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Fall Harvest

I know it's fall when mom 
delivers butternut squash.
With soil still clinging to it's skin, it's as fresh as fresh can be.

Fall means winter squashes ~ delicata, acorn and hubbard will take the place of summer squashes ~ zucchini, yellow crookneck and patty pan. Colors at the farm stand will change from cornflower yellow to pumpkin orange. 

Martha Stewart's photo of fall squashes

Food and Pottery Connection:

Food:  Curried Apple Butternut Soup
Mystic Seaport Cookbook
serves 8-10 

1 peeled butternut squash
1 tsp butter
2 onions
1 cup apple cider
1 cup applesauce
3 cups chicken broth
1/4 tsp ginger
2 tsp curry powder

Cut squash and steam til soft. Saute onions in butter til soft. combine all ingredients in a blender and puree. Season with salt and pepper.

Pottery: Spoon rests take care of the messy spoons and keep your counter clean.

fall colors to choose from

 

Wild Blueberries

Close to one half million pounds of Wild Blueberries are harvested every year in Maine from late July until the end of August. They are different from traditional blueberries as they are smaller and less sweet, richer in color and juicier.

Food and Pottery Connection:

Food: 

Maine Blueberry Muffins - 12

Junior League of Portland, Maine Cookbook

1/2 cup plus 2T butter

1 3/4 cup sugar

3 eggs

1/4 cup plus 1T milk

3/4 tsp vanilla

2 1/2 cup flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 1/2 cups blueberries

1. Preheat oven to 425. grease muffin tins.

2. Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs, milk and vanilla. Add flour and baking powder. 

3. Fold in Blueberries.

4. Bake 23-25 minutes

Pottery: 

Square Plate 

with slip-trailing and stamping

(...perfect size for 4 or 5 muffins...)

This plate (and a few other pieces of art from the Dedham Guild) will be for sale at the Dedham Farmer's Market tomorrow on the green from 12-6

Lemon Balm Iced Tea

Lemon balm is a perennial herb from the mint family. I picked some from the Friendship Herb Garden at Powisset Farm this past week.  Rubbing the leaves between my fingers produced a lovely lemony smell.

"Lemon Balm is native to the Mediterranean region, and has been cultivated for more than 2,000 years."

"Lemon balm’s popularity continued throughout the centuries, and it was enjoyed as a tea to combat mental confusion and as an elixir thought to extend lifespan. So widespread was lemon balm’s reputation for promoting longevity and dispelling melancholy that by the 17th century, French Carmelite nuns were dispensing their Carmelite Water to a faithful following. The lemon-balm infused “miracle water” was thought to improve memory and vision and reduce rheumatic pain, fever, melancholy and congestion."

"Introduced into Great Britain by the Romans, lemon balm is now found in both England and North America, brought by colonialists who had come to rely on it for teas and flavoring. American Shakers grew lemon balm as a relief from mild fevers. One of the herbs grown in Thomas Jefferson’s gardens, lemon balm was well established as an important culinary herb, one especially suited to syrups and beverages."

Food and Pottery Connection~

Food:

Honey Lemon Balm Spritzer - Makes 48 ounces.

Adapted from Bon Appetit August 2011.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup honey
• 2 cups warm water
• 1/2 cup lemon juice 
• 1 cup cold water
• 1 cup lemon balm, lightly packed 
• lemon slices
• 2 cups cold sparkling water

Instructions

1. In a large pitcher, mix honey and warm water until honey combined.
2. Add lemon juice, and 1 cup cold water. Mix well.
3. Crush lemon balm and add to mixture. Using a muddle or wooden spoon handle, smash lemon balm in bottom of pitcher. Add lemon slices and refrigerate mixture until chilled
4. Once chilled, add 2 cups of cold sparkling water. Stir.
5. Pour through a strainer into individual tumblers over crushed ice.

Pottery:
Colorful Tumblers

wheel thrown tumbler soon to be trimmed, fired and glazed in blues and whites

Show & Sale Goodies

I'll be filling my extruded vases with flowers

Potters Place Spring Show and Sale is Friday through Sunday, May 4 - 6 at 127B Old West Street in Walpole, MA.  With 23 members creating in clay, there will be so many wonderful pieces to looks at, purchase, and study for future inspiration.  The show and sale is a means for the members to exhibit and sell their work, as well as, raise money to offset the costs of running a not for profit pottery school.

The show theme is Flora and Fauna. Here's what you'll see from me when you arrive at the studio.

Lily of the Valley Collection

Assorted Votive with floral surface decoration

plates, bowls, mugs of all sizes and shapes

embellished platters

and Much More!

Friday night is the artist reception and I'll bringing some goodies to serve on some handmade pottery. 

