"Abandon every hope, you who enter."

Dante et Virgile, William Bouguereau , 1850, huile sur toile, Musée d'Orsay

"But neither the furies of Thebes, nor the Trojan, were ever seen toward any one so cruel, whether in goading beasts or human limbs, as I saw two shades pallid and naked who, biting, were running in the way that a boar does when from the sty he breaks loose. One came at Capocchio, and on the nape of his neck struck his teeth, so that dragging him he made his belly scratch along the solid bottom. And the Aretine, who remained trembling, said to me, "That goblin is Gianni Schicchi, and rabid he goes thus maltreating others." "Oh," said I to him, "so may time other not fix his teeth on thee, let it not weary thee to tell who it is ere it start hence."

Canto XXX, Inferno, Divine Comedy, Dante 

If you're looking for pink desserts and cloying romance tales, pass your way. Or as the Hell's gate reads : "Abandon every hope you who enter."

     You might be familiar with Bouguereau through Academic art- this seemingly overblown style. I personally respect Academic art, even though I don't like all of it as it sometimes simply doesn't appeal to my feelings and senses (I'm a Rubenist at heart, yay!), and I think it best to have a closer look at the historical and artistical context before deeming a painter boring and insincere. This little gem though is something entirely different from his typical oeuvre. 

         Dante et Virgile is one of my favourite paintings. Every time I go to the Musée d'Orsay I don't fail to head directly to the rooms at the right of the sculpture main aisle to have a look at the lurid painting and this one as well (actually they've not been on display for quite some time now and may I add : where the hell have they gone?). I'm not really being fair here : due to its monumental composition, you need to see the painting with your own two eyes to get an idea of the, well, Dantesque effect.

       Under a blazing bood red sky and the crackling of fascinating, unpredicatble flames, follow Dante's descent through the nine circles of Hell, each escalating in savagery, sinners enduring an eternity of ruthless chastisement . As you reach the tenth pouch of the eighth circle,  benevolently guided by the dead poet Virgil, your cloak sweeping the ashes, witness the violence that is presented to you in subdued light : two men mangling each other, Gianni's mouth fastened into Capocchio's neck, his knee slammed into his back, his talon-like fingers clawing his opponent's ribs. Those unreal, flawless anatomies exhibiting so much terribilità à la Michelangelo. 

          How do you react? Repelled? Fascinated? Will you look away?

And what could possibly Dante be looking at that is more terrifying than what is in front of you?

Pain, agony. Such a macabre and powerful painting! It's a shame Bouguereau didn't paint more in this vein, isn't it?

May I venture to say  this painting is somewhat sensual?

My favourite detail? Gianni's curvature with the protruding backbone which could be the one of some unreal beast.

I've just noticed this detail : see the woman in the background leaning on a man? Well she looks like Francesca in Ary Scheffer's Les ombres de Francesca da Rimini et de Paolo Malatesta apparaissent à Dante et à Virgile. Bouguereau cannot have depicted Francesca da Rimini in this painting though because she's in the first circle of Hell.

Want to see a detailed photo of Bouguereau's painting? Go there.

Bonus : you get three recipes! They're all grain-free, sugar-free, raw and one-serving : because sometimes I don't want to share.

(I am currently camera-less so forgive the phone pictures and the recent lack of posts)

Do not omit the hazelnut oil! Because a) you'll get to smell it (if you haven't smelled hazelnut oil for the sake of it, you should start right now!) b) as there's no sugar, it would be a tad bland without the fragrant oil.

Coconut avocado cream
(vegan, raw, grain-free)
(yield : for one)

1 medium avocado (100 g)
1/4 to 1/2 lime, juiced
3 g hazelnut oil
15 g unsweetened shredded coconut

In a blender (I used a coffee grinder because of the small quantities), blend the avocado with the lime juice and hazelnut oil. Spoon 1/3 of the mixture in a small glass, top with shredded coconut and repeat twice. I like drizzling with more lime juice on top so the shredded coconut isn't too dry.

Crème d'avocat à la noix de coco
(végétalien, cru, sans céréales)
(pour  une personne)

1 avocat moyen (100 g)
le jus d'1/4 à 1/2 citron vert
3 g huile de noisette
15 g noix de coco rapée (non sucrée)

Dans un blender (vu les petites quantité, j 'ai utilisé un moulin à épices), mixer l'avocat avec le jus de citron vert et l'huile de noisette. Dans un petit bol, mettre 1/3 du mélange, recouvrir de noix de coco et recommencer deux fois. Je verse un peu de jus de citron vert en plus sur le dessus pour éviter que la noix de coco ne soit trop sèche.

I've eaten  mostly raw since the beginning of the year and I'm happy with plain fruit but sometimes I fancy a little more elaborate dessert (that does not involve 500 g of nuts). This one is an apfelstrudel without the bread crumbs. Or the dough. Um.


Apfelstrudel salad
(vegan, grain-free, raw if you use fruit juice instead of rum)
(yield : for one)

20 g raisins
3-4 cl dark rum
1 apple (I used Braeburn)
2-3 cl freshly squeezed lemon juice
ground cinnamon, to taste
8 walnuts

Start by soaking the raisins in rum. In the meantime, slice the apple and roughly chop the walnuts . In a small bowl, toss the apple slices with lemon juice so they do not brown. Add the cinnamon, chopped walnuts, soaked raisins and rum (if some remains) and mix well.

