Potato Potato

Powisset Farm grows many varieties of potatoes that end up in my kitchen after a farm distribution. Some are pictured below:

 My favorite variety of potato is All Blue.  

The reason is their vibrant color!

The Food and Pottery Connection:

Food:  All Blue Roasted Potatoes

All Blue Potatoes -

 scrubbed free of dirt and cut into like size pieces

Olive Oil

Kosher Salt

Roast potatoes in a 425 oven for 35 minutes.

Pottery: Serving Bowl 

in a color equally as beautiful with hints of orange to play up the All Blue potatoes.

Lisa WB Walker Wheel-thrown Bowl

Cup of Coffee. Mug of Tea.

Sue Brum's (Hogwild Pottery) high fire mug on the left.

There is nothing better in my book than a cup (or two) of coffee in the morning and a mug of tea in the afternoon.  The biggest dilemma I have is choosing the vessel.  I'm a big fan of the story behind the pottery, so it will come as no surprise that I choose my cup or mug based on who I want to share the time with.

The top shelf in my kitchen cupboard is reserved for my collection of handmade mugs.  These are the ones I reserve for tea in the afternoon.  

Each has a story and is symbolic of something I love.

Debbie McCarty's elements of surprise, paintings, and mug shape make this a favorite.

Couldn't live without this Wayne Fuerst soda fired Mug - purchased at Harvard. 

One of two given by to me by a dear friend.  It's the glazing that I love!

A Lizanne Donegan mug...the textural quality could only be made in clay.

This little gem I made in college.  I love the glazing and the awkward handle that fits just right in my hand.

On my way to the Dedham Square Artist Guild for my afternoon shift this past Sunday, I stopped into Mocha Java.  I'm trying their signature lattes as a special treat that I spend the afternoon at the Guild sipping away on. First it was their Pumpkin latte, this week their Cinnabon latte, next time I might try their Nutty Irishman! Many of the Guild artists have their art up around town. My handmade mugs are displayed and for sale at Mocha Java.

Mocha Java in Dedham Square

The shape, size, color and design of a mug, whether it be for coffee or tea or hot chocolate, has to work for the person utilizing the pottery.  

Handmade functional pottery is all about 

finding that connection.  

I find the story of the mug - who made it, where they made it, why they made it - works in tandem with the enjoyment I feel while sipping what it holds.

You can check out more of my handmade mugs on my flickr photo sharing site. 

Grace Pottery

Kathleen Sarsfield of Grace Pottery creates pottery in Jeannette, Pennsylvania. It is here in her home studio that she explores with her speckled buff stoneware or traditional porcelain, finding inspiration from nature, as she creates her functional ware. 

Kathleen is always thinking about the relationship between her pottery and the food it is used for.  


She says, "As I drink my morning coffee from a handmade mug, I slow down and feel the surface of the piece. I enjoy the colors of the glazes and the textures. It's a wonderful way to start the day!"

"Growing our own food, buying local fresh from the farm and using handmade cooking and serving pieces focus all our senses on nourishing ourselves." Grace Pottery

Here is a recipe that she makes for many summer picnics: 

Baked Beans
Recipe from Kathleen's Mom


2 cups dried Great Northern beans (or whatever beans you prefer)
2 cups fresh tomatoes, blanched, skinned and crushed
1 cup water (saved from soaking beans)
½ cup brown sugar or honey
2 tbsp. molasses
¼ cups chopped onion
1 clove of garlic minced
1 Bay Leaf
A dash of ground cloves or chili powder
½ tsp. dried mustard


Cover beans with water and soak overnight. Drain beans, saving 1 cup of the liquid. Mix tomatoes, water, honey, molasses and cloves in bean pot. Add beans and remaining ingredients.Bake uncovered at 300 degrees for 2-1/2 hours adding water if necessary. Allow to cool slowly.

She suggests her beautiful Casserole Bean Pot for serving! 

Find out more about Grace Pottery, Stoneware and Porcelain Pots of Purpose at etsy or visit her facebook page.  Kathleen is also a member of the etsy mud team and the Potters Council.

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.

Buck Run Pottery

grapevine bowl

Buck Run Pottery is Functional and Decorative pottery produced collaboratively by Don and Lee Jackson in southwestern Arkansas. The Jacksons create a full range of functional items from stoneware clay and fire using the oxidation method. 

All items are glazed with food safe formulas and fired so as to produce a durable item safe for every day use in microwave, dishwasher and oven.

asparagus served in a handmade tray

I connected with Lee through the etsy mud team and learned that she has a serious connection between her food and pottery.  I learned that the Jacksons are a rural family that raise as much of their own food as possible. They have a dairy goat herd of 24, a barn full of rabbits, gardens and an orchard, plus their pottery business.  

"We do functional ware and grow most of our own food so the two are intertwined at all times."  

Supper in One Pot baking dish

At the end of a busy day, they are often out of energy for food prep. They use their Supper In One Pot baking dish to solve this dilemma. This 16 inch wide dish with domed lid will hold a whole chicken or rabbit plus veggies and rice or noodles. 

Lee's Recipe:
"I pour long grain brown rice in the bottom using just enough to cover the bottom well and add enough water to cover the rice to a depth of one inch. You can then lay in onions and garlic and baby carrots or whatever is ready for harvest and for this meal I then added a well herbed rib roast of goat on top so that the flavorful seasoned broth runs over the veggies and soaks into the rice for a savory easy meal. After tossing this in the oven for 90 mins you can just turn it off until ready to serve and it will be hot and tender quite some time later. This pot is effective for many one dish meals and has been the answer to our desire to eat well at the end of our always busy days."

 
Find out more about Buck Run Pottery by visiting their etsy shop and their facebook page

Dirt Kicker Pottery

Cindy Gilliland of Dirt Kicker Pottery makes pottery that can be used every day.   It is functional and in balance with the food that is served within.  She sent me a photo of her Leaf Pool Bowl, glazed with a glossy finish, it is perfect for serving her favorite salad in.

Leaf Pool Bowl

Summer Chicken Salad for Two

by Cindy Gilliland

1/2 head of romaine lettuce
6 large strawberries (quartered)
handful of pine-nuts
Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing
1 left-over chicken breasts (pulled bit size pieces)

Layer the above and serve cold.  Great with a wedge of warm artisan bread and glass of wine.

Cindy Gilliland of Dirt Kicker Pottery says: 

"Making POtterY is a total joy in my life."

Apple Baker Set

Cindy uses a variety of stoneware and porcelain clays. Her glaze colors are uplifting and interesting. She enjoys adding decorative details to her pottery creations. Every piece of her pottery is unique and full of personality.

Deep Pie Baking Dish

Dirt-Kicker Pottery is Food safe, dishwasher safe, microwave safe and oven safe, unless otherwise disclosed.

Cindy lives and creates her functional pottery in Washoe Valley, Nevada.  She writes a blog filled with pictures of her work and her studio.    

Garlic grater and bread plate set

To see more of Cindy's beautiful work: 

check out her etsy shop, 

her website, 

and her Facebook page.