Mother's Day is Sunday

 Ideas for Mother's Day:

A beautiful vase filled with her favorite flowers.

A tiny dish with the word "LOVE" stamped in it.

A handmade mug for her morning coffee.

A beautiful serving dish for her favorite meal.

ART for anyplace she might need a Mother's Day reminder after the day has come and gone.

The Food and Pottery Connection:

Serve This:

... because I'm a Mom and vanilla ice cream is my all time favorite

In This: 

wheel thrown hand painted bowl with floral motif  - yes, it's my very own...

I'll be working at the Dedham Square Artist Guild on Saturday, May 12th from 2pm-6pm.  Stop by the shop at 553 High Street in Dedham, MA.  There are many beautiful things to make your Mother's Day one to remember after the day has come and gone.

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

 

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.

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?

Happy Mother's Day

For all the wonderful MOMs out there: have a wonderful day on Sunday!

For My Mom:
Lemon Meringue Pie - serves 8

pastry:  Combine 1 1/4 cups flour, 1/4 tsp salt and 1 tsp sugar in a food processor.  Add 6 T cold unsalted butter (cut into 1" pieces) and 1/4 cup shortening until dough forms pea size crumbs. 2-3 T water may be added.  Turn dough out onto a floured surface.  Shape into a flat disk.  Wrap tightly with plastic and refrigerate for an hour or more.

lemon curd: Whisk together in a saucepan over med heat: 3 eggs, 5 egg yolks, 1/2 cup sugar, 3T milk and a pinch of salt. Whisk in 1/2 cup lemon juice.  Slowly add in 8 T of butter (cut into 1" pieces) and stir 8-10 minutes.  Remove from heat, strain and cool to room temperature.

With both the pastry and lemon curd ready, it is time to create the pie.  Preheat oven to 425. Roll out pastry to a 12" round, 1/8" thick circle.  Transfer dough to a 9" pie plate and flute edges. Line with parchment paper and weights. Bake 12 minutes.  Remove paper and weights, continue cooking 10 minutes.  Transfer to wire rack and cool 5 minutes.

Reduce oven temperature to 350.  Pour lemon curd into pie shell.  Bake 20-25 minutes.  While cooking, make meringue.

meringue: Beat 4 egg whites, 1/2 tsp vanilla, 1/4 tsp cream of tartar on medium speed until soft peaks form.  Gradually add 1/3 cup sugar a Tablespoon at a time until stiff, glossy peaks form.

Spread meringue over hot pie filling to the edges of the pastry to seal and prevent shrinkage.  Bake until top is golden, about 15 minutes.  Transfer to a wire rack and cool to room temperature.  Refrigerate at least 4 hours before serving. Dip knife in warm water to cut slices.

Colorful Vases to fill with fresh flowers ....

March: The Season when Spring Arrives

Green, flowers, warmth ... Spring is just around the corner and I am so ready for it! Here is a fresh new dish with a bit of green to remind us that spring is on the way - really...

Peanut Crusted Chicken Breasts with Asparagus - serves 4
Fresh Flavor Fast by Martha Stewart

1 T Olive Oil
3/4 cup roasted unsalted peanuts
3 slices white sandwich bread, torn into small pieces
Coarse Salt and Pepper
2 eggs
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
1 1/2 lbs asparagus
1 T butter

1. Preheat oven to 475. Bring a pot of water to a boil. Oil a cookie sheet. In a food processor, pulse bread and peanuts. Transfer to a small bowl and whisk in oil, salt and pepper.
2. In an other bowl, whisk eggs. Dip chicken in egg, then peanut mix, then onto cookie sheet. Bake 10-15 minutes or more depending on thickness of chicken.
3. Meanwhile, add salt to boiling water, blanch asparagus 3-4 minutes. Drain and add butter.
4. Serve chicken and asparagus together with some nice crunchy bread and a green salad.

flowers on pottery....

Comfort Food

Creating a meal for a friend is a great way to care for that person.

Baked Penne with Chicken, Broccoli and Cheese - serves 4
2 T butter
2 T flour
1 cup milk
1 cup chicken broth
1 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
8 oz penne pasta
2 cups lightly steamed broccoli florets
3 cups cooked skinless, boneless chicken breasts

1. Make sauce: melt butter, whisk in flour, add broth and milk. Slowly bring to boil. When thickened, add 1/2 cup of mozzarella cheese and 2 T parm. Set aside.
2. Cook penne pasta al dente. Tear chicken into large pieces. Add sauce to pasta. Add chicken and broccoli to pasta.
3. Spread mixture into a 2 quart baking dish. Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Let rest 10 minutes serving.

Vase for a small bouquet of flowers...

Best Meatballs

Reading through the Boston Globe on Sunday, I found a recipe for Italian Meatballs that sounded perfect for dinner on a snowy night. I have a freezer full of locally raised meat from Austins Farm (see link on favorite sites) and their ground meat is lean and flavorful. This recipe got the thumbs up from every family member.

Italian Meatballs - serves 6
Boston Globe

1 cup bread crumbs
1/2 cup water
2 eggs
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 tsp dried parsley
1/4 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp salt
1 lb ground beef
2 T olive oil
Marinara Sauce

1. Combine bread crumbs, water, egg, cheese, herbs, salt and meat.

2. Wet hands and make 20-24 meatballs.

3. Heat olive oil over low-med heat in a pan big enough to hold all the meatballs. Brown and remove to paper towel.

4. Bring sauce to a boil in a large pot. Add meatballs and lower heat to simmer. Loosely cover pot and simmer meatballs for 30-40 minutes. Delicious served over linguini.

Pretty vase for the table...

Happy New Year

Thank you Sandy for this delicious recipe... Mascarpone cheese mixed with some local honey, pomegranate seeds, sliced clementines and stone wheat thin crackers.

painting flowers...

Selling at Powessit

I'll be selling my pottery at that Powessit Farm in Dover on Tuesday, July 13th in the afternoon. So much of my work has been inspired by this place; I can't wait to spend the afternoon interacting with other CSA members!

Vases for fresh flowers