The launch of Artists Around Grandma's Table work-group

For the record: Artists Around Grandma's Table had their/our first meeting on May 22nd 2011 between 6:00 and 8:30 at 18 Reasons on Guerrero St, San Francisco.

Present around the table were Amanda, Lena, Betsy, Olivia, Marsh and myself (missing Deirdre and Neha), and we, but of course, met around
a lot of food:

sticks of cherry tomatoes, mozzarella ball-itos, spinach leaf
arugula salad
goat cheese herb spread
lentil salad 
labaneh balls
zaatar mix and olive oil
black honey and tahini mix
and fresh bread of course--did i miss anything?
and chocolate chip cookies (including caramelised ginger, pepper, nuts and bacon fat--am i right?)
naturally there was wine.
and a flowing river of conversation.

We will meet again on Monday June the 6th 2011 and see how each one of us imagines the illustration of our conversations in their art practice.

I often think about my grandmothers: sometimes in relation to my relationship with my own mother, sometimes in regards to a dish,  a smell, a piece of clothing and sometimes because the conversation invites the thought.

I had two very different grandmothers, one, my maternal, was born in Damascus an ancient city with a rich cuisine, my paternal was born and had died in the same small village (well, when she died, the village had become an extension of the nearby city), cooking was very much a practical means to feeding--although often beyond yummy.

My maternal grandmother, when we met every Friday at 2:00 pm sharp around her amazing gastronomic beautiful table, would say: "i made all this in ten minutes." We all thought of Ranjani and knew who really did all the picking, chopping, washing, sieving, broiling, boiling, frying--you get the picture. Yeas later, my grandmother saved all her energy for the trip from the couch to the dining table; Ranjani, who had been living with her for 20 years, did not need her in the kitchen anymore and she often included a Sri Lankan dish made especially for my vegetarian sister. My paternal grandmother, after we finished a meal would pile all the left overs into one dish for later. She made very little fuss over food, even the most elaborate of dishes, and she always had the best yogurt to scoop up in fresh bread with a glass of mint tea, a standard snack upon arrival to her house.
 
salute to you grandmothers whatever you are cooking right now, wherever you are.

I am going to make something to eat for this event, what? 
oh this is so exciting!