Postcard

Yesterday I made this little collage of some of my work from this year for my pre-holiday sale invitation. Cards are printed and ready to be cut, addressed, and stamped. I think I've made everything that I wanted to make for this sale, but I'm making more for my December obligations. I'm excited that my friend Uele is joining me this year. She makes the best granola. And steamed breads, floral honey, tea blends, bath soaks. . . Dark star, the chocolate granola, is irresistible.

Today I'm glazing (I finished my trimming before 9- I love our 7:15 am school start some days), mixing glazes for my class to glaze their icons and crosses, and I just paid to reserve a spot in a 3-day class this summer with Diana Fayt. Early Merry Christmas (and tax-deductible!) to me!

cycles

Did you have a good halloween? Ours was jam-packed with kiddo fun on Friday and Saturday nights. Little boy had great fun with his best friend and our combined families. I only did a minimum of pottery work this weekend- trimming another dozen berry bowls. After my last day at the farmers market, I decided to use a portion of my sales to buy this fancy trimming tool that I'd wanted for years. The Giffin Grip really does make trimming (especially centering) easier and nearly fool-proof. I can't tell you how many times I watched in horror as a pot lost its gob of anchoring clay and went flying off the wheel. No longer! I can't say that I'm trimming faster, but I am trimming better. It was money well spent.

Yesterday I spent the day being a lazy lazy lie-a-bed, doing a little Christmas knitting and a lot of contemplating. I meant to load and fire this body of work, about 40 small crosses from a workshop I've been teaching at the cathedral, but I never made it past the den. I'll fire it and the rest of the dry ware that didn't make the last firing today. This little workshop will be finished on Wednesday, when we glaze our work. While I've enjoyed it, I have also realized that my teaching days (with the exception of Catechesis of the Good Shepherd work) are over for a while. I've been teaching in full-to-part time capacity since 1997. Sometimes elementary and middle schoolers in reading (once the kids are physically bigger than I am, something changes and teaching gets a LOT harder), sometimes as a grad student trying to cajole undergrads into reading and discussing Faulkner (this was when I put any thoughts of a PhD out of my head), and for the last eight years, as a teaching artist. After I left my museum job, I knew I was tired and wanted my creative energy to go into my own work and family. But when I started dragging my feet with this fun little workshop for people I know well, I realized that my teaching cycle is over, at least for now.

Lots of things seem to be beginning or ending their cycles lately: the changing seasons, little boy's new school and the challenges and opportunities that go with this new community (one thing that I'm very excited about is the school's garden and its expansion), the calendar year is winding down, and I find I'm narrowing my focus and gladly dropping what isn't working anymore. Regardless, it is interesting to detach a little, sit back and watch these cycles begin anew or play themselves out. So: teaching- ending. Making- beginning and continuing. Living- continuing to figure out what works and what doesn't. I look back fondly at some things that are ending- and am grateful that others are over. I wonder at what will happen in the future, which doors will open. Life is good right now. Life is good always, even when I have to puzzle over it a bit.

And speaking of making- off to work. Hope your week is a productive one. I know mine will be!

unloading

oh. It was good to unload yesterday. I let the kiln cool down for an entire 36 hours (better for the glaze, less crazing, pieces have better longevity). Nearly everything came out JUST RIGHT. I tried some new things with this load and had some new forms- my long-awaited (but largely silent) salt spoons.A test pomegranate. A very good application of my new green glaze. More speckled egg pieces. Each layer held surprises of the very good sort. The only slight disappointment was with red berry bowls. Here's the deal with them. There will be very, very few. The amount of glaze needed to get the lovely red color means that the several thick applications run down the inside surface of the bowl and cover the holes as it melts.
So I take a special ortho surgical tool (Gary works in the marketing dept. of a large Ortho/surgical/trauma manufacturing company and has some surgical tools, like this long screw/drill that I use) to pierce the glaze, file the hole down, then refire it. These extra steps and subsequent refiring mean higher prices for you and a smidge of frustration for me. But it is pretty, and I'll keep doing them. These will just be limited run pieces.

