Prawn (tagliatelle) #584

Daily painting #584 6"x8" oil on primed canvas panel 

My daughter is away on school camp so Ross (my son) asked if we could have prawns for supper...Amy will NOT, under any circumstances, eat prawns (it's the eyes!). I think Ross said it as a joke, so he was really surprised when I whisked him off with me after school to a fish market to buy prawns. The market is not in the nicest area of Durban so I was grateful my daughter wasn't with us (she would have had a fit heading off into such a dodgy area). But the seafood is delicious and fresh...and so worth it! So tonight I treated the boys with a lemon and garlic prawn tagliatelle and other than cleaning the prawns, it is SO easy to make ...and SO yummy! If you love prawns and pasta...this one is for you! I will share it with you...

• prawns (you can buy already peeled and shelled if you don't want to cut, clean and shell)
• tagliatelle pasta (you can use any shape pasta you like)
• small finely chopped onion
• 2 crushed garlic cloves
• olive oil and knob of butter for frying
• salt and pepper
• lemon zest and juice of 1 large lemon
• 1 cup of quality white wine
• extra knob of butter for sauce if needed (sorry this is not one for the diet book!)
• 2 tablespoons of fresh chopped parsley or coriander
• optional is a little chopped red chili (if you like it a little hot!)

Prawns cook quickly so start by cooking pasta in boiling salted water until al dente (just cooked).
While pasta cooks soften onions in a little butter and olive oil combined, once onions are soft add garlic (if added too soon, garlic can go bitter or burn). Toss prawns into the hot pan (season with salt and pepper) and as soon as the prawns colour, add wine and lemon zest and juice. If the sauce needs it, add a little extra butter. 
Drain pasta and toss the prawns and sauce through the pasta. Add the fresh parsley/coriander and check your seasoning. Retain a little of the cooking liquid from the pasta and add a little if needed as the pasta will start to absorb the sauce. Enjoy...

A delicious feast and SO easy (super quick too) and you are bound to impress! My amateur photography meant that by the time I got a couple of photos the sauce had probably gathered in the bottom of the bowl...but you get the idea! I was hero for a moment and my boys thought I was THE BEST....until I asked them to help me clean up!

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Cheese and mustard powder #578

Daily painting #578 5"x7" oil on primed canvas panel

It's been a tough week of trying to get back to 'normal' (Am I normal? Maybe not!) so I was determined to end the week with getting back into my kitchen. My son has been craving French toast for breakfast...so French toast it was. My husband planned to stoke up his regular Sunday fire and braai (barbecue) so I decided to make some homemade cumin and coriander burger patties for a change to charred (burnt - don't tell him I said that) meat.  Granny Jean (my mother-in-law) was also coming around for mid-morning tea, so I made some Cheese scones (Aunty Pat's Cheese scones to be specific). Talk about getting back into my kitchen...I think I did a pretty  fine job! I also did a pretty fine job of leaving a wake of devastation behind me and my kitchen looked like it needed a cleaning fairy to clean my mess. Unfortunately for my husband he was the 'cleaning fairy', with the help of the trusty dishwasher!

Aunty Pat's Cheese Scones (muffins) were a favorite growing up. She seemed to whip them up for afternoon tea in minutes and they really are dead easy. My little painting is of 2 of the ingredients but I think I will share the rest of them with you...maybe you will give them a try! I would love to hear from you if you do...happy (easy-peasy) baking!

• 1 cup flour
• 1cup grated cheese
• 1/4 tsp mustard powder
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (I prefer a little paprika or dried mixed herbs)
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2tsp baking powder
• 1 cup milk

Mix all the ingredients in a bowl and place into muffin trays (I usually use mini muffin pans and make bite size ones). Bake at 180 C for about 15-20 min. Eat while warm.

I hope you have enjoyed seeing a recipe for a change (I even took a photo for you) and not just the ingredients painted. I often get asked why I don't share the recipes for mushroom sauce, spicy aubergines, apple crumble, marinated olives, Christmas mince pies and cake...and all the other yummy things that find their way into my studio as objects or still life for daily paintings...so today I give you a recipe. I know Aunty Pat won't mind. What do you think? 

Busy day...full tummy...happy heart...exhausted and ready for bed!

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Liquorice Allsorts #130

Daily painting #130. 4"x6" oil on primed canvas panel SOLD

Liquorice Allsorts....yummy, fun and colourful....they take centre stage, climbing, tumbling, rolling and fooling around....a little bit of fun for the middle of the week!

130 paintings in 130 days today! As someone pointed out to me ...I have been painting little daily paintings for a third of a year!

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Pretty Pilchard #129

Daily painting #129. 6"x8" oil on primed canvas panel

Another beautiful find at the market yesterday! I love to have a look at the fresh produce in the Seafood section but my daughter is a fussy seafood consumer and so I am limited in what I can purchase unless of course I plan on cooking 2 meals ....which of course I have no plan to do!!!! Two fish however that even the rest of the family, other than my Portuguese stepfather, would refuse to eat are sardines and pilchards! So I had to ask the man serving behind the counter if I could take a photo of his fish .....in the hopes that I could paint them later! He thought I was crazy but was obliging....so unlike my usual daily paintings which are almost always captured from life this beautiful Pilchard was  captured from a photo....I love the subtle colours and tones as the light catches it!

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Mango on a box #128

Daily painting #128. 6"x8" oil on primed canvas panel

The heat might be unbearable at this time of year but one positive is all the delicious summer fruit that is on offer! I am especially enjoying the mangoes at the moment! I love chopping them and adding them to my plain yoghurt for breakfast. Today I couldn't resist buying a whole box of  mangoes. They were vibrant in color and delicious in taste....and even the box could be put to good use as a 'stage' for the star of the show....the mango! 