Salade Apfelstrudel
(végétalien, sans céréales, cru si vous utilisez du jus de fruit au lieu du rhum)
20 g raisins secs
3-4 cl rhum brun
1 pomme (j'ai utilisé une Braeburn)
2-3 cl jus de citron frais
cannelle en poudre
8 noix

Commencer par tremper les raisins secs dans le rhum. Pendant ce temps, couper la pomme en lamelles et concasser grossièrement les noix. Dans un petit bol, mélanger les lamelles des pommes avec le jus de citron pour qu'elles ne brunissent pas. Ajouter la cannelle (selon votre goût), les noix et les raisins (ainsi que le rhum s'il en reste) et bien mélanger.

I used frozen cucumber juice cubes that I had left from making Pimm's popsicles this summer. As they're not in season, either sub with another vegetable juice or water.

The Green Pint

(vegan, raw, grain-free)
(yield : 1 pint)

1 banana, frozen

1 cm piece of ginger

1 small handful of Savoy cabbage

1 small handful of spinach

2 celery stalks, juiced

1 medium cucumber, juiced

10 g hemp hearts 

Blend.


La Pinte Verte
(végétalien, cru, sans céréales)
(1 pinte)

1 banane, congelée
1 cm de gingembre
1 petite poignée de chou frisé
1 petite poignée d'épinards
le jus de 2 côtes de céleri-branche
le jus d'1 concombre 
10 g de graines de chanvres décortiquées
Mixer!

“Passion. It lies in all of us. Sleeping... waiting... and though unwanted, unbidden, it will stir... open its jaws and howl. It speaks to us... guides us. Passion rules us all. And we obey. What other choice do we have? Passion is the source of our finest moments. The joy of love... the clarity of hatred... the ecstasy of grief. It hurts sometimes more than we can bear. If we could live without passion, maybe we'd know some kind of peace. But we would be hollow. Empty rooms, shuttered and dank. Without passion, we'd be truly dead.”

Angel, Buffy the Vampire Slayer 

I think the reason I never liked ice cream (I know, how can that be?) is that I've never liked dairy. I'm perfectly fine with sorbet and vegan ice cream. Especially this one. The raisins are plump and the cashew base makes it so creamy.

I'd advise you to start with 5 g of maca powder if you've never used it. I found it takes quite a bit to adjust to the flavour that can be overpowering at the beginning. You can use almond flour instead of coarse almond meal, the cookies will look less "rustic".

Rum raisin ice-cream sandwiches
(vegan, gluten-free, grain-free)


Hemp and maca cookies
(vegan, gluten-free, grain-free)
(yield: 8 cookies)

100 g coarse almond meal
30 g hemp flour
5-10 g maca powder
5 g baking soda
pinch of salt

30 g maple syrup
30 g coconut oil

Preheat oven to 180°C.

In a bowl, combine all dry ingredients. Stir in the wet ingredients and mix until it forms a dough. Roll out dough onto a surface lined with parchment paper and sprinkled with almond flour. Cut dough with a 7-8cm round cutter.  Bake for 13-15 minutes or until edges start to brown. Transfer onto wire rack and let cool completely before freezing them. 

Rum raisin cashew ice cream
(vegan, gluten-free)

280 g cashews, pre-soaked 1 hour at least
85 g raisins
4 cl rum
20 cl water
70 g maple syrup
juice from 1/2 lemon
a few drops of vanilla extract
a pinch of salt
more water, if needed

Soak raisins in rum for 15 minutes. In the meantime, in a blender, blend the pre-soaked cashews with 20 cl water, maple syrup, lemon juice, vanilla extract and salt until smooth. You might need to add a little extra water depending on desired thickness. Add in the raisin and rum mixture and mix well. 

Now two options:

- line 4 ramekins the size of your cookies with parchment paper. Fill the ramekins (up to 3 cm) with cashew ice cream. Freeze for at least 3 hours. Remove the ice cream from the ramekins and place between 2 frozen cookies.

or

- pour cashew ice cream into a freezer container Freeze overnight. Let thaw for 15-20 minutes. Using an ice cream scoop, sandwich a big scoop of ice cream between two frozen cookies.

“The greatest hazard of all, losing one’s self, can occur very quietly in the world, as if it were nothing at all. No other loss can occur so quietly; any other loss - an arm, a leg, five dollars, a wife, etc. - is sure to be noticed.”

The Sickness Unto Death, Søren Kierkegaard 

Meet my tea biscuits par excellence. They're slightly boozy and so simple.

Palets de dame
(vegan, gluten-free)

75 g raisins
4 cl rum
12.5 cl almond cream
80 g cane sugar
145 g millet flour
95 g cornstarch

Preheat oven to 190°C.

In a small bowl, let steep the raisins in rum for 10 minutes stirring from time to time.

In a bowl, cream almond cream with cane sugar. Sift millet flour and cornstarch and mix well. Add in the raisins (and what is left of rum).

Drop teaspoons of dough onto a baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes or until the edges are starting to brown.

Palets de dame
(végétalien, sans gluten)

75 g raisins secs
4 cl rhum
12.5 cl crème d'amande
80 g sucre de canne
145 g farine de millet
95 g fécule de maïs

Préchauffer le four à 190°C.

Dans un petit bol, faire gonfler les raisins secs dans le rhum 10 minutes en remuant de temps en temps.

Dans un bol, crémer le sucre de canne avec la crème d'amande. Tamiser la farine de millet et la fécule de maïs et bien mélanger. Ajouter les raisins secs (et le reste de rhum).

Avec une cuillère, déposer des ronds de pâte sur une plaque recouverte de papier sulfurisé et cuire 10 minutes.