After I unloaded the kiln, I went to the studio, discovered that I had another full load ready to go (loading this afternoon)- I've been averaging 24 pieces in about 2 hours. When I sat down to throw small pieces, I made more tiny bowls, vases, and egg cups. I threw 36 pieces yesterday morning. Today I'll trim them. My wrists complain a bit, by Hyland's Arnica-based Arthritis Relief tablets take most of the sting away.

All of my work is leading up to my own holiday show and the two other holiday sales I'll be participating in. I'll have a big etsy update the day after Thanksgiving.

Today's task: trimming, loading, prepping for tonight's clay class (crosses) by cutting out templates for my students, and more roasted root vegetables. Oh, and the vacuum.

I hope you're having a good, productive week, everyone. And as I look at this, I sigh just a bit, wish I knew how to wrap text better, then release my perfectionism. Just for this moment, I'm letting it go.

cooking for kids- "man food"

When we were at the Urchin's house a few weeks ago, Jennifer told me about hash. I remember reading about hash on her blog, and how it seemed to be a good way to sneak in veggies (and a variety of veggies, at that) for a very carnivorous family. She was 100% right. My son and husband liked this supper better than any fancy-bordering-on-gourmet meal I've ever made.

So. Hash

Root vegetables: sweet potato, turnips, regular potatoes. Cubed (about 1/2-3/4 dice), tossed in a few teaspoons of olive oil, salt, pepper, and thyme. Roast at 400 until they're nicely browned. Maybe 20-30 minutes.
Bell peppers, choppped
Red/Yellow onion, about 1/2 cup, chopped
bulk sausage (I used 1/3 lb from the lb I'd bought at the farmers market and froze in sections)
garlic
one egg per person
a pat of butter

While the root vegetables are roasting in the oven, melt a pat of butter (or don't if your sausage is fatty, but mine renders very little fat so I needed it to prevent sticking) and saute the onion and garlic. Add the sausage and cook. When the sausage is about half cooked, throw in some chopped bell pepper. This doesn't require much tending, which is nice.
Once the root vegetables are roasty and cooked through, add them to the pan. Throw in a little (very) water to deglaze the pan and mix the entire thing up. Crack eggs on top of the hash, reduce heat somewhat, cover, and let the eggs steam. I don't like my egg yolks to be completely cooked ever, and this was nice with some runny yolk mixed in.

I served this with a spinach salad topped with the last (maybe) of my csa tomatoes, halved and roasted in the toaster oven, and topped with goat cheese. (honestly, this part was a concession to mama's taste buds. Little boy didn't like the roasted tomatoes so I ate his)

This meal was entirely local except for the purple onion and spinach. The boys didn't even notice the turnips, just the roasty/toasty/meaty goodness. I imagine it would be good with leftover roast beef or pork loin, chicken or turkey. Leftover savior? Though I was skeptical, it used very little meat and made a nice hearty meal. Even though it doesn't LOOK pretty, it is filling, thrifty, and they just plain loved it. We'll be having this again.

the flip side

It was a great last day at the Memphis Farmers Market. Next week is the very last Saturday for the 2009 season (not counting the special Holiday Market Day on Dec 5). I was happy with my sales, more happy that I didn't sell out of some certain somethings, which means that I have fewer things that I need to make to feel well prepared for the aforementioned holiday sales. I met a few people who read this (hi!), which always shocks me because I always think that a mere handful of friends in metro DC and KC read this. I began to stock up on market provisions for the winter. Today I managed Goat Cheese. Next week I'll tackle sweet potatoes, honey, and, um, more goat cheese. That's a purchase I have to spread out just a teeny bit. $70 in goat cheese would raise eyebrows. Mine included.

So. The flip side to my pottery-making craziness is I've become even more of a homebody. After the market I swung by my favorite Thai-dive and picked up some curried tofu soup (it kicks the formerly best-soup-ever Tom Yum in the tail). What you see here, red wine and pistachios, would comprise my plans for the evening. Some dear friends are throwing a party- I'm on the sofa. Sending the boys off tomorrow and staying home to glaze and trim a bit. And maybe read and knit on the sofa. Next week is a little crazy with outside appointments so I'm alternating staying at home cozying with staying at home working. Fall has really set in and all I want is soup, warm drinks, and blankets during my downtime. And maybe for the first time ever, I'm really understanding what it means to relax. Now all I need is a little pot-bellied wood stove.

