If there is anything I learned from my Dad it would be that there is an art to bartering and not just anybody does it well. You may say that a lot of people trade one thing for another — what’s so unique about it? But in the art of bartering well there must be something of value, something unique and lasting; some people would do just about anything to get it. Also, there is a balance to it. It’s not just about I’ll do this or give this to you if you do that for me — there can often be a blind faith of paying it forward a little bit before you ever reap any returns. I didn’t really understand the what’s, why’s or how’s of what it took to barter well when I was young and had the opportunity to see these transactions between my Dad and others evolve and morph into other transactions of like nature — it was his natural born talent. Growing up I experienced the outcomes of my Dad’s barters but not how the transactions would go down. I mean, what was the hook? What did he say? My Dad was a dentist by profession. So he would trade his dental work in exchange for things like my beautiful antique piano. So really, what does a dentist who is willing to trade his dental services in exchange for rare, hand-carved antique pianos say? It is still a little baffling to me and I will never really know. Over the last several years of honing my own crafts — including the art of feeding my friends and family, I have come to realize my own successes at bartering. The one part of bartering that I believe I have down cold is the hook. One ginger snap, one bite of a double chocolate biscotti, a bowl of mushroom risotto — if I can get you to take a bite, I will have your attention and will draw you in — you will be back, asking what you must do for more.

I may have never met you but you know me. Your friends might be my friends. They have talked about the things I’ve cooked or baked for them; maybe they shared a nibble of something with you. And now you stand in front of me wondering if you can try that, too. Well, I want you to – not for the “glory” but because it’s a process for me. It’s the process of learning how to create these flavors and textures that I imagine and dream about. Something I may have never tasted before but I want to master it. In mastering it, well that includes others’ opinions about the mastery, ways to improve it or add a different dimension to it — like what is now Unhei’s designer cookies or Jimmie’s longing for my ginger snaps of yesteryear (I long for those too. I will figure it out. I promise.).

What does all of this have to do with the art of bartering? Well, my friends…my people are exceptionally gifted and unique in so many ways. They fill in where I have gaps…weaknesses. They take up the slack when I can’t seem to manage or figure it out. I acknowledge this more and more especially lately because I’ve been on what seems to be a never ending upward facing hill. In exchange for a helping hand, extension of my brain, a skill I’m lacking — a cookie, a meal, a something I’ve made with my hands just for you…

Bartering is ultimately a philosophy for living a textured, full-bodied, vibrant and rich life. It is not about a transaction. It’s more about lasting friendships and the offering of the best things I know how to do — a demonstration of my appreciation.

These cookies are for you. OK, these ones are for Jimmie. But the next dozen, the next batch, the next experiment…