Our kitchen garden Archives - Ben Lustenhouwer

16 July 20165 September 2018

No homesickness, but nevertheless…

It’s not always that bad staying away from home for a while. No homesickness, but nevertheless…

On return I appreciate my everyday environment even more. I see it all with a renewed look.

Early in the morning, before the day begins, I help my wife in the kitchen garden. And it will be clear, when you see this picture, how privileged we are living in this beautiful environment. You can imagine how happy I am, being back home again.

Pretty soon I will take in hand my brushes to start afresh.

Usually I start by clearing my studio space. Clean everything really well. Checked all paint and canvases. I see this activity as starting the engine. I enjoy fiddling in my studio before the real work begins.

Portrait commissions and despair

Kitchen garden in the village. — Desperate portrait painter working in the vegetable garden.

Portrait painting is my daily job. But don´t think that everything always runs smoothly for me. It sometimes happens to me that a portrait fails. In the case of a commission it is a big problem. Of course over the years I have developed a routine wherein I, step by step, can detect a possible problem and fix it. Needless to say, that belongs to my profession. But sometimes it happens that I desperately wonder how to proceed when I find my self in deep trouble.

Once I was in such despair that I decided to destroy the portrait on my easel. Eventually I realized that that was ridiculous. After a while I decided to start over again the next day. I went into the garden to work and have some distraction. Then, when I came back in my studio, I saw the abortive work on the easel. As the painting already was screwed up I decided, I could just haphazardly do some muddling.

And what was the result? In fifteen minutes the portrait was back on track and after an hour it was finished! I was satisfied and later certainly the customer was.

What now is the essence of my story? (Evident of course): If you tend to get stuck do not despair but take distance and relax. The solution may be within reach, but you don´t see it because you’re so wired up.

Sheer willpower can sometimes be destructive!

10 July 2015

Preparing Basil Pesto

Our kitchen garden now produces huge amounts of basil. I am preparing a little jar of pesto for good friends here in the village, where we are invited for dinner tomorrow.

Hereby my recipe.

Basil. As much as your garden produces.
Garlic. As much as you dare.
Olive oil. As much as you find delicious.
Salt. As much as you can tolerate.
Parmesan cheese. As much as you can afford.
Pine nuts. As much as you have. I had nothing and it was too hot to go to the grocery.
Mix everything in a blender and you’re done.

1 July 2015

Country life

I have often shown you our vegetable garden and cannot resist doing so again. As much as possible, we grow our own vegetables. In the warm Spanish climate we can plant and harvest all year long. At this moment onions are ready for drying. Potatoes are stored inside and heads of garlic are strung up. Soon we will gather the tomatoes, carrots, kohlrabi, fennel and the beans. And in winter, of course, oranges. It is a luxury to grow everything you wish for your dinner table in your own garden. We really enjoy the country life!

26 October 2014

Common mistakes in composition

About composition: Never put your subject right in the centre of the canvas. A composition is rarely successful in this way because here is the dead, boring point of the painting.

Pomegranates — Basket with pomegranates. Focal point in the centre of the image.

Pomegranates on the blue tablecloth in our kitchen — A better composition?

29 July 2014

Sun-dried tomato rack

No portrait painting today! It is harvest time in our kitchen garden, in particular for the tomatoes. Beside ketchup and sauces, Helma makes sun-dried tomatoes. Based on two canvas stretchers that I had to hand I did some tinkering. (remember I wanted to be a carpenter?) With a number of slats, insect-screens, a hinge and four iron angle brackets. Maybe it turned out far too firm. It can stand rough handling, I’d say. When the tomatoes are dried in the sun, after two weeks, we will store them in olive oil. Moreover, that oil comes from the olive groves next to our garden, among others. We wonder how the sun dried tomatoes will taste! See some recipes.

23 August 2013

Recipe Tomato ketchup

You saw Helma´s kitchen garden. Now it is TOMATO TIME.

Here is a recipe for a delicious tomato ketchup:

2.5 kilo´s of tomatoes (remove the seeds from the tomatoes as much as possible in order to make the sauce less runny)
1 red pepper
2 medium size onions
garlic clove, from the press
100 ml of vinegar
75 gr. sugar
2 teaspoons grated ginger
2 teaspoons paprika
2 teaspoons nutmeg
1 pinch cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon coriander seeds
1 clove
pepper
juice of half a lemon

Wash the tomatoes and cut them into pieces. Wash peppers and cut into pieces, remove the seeds.

Add the tomato, pepper, onion, lemon juice and garlic with a dash ofwater in a saucepan and simmer about 1 hour on low heat. Stir occasionally to avoid sticking. Add, if needed, a little bit water. Mash the sauce, off the fire with a hand blender.

Put it back on the fire and add the vinegar, sugar and spices.

Allow the sauce to simmer for another 1.5 hours, or until it has thickened sufficiently. Test it on salt and pepper. Pour the hot sauce into sterile jars. Seal the jars with a matching lid and turn it upside down to cool.

9 August 2013

El huertecico de Helma, Helma´s kitchengarden

Earlier in this blog I already wrote about the Helma´s kitchen garden. It is her “pride and joy” I said. And still it is. Now, in August, it is time for the tomatoes, courgettes, aubergines, onions, lettuce and whatnot. A continuing harvest throughout the year. The video I made this week, shows the watering procedure. Chelva has many springs and small rivers whose water is used for agriculture. Through a network of channels, in Spanish “acequias”, the water is directed to the vegetable gardens. A system that has been in use since Roman times.

You see Helma stabbing a small wooden board in the pit of the acequia, thereby draining the water towards our garden. It takes us half an hour to irrigate. It is our turn every week from Tuesday morning’s sun rise, until Wednesday evening sun’s demise. Annual costs: €2.75 . Peanuts!

25 April 2013

Pride and joy.

This photograph has nothing to do with portrait painting, but everything with our daily life here in Chelva. The kitchen garden is Helma´s pride and joy. We are lucky to live in a tranquil farming village, where each has a vegetable garden and where everyone shares his plants. One sows tomatoes the other onions. And anyone trying to grow as pure as possible. Life here is quiet but with great dynamic. Far away from the Monsanto debate, that affects us all and threatens the whole world.

29 July 2012

Summer in Chelva

My blog is not only on portrait painting as I said in the beginning. As little I will write about the Opening Celebration of the Olympic Games in London last Friday although I loved to see it… no, about our daily life here: Summer in Chelva. You know we live in the small and beautiful Spanish village of Chelva, Valencia. We are proud to have our own vegetable garden beside the house. This morning we were up early, before the heat of the day. I made the little protection bags to the grapes. My wife did the tomatoes.

Can you imagine what it is to work in your garden in the early, fresh hours of this splendid july Sunday morning and having this gorgeous panorama?

If there was an Olympic Medal to win in the section Good Living, I am sure we would challenge for Gold.