Page 4C
EAT, DRINK & EXPLORE
East Oregonian
Saturday, July 22, 2017
PINNEY: ‘She was so
talented. Whatever she
took upon herself’
Continued from 1C
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
Kari Christiansen of Hermiston looks through paintings by Dolores Jean Brown Pinney that will be in
an estate sale later this month at the Hermiston Conference Center.
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
Dolores Jean Brown Pinney in an undated
modeling photo.
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
Bob Pinney circa 1958.
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
Dolores Jean Brown Pinney’s painting of El Capitan in Yosemite National Park.
not including repeats.”
Meticulously preserved
newspaper clippings about
Pinney from her modeling
days reveal a range of
interests and capabilities.
She visited the Grand
Coulee Dam in 1950 and the
Spokesman-Review news-
paper published an inter-
view with her. Pinney said
she enjoyed the outdoors,
regularly went fishing and
swimming, and continued
to pursue her art aspirations.
Another interview said she
was studying drama as well,
and was being “groomed”
by Sam Goldwyn. In
Pinney’s box of mementos,
she saved scripts from
one-act plays and programs
from concerts she attended
in New York, as well as
invitations and scholarship
applications from her time
as a student at Eastern
Oregon College. There are
also telegrams that show
correspondence with her
family members, including
her time living on her own
before she got married. One,
a money order from her
father, simply says, “Hope
this reaches you before they
throw you out. Love, Dad.”
Pinney’s talents extended
beyond modeling. In a
Dec. 28, 1948, newspaper
interview she called art
her “first love” — which
Pinney retained all her life.
Following her career as a
model, she continued to
paint. Her primary mediums
were acrylics and oils and
her subject matter varied,
from landscapes of moun-
tains and oceans to vases
and bowls of fruit.
“She was best known
for her still lifes,” said
Hermiston business owner
Ford Bonney who, along
with Mike Zook, is putting
together an estate sale
of Pinney’s artwork and
belongings, through Zook’s
company MBZ Liquida-
tions. According to Bonney,
paintings by Pinney were
featured in galleries in San
Francisco and Jackson Hole,
Wyoming.
There are also several
portraits for sale, most of
which were painted by
Pinney’s husband.
As with many other skills
Pinney developed, she took
it on herself.
“Irrigon didn’t have art
classes. She did art lessons
by mail,” Ellen said. “That
was the only time I knew
her to get art training. Her
mom told me that from
the time she was little, she
could draw portraits of
people. She had a lot of
natural ability.”
When she met her
husband, Bob, Pinney’s life
changed again. The two
met when he was working
for Libby Owens-Ford in
Grilled ratatouille creates
lovely summertime char
By MELISSA D’ARABIAN
Associated Press
Ratatouille is a classic vegetable
dish starring eggplant, zucchini,
peppers and tomato that is deeply
steeped in the culture of Mediterra-
nean France. When I married a man
from the heart of Provence, one of
the first lessons I received from my
new mother-in-law Muriel was how
to make a proper ratatouille. (The
other was how to pluck feathers
from a newly butchered turkey, but
that’s a story for another day.)
Turns out, my American sensibil-
ities had me cooking a ratatouille far
too long, making it a gloppy stew of
indistinguishable mixed vegetables,
a crime I’ve seen committed more
often than not here in the US.
Muriel was kind in her rebuke,
and showed me her way instead.
The most important lesson was to
cook each vegetable separately, to
honor their individuality. Moreover,
the vegetables needed to be cooked
in the same pan, in a specific order,
so that the flavors would be built
just right. (The order, in case you are
wondering, is: eggplant, zucchini,
peppers, onion, tomatoes, and I use
the acronym EZ-POT to remember.)
I was skeptical. But her version
is easily the best I have ever eaten,
so I follow it without fail, even if
the rebellious part of me wonders if
I dared to cook the zucchini out of
order, would anyone really notice?
But, why mess with genius?
Unless it’s BBQ season and I want
to grill out! After years of following
proper EZ-POT protocol, I decided
to try an outdoor grilled version of
ratatouille. A little summertime char
on the veggies could be a good thing.
And indeed it was.
The result was a tasty dish that
was somewhere in between a grilled
vegetable salad (but not quite as
acidic) and a traditional ratatouille
(but not quite capturing that
synergistic vegetable vibe). Still, a
worthy summertime side dish in its
own right.
