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

Turkey

 I was out for a walk yesterday morning when I came upon a party of wild turkeys.  They started following me down the road.  I find myself both fascinated and fearful of these gobbling birds. I had to take a few photos and then I quickly made my escape...

I have been very busy getting ready for my studio, Potters Place fall show and sale.  There are just 2 weeks left to have all our bisque ware dried for firing... a difficult prospect when it keeps raining, and raining, and raining. 

The theme of this year's show is "Festive Feasts" and takes place the weekend before Thanksgiving on November 18, 19 and 20.  I'll be alternating my blog entries between writing about my own work for show, and, talking about my fellow Potters Place artisans in the weeks leading up to Show.

But before then, I'll be selling at Powessit Farm Stand next Tuesday, October 11th from 1:30-6:30 pm in Dover.  This will be the final sale during the regular distribution season.  Hope to see you then and if not, mark your calendars for Potters Place Open Studios in November.

A "Festive Feasts" Platter

Soda Fire

Last week I finished up a workshop on soda fire.  It gave me a whole new way of looking at surface decoration.  I then took my new pieces to a Farm Stand at Powessit and shared my new work with CSA members.  Here are some photos of my new work:

Soda Fire Cups 

Carbon Trap Bowls

Leaf Bowl

I made sure when I was glazing to choose food safe liners as I wanted all my work to be usable as vessels for serving and eating from.  I might not throw these in the dishwasher as I would my cone 6 ware because the results are so unique and hand-washing would add yet another way of interacting with the work.

What would I serve in my new work; well, what's in season?  There will be beans in the garden today, so my suggestion would be a SLAW!  Here is the recipe from the Powessit Blog.  Enjoy!

Powessit Slaw
created by Tod Dimmick


1 pint green beans
1 apple, sliced, with peel
4-5 carrots
4-5 scallions, minced
a handful of basil leaves, minced
a handful of parsley leaves, minced

Juice of 1/2 lemon
4 TB good olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Run the beans, apple slices, and carrots through a food processor equipped with a shredding disk. Scrape that mixture into a serving bowl, and stir in the scallions, basil and parsley. Drizzle with lemon juice and olive oil, and toss. Distribute to serving plates, seasoning to taste with salt and pepper.


If you would like to see more of my soda fire work, click the link on the right to access my flickr account.  

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

Spring Farm Fest - May 21 - Making the Choice to Buy Local

A few years back, I picked up Barbara Kingsolver’s book Animal, Vegetable, Miracle and yes, I did make my book club read it (thank you ladies!).  At the same time I became a shareholder at the Powisset Farm CSA.  Perhaps it was the reading and the eating that worked together, but something changed in the way I was making choices for my family and my work as an artist.

The thrill of walking out into a field to pick beans off a vine (green, yellow and even purple varieties) or lifting a leaf and finding tiny ruby colored strawberries (and “sampling”… who could resist?).  It was just so fresh! I started to dread those trips to the grocery store where I had to admit to myself that I didn’t know much about what I was buying.

With this sudden change in lifestyle, my work as a potter changed. I started to delve into what makes a piece of pottery functional, not just pretty. How what we eat and what we choose to serve that food in really do go hand in hand.  Why wouldn’t you choose a handmade, one of a kind bowl to eat the lovely fresh local tomatoes in?  It’s a wonderful experience! One just needs to make the choice to do so.

This Saturday, May 21st, Powisset Farm, located at 37 Powisset Road in Dover, will host their Spring Farm Fest from 1-5pm.  Vendors will include wonderful local businesses and organizations that support sustainability, local agriculture, buying local and building community.  There will be local farmers, gardeners, potters and many community groups and non-profit organizations.  There will be farm tours, guided ecological walks, and live music.  This Fest marks the start of the new season.  If you haven’t been to Powisset before, bring your whole family and be prepared to fall in love….

Lisa WB Walker pottery will be for sale at the Powisset Farm Spring Fest.  She supports sustainability, local agriculture, buying local and building community.

Cool Down

We have been struggling through the heat this summer in New England. Ice tea and lemonade are favorite drinks and I always try to have a nice selection on hand. Using fresh mint from the friendship garden at Powessit, this makes for a nice cool down...

