Kitchen Dharma
I’m not a graphic designer. I used to be a graphic designer, but that was back in the days when we did things with X-Acto knives and Rapidograph pens. I still think like a designer though, so when I got the idea to do this DharmaTown website, I knew exactly how I wanted it to look. But I also knew how much time it would take and how much money it was going to cost.
I didn’t have the money.
I’m not a designer, but I do work for a graphics company and we design web sites all the time. But it didn’t feel right to ask for a freebie. I’m friendly with one of the designers who does work on the weekends, but even at freelance rates, I knew it would cost more than I had.
Then I thought….hmmm….I don’t have money, but I do have time. And energy.
And I can cook!
So we made a deal. She would build the website and for every hour of design time she put in, I would spend an hour cooking for her family. (I also offered babysitting time, but the cooking deal seemed to work out better.)
It needed to be food that I could bring to the office, that she could heat up when she got home, so I made New Zealand Sweet Potato Chowder, Four-Alarm Veggie Chili, a double batch of Sicilian Caponata, Wild Mushroom and Barley Stew, and a ton of Rafael’s Pasta Sauce with Artichokes Hearts.
And now we have DharmaTown.
Bon Appetit!