Recipes Without Words

Debra Solomon publishes the food weblog Culiblog in Amsterdam, NL. What distinguishes hers from so many of the food-related websites is the inspiring and original way that she approaches cooking (not to mention, she has an artists eye for food styling and photography).

The above photo looks almost like something Ferran Adria would conjure up in the kitchens of El Bulli, or that Heston Blumenthal might entreat you to eat when dining at the Fat Duck Restaurant. Alas, it is the ingredients for a salad dressing containing olive oil, grass powder, and ume boshi vinegar - and never mind that it looks delicious enough to lick right off the plate – it’s intended for a dinner designed for geese and people.

Now it's not what you think. Foie gras is the furthest food from anyone's mind here. In Deborah's own words (because imagine trying to explain this yourself):

"The title of the dinner was Do Geese See God (which is a palindrome!). I was collaborating with technoartist Natalie Jeremijenko on her project 00Z (that's ZOO spelled backwards). In 00Z food is bait for inter-species social contact. I designed the culinary interface to lure animals and people together to share the urban space and thus better observe one another. The recipes reference the visual landscape that geese encounter during their migration. For example, the dish 'Vegetable Matter Underfoot' (photo) refers to the trampled vegetation alongside ponds and lakes where waterfowl like to hang out. 'Pasta di Larvae' (photo) is rice gluten and seeds or greens, mimicking the lake larvae that cloak themselves with pebbles and leaves as camouflage from predators. Visual materiality of the 'ingredients' is central to this work. The dinner at de Verbeedling (12.02.2004) in Zeewolde was attended by both geese and people."

The OOZ Project website (in frames - click the translate to English link).

Not all of her work is as esoteric and challenging though. Take her entry Pasta that is not pasta. Shredding a zucchini and serving it as pasta is not a startlingly original idea, but the way she prepares it is.

Photo © Debra Solomon 2005. All rights reserved.

"In a frying pan gently warm 5 long 'glugs' of olive oil throwing in mashed garlic at the last moment. If the garlic sizzles, the oil is on the warm side and you can cool it down by removing it from the flame and swirling the contents of the pan around to distribute the garlic. Pour the oil over the courgette and toss in the fleur de sel. Set the spaghettini aside for up to 2 hrs. To serve, spear the spaghettini with a fork and wrap it around until you get a little nest of 'pasta'."

This is one of those recipes that not only sounds foolproof and delicious, it is in fact, foolproof and delicious. Be sure to read her notes and reflections on this recipe in regards to Charlie Trotter and Roxanne Klein's raw cookbook. They provide just the right insight into her cooking philosophy.

Debra's website: Culiblog.org.