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Backyardnotes

~ All things botanical in photos and words—in my West Seattle garden and elsewhere; seeing and creating art and assorted musings.

Backyardnotes

Tag Archives: pears

ART COLLABORATION PROJECTS–NEARLY FINISHED!

23 Monday Jun 2014

Posted by backyardnotes in Creative, Painting

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Art, collaboration, creative, group painting, painted pears, painting, pears

 

I BELIEVE THAT THE PEARS ARE NEARLY FINISHED! I may yet lighten the top portion, as to my mind it is still too similar to the forward pear and the lower background. Also, the yellow pear needs a little warming, rounding and shadowing at the bottom; it’s very close. When my piece is finished, then four of the the five paintings will be complete; only the arrangement needs finalizing. The Abstract and Laden Table collaborations are complete. I am eagerly looking forward to the next project (solo, that is).Pears_finished

Arrangement possibility #1

Arrangement possibility #1

Arrangement possibility #2. The Swiss Chard remains unfinished at the point

Arrangement possibility #2. The Swiss Chard remains unfinished at the point

The Abstract

The Abstract

The Laden Table

The Laden Table

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PEAR PROJECT—MAKING PROGRESS

03 Thursday Apr 2014

Posted by backyardnotes in Art, Painting, Pears

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Acrylic painting, Art, base layers, painting collaboration, Pear painting, pears, Pentaptych, swiss chard, Windsor Newton

 

Pear_progress3THE FIRST LAYERS OF PAINT ARE ON THE CANVAS for my piece of the five painting/pentaptych collaboration of pears, apples, carrots, swiss chard, and eggplant. I laid down the background using a mix of Pink Madder (Sennelier) and Burnt Sienna (Windsor Newton). The base layers of color for the pears and leaves are on. Next steps are to make the pears more dimensional, refine the shape and color of pears and leaves both, and connect with the other four artists will to make color adjustments to work towards a harmonious whole.

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MY PEAR PROJECT

21 Friday Feb 2014

Posted by backyardnotes in Art, Creative, Learning, Pears

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Acrylic painting, Pear painting, pear study, pears

I AM PART OF A GROUP OF 15 ARTISTS taking part in a large scale painting  project/collaboration for the restaurant dining room at the college where I take painting classes. There will be three ‘paintings’, each one consisting of five 2′ x 3′ canvases hung together to create a final piece 10′ x 3′. The group paintings will hang in rotation over the next year or so. Each painting will be able to hang as its own work, independent of the other four. One ‘painting’ is an abstract, one a laden table reminiscent of a Renaissance-style painting, and the one I am part of consists of fruit and vegetables; specifically pears, carrots, swiss chard, eggplant and apples shown in their growing environment.

With the abstract and laden table groups, each person paints a section so that the five when hung read as one painting; a scenic landscape of sorts. What sets our group painting apart is that each canvas will have a fruit or vegetable subject unrelated to the one it will hang next to. We will need to find a way to unify the group, with a similar background color or overlapping leaves from one canvas to the next. I am excited to see the final results and will share the whole project as we finish. We are at the study stage to work out color and composition and about ready to start the painting. These are small, 7″ x 10″ studies in acrylic on paper.

Pear study #1

Pear study #1

Pear study #2

Pear study #2

Pear study #3

Pear study #3

Pear study #4

Pear study #4

 

 

 

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A LITTLE PEAR TREE YIELDS BIG

25 Friday Oct 2013

Posted by backyardnotes in Canning & Preserving, Growing, Harvest, Jellies & Preserves

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Bartlett pears, canning, comice pears, Dessert, Pear preserves, Pear Semifreddo, pears, preserving, Rescue pears, vanilla bean

Our espaliered pear tree

Our espaliered pear tree

WE PLANTED THIS PEAR TREE in 1996 or 1997. It has three varieties grafted on dwarf root stock. The tree is supported against a split rail fence, 32 inches tall and 8 feet wide. The varieties are Comice, Rescue and Bartlett. By the fourth year it began producing a reliable crop of pears and this year I harvested a whopping 72 pounds!!!

A cluster of Rescue pears

A cluster of Rescue pears

Some of the branches we so heavy with fruit we had to brace them to keep from breaking under the weight. The groundskeeper thinned the tree twice after fruit was set and the tree still produced a bumper crop.

Bartletts

Bartletts

I started picking the Bartlett’s in early September; a little earlier than usual, but then we had a much warmer than normal summer. Each time I picked pears I weighed the harvest. The last bunch (Comice) were picked last week.