The Food and Pottery Connection ~

Serve these:

Blondies (not Brownies)

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 3/4 cups flour
• 2 cups white chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup chopped macadamia nuts

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease cookie sheets.
2. In a medium bowl, cream together the butter and sugars until smooth. Beat in the egg and vanilla. Stir in the flour just until blended then fold in the white chocolate chips and macadamia nuts. Roll the dough into walnut sized balls. Place the cookies 3 inches apart onto the cookie sheet.
3. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, until golden brown on top. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely. 

On this:

 dishwasher safe hand crafted platter

Blue petal platter

 

Public Art and Rabbit Food

During the spring, crouching rabbit sculptures will be painted & placed across Dedham.  Each sculpture will be painted by a juried selection of local artists – and will be sponsored by local businesses, individuals and organizations. 

I've be thinking about submitting an application to participate in the Dedham Public Art Project. The deadline is this Thursday...

  

Marietta Apollonio, an artist painter and co-founder of the Dedham Square Artist Guild is painting the first of 15 bunnies for the project.  I love her work and her bunny, which she has named David B. Unny will be yet another wonderful creation of hers. She shares her palette but not her ideas...smart lady!

Why a Crouching Rabbit?
The Dedham Public Art Project will feature a crouching rabbit - an iconic form found on the historic Dedham Pottery, which was produced in Dedham over 100 years ago. The pottery was characterized by a signature crackle glaze and border designs in thick cobalt blue. The most common and recognizable design is a repeating crouching rabbit officially referred to as “the Dedham rabbit.”

During the Dedham Square Valentine's Day event, I went to check out the first bunny who was on view at the Dedham Community Theatre. 

"He" wasn't as big as I thought a 4ft bunny would be.  I guess it's his ears that really add the height.

Next door to the theatre is Heart of the Square.  I noticed they had real Dedham Pottery and had to have a closer look.  They were nice enough to let me take a few shots of my favorite pattern: the Azelea flower.

Many artists are submitting ideas.  I can't wait to see what they'll come up with.  As a potter, I'd like to see a Dedham Pottery Bunny.

At the conclusion of the public display over several months, the completed sculptures will be auctioned off to support the proposed Mother Brook Arts & Community Center slated for the old Avery Elementary School. 
 

My husband picked out Dedham Pottery as our every day ware when we were registering for our wedding.  

We've been using "bunny" plates and bowls and mugs and dishes for all our married years.  It's not the real stuff but Dedham Pottery is with us at almost every meal.  

The pottery I have was slip cast and hand painted in Concord, Ma at the Potting Shed.  What's makes my collection special to me is that each piece has the year it was created painted on the bottom (hint: my wedding year).

One of my favorite Dedham Pottery pieces is my egg dish. One could use it for painted Easter eggs or deviled eggs.  For the food and pottery connection, here's a recipe for deviled eggs...

• 1 dozen eggs
• 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
• 1/3 cup mayonnaise
• Lawry's Salt (which has paprika in it)

1 Hard boil the eggs. 

2 Peel the eggs. Using a sharp knife, slice each egg in half, lengthwise. Gently remove the yolk halves and place in a small mixing bowl. Arrange the egg white halves on a serving platter.

3 Using a fork, mash up the yolks and add mustard and mayo. Spoon egg yolk mixture into the egg white halves. Sprinkle with Lawry's salt. Makes 2 dozen.

SUBMISSION DEADLINE FOR The Dedham Public Art Project for ARTISTS IS MARCH 1st

 should I?

Happy Valentine's Day!

Pottery for your sweetheart!

A look back at the Valentine's Day Countdown:
Tumblr
Website


Blog posts: 
red velvet cupcakes
breakfast in bed - pancakes!
hot chocolate
chocolate sauce

21 days til Valentine's Day

Luxurious Hot Chocolate 

- recipe makes enough for 4 servings

Pour 2 1/2 cups milk into a saucepan followed by 3 1/2 oz dark chocolate. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until chocolate has melted. Bring mixture to a boil, then whisk in 2-3 Tablespoons heavy cream until frothy. Test for sweetness, add sugar to taste.

Pour into handmade mugs, like the one pictured here... and enjoy.

This recipe will give you and your sweetheart 2 cups each :)

More Valentine's Day gifts ideas are featured on my website.

It's a Handmade Holiday!

Last week, I was asked for a special order.  How I wish I could have managed to create something that fast, but then again .... maybe not.  Handmade is not ready made and isn't that one of things that makes buying handmade so much more special?  The hand of an artist can take longer than one might expect.  Let's talk clay... 

First there is the idea, the brainstorm, the plan of attack ...

then weighing, wedging and working on the wheel.

Wait ... wait... wait until leather hard.  Then trim.

Wait...wait... wait til completely dry. Fire in a bisque kiln. Test glaze combination ideas.

Glaze bisqueware. Fire glaze kiln. Sand unglazed areas to avoid tabletop scratches.
Price work. Photograph work.

Package and take to gallery to connect with customers who share your vision, enjoy your work and understand your product.

A collection of handmade pottery takes 4-6 weeks to create from start to finish... if all goes well.  

