An Abundant Life - Recipes For Life

A few weeks ago I wrote about the wonderful cookbook that Chef Seadon Shouse, the Executive Chef at Halifax Hoboken, had written. It is such a beautiful book and he is such a wonderful Chef that I put a copy in YES Gallery because the book itself and his culinary creations are art that I want to celebrate and share with others. A little while after that I made a reservation to have lunch at Halifax, and I saw that he would be having a book launch celebration at the restaurant. I made a reservation for that immediately because I knew it would be a wonderful evening that I would want to attend, to enjoy his wonderful food and the wonderful experience of being at an event at Halifax, and to celebrate this wonderful accomplishment of this wonderful Chef.

This past week I attended the book launch, and I'd been so excited about it that even though it was a very busy week, it was hard to keep my focus on anything else. I kept thinking about what a wonderful Chef he is and that the celebration for this beautiful book would be such a beautiful and special experience. An evening filled with tastings of the recipes and a beautiful atmosphere that is always a part of everything he has created at Halifax, wonderful flavors and scents and textures and an evening of celebration for the wonderful history of this wonderful Chef are the recipe for a truly memorable evening.

The menu selections were all so wonderful that I could have been happy having them every day. Roasted Oysters, Periwinkle Toast and a Hodgpodge that were all so beautifully flavorful and served in such a lovely way that invited enjoyment of every taste, broccoli, scallops with sea truffle, a beautiful bread, lovely selections of cheeses and house smoked meats, beach plum Negroni's and Benjamin Bridge sparkling wine, and a lovely dessert that was wonderful with the house made vermouth, each one so full of goodness and with scents and colors so enticing that they brought a truly holistic enjoyment of this marvelous celebration of a life creating the artistry of food. There were bottles of the gorgeous vermouth for guests to bring home, something that is such a lovely touch and also a wonderful addition to any meal that can make it a truly special one.

Learning more about this wonderful Chef and his history and the way he views the culinary art he creates is a joy, and along with the art of hospitality that is also part of what he shares with those of us lucky enough to have the opportunity to visit a restaurant where he is creating his beautiful art, the experience on every sensory level is truly special. I'm so grateful for the opportunity to know this Chef and to have been given a glimpse into the wonderful life he lives creating recipes and food and art that make life more beautiful.

"From The Hill By The Sea"

By Chef Seadon Shouse

Cookbook And Memoir Launch

At Halifax Hoboken

Hodgepodge, Roasted Oysters And Periwinkle Toast

With A Beach Plum Negroni

A Delicious Dessert With House Made Vermouth

And A Glass of Benjamin Bridge

And The View Just Outside

On The Hoboken Waterfront Walkway

Blessings,

Jannie Susan

An Abundant Life - Luxurious Red

I wrote a few weeks ago in the post A Beautiful New Year about the one year anniversary celebration at YES Gallery and some of the wonderful people who were there and helped make it such a beautiful experience. One of those people, Ivonne Camacho, had invited me a few weeks before that to an event she was hosting at The Friki Tiki in Manhattan for the Marco Maranghello Cover Launch of the magazine RED The Luxury Life. That event was a truly star studded one, full of beautiful people and in a beautiful place, and it was an honor to be invited and included in it. The magazine is a spectacular one, and when I heard from Ivonne that I was in one of the photographs that had been chosen from the evening as part of the section on the cover launch celebration, I was honored and delighted to see that not only was I part of it, but the photograph was such a beautiful and fun and joyful one created by the photographic Artist Victor Kaminski who I wrote about in my post about the one year anniversary at YES Gallery and who was one of the photographers at the beautiful Cover Launch event. When I began to see other images from the magazine, I decided that I needed to order a copy to have at YES Gallery for visitors to see and browse through. It's really such a very special magazine and so filled with beautiful art and fashion and design that it fits right in with all of the things that I love and want to share with others.

Ivonne Camacho has created a business model that is admirable because she not only works with the highest quality of luxury brands and people who are part of the fashion, film, theater, art and design industries, but she also is herself a person of the highest quality who attracts clients and friends who are people you can feel comfortable with while still being elevated because they are people of integrity and style, who work hard and are so skilled and excellent in all that they do. Being a part of this magazine and having been a part of that beautiful cover launch evening are really beautiful dreams come true, blessings and gifts that are honors and memories that make me feel so special. It's with so much gratitude to Ivonne that I share this image and invite you to visit YES Gallery to see the magazine, or even better yet I'll share the link so you can purchase copies of your own.

RED The Luxury Life

Marco Maranghello Cover Launch Issue

August 2023

Photograph By Victor Kaminski

Jannie Wolff, Tinu, Ivonne Camacho, Katia Biassou

To Order The Magazine:

https://www.blurb.com/b/11471961-red-the-luxury-life

View The Event Video On IMDB

https://www.imdb.com/video

Blessings,

Jannie Susan

 

An Abundant Life - The Art Of Fashion

I was on my way to a gallery opening in one of the gallery buildings where I've gone to many shows over the years and where I also did a big art opening event in 2019 that I wrote about at the time. I know so many of the galleries in the building and so many of the gallery owners and Artists, and I always enjoy going to that building for shows because I always see beautiful art and familiar faces and have a wonderful time. It had been a while since I'd been there for a show because of my own schedule with YES Gallery and other projects, and the gallery I was planning to visit for the opening was one that I hadn't been to in over a year. I"d stopped by at one point a while ago to say hello, but this was the first time I'd had a chance to go and celebrate with them in what felt like a very long time, and I was looking forward to seeing them and visiting during the opening celebration.

The day that I was going to the gallery for the opening I planned to stop by one of my favorite thrift stores that is nearby. I hadn't had much time to go there over the past year and they were having an end of the season sale so I scheduled enough time to stop in on my way to the gallery. They were having some difficulty with their cash register and the online systems were down, so I was finished earlier than I'd planned because I would need to return another day. The gallery where I was going to afterward is owned by people I have become very friendly with over the years, and so usually if they are there I can stop by before the actual opening time even if they are still setting up. The building also has so many other galleries that I thought I might wander around a bit too, but then when I arrived at the address I noticed that there was a door opened to the side of the entrance I usually go into and there was lots of very interesting clothing hung on racks for sale inside.

I decided to browse a bit, expecting it to be very expensive because it all looked very beautiful and stylish and well made, but then when I started to look at prices I saw that they were very reasonable. The very lovely woman who greeted me was very nice and friendly, and she let me try on a few things that I was holding up to look at more closely. We started talking more, and because it was gallery night in Chelsea and in that building, she put out some refreshments too. I kept thinking that I needed to get to the gallery opening so that I could go home fairly early, but I was having such an enjoyable time I kept staying longer to continue to talk. The dresses I tried on were both wonderful, and I could have tried on many more things and wanted to buy them all, but I chose one knowing that I'd be back again because this has become my favorite new boutique. The owner told me it's just a pop-up but I hope that she'll be there much longer. Her wonderful store reminds me of the beautiful and unique places I used to find in New York when I first moved there, and she herself is such a lovely person it is fun just to visit and talk. It's an art to know how to style clothing and to present it in a space, and she has created such a wonderful environment to explore and shop. To find it in a gallery building where I have enjoyed so many creative experiences over the years seems like a very special and precious new gift.

A New Dress

From Sabine's Pop Up Boutique

547 West 27th Street

New York City

https://instagram.com/sabinespopupboutique

Blessings,

Jannie Susan

An Abundant Life - On The Terrace

Several weeks ago I wrote about a visit to the Baccarat Hotel and Executive Chef Ashfer Biju and a wonderful afternoon tea I had in the Grand Salon. At the time the weather was still a bit early for sitting outside, but I read about their outdoor seating area Le Jardin and I wanted to find a time to visit again and experience a lunch there.

The Summer has been so busy with all that has been happening at YES Gallery and also with other projects, but it had been on my mind to visit Chef Ashfer Biju again and I wanted to try to get there before the end of August because I had read about some of the lobster items he has on the menu and lobster is such a favorite of mine. As the days went by it didn't seem as if I'd be able to find a time, but then just after the one year anniversary celebration of YES Gallery I realized I had a few days before Labor Day that would be possible to find an afternoon to take a trip into Manhattan and relax over a leisurely late lunch.

