Stawberry Season

My CSA is open for the season and the strawberries are abundant! 

strawberries picked fresh from the field.

 The Food and Pottery Connection:

FOOD:

Strawberry Shortcake 

(a Walker family favorite)

Biscuits - I usually pick up a batch at Roche Bros in Westwood

strawberries - hand picked, washed (see below**), hulled and sliced

sugar - sprinkle over cut strawberries and toss

whipped cream - Cabot's

strawberry jam - I love Fisher Brook Farm Strawberry Jam!

Slice biscuit and toast. Spread one half biscuit with jam. Add strawberries, whipped cream next... top with or without second biscuit half. yum.

AND POTTERY:

A Berry Bowl** for washing your strawberries

wheel thrown berry bowl with drain dish

Fourth of July

What American doesn't love a patriotic fourth of July gathering with fireworks, good food, family and close friends?  I know I do. Our party will have hot dogs and hamburgers, chips and pickles. I'm going to make a bowl of potato salad.

perfect bowl for potato salad

Potato Salad - serves 8

Heart of the Home by Susan Branch

2 lbs red bliss potatoes, scrubbed and halved

1/2 lb bacon, chopped

1/2 cup shallots, finely chopped

1//4 cup olive oil

1/2 cup red wine vinegar

1 cup parsley, finely chopped

1/2 cup red onion, chopped

1/2 cup celery, chopped

salt and pepper

1. Boil potatoes until tender, drain, cut into bite size pieces. 
2. Fry bacon. set aside. Drain all but 3 T of bacon fat from the pan. Add shallots and saute until soft. Combine shallots and cooked bacon and pour over hot potatoes.

3. Add remaining ingredients. Stir well.  Serve at room temperature.

With the bounty of local farm fresh strawberries, I'm making strawberry shortcake this weekend too. 

a bowl for cake; a bowl for berries

Strawberry Shortcakes for 8

Martha Stewart Food Magazine

cakes~

2 1/2 cups flour

1 stick butter (cold)

1/3 cup plus 1 T sugar

2 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 cup milk

1. Preheat oven to 425. In a food processor, combine flour, butter, 1/3 cup sugar and baking powder; process until mixture resembles coarse meal.  Add milk until moistened. 

2. Turn dough onto lightly floured surface and gently pat into a 4x8 inch rectangle. 

3. Dust a large knife with flour; cut dough into eight squares. Transfer to a baking sheet; sprinkle with remaining sugar. Bake 25-30 minutes; cool on baking sheet. Serve with berries and whipped cream.

sweetened strawberries~

Hull and quarter 6 cups fresh strawberries.  Toss with 1/4 cup sugar. Let stand about 20 minutes before serving.

bowls for ice cream with strawberries

If there are left over strawberries, serve over a scoop of vanilla ice cream the next day, or perhaps spooned over some warm pancakes or waffles in the morning....

Vase for flowers

Whether for yourself or your host, there is no better table topper than a handmade vase filled with flowers from the garden. Enjoy your celebration!


red and blue criss cross glazing for functional ware...

What will you bring to your 4th of July events in a handmade piece of pottery?

Clay Lick Creek Pottery

Welcome to the whimsical world of Clay Lick Creek Pottery, named after the creek that flows across the land where potter, Karen Fiorino lives and works in the heart of the Shawnee Forest in Southern Illinois. 


Karen uses a traditional red earthenware clay and then glazes the work in a creamy white maiolica glaze on which she decorates with cheery and bright designs. She believes people should have beautiful objects in their homes and use them in their everyday life.


I asked her about the relationship between the food and her pottery, she shared this with me: "My husband came home with some beautiful local strawberries (the season is just starting in Southern Illinois, we have strawberry fields within 5 miles of us) and 1/2 pint of whipping cream. So, I knew what bowl I would use with the berries, my blueberry designed colander. The blue and white of the bowl makes a wonderful contrast with the red of the berries. Of course, you could put blueberries in it as well, but those berries are not ready yet around here."


Here's the recipe for the ultra luscious whipped cream to eat with the berries:
In a chilled bowl, place 1/2 pint of heavy cream, pinch of salt, 1Tablespoon of vanilla extract, 2 tablespoons powdered sugar....beat until stiff!  yummy!  

Check out Clay Lick Creek Pottery on facebook, etsy and on the web 

Beautiful functional bowls by ClayLickCreekPottery

Strawberry Fields Forever

To make room for my 3 months of CSA meat from Austin Farms, I had to make room in my freezer. I found a bag of frozen strawberries that I had picked this past summer and decided to see if they were not too freezer burned to use. I made a batch of strawberry muffins and those hand picked strawberries were perfectly delicious...



Strawberry Muffins - makes 12
Joy of Cooking

2 cups flour
1 T baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp nutmeg
2 eggs
1 cup milk
2/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups strawberries, thawed

1. Preheat oven to 400.
2. Grease liners for 12 muffins in a muffin tin.
3. Combine dry ingredients. Combine wet ingredients. Add dry to wet with a couple of quick beats.
4. Fold in strawberries. Divide batter into 12 muffin cups and sprinkle with a little sugar.
5. Bake about 17 minutes but allow 20. Cool a couple of minutes in the pan before cooling on the rack.

a vase of flowers for the table .....

Strawberries: last of the month

Of course, there is nothing better than a strawberry eaten on the day it was picked, but here's an idea to extend that taste. We've started freezing ours in small batches to use in smoothies. Plug in your blender, throw in a handful of frozen strawberries, some vanilla yogurt and some milk. Blend, pour and sip through a brightly colored straw... now that a summer treat that can be made year round!

Click on the jam jar photo to find a delicious strawberry jam recipe.

Painting a "strawberry" bowl...

Take Ten

I found myself picking strawberries at a frantic pace when I realized that wasn't the point. Slow Food is all about taking the time to enjoy the process. So I took a deep breath, marveled at the beautiful red of the strawberries and listened quietly to the giggling children calling out, "I found one!"

Sipping red zinger tea in my favorite mug and reading my new Farmer Brown Cookbook...