Purchasing a piece of handmade pottery goes hand in hand with a feeling of pride in knowing that someone (the artist) has created and cared for this piece, made choices along the way that culminated in transferring from maker to user.

My winter inspired collection pictured above was conceived in early November and delivered to the Dedham Square Artist Guild in mid December.  Take a drive over and have a look; they're open all week!  Perhaps it will end up on your table for the holidays... that's the food and pottery connection.

From my studio to your home, may you enjoy a very merry handmade holiday!

Last Farm Stand Sale of the Season

To get ready for the next distribution, I was cooking up all my winter squashes last night.

"Summer squash swell from blossoms to fruit in a matter of days, while winter varieties absorb energy from the sun and soil for months on their way to harvest - no wonder they are such a good comfort food.  The dense, sweet flesh of winter squash brings the light and warmth of the whole summer to your winter table." Farmer John's Cookbook

The three squash I have on hand are Buttercup, a red kuri variety; a Butternut, an all purpose favorite; and a sweet dumpling. 

Peel, remove seeds, cut and cook in a 1/4" of water to steam in a 350 oven.

Bake 45 minutes or so, then drain.

Mash each type of squash and set aside to cool overnight.

When mashed and cool, I will freeze squash for easy cooking with breads, soups or just a warm puree.

Sweet or savory winter squash puree
Joy of cooking

for a sweet puree... add for every 1 cup puree
1 T butter
1 tsp brown sugar or maple syrup
1/4 tsp ground ginger
salt and pepper

for a savory puree...add for every 1 cup puree
1 T butter or olive oil
1 small garlic, minced
1 T choped fresh parsley or sage
salt and pepper

Beat in warm heavy cream or orange juice to sweet or savory mix.

Serve plain or:
top with sauteed onions, zest of lemon, marscapone or sour cream, Parmesan or Gruyere cheese.

While I was baking, I was thinking back to the soda firing I did this past summer at Harvard.  The process creates such beautiful orange colors when the fire and soda connect with an unglazed surface.  I'm already looking forward to the next summer workshop. A group from my cooperative studio, Potters Place plan to attend this friday's ceramic show at Harvard.  I'm looking forward to spending time with them.

my soda fired vases from summer workshop

I was also thinking about the new friendships I'm developing at the Dedham Square Artist Guild, ...after a great Saturday shift, I went home with a homemade mini pumpkin pie made from buttercup squash.

The reason for all this late night baking is to make room for more veggies. This Saturday, December 10th is the last farm stand sale of the year.  It is the second of two winter share distributions and the last pottery sale at Powessit in 2011.  Stop by from 11-4 to pick up your local veggies and check out my handmade pottery.  The two go together so well.

In the garden and beyond

This coming weekend, I've been invited to join a group of Westwood friends to sell our wares at Jane's Beyond the Garden Gate Sale.  The sale takes place on Sunday, December 4th from 12 noon until 4pm at 52 Wildwood Drive in Westwood.  There will be jewelry, pottery (mine!), soaps, ornaments, live wreaths, as well as greens, candles, lanterns, fleece, furniture, etc. Bring your friends!

What's in the garden and how does it inspire?  Last night I washed, peeled and cut up leeks and radishes from my November Powessit Farm Winter share.  My favorite way to eat these veggies is to saute them in some butter, then add water, cover and steam until done.  They are soft and comforting and delicious topped with feta or goat cheese.

sliced raw radishes

I am not a fan of raw radishes, but my family likes them raw with a little cream cheese.

Red radishes and Watermelon radishes

The color combinations in the Watermelon variety are a wonderful surprise to behold when you slice through a seemingly pale white exterior.  Radishes are high in vitamin c and have a healthy dose of potassium.  Great for lowering blood pressure too!

Daikon radishes

I've also got some daikon radishes to eat.  These can be quite large.  They are delicious in any Asian style recipe whether it is a stir-fry (that's how I'll eat mine) or shredded in a salad or even pickled.  You'll find them quite mild compared to other radish varieties.

How does the food influence the pottery?  The light green and neutral colors of these root veggies is something I've enjoyed playing around with.  Of course, when you are coking, you need bowls, bowls and bowls!

crisscross bowls

For more radish recipes, click here

Food and Pottery

Thanksgiving is the ultimate food and pottery connection.  Choosing the best food to serve on your favorite pottery is one of the many joys of eating well and buying handmade.  Setting the table for a gathering can initiate talk about the upcoming feast and discussions like... "Where did you get this beautiful patter?' - tell me the story....

Here are some of the food and pottery connections I'm thinking about for my Thanksgiving table...

a perfect little plate for gathering an appetizer ... leaving another hand free for your holiday "spirit"

bowls for all the sides you'll be serving!

A platter for the turkey

a big bowl for stuffing...and my favorite!

choosing the best vase for a centerpiece bouquet of flowers

When the meal concludes and there are a mound of dishes still to be done: stop... sit.  Fix a warm cup of tea in your favorite handmade mug and take stock of all that you are thankful for this year.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving!