Willow Tree Designs

Kathy McDonald of Willow Tree Designs lives in Manitoba, Canada.  I "meet" Kathy through an Etsy team called Studio Potter Archives.  She creates jewelry and pottery, both for sale in her etsy shop called "Adornyourself".  I asked Kathy about the relationship she has between the food she eats and the pottery she makes ...

"I think I gravitated to making functional pottery so I could have something to serve the food in." says Kathy

"I love to grow things and my relationship with growing, harvesting and preparing food began several decades ago when I was growing up on a small mixed farm. Pretty much everything we ate came from the farm and our huge garden. My dad even ground up the wheat, flax and oats for our morning cereal and our bread."

"I was the eldest of 6 and much of the food preparation was my job, so I became acquainted first hand with things like butchery, baking bread, cakes and pies as well as canning and preserving. It was an integral part of my life then and still is to this day."

Kathy glazes her pottery in warm and earthy tones.  So much of her inspiration is found in the prairie landscape that surrounds her home. She works hard to ensure that all of her functional pottery can withstand the rigors of everyday use.  

"I'm a mix of Slavic and Scot descent so I have both of those cooking traditions to look back to. I still have my mother's, both grandmothers',and a great grandmother's cookbooks and between them, they likely represent a century of cooking."
 
Zucchini Tomato Bake
Recipe by Kathy McDonald of Willow Tree Designs

2 small zucchini
2 small ripe tomatoes
½ cup basil leaves
½ cup feta cheese
½ cup mozzarella or Monterey Jack cheese (grated)
¼ tsp salt
¼ tsp pepper
½ cup flour
4 tblsp olive oil
½ cup fine bread crumbs

1. Cut zucchini into ¼ inch slices ,add salt and pepper to flour,and coat all the slices in flour. Heat olive oil in a skillet and brown all of the zucchini. Cut tomatoes in ¼ inch slices.
2. Layer tomatoes , zucchini, basil and cheeses in a baking dish finishing with a mozza cheese layer, sprinkle with bread crumbs, drizzle a tiny bit more olive oil on top. 
3. Bake at 350 for about 30-40 minutes depending on how many layers you have in your baking dish.

Bake and serve this delicious recipe in Kathy's pottery pie plate pictured below:

Visit Kathy's etsy shop where you can purchase any of the featured items.  Her flickr account is a great place to visit as she includes photos of pottery and food!