Le Jardin opens at 4pm and is first come first served, so I planned to arrive around 3:30pm to make sure I could find a table. It's such a lovely little oasis in an area next to the beautiful bar, and though it's on a terrace over a midtown street, it seems as if it's in another much quieter and lovelier world. The plantings are simple and romantically pretty, with verdant jasmine climbing on topiaries and white geraniums softly blooming, and on the day I went it was just the loveliest temperature to be outside, warm with a pleasant light breeze with shady places to sit in the afternoon sunshine.

As before the service was stellar, with some familiar faces who remembered me from my previous visit even though it had been a quite a while before. The menu is lovely an I could have tried so many things, but I chose the cold Maine lobster strawberry gazpacho, a caesar salad and a lobster roll that arrived with wonderful fried pickle slices instead of the usual French fries. I'm a fan of fries, but the pickles were a lovely, delicious and fun choice, and made it possible for me to eat everything and still have room for a luxurious dessert of chocolate fondant which is now one of my favorite desserts of all time.

I could easily return to this beautiful place again and again, and I'm looking forward and hoping for a mild fall that will make it possible to enjoy this beautiful terrace. Sitting in the garden is always a favorite place for me, and as the days grow shorter and the sunlight becomes more mellow and golden, Le Jardin will continue to be a place to relax and dream lovely dreams.

Lunch In Le Jardine

At The Baccarat Hotel New York

Executive Chef Ashfer Biju

https://www.baccarathotels.com/

Blessings,

Jannie Susan

 

An Abundant Life - A Beautiful New Year

A few weeks ago I went to a beautiful event at the marvelous Friki Tiki that I was invited to by the gorgeous Ivonne Camacho. It was a Cover Launch for the magazine, "Red The Luxury Life" by Sandra Smith Doghmi, with PR and Marketing by Ivonne Camacho and her company AbsolutModerne that featured Marco Maranghello and so many illustrious and wonderful people in fashion, design, entertainment and the arts that the room was a glittering dreamscape of so much loveliness and style. That evening I met the gorgeous Carole Garber, and our photograph was taken by the marvelous Victor Kaminski. When I reposted the photograph with the true gratitude I felt for having the beautiful memory from that beautiful night, I was in the process of planning for the one year anniversary of YES Gallery and that evening at Friki Tiki and the beautiful photograph Victor Kaminski created with the gorgeous Carole Garber and me enjoying the evening began connecting us all together in a lovely way that because of all of their kindness and generosity brought Ivonne and Victor out to YES Gallery for the one year anniversary celebration.

It would have been a gift enough to have them take the time to attend and share time with me at the celebration because I know how busy they are, but not only did they take the time for a visit, Victor created the most beautiful photographs of the evening and his presence and Ivonne's and the friends that Ivonne brought with her along with the beautiful way she has of connecting everyone together and making everything feel so special made the evening not only memorable, but like a dream come true. I felt like a princess, and the event that was already such a special one to me was made even more special by the time and support and love they shared that evening and afterward.

There were so many beautiful people there that night, with music and a visual installation by the marvelous Visionary Module and live painting by the marvelous Marcio Donasci keeping the flow of people inside and outside enjoying art of all kinds. I read a short story that I had written many years ago as a monologue at first, but when it was too long for that I had put it aside and forgotten about it until I was looking through my files and trying to decide what to read that evening. Titled "Presents of the Actor" it speaks of the heartaches and joys of following our creative dreams, and though it focuses on acting, I thought when I reread it after all these years that it could speak to anyone who is an Artist of any kind. I heard afterward that it did resonate, and people told me they were moved by it, and it was such a joy for me to read it in that space at this time as I look back to the time that I wrote it and reflected on where the road has taken me up until now.

The past year at YES Gallery has been so filled with beautiful people sharing their beautiful gifts and inspiration and blessings to help make that beautiful place possible, and the one year anniversary celebration was even more beautiful than I could have imagined. With so much gratitude I thank Ivonne and Victor, Visionary Module and Marcio Donasci, and all of the beautiful people who were there on that beautiful evening to help ring in a new year and make it such a special celebration!

