70 and Sunny

Star Magnolia

It seems spring has sprung and just in time to celebrate Mom's 70th birthday!

First daffodil of the season in my yard.

Between the daffodils and the forsythia, yellow is everywhere.... 

(it's Mom's favorite color too!)

I have a great ap on my iphone called foodgawker.  You can search for recipes via photos.  Clicking on a photo takes you to a blog.  I typed in "Yellow" and found this delicious looking recipe that I know Mom would love for her birthday dinner.  If you click the recipe, there is a link to the blog called Big Flavors From a Tiny Kitchen.

 Salmon with Snap Peas, Yellow Peppers, and Dill-Pistachio Pistou

Bon Appétit August 2009

yield: Makes 4 servings

A chunky pistou with full pistachio flavor adds depth to this fresh salmon dish. Want even more vegetables? Slice lemon cucumbers (a wonderful farmers' market variety that looks somewhat like a yellow tomato) and add a squeeze of lemon juice and a pinch of dill to make the perfect starter.

1/3 cup chopped fresh dill

1/3 cup finely chopped green onions (about 2)

1/2 cup shelled natural pistachios or almonds, toasted, finely chopped

1/4 cup plus 1 1/2 tablespoons pistachio oil or extra-virgin olive oil

2 yellow bell peppers or orange bell peppers, cut into 1/2-inch strips

1 pound sugar snap peas, trimmed, strings removed

1 garlic clove, minced

1/4 cup water

4 6-ounce salmon fillets

Mix dill, green onions, pistachios, and 1/4 cup oil in medium bowl. Season to taste with salt and pepper. DO AHEAD: Pistou can be made 2 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature.

Heat 1/2 tablespoon oil in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add peppers and sauté until beginning to soften, about 2 minutes. Add snap peas, garlic, and 1/4 cup water; sprinkle with salt. Sauté until vegetables are just tender and water evaporates, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in 1 rounded tablespoon pistou. Transfer vegetables to platter; tent with foil to keep warm. Reserve skillet (do not clean).

Heat remaining 1 tablespoon oil in reserved skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle salmon with salt and pepper. Place salmon, skin side down, in skillet; cook until skin is crisp, about 3 minutes. Turn salmon and cook until almost opaque in center, about 3 minutes longer. Arrange salmon fillets over vegetables. Spoon some pistou down center of each fillet and serve, passing remaining pistou alongside.

Lisa WB Walker Daffodil Bowl

I think this recipe would be lovely served in my Daffodil Bowl, don't you? It's for sale at the Dedham Square Artist Guild located at 553 High Street in Dedham, MA.

Happy Birthday Mom!

dsagart: New for Spring

dsagart: New for Spring: I just love these new ceramic baskets by Lisa W.B. Walker . They are just the right size for a few treats or eggs. I have photographed o...

Honey for my honey

Honey Pot for my honey

It's my husband's birthday this week.  We celebrated over the weekend, so he, my honey, already has his gift. Scroll to the bottom to see his favorite way to eat honey.

Everyone in our house loves honey:

 Our favorite: 

now looks like this: 

I found the wooden honey stick for the honey pot at William Sonoma. 

The food and pottery connection works like this:

Try this

 

From this

On cheese

 

Spring flowers and floating islands

Potters Place, my cooperative studio in Walpole, MA hosts a spring show and sale annually over the weekend preceding Mother's Day.  The members who coordinate the show get to choose the theme.  This year it is “Flora and Fauna”. 

I turned to stamps with images of flowers for my inspiration.

 

I'm using tiles as a way to explore some of my ideas.  I really like the way they are coming out of the kiln.

My Magnolia Flower Tile

This stamp illustrates a flowering tree commonly called the Franklin tree. It is native to Georgia. It has been extinct in the wild since the early 19th century, but survives as a cultivated ornamental tree.

I'm anxiously awaiting the final glaze results of this tile. Using some of the same colors as my Magnolia Flower tile, it will work nicely with my Spring "Flora and Fauna" Collection.

Camellia

As a child, I spent many hours looking at beautiful stamps with my grandmother.  It was where I first learned about art, history, and geography.   
 

It seems fitting that I share a recipe of my grandmother's as it was her love of stamps and flowers that inspired the pottery featured in today's blog post.

