"Happy Days on the James" by Juliane Porter (48″ × 36″ Oil on Archival, Museum Grade, Belgian Linen Canvas)
(Please click image for a better, larger view)
"Happy Days on the James" is my most recent commissioned oil painting, capturing an incredibly beautiful, fun loving family. They adore spending a fine summer afternoon splashing about under the sun on the gorgeous James River, which winds about their historic city like a strand of jewels. What a treat and honor it was to capture this fond memory for them in a stately 4 foot oil painting. Thank you, my dear friends, for the opportunity to be a part of your very special love.
https://stylenectar.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/stylenectar.png00Juliane Porterhttps://stylenectar.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/stylenectar.pngJuliane Porter2012-06-08 16:42:082025-12-06 15:03:04Happy Days on the James
Prosciutto wrapped Melon Bites – Food styling by Juliane Porter. Photo by my beautiful friend, Aimee McNamee
With warmer weather now in full swing, I was thrilled when Irecently spotted the first organic melons of the season back in the market. Time to share my beautiful little appetizer recipe for Prosciutto Wrapped Melon Bites. This mouthwatering combination of fresh, sweet melon wrapped in salty, Italian ham is always a hit! You can create a gorgeous platter by using contrasting jeweled party pics to hold each delectable package in place. In addition, I love using a combination of classic white porcelain, clear glass and/or shiny silver bowls as serveware for parties. The look is clean, allowing the gorgeous colors of the food to pop rather than being muddled amongst too many other colors.
Oh… and don't forget to serve Prosciutto Wrapped Melon Bites with these delicious Limoncello Cocktails ~ they're the perfect compliment!
Enjoy!
Recipe for Prosciutto Wrapped Melon Bites
Ingredients:
1 Canteloupe, peeled, cored and cut into 1" bite sized chunks
2 packages thinly sliced prosciutto (about 8 slices), sliced into long strips
Method:
Wrap each melon cube with a strip of prosciutto and secure with a jeweled party pic
Serve chilled
Question of the day:
What are some of your favorite warmer weather foods?
When I first began painting portraits, it was an adventurous inquisition into the human condition via a portrayal of different personalities, life-experiences, age…
What I didn’t predict discovering, fascinating as our unique traits may be, was that as I relayed these attributes to the canvas, they effectually became less and less important. Each layer of paint leading to an ever-deepening understanding, dissolving any once-perceived separation to reveal a bond, a connection, to the center of what matters;
the heart.
I spend hours upon days upon weeks with each painting, understanding more and more intimately what makes the subject who they are in order to portray and honor their essence. During this meditative process of focused concentration, thoughts subside and there remains only what is.
A vast, connecting and infinite
love.
And everything that separates us becomes everything that makes us
exactly the same.
Self Portrait by Juliane Porter, Oil on Canvas Panel
https://stylenectar.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/stylenectar.png00Juliane Porterhttps://stylenectar.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/stylenectar.pngJuliane Porter2012-03-03 15:29:172025-12-06 15:03:26why i do what i do
Though the holidays have come and gone, Christmas-specific decorations and stockings stowed away and our fragrant fir given back to our woods, I continue to savor the coziness of winter just as I did the spirit of the holidays. Many of my decorations stay in place for months to come. Red berries on thick, twiggy vine remain wound about our stair railing through March. Cut glass snowflakes hanging from satin ribbon beam lacey reflections from first floor windows 'til the thrill of snowfall passes. And the soft glow of window candles cast warm ambiance into unlit rooms 'til the next 'Spring-forward, Fall-back' clock change.
In the same spirit of gratitude and celebration for life, I'll continue to make our three favorite Christmas puddings all season long: Mint Chocolate Pots de Creme, Maple Tapioca with Maple Walnut Brittle and Lemon Drop Pudding Cakes(Stay tuned! Recipes for the latter two coming soon!) They're wholesome enough to enjoy in the morning as a sweet breakfast next to the fire, and decadent enough to serve for dessert.
The first of our favorites, Mint Chocolate Pots de Creme, is out of this world. A rich layer of chocolate ganache atop creamy, thick, mint pudding is uh- at the risk of being cliche- HEAVEN! A recipe you'll be SO glad you made… Better than the best of best restaurants- I assure you!
