And today, I'm going to post!

I am shocked & ashamed. 3 weeks away without a good excuse. Except that it is February. I'll just leave it at that.

So while I haven't been posting, I have done a few other things.

We had a kiln soup party at our 2nd Sunday open house.

We opened up the Gas Kiln and pulled all this out.


4 of us also made soup & we sold that along with little cups. I didn't have much time, so I made a quick, easy & really yummy soup that I found online.
Turkey Chili Soup with Hominy
(adapted from FoodandWine.com)
This is great if you are looking for the warmth of chili, but don't have the time to make it.

The Stuff
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 medium onions- one yellow, one red, finely chopped
4-6 garlic cloves, minced
1 pound ground turkey
1 pound turkey andouille sausage, casings removed (or you can use 2 pounds ground turkey)
1/3 cup ancho chile powder
1 Tablespoon ground cumin
1 1/2 Teaspoons chipotle powder
Salt
1/4 cup corn meal
2 - 3 Tablespoons tomato paste
5 cups dark chicken stock or low-sodium broth
One 29-ounce can hominy, drained and rinsed
Shredded cheddar, chopped cilantro, sour cream and tortilla chips, for serving

What ya do with it:
In a large pot, heat the olive oil until shimmering. Add the onion and garlic and cook over high heat, stirring, until barely softened, about 3 minutes. Add the turkey, sausage, ancho powder, cumin and chipotle powder and season with salt. Cook, breaking up the turkey & sausage with a wooden spoon, until the liquid has evaporated and the turkey is lightly browned, about 5 minutes (if you have problems with the spices sticking to the bottom, deglaze with a little stock). Stir in the corn meal and tomato paste. Add the stock and hominy and simmer over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until thickened slightly, about 15 minutes. Ladle the soup into bowls and serve with cheddar, cilantro, sour cream and tortilla chips.

Easy - Peasy!

So, while I didn't sell any pottery at the kiln sale, all of the soups were a hit! And I did have enough interest in this piece that the store took it on consignment.

These didn't turn out as well as I had hoped.


They both have glaze issues and aren't as tall as they seemed when I was making them. (First of all, they never do. Secondly, it is always the shrinkage that gets ya!)

My review (of my own work) concept A, execution C+. What do you think? (I can take it!) I made a similar one for my mother-in-law for Christmas. She liked it, and I think the execution on hers was a little better.

I had a couple other things that went into the kiln, but had some even more severe problems. (I do not take all the blame. The kiln seemed to have some underfiring issues in certain areas) I didn't get photos of those.

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In the Mud with Kiki

Ok, so it isn't really mud right now, but it was a one point. Actually, a couple different points it was mud. Last week I even brought my camera to the studio to have my picture taken while I was working. Twice. I even remembered that I had it one day, and asked someone to take my picture once I started working. We both forgot. But this really is pottery that I made with my own 2 hands.

The group shot, hangin' out on the love seat.

This is the big casserole. It may not look so big to you, but trust me, when you are wrestling that clay, it is HUGE!


Next we have the little brother. It's still not very little. The glaze is a little thin on this one, but I'm ok with it.

Look, it is a little family of prep bowls. Done in manly colors, for my B-I-L. The glaze turned out a little funky because it was fired in a different kiln (yes, that does make a big difference) so I'm not sure if I'll make another set for him. I have time, his birthday isn't until August. If I try to make another set how can I be sure
they will nest so nicely?

Well, this isn't mud, but I will share what I had for dinner tonight.
Barbeque Chicken Pizza. On the grill. I finally got at least a little picture.

I made pizzas on Friday night (no, I didn't have my Solstice Party, but at least I had some friends over for pizza and beer) I was a little wiser this time, I didn't make everything at once. I did a couple small batches so we wouldn't eat too much or leave too much. So today, I grabbed a hunk of dough out of the freezer (already rolled out) and threw it on the grill then threw the toppings on. I'm not sure if it would have been less crispy if I let the dough thaw a little more, but it was still pretty tasty for a super quick dinner while HP was in class.

