Art, Everywhere
Art isn’t confined to just paintings; it’s a vibrant force that ignites passion and tugs at our hearts. Inspire Your Heart with Art Day is asking you to dive deep into art and discover the artist’s message.
Art is found everywhere … in paintings, books, music, movies, and drama. And guess what? On this day, it’s not just about canvases and sculptures – you can throw some food into the mix! Explore the artistry in a beautifully plated dish, the poetry of flavors in a meal, or the drama of a perfectly crafted dessert.
Wherever you find it, approach art with an open heart. Let it sweep you off your feet and watch as it transforms your perspective on everything. Art satiates our hunger for harmony and balance, creating a powerful connection among people. It’s a language that transcends words, breaking down barriers and makes a profound impact on our lives.
Food Photography Inspired
On this Inspire Your Heart with Art Day, I invite you to share my artistic indulgence and explore the delicious graphic artistry that I include in my series, You Can Cook Any THING.
When I charged Nick Elia with creating a graphic image for each of over 300 recipes in the five volumes, I thought he’d come back to me with a couple of depictions per recipe.
Instead, he came back with 30 to 50 images per! To say I was immersed in food art would be an understatement of gigantic proportions.
But, what a task it was.
It made me hungry, and happy and delighted and even more inspired to create a yummy, picture-perfect dish.
I took his art and dove deep into what he saw in each recipe. I used this to make the recipe better. And it did!
Here’s an example of our process.
Here are just a few of Nic’s images, and the recipe follows.
AI Food Art
Which of these will inspire you?
ZUCCHINI NOODLES WITH PESTO AND RICOTTA CHEESE
Makes about 4 cups
Time To Prepare
20 minutes ‘til it’s ready
Ingredients
For Pesto:
- 2 cups fresh basil leaves
- 1 cup fresh spinach leaves
- ½ cup pine nuts, toasted
- 4 gloves garlic, peeled
- 4 ounces grated Parmesan cheese, about ½ cup
- 1 teaspoon coarse salt
- 1 teaspoon coarse pepper
- ½ cup olive oil
For Zucchini:
- 2 large zucchinis, spiralized into long curly “noodles”
- 2 tablespoons ricotta cheese
Directions
Place the basil, spinach, pine nuts, garlic, and Parmesan cheese into the bowl of a food processor (or blender). Pulse to emulsify. Season with salt and pepper. With the machine running, slowly pour in the olive oil to form a paste.
Bring a pot of water to boil. Season generously with salt. Cook the zucchini until just crisp-tender, about 2 to 3 minutes. Drain and return to the pot. Turn off the heat. Stir in two tablespoons pesto.
The pesto will melt over the zucchini. You can add more pesto if you like. Transfer to a serving bowl and dollop ricotta cheese over the top.