Floating Island~ serves 6
A French dessert consisting of Meringue floating on a vanilla custard.


Custard:
2 cups milk
5 egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
3 T flour
1 tsp vanilla

Meringues:
2 cups milk
6 egg whites
1/3 cup sugar
pinch salt

To make the custard: bring the milk to a boil over medium heat, then turn off the heat and let sit.

In a separate saucepan, beat the egg yolks with the sugar until they thicken and lighten, about 3 minutes. Drizzle the just-boiled milk into the pan in a thin stream to temper the egg yolks, whisking all the while. Once the mixture is well-combined, place the pan over a medium-low flame. Continue to stir with a wooden spoon as it heats, until the custard thickens enough to coat the back of the spoon so that it holds the mark if you draw through it with your finger. Remove the pan from the heat as soon as this happens, and pour the custard through a strainer into a waiting bowl. Stir in the vanilla. Refrigerate until chilled (it will continue to thicken).

To make the meringues and assemble the dessert: Bring the milk to a gentle simmer over medium heat.

While the milk is heating, beat the egg whites, gradually adding the salt and sugar, until they form stiff peaks. Drop rough half-cups of the meringue mixture into the simmering milk. You can form jagged islands, or use two spoons to make somewhat smooth ovals. Let the islands simmer for one minute in the hot milk, then gently turn and simmer for another minute on the second side. Using a slotted spoon, remove the islands from the milk and set to drain on a clean plate. Repeat until all of the meringue is poached. The islands will swell dramatically in their simmer bath, and then shrink disappointingly when they're removed. Serve immediately on a puddle of chilled custard, or place in the refrigerator for up to 4 hours. 

Sign ups for my tile workshop have begun.

Carved Flower Tile

The theme is spring flowers. The class is on Saturday, April 21^st from 9am-12pm at the Dedham Square Artist Guild. Click here to sign up. 

In my tile workshop, students will create a drawing of a spring flower using photos and their imagination. Simplify the design and trace it onto a leather hard tile. There will be different tools to experiment with to create an image that is three dimensional.  When the tiles are dry, they will be bisque fire and then glazed in a solid color. 

2-8 participants. Ages 13 and older.

dsagart: Artist Interview - Guild Member, Lisa W.B. Walker

dsagart: Artist Interview - Guild Member, Lisa W.B. Walker: When did you start in Ceramics? I took my first ceramics class as a senior in High School. I loved it so much, it made me want to study...

Cup of Coffee. Mug of Tea.

Sue Brum's (Hogwild Pottery) high fire mug on the left.

There is nothing better in my book than a cup (or two) of coffee in the morning and a mug of tea in the afternoon.  The biggest dilemma I have is choosing the vessel.  I'm a big fan of the story behind the pottery, so it will come as no surprise that I choose my cup or mug based on who I want to share the time with.

The top shelf in my kitchen cupboard is reserved for my collection of handmade mugs.  These are the ones I reserve for tea in the afternoon.  

Each has a story and is symbolic of something I love.

Debbie McCarty's elements of surprise, paintings, and mug shape make this a favorite.

Couldn't live without this Wayne Fuerst soda fired Mug - purchased at Harvard. 

One of two given by to me by a dear friend.  It's the glazing that I love!

A Lizanne Donegan mug...the textural quality could only be made in clay.

This little gem I made in college.  I love the glazing and the awkward handle that fits just right in my hand.

On my way to the Dedham Square Artist Guild for my afternoon shift this past Sunday, I stopped into Mocha Java.  I'm trying their signature lattes as a special treat that I spend the afternoon at the Guild sipping away on. First it was their Pumpkin latte, this week their Cinnabon latte, next time I might try their Nutty Irishman! Many of the Guild artists have their art up around town. My handmade mugs are displayed and for sale at Mocha Java.

Mocha Java in Dedham Square

The shape, size, color and design of a mug, whether it be for coffee or tea or hot chocolate, has to work for the person utilizing the pottery.  

Handmade functional pottery is all about 

finding that connection.  

I find the story of the mug - who made it, where they made it, why they made it - works in tandem with the enjoyment I feel while sipping what it holds.

You can check out more of my handmade mugs on my flickr photo sharing site.