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elbow deep in tomatoes-post finished if you looked at it earlier

At the beginning of gardening season the following conversation was heard by our magnolia bush:

HP: Ya know I was thinking of signing up for the garden tour.
Me: I love our garden & I love the tour, but we really can't afford to spruce up the yard for people to come through.
HP: We can do it on the cheap, I'll plant that herb & salsa garden I promised you for your birthday last year.
Me: The birthday that you didn't even get me a card for? NOW you want to start on that? We are even more broke now than we were then and that was your excuse for not getting me anything.
HP: Umm, yeah, sorry about that. But think how much we'll save if we only spend a few dollars now on herbs instead of $2 a pop when you buy them for recipes. I'll even start with the seeds you bought for the garden last year.
Me: Ok, we'll start the herb garden, if we can do it cheap. But I don't think we can afford to do all the fluffing for the garden tour.
HP: uh huh. I hope I can grow tomatoes, I've never had any luck with them before.
Me: Umm, isn't it hard to have a salsa garden without tomatoes?
HP: What are you making for dinner? I'm hungry

So after smuggling free bricks out of York in the trunk of a convertible, a few at a time (funny how he could do it when he wanted to). HP started planning out the herb garden. It began a little like this:

Now, it is looking much more like this:

So, where he had failed in the past, he is more than making up for now. We have tomatoes, and tomatoes and tomatoes. And we are eating them. I have made something resembling this (and mostly using this recipe)
but it didn't really look that pretty. It sure tastes good though!

In a fit of too many tomato paranoia, my husband asked me to so something with the green tomatoes. So I found a soup recipe, and changed it to include fresh herbs, vegetable broth* and creamy goat cheese. The original said it was good hot or cold, but mine was kind of unexciting warm, yet rich and velvety cold, it was smooth & refreshing, and much better cold! HP thought it would be extra-tasty with a red pepper & chipotle mousse I once made, (ok it was supposed to be just red-pepper, but I didn't have enough and thought a little zip would enhance. I was right!) but not having enough time to make said mousse before packing the soup in his lunch box I did a quick chipotle crema that added just enough heat to contrast the cool. His suggestion really made that soup a stand-out!

We also had plenty of ripe tomatoes this week so I made some of my semi-famous gazpacho. It features both fresh and roasted tomatoes, peppers, garlic and onions along with fresh herbs and cucumbers and what ever else I managed to put in there.

Well along comes Sunday dinner and I was tired.
I spent the majority of my day volunteering here. Which included some demos on the wheel, some cleaning up and a kiln unloading & sale of works from the gas kiln reduction firing (as opposed to the "neutral" electric kiln we normally use. I had only a few pieces in the kiln, but I donated one to the ceramic shop (proceeds of the sale were benefiting the shop) gave a plate and bowl as a very late birthday present to my husband, gave another bowl to a friend I don't see often enough and kept a bowl for myself. I am very proud to say that the bowl I donated sold within hours of being put up for sale. WooHoo, my first sale. Even though I didn't get any of the $13.50 selling price, I was thrilled and hopefully we are on our way to more exciting toys for the ceramic shop!

Anyway, back to Sunday dinner that I was too tired to cook. (But if I don't, who will?) So I pulled out a chicken, smothered it in garlic and a little rosemary and some lemon. Shoved the old beer can up it's end and put it on the grill. That is pretty easy, but HP does not live on chicken alone. So I had to have something to go with it.
Out came the green tomato soup. Out came the chipotle crema. Out came the gazpacho. Put them all together and it looks like this:

And boy-howdy was it tasty!

Although, it probably would have tasted better in this bowl...

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Tag I'm it

I was a tagged by my Cousin Sarah Louise. I guess that was a hint about the fact that I hadn’t posted in a while. So here are 8 random factoids about me:

Ø I really like flamingos, but not necessarily cartoonish ones. And it can’t be overdone.

Ø I’m not really sure I like to cook, but I do really like to eat

Ø Today is my big sister’s birthday.

Ø Tomorrow I am going to be wrapped in Chocolate

Ø My favorite color is cobalt. (Kind of blue/purple/indigo)

Ø I want to make an apron for myself

Ø I have to remake the curtains in my bedroom

Ø I like to create things, but am often disappointed by how they turn out.

