Organic food complements organic exhibit

("Sunny-Side Up" by Michael Gallo Farrell was part of the exhibit; see, food is art, too!)

The opening reception for "An Organic Octave Overture" was a lot of fun, with good food topping off some stellar photography, if I do say so myself. The opening Saturday, Oct. 18, 2008, at Mill Street Loft in Poughkeepsie went off without a hitch. (Thanks to all our good friends and family for pitching in to make this happen!) There was also great music to go along with the celebration — food, music, family and friends were all part of the theme of Michael's exhibit.

The show runs through Nov. 20, so if you didn't get a chance to come to the opening, you can still see the exhibit at Mill Street Loft Gallery, 45 Pershing Ave.



I did the catering for the event, and let me tell you, I give those who do this for a living a lot of credit! The key to putting something like this together is pairing homemade dishes with some store-bought items. Good crackers, bread, cheeses, olives, nuts, fruit, stuffed grape leaves and a locally prepared dill dip were perfect complements to the dishes I made, which included three types of cold pasta salads, bruschetta, hummus, salsa, chili con queso and tabouleh. It was a labor of love, though, which took a lot of planning and budgeting of time on my part. Ethnic vegetarian foods were featured, with desserts provided by The Groovy Baker, whose philosophy on baking emulates the organic theme of the show.

I worried there would not be enough food to feed the guests, but that was not the case. There was plenty to go around. And the leftovers are being enjoyed by friends and co-workers, so nothing went to waste. Some people asked me if I catered for a living, so I guess it looked good, too!

Here are some scenes from Saturday's opening reception:

What's a party without good food?

You can't miss with homemade hummus, veggies and pita bread as a satisfying dip.

Lisa, aka The Groovy Baker, made a beautiful assortment of cupcakes in fall flavors such as pumpkin spice, apple, cranberry, carrot-raspberry and, of course, chocolate, which is a flavor for all seasons!

Pesto-White Bean spread was a delicious base for bruschetta, topped with the last of my garden tomatoes. (Thanks to Lenore for doing all the spreading and topping!) See the pretty calendulas and nasturtium flowers and leaves? The kids had a blast decorating the plates with the edible flowers and leaves, which made their way onto everything on the table, including some of the cupcakes.

A big bowl of tabouleh was surrounded by dolmades, stuffed grape leaves, which I bought already prepared.

This cold sesame sauce is a winner of a recipe. I usually make it with soba noodles, but I used pasta shells for this because I did not want people to work too hard at twirling their food! I've featured this recipe before on the blog. Click here for our friend Gary's Sesame Sauce. It's really good.

Our friend Bruce Wheeler, who also performed during the reception, makes these awesome "gitzzas," a pizza peel in the shape of a guitar. The peel was a perfect perch for olives, nuts and grissini, which no antipasti should be without. Now, that's food that rocks!

Some long shots of the table — and I was worried I wouldn't be able to fill it!

One of Michael's students, Katie, made a big batch of homemade pizzelles for the party. There she is (in the blue dress) unwrapping them at the table. What a sweetheart!

I was so glad the frost did not kill off all the flowers in my garden, which were the highlight of the centerpieces and the most fun part of my preparations. Thanks to my neighbors, Carol and Bill, for providing me with the dahlias, because mine pooped out this year!

Bruce Wheeler opened the reception with some beautiful acoustic guitar music. Thanks, Bruce!

Greg Douglas sings vocals with Lost Dog Woody (left to right, Mike Persely lead guitar; Pete Conklin, bass; Steve Heller, drums; and Danny Sheehan, rhythm guitar). These musicians were really great. They had a wonderful set of songs that included music by The Band, Keb' 'Mo, Delbert McClinton and NRBQ, among others. Greg's cover of Rick Danko's "It Makes No Difference" brought tears to my eyes. Michael had many photographs in the show of members of The Band from over the years, so the music was a fitting tribute.

Sam Leonard and his mom, Amy, peruse the photos.

Congressman Maurice Hinchey, D-Hurley, a friend of the arts, showed up at the reception at Mill Street Loft. That's him on the left with Michael. Te Amo, Michael, I'm very proud of you!