The artist Georgia O’Keeffe took a keen interest in health foods – believing that what you ate was important to creativity.  Delightfully, she lived to be 99, producing brilliant paintings to the end, her mind sharp as a tack.  So here are recipes for her wholemeal bread, a health shake, and Green Chillies with garlic, oil and a fried egg.

The recipes come from two books: “A Painter’s kitchen” edited by Margaret Wood, who worked as Georgia O’Keeffe’s companion and cook for 5 years – and “Dinner with Georgia

O’Keeffe: Recipes, art and landscape” by Robyn Lea, a well-researched book on the artist’s foods.  The latter book features 50 recipes drawn from Georgia’s own handwritten notes on recipes books, and her instructions to caterers.

Georgia O’Keeffe chose to live very much in her own style, settling in New Mexico, and organising the kitchen and garden so that there were organic vegetables to eat.  Her paintings show an awareness of the land, nature, living close to the earth and the beauty of simplicity.

The cooking is re-enacted for the video in a light, easy-to-follow humorous style.  In between the cooking, there is a time for a short but well-done overview of O’Keeffe’s life and works – with pictures!  A rather brilliant introduction to her work, if you’re not already in the know.

Spoiler alert: there are a few minutes of advertising for financial support at the end.

There’s no actual thematic link – but I don’t suppose it would hurt to listen to the song “Georgia on my mind” by Ray Charles while you’re cooking.  As a little amuse-le-chef.