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Blueberries and a sugar spoon #127

Daily painting #127 4"x6" oil on primed canvas panel SOLD

Today has been a family day....a lazy lunch catching up with family and relaxing on the verandah in the cool breeze. It has been MUCH cooler today....thank goodness! Family get togethers in our family always happen around the table and involve yummy food. I think I am going to have to spend the rest of the week eating fruit and salad only, to compensate for my indulgence....however life would be dull and boring without a little indulgence every now and again!

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Garlic cloves #120

Daily painting #120. 6"x6" oil on primed canvas panel

We have had a busy week and another busy week is on the horizon so today was a 'stay-at-home-relax-family' kind of day! My best! Relaxing at home on a Sunday usually means we will braai (barbecue).....my husband loves to stoke up that fire and cook over the hot coals! Today instead, we decided to make a traditional South African meal called a potjie. Potjie directly translated in Afrikaans means little pot. So essentially it is a type of stew (there are millions of varieties) cooked in a traditional African black pot over hot coals. The pot gives the meal a distinctive taste and the coals add a subtle smokiness. So while my husband gathered, chopped and peeled the ingredients I sat keeping him company and painting one of the ingredients. I am amazed at the huge variety of colours in garlic....beautiful subtle tones! My husband did at one stage glance over my shoulder and question what the 3 blobs on the canvas were....but a beady glance kept him quiet thereafter! He redeemed himself by cooking up the most delicious meal.....!

There are only a few more days left of the 30/30 challenge and today marks 120 paintings in 120 days for me! By the time this post goes live it will also be day 3 of my JANUARY SALE! All prices displayed in my online store have been discounted ...some of them by as much as 50% so be sure to not miss out if you have had your eye on a little painting! Please contact me if you have any questions on heidishedlock@gmail.com. To view available daily paintings in the store gallery click the blue highlighted writing below....

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Three Prunes #118

Daily painting #118  4"x6" oil on primed canvas panel

I can't say I am a huge fan of prunes ...as in the shrivelled variety you buy in the dried fruit section...but these little fresh gems were delicious and sweet!

THE JANUARY SALE HAS BEGUN.....!!!!!
All prices displayed in the online store are the sale prices. Some little paintings have been marked down by as much as 50% and there are one or two EVEN BIGGER bargains to be found....so have a good look! It's time to make way for new daily paintings!
All prices are displayed in $ as it is the most easily recognized currency but if you live in South Africa, please contact me for the price in ZAR (South African Rands). I am also offering free postage  within South Africa! Contact me on heidishedlock@gmail.com
I hope your favorite little painting is still waiting for you....and at a good price.....so click on the highlighted writing below to take a look at the SALE! Happy shopping!
Sale ends 12pm on Friday 31 January!

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Orange and red #114

Daily painting #114. 6"x8" oil on primed canvas panel

A 21st is something to celebrate....or does that only apply to birthdays? Either way....I am celebrating! I am 21 days into the 30/30 challenge and to date have painted 114 paintings in 114 days.  Studio classes have begun again, my children are off to a happy but busy start to the school year and I am managing to still find the time to complete a daily painting....not to mention doing other work too!
Life is busy, but good....and let's face it....a good celebration (or feeling gratitude) is always good for the soul! What can you think of that you could celebrate(or be grateful for) today?

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Granny Smith apples #109

Daily painting #109. 6"x8" oil on primed canvas panel SOLD

Two Grannies huddle together, in the shadows on the shelf ....to catch up on market gossip....

(In case you are wondering who or where the grannies are....Granny Smith is a variety of green apple sold here in South Africa. It is crisp and tart in flavour)

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Hot like chillies #106

Daily painting #106. 5"x7". Oil on primed canvas panel SOLD

Two red hot chillies embrace.....

Hot hot hot.....heat of a different kind....inescapable, humid, sweaty, unbearable, heat!
Welcome to Durban at the moment! The rainy spell we had a month or so ago is really causing havoc with the humidity levels, which can add a couple (more than a couple) of degrees onto an already unbearable temperature! Some parts of the world are freezing over and we are sweltering, melting, dehydrating!! Bizarre weather or global warming dealing its punishment....?
A few days ago I shared this photo with some friends.....

.....and this candlestick doesn't stand in the sun! The drooping candles are a result of the room temperature!!!!!

You know it's hot when even the candles can't cope......









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Baby Aubergines No.2 #102

Daily painting #102. 5"x7" oil on primed canvas panel

I promise not to bore you with more aubergines after today, but this is the other little baby variety we found at the market yesterday (about the size of a small pebble). I have actually seen these ones before but not the long finger-like variety I painted yesterday. I would think baby aubergines (also known as eggplants) could be really bitter, however a friendly lady who was scooping handfuls of these into a bag yesterday, told me how she cooked them up....diced with onion, garlic and a variety of Indian spices and served with a yogurt dressing on the side. She is vegetarian and sounded like she was passionate about cooking! The longer variety I painted yesterday are apparently delicious used in a pickle (pickle meaning a type of relish eaten with a meal) . After sharing her culinary secrets and seeing my obvious interest in the aubergines she asked what I intended to cook....well I had to be honest and confess to picking out the nicest looking ones to paint! The poor lady looked at me in shock.....let out a giggle of disbelief and continued her shopping! No worries....sometimes I think I am a little crazy too...but it's the little bit of crazy that keeps me sane!!!! 

I do however intend to not let these little gems go to waste and I will give the Spicy Indian Aubergines (my own version thereof) a try....

Are you following the 30/30 challenge? See all the paintings (including mine) here.

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