Pottery Sale at the Farm

The ultimate Food and Pottery Connection:

Food: 

Powessit Farm Stand Veggies 

at 37 Powessit Road in Dover, MA

Pottery: 

Lisa W. B. Walker pottery

Today! 
Tuesday, July 17th 1:30-6:30

Farm Stand Sale

The ultimate Food and Pottery Connection:

Food: 

Powessit Farm Stand Veggies 

at 37 Powessit Road in Dover, MA

Pottery: 

Lisa W. B. Walker pottery

Today! 
Tuesday, June 26th 1:30-6:30

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?

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

 

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!

Pear Season

ceramic pears in crisscross bowl

It's fall in New England. There is no better place to find locally grown apples and pears.

 I'll eat any kind of apple, especially Macouns and Pink Ladies.  My favorite type of pear would have to be a Bartlett.  Crisp and fresh or baked with sugar, fall fruits are versatile. 

I haven't been apple or pear picking since my kids were little.  We traveled to Lookout Farm in Natick where the picking was easy and the trip was a half day.  Some day I'd like to venture out to middle or western Massachusetts where the picking is plentiful. Add that to the "wish list"....

Here is a recipe from www.allrecipes.com that is delicious at any meal.

Fresh Pear Cake

4 cups peeled, cored and chopped pears

2 cups sugar

3 cups flour

1 tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp nutmeg

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground cloves

4 eggs

2/3 cup canola oil

1 cup chopped pecans (optional)

1. Combine pears and sugar.  Let stand one hour.

2. Preheat oven to 325. Spray a bundt pan with non stick spray

3. Combine egg, nuts, oil, and pear mixture

4. Stir flour, salt, baking soda and spices together. Stir in pear mixture. Pour batter into prepared pan.

5. Bake for 1 hour and 10 minutes.  Cool on wire rack for 10 minutes before removing from pan.

How does this season influence my work in clay? Take a look...

pear plate - hand carved and painted

pear plates - slip trailed and glazed

large crisscross bowl

square plate - slip trailed and glazed

Transition

The transition from summer to fall always seems difficult.  Less light, less sleep, less time, but I love seasonal change.  The air is crisper and the colors are darker.  Food choices become denser and warmer and I start to think about apples, pumpkins and soup.

Some of my favorites are still being harvested, but carrots are thicker, greens are darker and thoughts of tomatoes and mozzarella turn to roasted spaghetti sauce.

With a busy tempo to the day, I find myself making pasta-based recipes that are easy to assemble and reheat nicely depending on when family members arrive home.

Here's what's for dinner at my house tonight: 
 

Pasta with Roasted Tomato Sauce and Chicken - serves 3 or 4


Fresh Pasta - cooked and drained
Roasted Tomato Sauce* - 2-3 cups
Chicken - cut into bite sized pieces and pan fried in olive oil and a sprinkle of salt

Combine and serve with your favorite cheese.

*Roasted Tomato Sauce - Roast onions or leeks, garlic, tomatoes mixed with olive oil and kosher salt in a 425 oven for 30-45 minutes.  Cool. Blend. Add thyme or oregano or basil, whatever your favorite is.  Freeze in 2 cup portions.


Creating, creating, creating....

Summertime

Today is the first day of summer and I'm off to sell pottery at the Powessit Farm Stand this afternoon. I love spending an extended time at the farm because I get to interact with people who share my passion for good local food and great pottery...it's going to be a blast!

I'll be selling lots of functional pottery, perfect for eating and serving food from.  All my pottery is dishwasher and microwave safe.  Food just tastes better in a handmade piece of pottery. 

I love this new color combination that uses this summertime blue.  It works really well with the Temoko brown and matte white too.  Different combinations produce different colors and expand my palette.

Here is a recipe to start your summer off:

Sauteed Radishes (truth be known...I never liked radishes until I cooked them....)  

separate red radishes from their stems

wash and slice 

heat a skillet, add a combination of olive oil and butter

add radishes to the pan and saute until soft

If you like to use the entire radish, add a bit more oil and add the greens in.

sprinkle a little kosher salt over your veggies

...serve in your favorite handmade bowl and enjoy the relationship between the food and pottery...

And, MY blog was included in the best 50 ceramic blogs!  
Click here to see more:

Guide To Art Schools.com

50 Best Ceramics Blogs

Green Greens

lily of the valley bowl with local broccoli

Everything is GREEN these days from the local leafy greens at farm stands to the bountiful green grass in my own yard. 

Look up "GREEN"  on the Internet, and you will find Wikipedia's beautiful green photo (left) as well as a definition that includes such phrases as "green symbolizes hope and growth" and has "ties to nature".  There is a great vegetarian website called "green". And also green.yahoo.com where you can get tips on going green.  


But I really like this one best: Heart of Green Awards where among many interesting facts, they name "Urban Pantry" as the hot new cookbook for 2011. 

I read through many cookbooks this week, but decided on a trusted one to start my seasonal green cooking: Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone, given to me by a friend and fellow advocate of sustainability.  Here's the recipe that I made multiple times because it was so easy to substitute in different veggies.

Stir-Fried Mixed Greens - 2-4 servings
Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone
1 T peanut oil
1 tsp roasted peanut oil
1 T minced garlic
1 T chopped ginger
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
2 T chopped scallions
10 cups greens, sliced into ribbons about 3/4 inch thick
1/2 cup stock
2 tsp dark sesame oil
1 tsp rice wine
1 tsp cornstarch diluted with 3 T water


Heat wok and both peanut oils.  When hot, add garlic, ginger, red paper flakes, and scallions.  Stir-fry 30 seconds, then add greens and stir-fry 1 minute more.  Add stock, cornstarch, cover, and steam until tender. Season with remaining ingredients.  Serve with brown rice.

Green Leaf Bowl

Note: For the most interesting stir-fry, use a combination of greens like bok choy, spinach, lettuce and cabbage.  Sprinkle sesame seeds over cooked greens. I serve my stir-fry with brown rice, but you could easily mix with noodles or even use in a wrap for a delicious lunch on the go.

Time to make some bowls for all these great recipes I'm finding...