Iced Mint Tea - serves 4

Great Good Food by Julee Rosso

4 tea bags
1 orange, thinly sliced
1 lemon, thinly sliced
1/4 c sugar
1/2 c fresh chopped mint
4 short mint sprigs

1. Seep tea bags in boiling water for 5 minutes.
2. Place orange and lemon in a pitcher. When ready, pour tea into the pitcher. Add sugar and mint. Chill for 1 hour.
3. Serve in tall glasses filled with ice and garnish with mint sprigs.

Tumblers for iced tea or lemonade...

Ah...Tomatoes!

Not only was today distribution day at the farm, but I also received the latest issue of Everyday Food Magazine. Today is all about tomatoes...5 lbs of fabulous summer fruit from the farm and fresh tomato recipies to try!

Italian Panzanella - serves 4
Everyday Food Magazine

1/4 c red wine vinegar
1/4 c olive oil
coarse salt and pepper
2 cans (15.5 oz each) cannellini beans,
drained and rinsed
3 cups large cubes country bread (5-6 oz)
1 pound plum tomatoes, cut into small pieces
1 cucumber, thinly sliced crosswise
1/4 medium red onion, thinly sliced
4 oz provolone cheese, diced
1/4 c fresh basil leaves, torn

1. In a large (handthrown!) bowl, whisk together vinegar, oil, salt and pepper.
2. Add beans, bread, tomatoes, cucumber, onion and cheese. Toss to combine. Cover and refridgerate at 2-8 hours. Just before serving, stir in basil.

Big Blue Bowl for Salad...

colorful three-bean salad ... perfect to share

The best thing about summer is having the time to reconnect with old friends. It all starts with "Can't wait to see you!" and then "What can I bring?" When you have purple, green and yellow beans that are fresh from the field, a salad is the perfect choice.

Three Bean Salad - serves 4
Great Good Food by Julee Rosso (silver palate cookbook author)

1/2 lb fresh green beans, rinsed and trimmed
1/2 lb fresh yellow beans, rinsed and trimmed
1/2 lb fresh purple beans, rinsed and trimmed
12 fresh thyme sprigs
1/2 cup vinegar
2 T olive oil
1 T fresh italian parsley
1T dijon mustard
2 t sugar
1 t black pepper
1 garlic clove minced

1. In a large pot, boil 2 qts water. Add beans and blanch 1-2 minutes. Then rinse under cold water. Drain.
2. Place beans and thyme in a shallow serving dish.
3. Whisk remaining ingredients until smooth. Pour over beans. Toss to coat.
4. Cover and marinate for 1 hour before serving.

A shallow serving dish, of course...

CARROT CupCAKE

With carrots being THE big item at this week's pick up, I'm going to make a batch of carrot cupcakes. I love this recipe because the cupcakes are so good you can eat them like a muffin or add a touch of sweetness with the frosting. They freeze well too!

Carrot Cupcakes - makes 12
Great Food Fast by Martha Stewart

1 cup sugar
1/3 cup vegetable oil
2 T orange juice
1/2 t vanilla extract
2 eggs
1 t baking powder
1/2 t baking soda
1/2 t ground allspice
1/2 t salt
3/4 cup plus 2 T flour
1 1/2 c shredded carrots

1. Preheat oven to 350. Combine all ingredients. Divide batter into 12 muffin lined tins. Bake 25 minutes. Let cool and frost if desired.

2. Cream Cheese Frosting: Mix 8oz softened cream cheese with 3/4 c confectioners sugar and 1/4 t vanilla extract until smooth.

Painted Carrots and Bunnies Bowl

Potato Salad

When I was pregnant with my first child, I could not walk by a container of red bliss potato salad in the supermarket without snatching it up to eat as soon as I got home. Yesterday, I heard..."Mom, I love this potato salad!" I think I like the one I make from scratch best. It is a food that nourishes my soul and transports me to a time when I began to realize that life wasn't just about me anymore.

RED BLISS POTATO SALAD

Red potatoes - 2-3 lbs
scallions - thinly sliced
1/4 cup white vinegar
salt & pepper
3/4 cup mayonaise

1. Wash and cut potatoes into bite-size pieces. Put in pot and cover with water. Boil until just done, about 20 minutes from when you turn on the stove.
2. Mix vinegar, scallions, salt and pepper in a bowl.
3. Add hot cooked potatoes to vinegar mixture. Stir. Cool for at least an hour.
4. When ready to serve, mix in mayonaise.

A pretty serving bowl.

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