The alchemy of perspective

and a recipe for schmalzy potatoes with herb salt

If I can have a moment here, it’s been a pretty tough week, month, year.

It’s one of those prolonged spells that seem to be throwing me curve balls left and right, making it difficult to dodge being beaned in the head.

Simple is hard, and any obstacle feels impossible. Forget Mercury Retrograde. This is one massive misalignment of everything.

Or is it? Yes, I can point to things that have been really tough to take in stride. But I can also walk outside and experience my garden giving me its best spring showing ever, reminding me that life is a beautiful cycle of birth and death and regeneration.

My car suddenly died this week, but I know that we won’t need a second car when we move later this year anyway. Eleven years of service and one less thing to worry about, one less insurance bill to pay.

I’m on overdrive for a project at work that has more moving deadlines than a new condo development. But I’m finally doing the type of really interesting work that I know I excel at, and I hit my stride while juggling a set of balls, just the way I like it.

Call it the alchemy of perspective.

Shifting gears and changing lens

Students of photography learn early that understanding perspective creates better photographs. Just as photography uses motion blur to give an impression of movement, photographers use perspective to give an impression of depth.

It’s a simple concept, executed in so many different ways. One recommendation for amateur photographers is to just move. Our tendency is to see something we want to photograph, raise our camera and shoot. But by just taking a step left or right, or even crouching down, you may find a better - and unexpected - angle. Moving two or three feet can have a big impact on the foreground. And the closer the foreground, the more interesting the photo.

A beautiful sunset, made all the more interesting by getting close to the foreground (photo credit Marcos Miranda)

The fun part comes when you can play with the relationship between objects in a photograph and create optical illusions. We’ve all seen photos of someone “pinching” the Eiffel Tower or “holding up” the Leaning Tower of Pisa. It’s called forced perspective and it requires a bit more imagination and thought.

I’m not really climbing the walls…or am I?

Perspective matters

Perspective: a particular way of considering something or to think about a situation or problem in a wise and reasonable way.

Cambridge Dictionary

When you think about it, perspective really is everything. We come to moments, situations, people within our frame, looking through our eyes, with our expectations in large part predetermined. That’s because our pesky emotions get the better of us. Being wise and reasonable rarely comes into play.

I’ve been thinking a lot about that lately. Even as recently as this morning, as half my stereo system suddenly went kaput. If I take a step back, or sideways, it might help me realise that the universe is telling me to go outside, get some sunshine and take a deep breath. There is undoubtedly more angst and frustration to come. But joy is always in the wings, waiting to come to the foreground and take centre stage.

Schmaltzy potatoes with herb salt

from Shaya, by Alon Shaya

When all else fails, eat potatoes.

That’s what I remind myself when I’m having a moment. It’s the humble something that makes me happy, perhaps exactly because it’s no big deal, easy to make and even easier to find if I simply can’t face the kitchen, again.

This super simple recipe from Alon Shaya might just give you a different perspective on the best way to roast potatoes. While duck fat has been all the rage of late, why not try something much more elemental - schmaltz? Schmaltz, or chicken fat, has long been a staple in the Jewish pantry, and at times a much-maligned one.

But that same delicious fat that gives roast chicken its coveted crispy skin can also be used to good effect on potatoes. Use the season’s new baby Yukon Golds, also called creamer potatoes. And make sure you have plenty of herb salt on hand for this recipe and others. You may never change your mind about the best way to roast potatoes again.

Note: You can find schmaltz in any good deli; if you can’t find schmaltz use ghee for clean and buttery flavour.

For herb salt

½ cup kosher salt

1 cup lightly packed fresh parsley leaves

¼ cup lightly packed fresh thyme leaves

¼ cup lightly packed fresh rosemary leaves

¼ cup lightly packed fresh sage leaves

Put all the ingredients in a food processor and process until everything is finely chopped. To keep the salt bright green, with that same fresh, lively flavor, store it in a ziplock bag in the freezer; it will last for months.

For the potatoes

3 pounds small creamer potatoes, scrubbed

⅓ cup schmaltz or ghee (see headnote)

4 teaspoons herb salt (see below)

1. Heat the oven to 500˚F with a rack in the upper-middle portion.

2. Put the potatoes in a large pot and add cold water, enough to cover the potatoes by an inch. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat so that the potatoes are simmering. Partially cover and cook just until the potatoes are tender and can be pierced with a fork, 12 to 15 minutes.

3. Drain the potatoes and put them in a large bowl. Add the schmaltz and stir gently. Add the herb salt and toss to coat.

4. Spread the potatoes on a rimmed baking sheet. With the back of a fork, gently flatten them down until they’re just flat (not so much that they crumble), leaving space between them so steam can escape, for maximum crispy goodness.

5. Roast the potatoes for 20 to 25 minutes, rotating the pan about halfway through, until they’ve got browned edges all around and the bottoms are a deep brown. Serve right away.