Martha Stewart - Move Over!

Sunday was my first opportunity to do a little entertaining in my new condo. It was a co-workers birthday and I invited her over for a little lunch before heading to a fundraiser for the Rhinebeck Chamber Music Society - but that's another story.

Mary Ann is the Director of Human Resources and was welcoming before I even got the job! She's a real sweetie and invited me on a few forays while I was living in the hotel. She lost her Dad suddenly in December and has been struggling since. Her mother passed away a few years ago and her Dad had moved in with her and her then husband. Two years ago the lout left her and she and her Dad had developed an easy routine. When he passed suddenly, I think that was the straw for Mary Ann. It's been tough, and this is her first birthday without real family. Needless to say, folks at work tried to make it as special as we could. Lunch at Caterina de Medici - her favorite on campus restaurant and a fabulous cannoli cake while singing raucous versions of Happy Birthday.

So invited her to join me at the fundraiser and stop by for a snack first. So here's the Martha Stewart part.... I haven't really been doing too much cooking as there's so much good food available at work. I decided to fuss a little.

I started by making Lavender Lemonade (thanks, Ellen, for the beautiful lavender from "up north" - put it to good use! The house smelled wonderful of course, as it simmered in a simple syrup. I found Sicilian lemon juice at the grocery store, so that added a lovely fresh lemon taste without squeezing a half dozen lemons. Next I found some baby artichokes and prepared them to use in a salad. Funny how little they end up once you take the outer leaves off and steam them. Seems like an awful lot of waste, but they sure were tasty.

I made an olive and anchovy dressing with fresh basil and shallots in the blender. Haven't made dressing from scratch in forever - it really is easy and tastes so good! I also blanched asparagus for the salad and used arugula and baby spinach as the base. Topped with goat's milk feta and some fresh ground pepper and yummy!

I baked a gluten free carrot cake dusted with powdered sugar and found some cute candles to top it off. What was also fun was finding my mother's beautiful lemonade/ice tea pitcher to use, along with the fabulous hand-painted dishes from my sister Diane for the salad. Needless to say, Mary Ann felt pretty special and I'm thrilled to be a part of her celebration of life. She had brought a little housewarming gift and the card said - "Glad your life's journey has brought you here."

So I'm beginning to figure who I am outside of the CIA. That's the next part of the journey for me. I'm really clear about who I am at work, but there's more to life than work and I need to figure that part out as well. Our participation at the Chamber Music Society fundraiser was a step in the right direction, and last weekend, besides the trip to the City with the students, I went on a walking tour of the public art in Poughkeepsie. It was sponsored by a local gallery owned by a fellow Italian who supports the "come back" of Poughkeepsie. Seems when IBM pulled out a big chunk of operations here, the City suffered and the downtown area has some real blighted areas. Of course there will always be artists and those brave few who stay involved even when the rest of us head for the hills. Thank God for them.

Mary Ann bid on tickets to the New York Philharmonic, performing at the Bardavon theatre in Poughkeepsie, and I bid on the wine and cheese package and the sushi restaurant gift certificate. Looks like I'm finding my path outside of work, but somehow it still involves food and wine. Gosh - it's a tough life. giggle

Ciao for now!