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Happy Halloween

It's Halloween. Pumpkins are everywhere!

Sugar baby variety pumpkins are delicious to bake with. Wash the dirt off, put some knife slits in the skin and pop into a 375 degree oven to bake for an hour.

When cool enough to handle (I can never seem to wait and am constantly uttering ouch, ouch, ouch...), slice down the middle, remove seeds and transfer the pumpkin pulp to a bowl to be mashed.

I have a recipe for sweet bread that is delicious anytime of day and easily frozen.

Food and Pottery Connection:

Food: Laura Moore's Maple Pumpkin Bread - makes 2 loaves

from the Mystic Seaport "A New England Table" Cookbook

4 eggs
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup veg oil
1/2 cup applesauce
2/3 cup pure maple syrup
2 cups pumpkin
3 cups flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp allspice

1. Combine wet ingredients. Combine dry ingredients. Add wet to dry.
2. Pour batter into 2 buttered loaf pans. Bake at 350 for at least 1 hour.

Pottery: decorated plates with leafy design

Please pass the ...

When summer transitions into fall, there are so many more opportunities to reconnect with friends. Art openings, book club gatherings, put lucks of all kinds that have little dishes of this and that to sample from.  The way I think...the friends, the events, they all circle back to pottery and what those tasty tidbits will be served on.

Please pass the.... food: tiny tomato tarts on the pottery: see below 

Dish with Leaf Motif

Please pass the.... 
food: chewy caramel apple cookies on the pottery: see below

"Stripes and Dots" oval plate

 
Please pass the....
food: eggplant, pesto and goat cheese pizza on the pottery: see below 

Square Plate with all over floral design

My Plates (for passing) are one of a kind, dishwasher and microwave safe, and for sale at my guild's gallery: the Dedham Square Artist Guild in Dedham, MA. One could be the perfect piece to serve your favorite food on at your next gathering. (And no one else will have the same one...)

Farmer's Market Sweet Peppers and Pasta

In mid August, I was lucky enough to demonstrate at the Dedham Square Farmers Market under the Community tent.

I brought enough clay to demonstrate a cup, a bowl, a plate, a vase....

It was fun to interact with visitors and "talk shop".  Those who enjoy local food embrace the food and pottery connection.

While speaking to one of the nice folk who stopped to watch and chat under my tent, we decided this collection called for a blue glaze. With the changing season upon us, this dark rich blue won out.

I demonstrated tumblers, but ended up adding handles later in the process at home.

big bowl and little bowl

Food and Pottery Connection:
"There is a shift from tomatoes and peppers to kale and spinach.  The natural transition from summer to fall is marked by the produce we eat and the flavors we crave..." as well as the colors and shapes we choose to serve this new food in.

Food: 
Fettuccine with sweet peppers and pine nuts
 - 4-6 servings

 

Fresh fettuccine pasta (like Contadina)
1/3 cup olive oil
4 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
3-4 sweet bell peppers, cored, seeded and julienned
1/2 cup pine nuts
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, chopped
1/2 cup Kalamata olives, pitted and halved
Salt and Pepper

In a large, heavy skillet heat the olive oil. Add garlic and bell peppers, and cook for 10 minutes, stirring continuously. Add pine nuts and cook approximately 4 minutes or until they turn golden brown. Gradually stir in basil. Add olives. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Cook pasta according to package directions - this will take 2-3 minutes at boil. Drain and mix with sauce.


Pottery: Serve in Big blue bowl (see above) and rest spoon here:

the center spiral acts as a drain

Many of these pieces will soon be for sale at the Dedham Square Artist's Guild in Dedham.

Tomato Tomato

They have finally arrived... TOMATOES!

The Food and Pottery Connection ~

FOOD:

Insalata Caprise

Prep time: 10 minutes
Serves: 4 as a side dish, 2 as a veggie main course. Double, triple, quintuple as you like.

2 large, fresh tomatoes, or about 1 lb total
1 cup fresh mozzarella, thinly sliced
1 cup fresh basil leaves, chopped
Good olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Cut the tomatoes into slices about 1/4 inch thick. Arrange tomato slices on a platter***. Top each with a piece of mozzarella, and some basil. Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and serve. Gorgeous.

Served up by Tod Dimmick,
AKA "The Foodie" at 1000radishes

POTTERY:
My Lily of the Valley Platter *** will show off the red of the tomatoes and green of the basil and be just the right size for a side dish salad for 4.

Stir fry Season

Bok choi, garlic scapies, onions, peppers, ... the list goes on for local veggies to toss into a stir fry. Serve with a brown or jasmine rice to complete the meal.

What is Bok Choi? (BAHK-choy)  

Bok choy has crunchy stems and crinkled, spinach-like leaves.  It's usually stir-fried with other ingredients, but it can also be steamed or sautéed and served as a side dish.  Small heads of bok choy are called baby bok choy (so cute!) 