So far, I have processed 6 half-pints of Pear-Thyme Conserve (Well Preserved); 4 half-pints Pear-Ginger Preserves; 6 pints Pears Poached in Wine; 7 pints plain canned pear quarters; 4 half-pints Pear Preserves with dried cherries. I gave pears to friend, neighbors and relatives. Yesterday I put up 5 1/2 half-pints of Pear Preserves with Vanilla and Thyme.

I started with six pounds of pears. I peeled, cored and diced the pears, then layered them in a large saucepan with 17 ounces (2 1/3 cups) sugar, 4 large sprigs of thyme and one six inch vanilla bean cut into four pieces.

Peeled and ready to process

Peeled and ready to process

Sugar, thyme sprigs and vanilla bean

Sugar, thyme sprigs and vanilla bean

Layer one; diced pears, thyme, vanilla, and sugar

Layer one; diced pears, thyme, vanilla, and sugar

Why do I always start with a pan that is too small?

The right sized pot!

The right sized pot!

I let the pears and sugar macerate for six hours to draw out the juices. I brought the fruit and its juice to a gentle boil over medium high heat for five minutes then reduced to a simmer (barely bubbling) and continued cooking for about 4 hours until the pears were soft, translucent and thickened.

Pears after about 2 hours.

Pears after about 2 hours.

After two hours, remove all of the thyme sprigs. Continue cooking until the pears look like this:

After 4 hours–the once full pot is now a quarter full!

After 4 hours–the once full pot is now a quarter full!

At this point when the pears are thickened, taste for sweetness. I found them too sweet for my liking so added 1 1/2 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice. I removed the vanilla bean pieces and used an immersion blender to slightly puree a small portion to add thickness/texture. If all is to your liking at this point, bring to a boil, turn off heat (Optional add: 1 1/2 tablespoons cognac once heat is turned off) and fill prepared jars; seal and process 10 minutes. Additional Note: Once the pears were substantially reduced and thickened, I removed the pears from the heat and let stand overnight and checked the set next day. The big yield for 6 pounds of pears: 5 1/2 half-pints.

The finished preserves

The finished preserves, flecked with thyme leaves and vanilla bean seeds, were perfect on my morning toast.

I still have about twelve+ pounds left in the refrigerator. At this point they are mostly Rescue and Comice. Still to come is a standout dessert from an October 1998 issue of Gourmet magazine: Pear, Muscat, and Almond Semifreddo; a recipe by Paul Bertolli. Layers of sliced, poached pears, vanilla pastry cream, crushed amaretti cookies and spongecake moistened with the syrup used to poach the pears. Unbelievably delicious. Unfortunately, I cannot locate the recipe online for a link and it is too long to copy here.

Pear, Muscat, and Almond Semifreddo (photo scanned from Gourmet mag)

Pear, Muscat, and Almond Semifreddo (photo scanned from Gourmet mag)

What will next year bring? I have a feeling the tree may have to rest next year and the harvest will be smaller.

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BLOOMING BRASSICAS

19 Thursday Apr 2012

Posted by backyardnotes in Spring, Vegetable garden

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brassicas, broccoli, chinese cabbage, compost bins, food, oakleaf lettuce, pears, plants


Flowers of broccoli sessatina

WHEN BRASSICAS GROW UP THEY BLOOM! This year the winter garden is slowly being deconstructed and made ready for some fallow time.

Budding Chinese cabbage

I usually leave a plant or two go to flower to attract pollinators into the garden as few other plants are blooming in February and March.

Blooming kale 'Fizz'

This year will be a little different in the vegetable garden. We are planning a two month camping trip. Translation: no spring/summer garden this year. The thought of it makes me kind of anxious. For the first time in 17 years I have not started tomatoes, peppers or eggplants. I have not seeded anything directly into the vegetable garden since late last fall. Sad.

All bloomed out!

A spring palette of green and yellow in this afternoon’s rain. Clearing out the veg garden is taking a back seat to the rest of the garden here at BackyardFarm. Weeding, pruning and general maintenance chores abound and the goal is to have all tidied up by mid-May so Gardening Gal can have an easy time of it every other week. Besides, cleaning out the above is all about pulling, chopping and into the compost bins. I’m researching the best way to keep the weeds at bay in the veg beds while we’re away.

Blooming favas and bolting arugula!

There are still happy notes and with luck, we’ll have a harvest of fava beans to leave with.

Pear blossoms

The pears began blooming while we had dry and sunny weather so there is hope for a nice pear crop.

Oodles of volunteer red oakleaf lettuces and purple potatoes, so all is not lost!

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