Enjoy and Happy New Year!!
Red Berry Twiggy Vine winding down the banister railing.
Crystal Snowflake suspended on satin ribbon in window.
Recipe for Mint Chocolate Pots de Creme (Serves 8) (Note: This is a relatively easy recipe, but as always read through entire recipe before starting. There are two hour long resting points in this one- during which you don't have to do a thing however!)
Ingredients
3 large egg yolks
1 cup sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups 1% or 2% chocolate milk or white milk, divided (I used Chocolate Silk -delish! Don't use skim milk for this recipe however.)
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/2 cup half-and-half
Chocolate Glaze
1/3 cup nonfat evaporated milk
1/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
2 tablespoons honey
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 cup powdered sugar
fresh mint for garnish
Method
Preheat oven to 325°F. Bring a kettle of water to boil for water bath. Place eight 4-ounce custard cups or ramekins or in a roasting pan.
To prepare custard: Whisk egg yolks, sugar, vanilla extract, peppermint extract and salt in a large bowl; set near the stove. Whisk 1/2 cup chocolate milk and cornstarch in a small bowl until smooth. Heat the remaining 1 1/2 cups chocolate milk and half-and-half in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, whisking until steaming hot yet not boiling. Whisk the cornstarch mixture into the steaming milk and continue cooking, whisking constantly, until the mixture boils and thickens, 2 to 4 minutes. Gradually (so as not to scramble the eggs) whisk the thickened milk mixture, a small amount at a time, into the egg yolk mixture.
Using a spatula, carefully pour the custard through a fine-mesh sieve into a large measuring cup or heatproof pitcher, pushing the liquid through the siv with the spatula to remove any lumps. Divide among the ramekins or custard cups filling until each are about three-quarters full.
Pour boiling water into the roasting pan until halfway up the sides of the containers. Carefully transfer the roasting pan to the oven. Bake until custards are set but still jiggle a little bit when lightly jostled, 35 to 40 minutes.
Remove the roasting pan from the oven. Let the custards cool in the water bath to room temperature, about 1 hour. Remove from the water bath and refrigerate until cold, about 1 hour more.
To prepare chocolate glaze: heat evaporated milk in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Place chocolate chips and honey in a heatproof medium bowl. As soon as the milk starts to bubble, pour it over the chocolate chips and whisk until completely smooth, about 1 minute. Sift in cocoa powder and confectioners’ sugar while whisking; whisk until smooth.
Divide the chocolate glaze among the custards, tilting each to cover completely (use a tiny spatula to help spread the glaze if necessary). Garnish with mint.
Mint Chocolate Pots de Creme adapted from Eating Well~Tested & Improved!
https://stylenectar.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/stylenectar.png00Juliane Porterhttps://stylenectar.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/stylenectar.pngJuliane Porter2012-01-04 17:54:032025-12-06 15:03:37Mint Chocolate Pots de Creme
Though the leaves on the tall oaks have thinned considerably, our window panes remain candy boxes of red, orange and gold. That time of year again. Halloween days away. When we shut off the outdoor spigots for fear of frost and burst pipes. And we've waited til the last possible minute to lug in the remains of the garden, the salvageable herbs that can be brought in for the winter and then taken back out again next spring!
What a thrill it is to invite these summer friends back inside! Fragrant, bountiful greenery at a time when the rest of nature is going into hibernation. We spray off mossy pots and turn them on end to lift our new housemates to sunny heights! Each morning they quiver with joy as I mist them all over. (Thanks for the suggestion Pamela!)
And I am beside myself… adding fresh mint to my honey tea, oregano to my egg salad sandwiches, sage browned butter over gnocchi (recipe coming soon)… It feels like Christmas to me! I suppose it's the sudden population of frangrant greenery that brings me back. A lovely prelude to the holidays!
Peppermint loves his new digs in the Dining Room!
Rosemary thinks her new room-mate, Peppermint, is kinda cute!
Oregano and Sage are particularly fond of their daily spray bottle mistings.