With The Beautiful Ivonne Camacho

At YES Gallery

Photograph By The Marvelous Victor Kaminski

 A Glimpse of the Evening

With Music and Visual Installation By

The Marvelous Visionary Module

Live Painting By The Marvelous Marcio Donasci

And Event Photography By The Marvelous Victor Kaminski

Blessings,

Jannie Susan

An Abundant Life - Lovely Recipes

I've written about Chef Seadon Shouse in these pages before, and also about Halifax, the restaurant in Hoboken where I met him where he in the Executive Chef. As I've written in the past, every experience at  Halifax is a beautiful one, and the design of the restaurant itself which is a creation of Chef Shouse is part of what makes it so enjoyable. The food that I've had there at events and dinners and lunches and brunches has always been as lovely to look at as it is wonderful to taste, with even the scents of it adding to the over all experience of freshness, goodness, light and life. The times that I have been blessed to be at Halifax are some of the most happy and holistically enjoyable and fulfilling, and it's always a place where I am happy to be.

A few weeks ago I saw a post on Chef Shouse's Instagram page about a cookbook and memoir he had just published. When I saw that it was available at Halifax among other places, I sent him a message that I'd be in as soon as possible and that if he was available and had the time I'd love to have a signed copy. We arranged an afternoon, and I was able to pick up my book and see him for a few moments. He's always so busy with the many projects he's working on that it was an added blessing to have some time to say hello and speak with him.

The book itself is a work of art, with wonderful people who were part of putting it together. From the photographs to the layout to the color of it and even the title, it's something that is a treasure to have. There are recipes in it that are some of the things that I love to have at Halifax, including his Lobster Pasta that I always tell people I almost always order every time I am there.

Although I love to cook, most likely I will continue to go to Halifax to enjoy the creations that he makes and the special experience of being there, but having this lovely book give a lovely insight into the Chef and his vision and the way he thinks about food. I've put the copy of the book in YES Gallery with a note that it is part of the gallery collection and is not for sale but that it is available at Halifax. It seems so right that this work of art by a Chef who is always creating beautiful works of art and design in his restaurants and in the food he creates would be a part of YES Gallery. If it's not there when you stop by, it's because I have it at home, being inspired by his stories and his recipes and the beautiful way he sees the culinary world around us.

"From The Hill By The Sea"

By Chef Seadon Shouse

Available at Halifax Hoboken

Blessings,

Jannie Susan

An Abundant Life - Into The Garden

A few months ago I wrote about an introduction to Hudson County Commissioner Anthony L. Romano and how through our conversation about my work in the community and the current project I'm developing with a group of people from around the world, "Education = Power In Choice (EPIC): Empowering Communities Through Food System Education" I was introduced to some of the wonderful people working within the Hudson Country Department of Health and Human Services and their network of outreach for alleviating, addressing and overcoming food insecurity. Some of the people I was introduced to work with Rutgers Cooperative Extension, and I wrote an update about that wonderful meeting a few weeks ago. Continuing on from that I was then introduced to the Garden Director for the 4-H Family Learning Garden in Lincoln Park, and I was blessed and honored to attend a family learning event there this past week.

Gardening is near and dear to my heart, and so much of the work that I have done in the community has focused around a garden in some way or another. I started a community garden in NYCHA Housing when I was the Director of an after school program on Manhattan's Lower East Side, and that led to my being introduced to NYC Cooperative Extension where I taught community nutrition education, many times bringing gardening programs and community gardens into the educational model and bringing guests of the programs out into the neighborhood gardens whenever possible. Learning about where food comes from is such an important empowerment tool, and helping people to understand that they can grow their own food is life giving and inspiring in so many ways. Spending time in the garden is healthy for mind, body and spirit, and having access to healthy food in a healthy environment can affect every aspect of well being for the better.

The afternoon I spent in the 4-H Family Learning Garden was transformative for me, reminding me of my own history and why I do the work that I do and why I develop the programs and projects I develop. Seeing the families and adults and children together in the garden is such a beautiful experience, and the garden itself is so full of goodness that every moment feels like you're in another and more beautiful place than you were when you walked in.

I was given a gift that day of a Holy Basil plant, and it's scenting my home and YES Gallery now because it was so big that I was able to divide it into two planters. The plant itself is beautiful to see and to smell and to use in food and tisanes, and the history it has of where it came from and that beautiful visit to the 4-H Family Learning Garden in that lovely park brings memories of a beautiful afternoon with beautiful people in the community every time the scent wafts through the air.

In Lincoln Park

On A Visit to the 4-H Family Learning Garden

Jersey City, New Jersey

Blessings,

Jannis Susan