Inspiration/Project/Recipe

Starry Night: THE INSPIRATION

The theme of this blog is simply to be inspired in various ways by art or food or really anything. Through this personal project of mine, I hope to learn new techniques in cooking and art as well as the history behind these things that have sparked my imagination while sharing the results with you!

For my first project, I have decided to honor this blog’s namesake and feature a painting that most people are familiar with, Vincent van Gogh’s Starry Night. Below you will find a project and recipe that were both inspired by this dreamy painting. I hope you enjoy, and thanks for stopping by!

The Starry Night, Vincent van Gogh 1889

Starry Night: THE PROJECT

About a year ago, a dear friend of mine gifted me the cutest little bench/toy box and said that it may need some fixing up, as it looked like many-a-kid had had their share of fun with it. I have been trying to think of what to do with it at least weekly for as long as I have had it. After a few months of it sitting in my front room, my handy husband sanded it down beautifully and then it sat some more. I just needed it to be perfect. Then, I thought as I am putting together this idea for a blog, “I’ll “van Gogh” it! (That is my new term for painting Starry Night on something.) The whimsical emotion that Starry Night evokes in me seemed like a fitting theme for a child’s toy box.

I had never touched oil paints before this project, let alone try to mimic the work of a master painter, so I was a little nervous to begin. But as soon as I put my marker to the box, I just kept going, and was ready to start painting in no time. I’d done a bit of research on van Gogh previous to starting this project, so I thought of him often while I was swirling away. If you are interested in learning about van Gogh, I would recommend reading the letters that he sent to his brother (and others) and watching this biography film.

Starry Night: THE RECIPE

Swirls of blue and yellow consume van Gogh’s Starry Night. Inspired by these shapes and colors, I decided to create a recipe that included lemon and blueberry. I wanted to created a recipe that honored the time that van Gogh spent in France, so I began researching French cuisine, namely desserts, as I wanted to use the aforementioned ingredients. Clafoutis is defined by wikipedia as “a baked French dessert of fruit, traditionally black cherries arranged in a buttered dish and covered with a thick flan-like batter. The clafoutis is dusted with powdered sugar and served lukewarm, sometimes with cream.” I thought this sounded delicious and thought it would work well with blueberries instead of cherries.

After several attempts and tweaks, I came up with the recipe below. It is sweet (but not too sweet), zesty and delicious!

What is your favorite dessert? Let me know in the comment section!

Starry Night Clafoutis

  • Servings: 6
  • Difficulty: easy
  • Print

A zesty twist on a french classic.

Ingredients

  • 3 tablespoons melted butter (divided)
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 cup whole milk
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 1 large lemon juiced and zested
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1/2 cup gluten free flour blend (regular flour can be subbed)
  • 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 6 oz blueberries
    • Optional toppings:
  • Toasted almonds
  • Candied lemon peel
  • Dusting of confectioner’s sugar

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350°.
  2. Butter bottom and sides of 2 quart baking dish with 1 tablespoon of butter, set aside.
  3. Whisk or blend the eggs, milk, remaining melted butter, vanilla extract, lemon juice and zest, sugar, salt and cinnamon.
  4. Stir in flour mixture, removing clumps.
  5. Pour into buttered baking dish and arrange blueberries in a van Gogh-like swirl.
  6. Bake for 40-50 minutes. Test by inserting toothpick into center, if it comes out clean, it is done.
  7. Let cool for 10 minutes and serve!

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