FOOD AS INSPIRATION

The invitation came with such a simple phone call. "Hey Mo, do you want to go to the movie Monday night...'Julie and Julia'?" Although she wanted to see it, she had a prior commitment with her dinner club. And suddenly I was on the receiving end of the invitation - as her guest at an evening with well known food fans. "But", she told me, "curry is our special ingredient, and you'll have to bring something to share."
Of course I was on. I had been in a food mood with my most recent piece "Friday's feast" (perhaps influenced with a bit of Catholic upbringing?). I had such fun with the colors, the arrangement of the table setting, the discharging of the fish skeleton and the border, and stitching the recipe onto the background. What other food and fabric marriage could I perform? Maybe the upcoming evening would bring me inspiration...
It was an amazing evening...a warm and welcoming setting, hosted by Linda and Bill. The eight courses were each a sensual feast...not only full of warm and complex curry flavors, each unique, but presented as eight visual feasts too. Those curry smells... the earthy colors... the rich tastes from another part of the world......mmmmm, I was in food heaven. Our evening went like this:

There were FOUR fabulous courses of appetizers: chinese dumplings with ginger curry sauce, pear-squash soup, salad with chicken and curried peanut dressing, orange-avocado-jicama salad with curry vinagarette, and don't forget the wine. Three main dishes wow-ed our group: grilled Thai green curry prawns, balti chicken, and a chicken curry to die for. Yes, more wine. And to top it off, amazing chocolate curry cupcakes with curry ice cream! This meal was not only over the top, but such a treat for those of us who have been inundated with the flavors of Mexico - of which we certainly get our fair share. To put it simply...my mouth was happy.

After such a lovely evening with old and new friends, my heart was happy too!

As for inspiration for another fabric piece, I may have to go for the grilled Thai green curry shrimp....the fringe from the shawl across the table, the spiral at the ends of the cutlery, the swirl of the bamboo plate, banana leaves, three delicately placed shrimp on a bed of rice, lemons and limes as garnish, a lovely pink flower...mmmmmm!