1 coarsely chopped medium tomato
• 2 tablespoons golden linseed
• a pinch of dried, red-hot chilli
• a sprinkle coarsely ground salt (about 1/2 teaspoon)
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons chopped chives
• about 1 to 1 and 1/2 cups chopped arugula (it looks like 2 loosely packed cups, and after you chop it, it packs down to about a cup)
• a squeeze of lemon

Let stand about 2 hours before serving.  Serve at room temperature.

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Quinoa with Sweet Potatoes

This is delicious!  I made it this evening and served it with a cannellini bean salad (recipe to follow in future post) and sweet corn on the cob.

• Cook 3/4 cup quinoain 1 and 1/2 cups water.
  • Bring to boil
  • Reduce heat to simmer for about 15 minutes, until all the water is gone.
• Meanwhile peel and dice into 3/4 inch cubes, about 1/3 of a large sweet potato(you need a generous cup)
  • Saute in a little hot oil along with a diced clove of garlic and about 1/8 cup diced white onion
  • Toss in a handful of whole cashews, sliced almonds and pumpkin seeds and a pinch of dried, red-hot chili, and a sprinkle of freshly ground sea salt
  • Saute all together until the potato is soft (about 10 minutes)
• Meanwhile crush in your hands, by rubbing together, a scant handful of wakame and soak in a little water.
• When the quinoa is cooked, add to the saute, turn off the heat
• Drain, and add the wakame along with a couple dashes of soya sauce
• Let stand a couple of hours before serving, and serve at room temperature.

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Wild Rice Stir Fry with Spring Root Veggies – For One!

To give you an idea of how much veg I used here’s a pic of the the turnip (I used half) and 2 yams – I used the pointy end of the cut yam. The dessert spoon is for comparison.

This is so delicious I have to share it with you!  Been getting veggie boxes delivered here, and got some small, white turnips.  Also some yams.  Decided to try a stir fry.  This is what I came up with.

• Cook 1/2 cup of wild and whole grain brown rice in just over a cup of cold water.  Bring it to a boil uncovered, slap a lid on it and reduce heat to simmer.
• Heat a non-stick skillet over high heat, reduce to a moderate heat, add a little oil and toss in 75-100 grams slivered tofu (thinly slice, then cut slices into strips).  Sprinkle with a pinch of dried, red-hot chilies.  Saute until the tofu is chewy.  About 7 minutes.
• Meanwhile, slice about 1/2 a small white turnip into thin strips (about 1/4 – 1/2 inch).  You need about 1/3-1/2 a cup.  Do the same with some yam.
• Chop a medium clove of garlic, and sliver about 1/4 – 1/3 cup of white onion and about a tablespoon of fresh ginger.
• Remove tofu from pan and toss in the garlic and onion, toss it around for a moment, then add the turnip and yam.  Saute.  Drizzle in a little water to take off the heat so as not to burn the veg and garlic.
• Add a little freshly ground sea salt and a dash or two of low sodium soya sauce.  Saute, tossing frequently and drizzling in water when needed.  You just want enough water to take the heat off the pan.
• Reduce heat to medium low, add the tofu, and cook until the veggie are softened, then turn off the heat and wait till the rice is cooked.
• Meanwhile soak about 2 Tablespoons wakami sea vegetable in a little water.
• When the rice is cooked, add the rice to your veggie mix, add 2 Tablespoons shelled hemp seed, drain and add the wakame, and toss it all together, serve in a bowl and enjoy!

Delish!

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Galloping Goose Trail to Jam the Blues

Looking up the Gorge Waterway from the Galloping Goose Trail trestle bridge that connects Vic West with Gorge Road East, Victoria, B.C., May 2012

 

Cycled to the Victoria Blues Society Sunday Services yesterday. Used the Galloping Goose route which was just being dreamed about when I first lived here in the early 1990′s. Stopped to admire this view of the Gorge Waterway.

Small watercraft moored along the Gorge Waterway near the Galloping Goose trestle bridge that connects Vic West with Gorge Road East, Victoria, B.C., May 2012

Had a great jam session at the Upper Deck and on the way home spotted this totem pole.

Water Keepers’ Pole, by Salish artist Charles Elliot at the start of the Galloping Goose Trail, Victoria, B.C., May 2012.

Click image to enlarge text to read about the symbolism in the Water Keepers’ Pole.

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