Chunky. Thrifty. Homely. Filling.

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Food painting artwork

30 x 30cm oil on board. England is known for it's dreary grey days. The greyest and foggiest of these days are called pea soupers, when the fog is so settled and thick that you can barely see a few feet in front of you. This painting is an interpretation of a 'pea souper', with a nod to the lovely misty and ethereal tree paintings of Melbourne's Kathryn Ryan.

Original artwork for Autumn and Winter paintings can be purchased in the Official Art Store. To be kept updated on the availablity of Spring and Summer paintings, get on the mailing list, yellow box top left.

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The meatless meals recipe

This recipe is an inspired conglomeration of several pea soups I have known and enjoyed. The first was a family recipe for your bog standard Pea and Ham soup. Very flavouful, somewhat missed once I stopped eating meat. The second was another family recipe for a Pea and Mint soup which was interesting for it's enormous use of mint, but not outstanding in itself. And finally there was the Ainsley Harriet cup-o-soup version of Shropshire Minted Pea Soup from when I was working in London. Drinkable in a cup-o-soup kind of a way, it caught my attention with it's unusual spice and tang. Unfortunately this was due to the inclusion of the world famous Worstershire Sauce which contains anchovies and I stopped drinking this once I realised.  But then it was game on to create my own Pea soup which was flavourful like the Pea and Ham, super minty like the Pea and Mint, and tangy and spicy minus the anchovies like the Shropshire soup. Success below!


1 onion, chopped
1 tablespoon butter
a few cracks of pepper and salt
500g dried green split peas
7 cups weak stock
2-3 small bay leaves
up to 1 teaspoon hot paprika
1/4 - 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
2 cups roughly chopped fresh mint (this is about 36g of leaves or 4 cups unchopped) - err on the generous side

Saute the onion in butter until soft with a little pepper and salt.
Add stock, split peas, bay leaves, 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar, and two big pinches of hot paprika.
Simmer gently with the lid on until the peas are completely broken down. This means at least for one hour, and preferably, for two hours.
Taste test. Check for heat/spiciness and cautiously add more hot paprika to suit. It's heat will vary depending on it's age (less heat with age). Also check for tartness/tang. Depending on the balsamic vinegar and your tastes, you may want to add more to suit.
Finally, stir in all the roughly chopped mint.


Makes 4 rather hearty bowls.

Fresh. Moreish. Satisfying. Versatile.

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Food painting artwork

30 x 30cm oil on board. Marine plywood, to be precise. It's a most excellent substrate for oil paint, being both light, sturdy and dimensionally stable. Yes, it has been treated and prepared professionally for maximum longevity.

This is another example of the oil transfer  technique that I am fond of. I like how it is a cross between painting and printmaking. While I love the results of etching, I find the process tedius and more frustrating than dealing with a recaltricant windows computer. You know what I mean!

The way that oil transfer mimics the effects of printmaking is perfect for this Japanese woodblock ukiyo-e style inspired image. All hail the mighty ramen!

And in the spirit of trying something new, which this project is all about, I have begun videoing the creation of some of the paintings. First up is Shio Ramen. I apologise for the extensive view you have of the back of my head. I shall reposition the camera for the next one! However, it gives you an idea of how these are created. Note all the wardrobe changes - oils take a while to dry. There's no audio. I'm chipmunked enough already! Without further ado - the first time lapse painting.

Did you know that all the food painting artwork is available to own in the Official Art Store? Very limited edition reproduction prints are ready to go right now. If you want to get your mitts on the original, it is drying and awaiting it's professional photoshoot before being allowed in the shop. If you love it and want to know as soon as it's available, get on the email list, yellow box top left.

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The meatless meals recipe

There are four broad styles of ramen stocks. Shoyu (soy sauce) - you may remember this from the winter recipes-, Shio (salt), Miso and Tonkotsu (pork bone). No prizes for guessing which one I'm not even going to attempt vegetarianising! Shio ramen is generally the lightest of these styles and is most suitable for summer. Also it is most commonly served with sweetcorn, a summer vege treat. The sweetness of the corn is just addictive with the salty broth.

noodles for one (around 75g dried ramen noodles)

1 1/2 cups shitake mushroom stock (directions below)

1 cup seaweed stock (directions below)

2 teaspoons mirin or 1 teaspoon sherry

2 teaspoons salt

1 tablespoon butter

1 teaspoon untoasted sesame seeds

1/2 spring onion, chopped

1 boiled egg, peeled and sliced

versatile veges for filling: I recommend 1 cup corn kernals and 1 cup bean sprouts OR 1 cup finely shredded Chinese cabbage and 75g oyster mushrooms, 

extras such as spinach or mizuna, tofu or tempeh slices are good too.

Shitake mushroom stock

Take 2 cups of water and 25g dried shitake mushrooms. Lightly boil these together in a pot with the lid on for 20 minutes. Remove the mushrooms (they freeze well and can be used as is in other meals). This should leave you with 1 1/2 cups stock.

Seaweed stock

Take 1 1/2 cups water and an A4 or letter sized sheet of dried nori seaweed cut into strips. Lightly boil these together in a pot with the lid on for 20 minutes. This should leave you with 1 cup of stock.

Putting the ramen together:
Cook the noodles as the packet instructs and hardboil the egg. I often find this can be done together in the same pot.
Melt the butter in a pan and lightly saute the veges to soften them.
Season a little with pepper.
Pour in the two stocks. Bring to a rolling boil.
Add the salt and mirin/sherry and keep boiling for a few minutes to mix all these flavours together.
Put the drained noodles in your serving bowl.
Add the stock & vegetables mix.
Run the egg under cold water until it is cool enough to peel and slice.
Top the ramen dish with the egg slices, spring onion and any extras you want.
Sprinkle with sesame seeds.
Slurp away. The louder the slurps the more appreciation you are showing. Itadakimasu!

This recipe is per person. It makes a big meal.