Stir fried Bok Choi - serves 4

 

1 large Bok Choi
1 tbsp. oil
Pinch baking soda
3 garlic scapies - sliced like a scallion

1/2 yellow pepper - chopped

Broccoli - cut into bite-size pieces
3 tbsp. oil
1 tsp. salt 

1/4 tsp. sugar
2 tsp. roasted sesame oil 

 

Wash Bok Choi well and cut into 1 inch pieces. Heat a wok or large, heavy skillet until hot; add oil and heat a second. Throw in garlic scapies, add Bok Choi, broccoli, yellow pepper, stir until green color of cabbage brightens. Add salt, sugar, cook until slightly crunchy. Drizzle with roasted sesame oil.

 

THE CONNECTION ~

Food:

Stir fry with local veggies

Pottery:

Bowls for serving. Bowls for eating.

I'm thinking of glazing these in butter yellow or a baby blue.  

What do you think would work better for this recipe?

Join me at the Farm on Saturday

Powisset Farm Spring Festival is Saturday, May 19th, 10-3. 

It is the start of a great season of CSA in Dover at a Trustees of the Reservation gem.

Powisset Farm Fall Fest Pottery Tent

The Food and Pottery Connection:

The "Food" comes from Powisset Farm Blog:

Click the link for a recipe for Roasted Rosemary Radishes!

The "Pottery" is my wheel thrown, hand trimmed stoneware bowl. Durable for a season of cooking; yet, delicate in color with warm pinks bringing out a cascade of speckles.

A blend of clays create a speckling under a pinky rutile glaze. A green sprig adds detail.

What is CSA?

"CSA is a worldwide movements, called Community Supported Agriculture.  It honors a commitment between growers and consumers in which consumers pay up front for a weekly share of the harvest.  Bypassing distributors and supermarkets gives farmers financial support ... to continue farming.  In turn, the consumers, often known as shareholders, receive regular boxes or baskets of fresh, local and often organically raised produce, from a source they know and trust."  except from Farmer John's Cookbook: The Real Dirt on Vegetables

Miss you, Molly!

Lily of the Valley

1982 Postage Stamp

On Saturday, my cooperative studio, Potters Place has their BIG studio clean up in preparation for Spring Show & Sale on May 4,5 & 6. 

I've been concentrating my work on the show's theme: Flora & Fauna

Using postage stamps for inspiration, the "LOVE" stamp has proved to be a favorite.  I use small square dishes or tiles, as a painter would use oil sketches, to do much of my experimenting for larger work. For this series, I began by playing with the flowers that make up each letter in the LOVE stamp.

L

O

V

E

I liked the "E" dish best and although it did not start out as Lily of the Valley on the stamp, it became that to me.  I choose that design and translated it to other forms.

Tumbler with white liner and baby blue rim

Bowl with floral motif

Wheel thrown mugs with slip-trailing decoration

Plate with carved rim

The Food & Pottery Connection:

 Today, it is the pottery that inspires the food...

Fill the Plate with carved rim with roasted asparagus; it's in season! Fill one bowl with floral motif with jasmine rice and the other bowl with a green salad with cut veggies to bring in color.  Fill a tumbler with your favorite beverage to complement your menu, the other tumbler can hold a small bouquet of flowers for the table. The finale: a cup of tea in a mug with slip trailed decoration and shortbread cookies served on "E" dish. What a delicious spring meal inspired by my Lily of the Valley spring collection!

Roasted Asparagus

2 bunches asparagus, dry ends snapped off

Line a roasting pan with foil and spray with olive oil

Place asparagus on pan in single layer, coat with more olive oil

     and sprinkle with kosher salt

Roast in a 450 oven for 12 minutes

In a small skillet, brown butter, add balsamic vinegar and reduce

When asparagus is done, move to serving plate and drizzle with

     vinegar.

Visit my website to see more Flora & Fauna inspired work.

The HAND made connection

Over the weekend I decided to make homemade pizzas.  It was a first time adventure for our whole family.  Making the pizza dough was so much like working with clay, I must admit I was having a hard time sharing.  I found a great recipe in a new cookbook I bought recently called Cooking for Teens.  

Here's the recipe for pizza dough (found on page 92)

kneading dough

Sprinkle 1x1/4oz package dry yeast over

1 3/4 cup warm water. 

Set aside for 10 Minutes.

Combine 6 cups white bread flour,

1 tsp salt,

1 tsp sugar,

2 Tbs Olive Oil then add water/yeast.

Knead 10 minutes on a floured surface. 

Oil bowl, place dough in, cover, rest 30 minutes til doubled.

Divide into 4 balls. Cover and rest 1 hour.

wedging clay

Such Similarities!

When the dough had risen, we each made our own pizzas and shared with each other.  Our favorite was the Margharita.   

Here is the recipe for Margharita Pizza:

Preheat oven to 425. 

Roll out ball of dough to 10 inches.

Place on greased cookie sheet. 

Spread with pizza sauce. 

Top with slices of mozzarella cheese and torn fresh basil leaves. 

Bake in oven 12-20 minutes. 

Sprinkle with extra torn basil leaves before serving.

The Food and Pottery Connection:

Food: Making Pizza!

Pottery: Play with Clay!

The Hand Made Connection!

Try your HAND in clay at one of my workshops this week:

Create a Clay Bunny/Animal on Wednesday and Carve a Clay Tile on Saturday.  Signs up are still ongoing so Sign Up! Come Play with Clay with me in Dedham this week!

Photos for this blog were found using search on google images.

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