Rat-tat-tat-atouille

As you know from previous posts, the foodie of the crew works at a local arts center that offers amazing classes and equally amazing exhibits.

One such exhibit opens this Sunday, September 19th...BRAD HOWE: Art in
Motion An Exhibition of Moving Masterpieces. Even though I consider myself to be a creative sort, my work is prosaic compared to some of the work I have the good fortune to see each week at the center. Although indeed hokey, it is none-the-less functional, unless you count the sweater on which I am still working (and will post an update soon). Anyway, the exhibit that opens Sunday showcases the artist's mobiles....I am very anxious to see it.

Alexander Calder (1928 – 1976), considered the father of the mobile – he was an artist with some engineering training – has crafted some of the most highly recognized mobiles and a very famous example, Ghosts, hangs in the Philadelphia Museum of Art. As a matter of fact if you look down the Benjamin Franklin Parkway from the main Museum steps, one can see two other Calders…the statue of William Penn that sits atop of Philadelphia’s City Hall was sculpted by his grandfather, Alexander Milne Calder. The Swann Fountain in Logan Circle is the work of his father, Alexander Stirling Calder.


We had dinner at the foodie's house and she made ratatouille…a French word meaning to “mix up.” She roasted eggplant, zucchini, peppers, onions and mushrooms, diced them up and threw them in a huge (and lovely) Le Creuset pot with tomatoes, herb de provence, olive oil and garlic and simmered the mixture for 15 minutes. She served the melodious mixture over pasta with fresh basil and a slice of mozzarella. We also had a salad and, of
course, wine that, along with the “Italian Summer” cocktail (gin, ruby-red grapefruit juice, ginger syrup, fresh lime, a splash of tonic, and basil) we had before dinner were responsible for the stitches I dropped when I tried to knit...I should have known better.

As always, a delightful time…will post mobile photos after the exhibit.

Mobile image from bradhowe.com