One happy family! (L to R) Rosemary #2 in the breakfast room alongside roomies Spearmint, Sage & Oregano!
https://stylenectar.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/stylenectar.png00Juliane Porterhttps://stylenectar.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/stylenectar.pngJuliane Porter2011-10-26 16:17:062025-12-06 15:03:49Time for Herbs to Head Indoors for the Winter!
Includes recipe variations to make Sugar-fee or Virgin Cocktails!
Frosted Sugar Rims on Limoncello Cocktail Glasses
Limoncello Cocktails ~ Perfect Any Time of Year!
A gorgeous, delicious cocktail. Oh so easy to prepare. (Yes, you can make them in advance!)You and you're guests will adore!
This is a great recipe. We had a great time. I know you'll enjoy them too!
Limoncello Cocktail Recipe (4 – 6 Servings)
1/3 cup Water
1/3 cup Sugar + 1 tsp. Sugar, separated (*Update- if you're sugar-free like I am now, sub coconut sugar)
1 750 ml bottle Prosecco (*Update- if you want to make this virgin, sub lemon kombucha)
4 tbsp. Limoncello (*Update- to make virgin, sub lemon kombucha as noted above)
8 oz. Fresh Blueberries (or substitute another berry or fruit currently in season)
3 or 4 slices of thinly sliced Lemon
Pour 1/3 cup water onto a small plate or saucer just larger in size than the circumference of your cocktail glasses. Pour 1/3 cup Sugar onto another plate of exactly the same size. Dip rims of each cocktail glass into water filled saucer, then into sugar filled saucer, coating rims evenly. Set aside. The sugar will harden, crystalizing beautifully onto the rims after about 15 minutes or so!(This makes refills work beautifully since the rims will remain sugar coated for that second pour!)
Meanwhile, pour the Prosecco into a glass pitcher, add 4 tbsp. of Limoncello and a 1 tsp. Sugar (use more or less to taste depending on tartness of your Limoncello). Mix well to disolve the sugar.
Regfrigerate for an hour or so. Just before serving add 3 or 4 thin slices of lemon to the pitcher.
Place 8 or 9 blueberries into each sugar rimmed glass. When your guests arrive, pour the Limoncello mixture into the glasses and enjoy!
Awaiting that sweet & sour Limoncello Mixture!
At last! The completed cocktail! Taken by my dear friend, Bick's, cell-phone, no less:) Party time!
https://stylenectar.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/stylenectar.png00Juliane Porterhttps://stylenectar.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/stylenectar.pngJuliane Porter2011-10-02 13:42:282025-12-06 15:03:55Limoncello Cocktails ~ Perfect Any Time of Year!
Before you read on, first click the above music link!
Autumn had just begun turning leaves copper and gold when I painted this scene of the Savage River last year. I was hypnotized by the rhythm of leaves, sunshine and water skipping along boulders then smoothing into a deep ribbon along the calm, mossy bank.
A beautiful adventure of life leading life.
Then, just last weekend, as my husband and I basked in our first indoor fire of the season, listening to Dvorak's 8th Symphony, I was instantly transported back to the scene of my painting.
Take a listen to Dvorak's gorgeous symphony singing the emotion and adventure of life that so spoke to me when I painted "Prelude to Fall on the Savage River".
What pieces of music do you associate with Autumn?
https://stylenectar.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/stylenectar.png00Juliane Porterhttps://stylenectar.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/stylenectar.pngJuliane Porter2011-09-24 17:32:202025-12-06 15:03:56In Celebration of Autumn
Fourth Prize Winner Kyu Yeon Kim; Third Prize Winner Eric Zuber; Second Prize Winner Alexey Chernov; First Prize Winner Alexander Schimpf, Photo by Roger Mastroianni
The Cleveland International Piano Competition is a ten-day marathon of musical performances in which 30 of the world’s greatest, young, concert pianists compete all day in front of live audiences and an international jury. Held each year at Severance Hall, one of the world’s most beautiful concert halls and home of the world renowned Cleveland Orchestra, the competition is the epitome of extreme challenge and competition. At the end of each round the jury votes, advancing a number of pianists until the final round of four competitors. The final four then perform with the Cleveland Orchestra, after which the $50,000 Grand Prize winner is announced. The Winner’s Recital, which I had the pleasure of attending with my family, is held the following day.
