Our focus this month was on food art but we’ll wrap it up with something musical. Have you ever thought about how many bands and songs have food names in them? Ever thought about penning an ode to your favourite meal? I’m sure someone could some up with some great stuff about chocolate…my husband could likely write a symphony to his beloved pringles…

Chowhound has a small list of musical groups with foodie names that readers have added on to down the page (ever head of Ultimate Spinach??). The FoodSection also has an awesome list from their Edible Audio playlist on AOL you can listen to on Mac or PC. Why yes, we have no bananas.

I love to cook and though I’m not the greatest at turning out baked items, I do enjoy it (too bad I’ve developed problems digesting gluten… :(  ). I would love to be able to turn out those beautifully decorated confections bakeries and martha stewart afficionados manage but since my attempt at any sort of artistic food is generally thwarted by my own coordination, I think the chocolate pencil set from Nendo via InventorSpot is just up my alley. It’s just what it sounds like- a set of chocolate pencils and a pencil shaver. How easy is that? You just shave off the pencils and top up your confections! I have to get one of these And for all you art students, the pencils come in different grades of chocolate, just like the leads in your drawing pencils.

If you’re American then you’re already familiar with the notion that tradition scumps taste- after all, we’ve been passing around that same fruitcake from house to house since 1934.  For me, those little NECCO conversation hearts are the pinnacle of festive-yet-rancid neccessities to celebrate Valentine’s Day. This year I was lucky and escaped being offered a handful in the office candy bowl but still felt compelled to buy a box of the new modernised ones for some young people I know.

The thing is, I hate those conversation hearts. I’m not one of those people who received the crappy messaged ones as a kid and still harbours trauma, I just hate the taste. I hate them like I hate eggnog at Christmas and devilled eggs at Independance Day picnics and that’s a whole other story. However, in my hate and avoidance of said candy that holds such a place in our hearts, I failed to notice that Necco has updated the messages on those little hearts to stay hip and fresh with the kiddies. Infoplease has the scoop on which messages debuted in which years and for those of you who like to debate smarties flavours, the flavour and colour of the candies is listed as well.

The other night I was at dinner with friends and one of them mentioned a diner that had ‘ethnic Pittsburgh food.’ I forgot to ask her what the heck that would be (I assumed Primanti bros sandwiched constituted ethnic Pittsburgh food), but later on I was thinking of those easter eggs I see around the South Side. Pysanky, or Ukranian Easter Eggs obviously are not native here but they’re a unique artform that I certainly admire for skill and have one proudly sitting on my mantel at home.

WQED has a great article about Pysanky with information on how to make them and lots of lovely photos of the process and end product. If you’d like to buy one (or two, or five, lol), head over to the South Side for the 43rd Annual Ukranian Easter Egg Sale at Saints Peter and Paul Ukranian Orthodox Church, 5 April, 2009. I attended this event a few years ago and purchased a beautiful blue hued egg which got smashed in a rather funny incident (and my loving husband has since replaced with a red and orange beauty). The festival has lots of great food to purchase and enjoy and I found the people were very eager to share their stories about the art form.

Looking for more Ukranian cultural events in Pittsburgh? Go to GlobalPittsburgh.

I admit it, I have never made a gingerbread house in all my life. This year I saw ready- made candy houses in most of the store here in Pittsburgh and suddenly had a yen for one (luckily I got one at work to take home). Frankly I don’t like gingerbread and after ripping off part of the roof and trying it, will not make the mistake of bringing home one of these again.

When I was a kid though I loved to look through one of the popular women’s magazines at their yearly gingerbread house contest winners. I would pour over the pictures and try to figure out what every little bit was made of all through the Christmas season. I can’t remember what magazine it was anymore but this year thisoldhouse.com put photos of their contest winners online. Impressive stuff here- the Victorian Rowhouse with carmelised sugar windows is my favourite and the site also comments on how the selections were made.

If you’re looking for a local display, Market Square displays houses that are auctioned off to benefit Children’s Hospital near the Christmas holiday. And if you’re looking for inspiration in your culinary arts, look no further than the spectacular White House house. :p

Mardi Gras is one of my favourite days of the year and unfortunately it doesn’t get much attention in Pittsburgh. Perhaps the food is too scary for local haluski appetites (what is that stuff anyway?). There’s nothing small about Mardi Gras and certainly nothing fat-free, and though this isn’t necessarily a post about food art, well I’d like to think everything from my home city is art :p

Perhaps the most familiar food of Mardi Gras has to be the King Cake, a donut-like filled feast decorated with beads and purple/gold/green sugar and stuck with a tiny plastic baby. I have heard northerners freak out a little about that baby but it’s tradition don’t knock it. In my parents’ town of Lafayette, the place to get a king cake is Pouparts, though everything they make puts your mouth to water.  (Prantls? Nice but not the same!) Of course the point of eating nothing but rich food on Mardi Gras harks back to using up all the rich ingredients in the cupboard before Lent and fasting beginning on Ash Wednesday. Living in Dallas and Loving it has some nice food reviews including this bakery.

I am a keen observer of this tradition, making my chocolate 8 layer Doberge cake (New Orleans birthday cake) 3 weeks or so before Mardi Gras along with pralines, chicken gumbo, occasionally beignets and on the day itself my husband makes crepes we serve with lemon juice, sugar and honey drizzled on. Ooh and lots of butter.

Well, not entirely like that. Today we look into the world of sugar sculpture, which you’d be familiar with somewhat if you’d ever glued sugar cubes into one of those little igloos for school.

Historic Food has gorgeous examples of this detailed art dating back to the 15th century- in medieval times sugar sculptures were ceremonial or used to show off wealth and became more common as sugar became cheaper and more accessible. Sugar sculpture back in the day often amounted to unsual shapes, mini works of architecture and elaborate displays. Today its still going strong around the world from classrooms to festivals such as the Mexican day of the dead and the Japanese art of wagashi. There is even a Sugar Museum!

When I got married in 2004 I had my wedding cake done by Jenny Lee in Market Square (which I see has since moved on). It was lovely, unusual and not too badly priced and I got loads of compliments on it. Since then I’ve seen gorgeous cakes recreating scenes, place, objects and even fabric patterns.

Brides.com has 50 stunning examples of wedding confectionary that will inspire you for the coming big day or make you wish you could do it all over again just for the cake. Getting married in Pittsburgh and need a baker? PittsburghWedding has a directory just for you.

Wagashi is one of those food examples of art imitating life. Tiny morsels shaped and moulded into recreations of selections from nature and life, wagashi appeal to the five senses and are a Japanese cultural treasure. The very detail and meticulousness in which these confections are made is just astounding and they truly are too beautiful to eat, though one would not be fully experiencing wagashi without eating them with tea! More gorgeous examples of seasonal wagashi can be found at Obachan’s delightful Kitchen and Balcony blog.

Though Americans have many differing opinions on the celebration of Valentine’s Day and lately I hear nothing but grumbles about its commercialism, our neighbours on the other side of the world have their own spin on the day of love. In Japan, Valentine’s Day is a little one-sided. Women give chocolate to men, called giri-choco and on White Day (14 March), the men reciprocate with a gift of white chocolate. As you can see, these chocolates can be very ornate indeed with much skill going into their craft.

Just like American Valentine’s Day has changed through the years (I remember it being much less elaborate for kids some years ago…), Japanese manufacturers are trying to push for Valentine’s Day and White Day to merge into one celebration to maximize sales. Groan if you will but take a look at this: printing the product name in reverse to encourage men to ‘give back’ tasty gifts immediately instead of waiting a full month til their day.