Hillsdale Art Fest

Today and tomorrow, I am exhibiting my paintings at the Hillsdale Art Fest in Hillsdale, NY. It is an event sponsored by the Columbia County Council on the Arts. It’s always so much fun to meet other artists and see what they’ve been creating, what they feel they need to express to the world. I have been trying to abstract landscapes. It’s hard. I don’t know why it’s so hard but it is. I feel I am making progress but I am not yet there, to my satisfaction. My medium is acrylic and for sketches I prefer pastels or watercolors.

Our good friends Margaret and Wayne came to visit us at the Art Fest and brought us the news that their dear friend and young colleague, 47 years old, dropped dead of a heart attack on the street outside of his house in Brooklyn, after going for a morning run. He wanted to make sure he was back in time to take his 10-year old daughter to her first day of school.

Shock, grief, disbelief. How could this happen? We knew this young man as well. We were all together in Vancouver at a conference this time last year.

So Margaret said they are coping and one way to cope is to cook a meal and have friends over for dinner. We are those lucky friends and went to their house tonight for dinner. She said she needs to cook to occupy herself, and keep her mind on something else. As Molly O’Neill said at Longhouse, cooking a meal orders her. There is a beginning, a middle and an end.

Cooking and conversations about food are great unifiers. I recently had a lunch scheduled with a woman from a competitive brand design firm. I had the idea that perhaps we could partner on some large government projects. At the last minute, she was called into a meeting so she sent two of her colleagues, whom I had never met, to meet me for lunch. It was an odd set of circumstances but okay, let’s go with the flow. So we all talked about each others’ businesses and types of work and so on. They were both very reserved and naturally cautious about revealing too much about their business. After about 30 minutes of this chit chat, I casually mentioned that I have a food blog and pulled out my LOVE business cards. Well, I want you to know, their facial expressions, posture and attitude changed immediately. They wanted to tell me about their cooking, their kid’s cooking, what was in their pantry and favorite recipes. It was a change so drastic, it was palpable. It was so lovely!

After I returned to the office, I received a call from the woman I was supposed to have lunch with and she was exuberant about how these two ladies came back and couldn’t stop talking about my food blog! I’m telling you, we should all break bread with our challengers and rivals. Everyone has to eat. Food is the great connector and equalizer. Margaret needed to cook for friends to bring some order back into her life. Here’s her beautiful meal from tonight.

Greek casserole pastitsio combines béchamel, pasta, ground lamb, tomato sauce, cheese, cinnamon and nutmeg. Super homey, yummy and delicious! This is not Margaret’s recipe, but this gives you an idea of this dish.

 A delicious beet and fennel salad.

I hope you’re eating great food cooked with LOVE and that this blog helps you do that.