Grilled ratatouille is a happy
complement to any grilled meat or
fish, and it’s hearty enough to be
the main dish for vegetarians. And
leftovers can be spooned on top of
roasted potatoes, rice, a green salad,
or even spread on toast, sprinkled
with cheese and broiled for a quick
lunch.
Melissa d’Arabian via AP
GRILLED RATATOUILLE
Servings: 6
Start to finish: 30 minutes
• 2 small or 1 large eggplant, cut into 1-inch
slices (no need to peel)
• 2 medium zucchini, trimmed and cut in half
lengthwise
• 1 sweet yellow or red pepper, cut into
“cheeks” or quarters, seeds, removed
• 1 medium sweet white onion, peeled, quar-
tered with root intact (to keep it together)
• 1 pint grape tomatoes
• Olive oil in mister
Dressing:
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons high quality olive oil
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon fresh thyme, minced
• 6-7 basil leaves, gently torn
• Salt and pepper
Los Angeles, and she was
a working model. They
married in 1951 and Pinney
ended her modeling career
soon after. Bob was an
architect, and his wife soon
began studying the subject
and applying her skills.
“I think she would have
modeled longer,” Ellen said,
“but he didn’t particularly
want her modeling anymore,
and she was into learning
about architecture.”
The couple eventually
moved to San Francisco,
and Pinney began doing
architectural renderings of
buildings that her husband
was working on. Ellen still
has some pictures of build-
ings Pinney and her husband
worked on, with Pinney’s
notes about the structure
on the back. They designed
several buildings in the city,
including a Safeway grocery
store with some apartment
buildings above it.
“She didn’t have an
architectural degree, but she
got right into it,” Ellen said.
“She was so talented. What-
ever she took upon herself.”
That self-taught ability
extended to sewing and even
woodworking, according to
Daryl.
“When she was living
in San Francisco, rather
than buy furniture, she just
decided she would make her
own,” Daryl said. “For her,
it was probably no different
than making clothes.”
After Pinney’s husband
passed away in 1996, she
moved back to the Herm-
iston area to be near her
brother.
Around the same time,
she began having some
health issues, including
memory loss and cataracts.
Toward the end of her life,
her sister-in-law recalls
Pinney spending a lot of
time in the garden, but
almost none with a brush
and canvas.
“She wasn’t doing the
work she used to do,” Ellen
said.
Nevertheless, her family
still recalls Pinney’s many
lives — model, artist, archi-
tect — with amazement.
“We’re kind of fasci-
nated with her,” Daryl said.
“Going from Irrigon to
LA and New York — after
her husband passed away,
she moved back closer to
family. She was doing a lot
of things. It was not your
average person’s life.”
The estate sale featuring
many of Pinney’s creations,
including her artwork and
furniture, is July 30 at 1
p.m. The sale will be at
the Hermiston Conference
Center, 415 S. Highway
395, Hermiston.
———
Contact
Jayati
Ramakrishnan
at
jramakrishnan@eastorego-
nian.com or 541-564-4534
Heat the grill to medium and lightly oil the
grates. Season the vegetables with salt and
pepper, and spray them lightly with the olive
oil mister to coat. (If you don’t have a mister,
pour a little oil in your hands and lightly toss the
vegetables in a bowl using your hands to coat
them very lightly with olive oil.)
Cook the vegetables on the grill until tender
but not floppy, turning halfway through cooking
time — about 12-15 minutes total for the
eggplant, onion quarters and sweet pepper, 8-10
minutes for the zucchini and 2 minutes for the
tomatoes.
Meanwhile, make the dressing: Whisk
together lemon juice and red wine vinegar
in a small bowl, and drizzle in the olive oil,
whisking to make an emulsion. Add the thyme
and salt and pepper to taste, and an additional
tablespoon of water if needed to make more
sauce.
As the vegetables are removed from the grill,
chop the onion (the inside may not be fully
cooked and that’s OK), and cut the rest of the
veggies into nice-sized cubes, and place in a
large bowl. The pepper skin will be charred and
can be kept or removed.
Pour the dressing over the vegetables while
still warm and toss gently. Add the fresh basil
leaves to the vegetables, and stir. Adjust salt
and pepper for seasoning and serve, hot, room
temperature or chilled.
Nutrition information per serving: 126
calories; 49 calories from fat; 5 g fat (1 g
saturated; 0 g trans fats); 0 mg cholesterol; 14
mg sodium; 19 g carbohydrate; 7 g fiber; 11 g
sugar; 4 g protein.