Up to Scratch

Intaglio printmaking, robins and wrens

This print was inspired by all the chicks in my life right now.

Drypoint Intaglio Printmaking

Dave DiMarchi’s drypoint intaglio printmaking workshop at the Arts Council of Princeton teaches us to gouge plexiglass with a variety of sharp implements, creating ridges and burrs that catch ink and transfer it to damp paper in a press. My ears protest at the abrasive sound of the diamond-tipped etching tool on plexiglass. We smear ink on the plates, smooth off the excess with successive wads of stiff tarlatan, then rectangles of old phone book paper. We place the plates on the press, ink side up, cover them with damp, thick sheets of paper, newsprint, coddle the lot with press blankets and turn the handle. The results exceed my expectations. When we learn about curating prints, I find that my name and the title scrawled on the plexiglass, the month included with the year contravene artist conventions. Still, Dave asks to take a picture of my print. Maybe he means to show future students what not to do, but I tell myself he’s favorably impressed.

These two waiting for me to open the front door…

…so they can figure out why there’s so much chirping on the front porch.

This hungry chick, perhaps the first hatchling, is always at the forefront, waiting for its next meal. It may be an illusion but it seems fatter than the rest of the brood. At this early stage in its life, there’s a striking resemblance to some primeval dinosaur.

Realizing that survival requires assertiveness, the other chicks muscle their way forward. Three little beaks wait for mom to arrive with a fat worm. I think there’s a fourth chick in the nest. It’s hard to tell.

Hatchlings!

After a chilly, rain-filled spring, nature is poised to spring into action. Flowers bloom everywhere: eye-popping evening primroses near the garage door, gay columbines on the patio.

On the front porch, one tiny beak, then another, tears out of its shell. Gaping maws wait for mom to drop food into them. Eyes, unseeing at first, then tiny and gleaming, still unfocused. The little wren chicks move around in their wee nest, struggling past each other to fill their bellies. Beaks pop open at the slightest sound, the faintest shadow passing over the nest. When they realize it’s not mom with dinner, the heads loll back on the straw and moss.

That fateful day in 2020 when my vigorous pruning laid waste to a robin’s nascent brood. Sniff!

A perky robin sits on the patio bench, looking this way and that. A little later, it’s perched on top of the weeping cherry. I peer through the green curtain of leaves. There’s a nest at the top of the trunk, suitably shielded by the drooping branches. Two tiny heads bob around, beaks wide open. A few years ago, when I trimmed the branches, I dislodged some pretty blue eggs and shattered them. The parents scolded me for days. I cannot bear to think of that awful day. Perhaps I’m forgiven now.

In an effort to avoid stereotyping, these evening primroses greet the sunrise.

Pretty columbines shake their frilly heads as a gentle breeze plays on the patio.

My market forward Saturday morning breakfast - Wegman’s miche sourdough toast topped with Cherry Grove Farm garlic and herb cream cheese, Woo-Ri Mart radish kimchi, a hard boiled egg and kale micro greens (eggs and micro greens from North Slope Farm.)

Weekday lunch consists of faux chicken strips, and sautéed turnips and greens in soft corn tacos.

Turnips and Greens

1 bunch small turnips with greens

1 small onion, diced

2 - 3 cloves of garlic, sliced

2 - 3 fresh, red chilies, sliced

½ - 1 tsp salt

¼ tsp cumin seeds

¼ tsp mustard seeds

Generous pinch of asafetida

1 - 2 tbsp peanut or safflower oil

Trim off the greens and slice the turnips. Place in a microwave safe container. Microwave, lightly covered, on high for 2 min. Toss, then microwave for 2 more min. Set aside.

Finely slice the greens. Set aside.

Heat the oil with the asafetida, mustard and cumin. When the mustard pops, add the onions. Sauté for 2 min. Add the garlic and continue to sauté for another min. Add the turnips, chilies and salt. Continue to stir and cook for another 3 min. Add the turnip greens and cook for an additional 5 min, until the greens wilt but retain their color. Turn off the heat. Serve as a side.

This dish can be placed in a tightly covered plastic container and stored in the freezer for a few months.

Alpha Homestyle Chik’n Strips try to impersonate the real thing on this plate. Enjoy them for their chewy texture and umami flavor. These are basically tofu skins, which are very appealing.

I really should get some nixtamalized corn masa and make my own soft tacos.

Sautéed tatsoi over peanut butter and pickled tomatoes on rosemary flatbread.

Sautéed Tatsoi

1 bunch tatsoi, sliced fine

2 - 3 fresh, red chilies, sliced

½ - 1 tsp salt

¼ tsp cumin seeds

¼ tsp mustard seeds

¼ tsp nigella seeds

¼ tsp fennel seeds

¼ tsp fenugreek seeds

Generous pinch of asafetida

1 - 2 tbsp peanut or safflower oil

Heat the oil with the asafetida, mustard, cumin, nigella, fennel and fenugreek. When the mustard pops, add the tatsoi, chilies and salt. Cook for 5 min, until the greens wilt but retain their color. Turn off the heat. Serve as a side.

This dish can be placed in a tightly covered plastic container and stored in the freezer for a few months.

Pickled Red Tomatoes

See Tamatar, Ek Khoj.

I am biased because I love rosemary in savory baked goods, but you can’t go wrong with Wasa Rosemary Flatbread.