Hope y'all have a great weekend.

holiday hoopla

I have been a pottery-making crazy lately. I'm making 25-30 pieces a few days a week (one day to throw, one day to trim, a day to rest my arms, then repeat), then firing and glazing on off days and the weekend. But the news is this: I've got plans. I've got a schedule. There needs to be work ready to roll by Nov 1, and after Dec 5, I'm finished making for the season. Here are my event dates:

Oct 24: This Saturday is the penultimate 2009 Memphis Farmers Market day. I'll be there.

Nov 20, 21: my house. If you're in Memphis or the surrounding area, you're invited to come shop my wares. Berry bowls (though fair warning- I'm only putting out a dozen, so if you want one, come early), egg cups, tumblers, platters, honey pots, butter bells- a decent selection of work.

Nov 27: Etsy. Berry bowls up for the holidays. I'm making twenty five berry bowls in assorted colors. When they're gone, they're gone. I may have a few more here and there, but I'm not making promises. My online market has gotten the lion's share of my time this year, so I'm focusing on local customers this season. But I still really, really, love you.

Dec 5: MFM is having a holiday market. Outside, under the pavillion, right where we always are. Santa will be there, too!

Dec 10: Deck the Halls at Park Place Mall in East Memphis. I'll have work there from Dec 10-20.

My normal MO is to think (and commit to) that I can do way more than is reasonable. This leaves me in a crazed state by Dec 15, when the holiday parties are in high gear, and all I want to do is stay home, huddled under blankets on the sofa, with a big mug of cider-spiked rum. I'm looking for balance this year. Having it mapped out on the calendar before Halloween is a pretty good start.

kids' cooking- asian

Tuesday has kicked my tail. Totally kicked it. I'm glad the day is done and that I cooked my kids' meal yesterday. Friday also kicked me pretty hard, so we ate out. Normally, I don't like to eat out. I like knowing where my food comes from and how it is prepared. And six nights out of seven, I really enjoy cooking. When we do go out, it's usually ethnic (Thai, Mexican, Japanese) and Gary and I try to deconstruct our dishes to figure out how to adapt them to home cooking. We went to a dive-y Chinese place that also has a fabulous Thai menu. Thinking about how much we enjoyed our meal, and knowing that we had the essential ingredients, I looked up a recipe for Pad Thai in Joy of Cooking. And promptly closed the book because the recipe was too too long and complicated. Here's what I did instead.

Gingery Asian Noodles with Good Stuff
1 T vegetable oil and Sesame oil (I use safflower oil because that's what I make our mayo with and it is nice, neutral, and good for high heat)
1 large clove of garlic, smashed
1" fresh ginger, cut in match sticks.

Sautee this until the garlic is browned and remove it. I keep the ginger in because we like it. Use the oil to sautee:

1 halved and sliced yellow squash
1 halved and slice baby leek (pulled from the garden) or several scallions
1/2 yellow bell pepper, sliced
about a dozen sugar snap or snow peas

Remove from fire and aside when tender crisp.

Mix together:
1 T chunky peanut butter
1/4 c lemon or lime juice (I used lime)
1/4 c fish sauce
2T sesame oil
2T sugar

Cube about half a block firm tofu and pat dry. Marinate briefly in the sauce you just made, then pan-fry in the same gingery-garlicy oil.

Boil enough soba (buckwheat) noodles or whole wheat spaghetti noodles for your family. I didn't have enough of either so I combined them and no one noticed. When they were almost finished, I tossed in a cup of shrimp. Drain, mix with vegetables and tofu. Top with the sauce you made and gently toss to combine. Serve it up: we added some frozen crumbles of thai basil that my mom bought and didn't like- I froze the entire bunch, crushed it, and dole out a bit as needed. Regular basil would work, too. I topped the adult noodle bowls with a bit of Sriracha, Thai chili-garlic sauce. We like the kid with the rooster on the label and the green lid. Everyone ate it up. I was really happy that I left the ginger in because it added a lot to the dish. There was only a tiny bit left. I ate that cold for lunch and enjoyed the ginger even more.