Transition

The transition from summer to fall always seems difficult.  Less light, less sleep, less time, but I love seasonal change.  The air is crisper and the colors are darker.  Food choices become denser and warmer and I start to think about apples, pumpkins and soup.

Some of my favorites are still being harvested, but carrots are thicker, greens are darker and thoughts of tomatoes and mozzarella turn to roasted spaghetti sauce.

With a busy tempo to the day, I find myself making pasta-based recipes that are easy to assemble and reheat nicely depending on when family members arrive home.

Here's what's for dinner at my house tonight: 
 

Pasta with Roasted Tomato Sauce and Chicken - serves 3 or 4


Fresh Pasta - cooked and drained
Roasted Tomato Sauce* - 2-3 cups
Chicken - cut into bite sized pieces and pan fried in olive oil and a sprinkle of salt

Combine and serve with your favorite cheese.

*Roasted Tomato Sauce - Roast onions or leeks, garlic, tomatoes mixed with olive oil and kosher salt in a 425 oven for 30-45 minutes.  Cool. Blend. Add thyme or oregano or basil, whatever your favorite is.  Freeze in 2 cup portions.


Creating, creating, creating....

Blue Sky Pottery

Deb Babcock is the artist behind the clay creations of Blue Sky Pottery. She is also a Colorado Master Gardner.  The work I am most drawn to is her "aspen/birch forest" functional pottery. It is a beautiful collaboration between Deb's interests: the natural world and clay.

Deb is a studio potter who works in porcelain and stoneware creating one of a kind, functional pottery including whimsical teapots and tea cups, bowls, casseroles, plates, tumblers, platters, vases and tiles. She has studied under many renowned potters that have helped her with her own pottery voice. 

What about her connection between food and pottery?  

Deb says," Frankly, I'm not an avid cook and prefer pretty simple meals. I like to garden and am especially happy when I can pick lettuce, pea pods and the like out of my garden during the summer and fall and use them for dinners." 

For dessert, here is 
her favorite brownie recipe that she bakes up in her Pie Pan

1 c butter3.5 oz unsweetened chocolate
3 T cocoa
1.5 c flour (plus 2T if you live high altitude)
1/2 t baking powder
4 eggs
1 t salt
2 c sugar
1 t vanilla extract
1 c chocolate chips
1.5 c dried cherries

1. Preheat oven to 375.
2. Melt butter with unsweetened chocolate and set aside to cool. 
3.Sift cocoa, flour baking powder and salt in medium bowl. 
4.Beat eggs until creamy in large bowl, gradually adding in the sugar. 
5.Add vanilla to the cooled chocolate and stir into the egg mix. Stir in the dry ingredients.
6.Then add the cherries and stir until combined. 
7.Pour into a buttered baking pan (I use my pie pan, but any 9 x 13 pan or similar will work) Sprinkle the chocolate chips on top and bake 30 - 35 minutes until the center no longer jiggles.

"These brownies are rich and delicious with the added surprise of dried cherries. Coming from Michigan where cherries are found in abundance, I order 10 pound boxes of them a couple times a year to be sent to Colorado and use them in salads, trail mix for our hikes, and in brownies."

All of Deb's glazes are food safe. They can withstand use in the microwave, oven and dishwasher, unless specified otherwise. However, as with any handmade pottery, it will retain its fresh, good looks longer with limited microwave use and hand washing. 

Deb's etsy shop is the best place to see her work unless of coarse you live in Steamboat, Colorado where you can visit her studio/gallery.  She is a founding member of the Steamboat Clay Artisans, a member of the etsymudteam, and accessible through facebook.

Janson Pottery

I met Janet of Janson Pottery "virtually" through the etsy mud team. I immediately felt a connection with this Canadian potter who creates handmade pottery to fill a need in everyday life, like her pitchers (photo below) and her textural tiles she sells for kitchen back splashes.

Janet uses both a potter's wheel and slab roller to create work from mid range porcelain. She makes up all her own glazes and uses them alone or layered over a base glaze. All work is suitable for microwave and dishwasher, although hand washing will prolong the life of the piece. 

Janet's handmade porcelain pieces are an attempt to give people an opportunity to pause in their busy lives. Simple forms invite touch while offering a beautiful backdrop for the food we serve our loved ones. 

Janson Pottery's connection with food and pottery starts first thing in the morning. She says, "How I love berry season! I especially love making smoothies with these lovely delicious red fruit and I like to have enough for everyone in the morning. I like making small tumblers and little pitchers for our breakfast table. My family loves them and they are a great way to begin the day."  Try her smoothie recipe which she serves in the tumblers pictured above.

Easy Strawberry Smoothie Recipe
1 large ripe banana, peeled and sliced
1 cup strawberries, frozen
1 tsp of lemon/lime juice
1 cup of pure water
3-6 ice cubes

Pour water and juice into the blender. Then, place banana on the bottom with the frozen berries and ice on top. Blend on low for 10-20 seconds. Then increase the speed to medium/high until creamy smooth.

"Besides being delicious, strawberries are high in fiber, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. This yummy fruit is full of flavor and contributes to overall health"

And for the breakfast table, here are some pretty vases...

Thankfully the postal strike is under control in Canada and Janson Pottery's etsy shop is up and running again. Please visit her shop to see more of her beautiful work. As I mentioned earlier, she and I are both members of the etsy mud team where we share our love of clay with other potters. 


In addition to being an etsy seller, Janet has a wonderful website which includes her blog and a link to her facebook page