Watching the brilliant performances alongside my family, for whom music is a deeply woven bond, was an emotionally charged experience to say the least! I’d have equipped myself with a smart supply of tissues had I known each and every pianist would take me to the point of fighting back tears. However, it was the passion of Eric Zuber’s performance of Chopin’s Etudes, Op. 10 Nos. 1, 3, 5, 8 & 12 that had the power to bring those tears down my cheeks and seemed to suspend time itself.
I’m from a family of musicians. My parents are both amateur pianists. Both my grandmothers were also. Back in the late 1940’s you would have found my Grandma Hazel accompanying the Cleveland youth ballet at the piano in their studios at the top floor of the IBM building downtown. Meanwhile, halfway across the country, Grandma Orene, a third grade teacher, was teaching children piano lessons after school in her home.
It’s no surprise, decades later, the music of my parents playing the baby grand Steinway overflowed every room of my childhood home on a daily basis, reaching the far corners of the basement to the highest rooms in the attic. Mom, a highly disciplined person, (and phenomenal visual artist), practiced two hours each morning, while our father accompanied family sing-a-longs and joined in duets with my sister (violin) and me (flute). When he played alone, he often favored Chopin; and as an adult I’d never found anyone who came close to capturing the passion of Chopin like my father does. Until that is, I heard Mr. Eric Zuber’s performance…
My heart broke open, magically suspended on a wrinkle in time between those childhood memories, of listening to my father perform the very same pieces, and the present, seated beside him decades latter, that Sunday afternoon of the International Piano Competition Finale.
Please share with me, a taste of Eric Zuber performing Chopin below…
Summary of Top Award Winners First Prize: Mr. Alexander Schimpf of Germany $50,000 Second Prize: Mr. Alexey Chernov of Russia $25,000 Third Prize: Mr. Eric Zuber of the United States $15,000 Fourth Prize: Ms. Kyu Yeon Kim of South Korea $10,000
Severance Hall, Gestural Pen & Ink on Lanaquarelle Paper by Juliane Porter
https://stylenectar.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/stylenectar.png00Juliane Porterhttps://stylenectar.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/stylenectar.pngJuliane Porter2011-09-14 11:23:002025-12-06 15:04:01A Wrinkle in Time, Magic at the World Class Cleveland International Piano Competition
With the onset of chilly, humidity-free weather, I'll be making some adjustments to my skin care regime – providing a perfect opportunity to share a favorite Fall/Winter beauty secret, my
Extra Virgin Olive Oil Gentle Exfoliating Facial Wash!
Your skin will glow as if you’ve had microdermabrasion – however this method is much gentler – enough so that I'll use it daily in the driest winter months.
Olive oil skin care is nothing new. In fact, this ancient beauty secret was discovered over 5000 years ago when it became an essential component of skin care. So take a hint from the beautiful Mediterraneans of today and long ago and try it for yourself! This anti-aging, antioxidant-rich oil can be YOUR personal beauty secret, too!
Extra Virgin Olive Oil Gentle Exfoliating Facial Wash:
1 Tbsp. or so EVOO
1 1/2 Tsp. or so Baking Soda
1 or 2 Droplets Warm Water
Pour a little EVOO into the palm of your hand (or you may prefer to mix in a small dish the first couple of times).
Next add a bit of baking soda to the oil in your palm. The baking soda serves as the exfoliating component.
Add a few droplets of water.
Gently mix in your palm with a fingertip to form a loose paste.
With slightly moist finger tips, gently massage the paste over your skin in a circular motion, avoiding the delicate eye area.
Rinse gently with warm water and a soft wash cloth.
Before you read on, first click on the above link! Vivaldi's Le Quattro Stagioni is one of the most brilliant pieces ever written in celebration of this magnificent season of Summer! My painting, Vivaldi Summer, speaks to the soul of this piece; the vibrant, childlike freedom and passion of Summer…
When life reminds us to let go, to be free and be loved.