Ø I am making raku turtles. They are cute, but not as nice as I had hoped.

Ø I have been on a quest for really comfortable shoes that I can wear everyday

Ø I haven’t found them

Ø I used to be good in math, but now I can’t even count

Ø Sometimes I’m an over-achiever

Ø My friend Holly sometimes reads this, but hasn’t been able to post any comments for some reason. I don’t get that. Hi Holly!

Ø I’m a font whore.

Ø I want to make a set of dishes for my house on the pottery wheel, but doubt that I can be that consistent

Ø I’m supposed to tag 8 people, but don’t really know 8 bloggers, so I probably won’t.

Ø I made salmon cooked in grape leaves last weekend and it was yummy. I wish I had taken a picture to post

Ø I spent the beginning of the week in our nation’s capital and stayed with SL’s parents. It was great to see them

Ø I have a step-son in college! His schools colors are Blue & Buff. Buff? It looks like yellow to me. Or sometimes gold, but not really Buff.

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My first Raku

This is a quick post, yesterday I did my first Raku firing. I was helping one of the Studio Artists, but I had 2 pieces that were made with raku clay and wanted to try. The Pictures don't show the colors & the metallic glow very well, but I thought I'd try. Click any of the pictures for bigger, I'm not sure I ever resized the small cup so it is really big.

A Short Description courtesy of John & Anne Lockett They teach at Stonehall Adult Education Centre in Acocks Green, Birmingham, UK. Visit their website for additional information.

Modern Raku Ware - The rapid firing and cooling of the traditional Japanese Raku process is arguably the only thing that it has in common with modern raku work. In an attempt to enliven the colours achieved in Raku firing, potters around 1960 began experimenting with glazes and with the placing of the hot pots into piles of leaves, sawdust, straw and other combustible materials (a process known as post-firing reduction). It is this relatively modern firing process which we follow to produce our own range of Raku pots

small cup



"Flower Pot"

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Before-N- After

This weekend had a few "Before & Afters" so that is what I thought I'd share.

Before:
a big bag of chicken bones (as mentioned here) purchased for $1 at the farmers market
After:
a gallon & 1/2 of home made chicken stock. Tastes better & is more economical than the store bought stuff and I had dreams of chicken soup because it was simmering overnight.

Sorry no photo of gross chicken bones & a freezer full of stock

Before: I liked the little vase, but the glaze left something to be desired. I am more used to (and much prefer) a high fire glaze and like dipping rather than painting, but I'm using free clay, so Cone 04 it is.



The After is with a little touch up & some gold "rub-n-buff" (and a little better lighting)

Before: The dining room chairs as they have existed since before I was born:

After: A little fabric (that I have only had for 8 months...) and I have an updated look. (Is it redundant to try to Modernize Danish Modern?) The new covers have the added a bonus that they don't stick to my legs in the air-conditionerless summer time!

I guess that is it for what I accomplished this weekend. Hubby-Poo has yet to finish his chili. He spent most of the day on the computer & realized that he didn't really want cook tonight. Last night's dinner was a tantalizing Indian chicken & rice dish called Chicken Korma. It has cumin, cardamom, ginger, coriander, turmeric, safron and a little cayenne along with chicken, garlic , onions and yogurt. The recipe I have is pretty simple & tasty!

Look, I remembered to do the labels!

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Valentine's Day. Whoop-de Fricken Do!

Ok, I don't really feel like writing anything, so today we have some pictures
First are some pics of things I've done with clay. I don't really like using the 04 glazes, so I mixed some old stuff in with the new. The bottom left pot has a pretty cool glaze job, but I can't really get the nuances on my digital. The upper left was done mainly by "spin art"
Next we have me in my snow boots. I only took a picture because Sarah Louise would be proud of my pink boots. (Actually, they are raspberry)
The closest I really came to receiving a Valentine was that my husband started shoveling with out asking me to help. But then he whined until I did come out & help.

So I went out, & I have to say it was abominable! There was snow, ice & frozen rain all layered on top of each other. It weighed a ton. I'm not sure how much of each we got & I'm not really sure what the difference is. If I really want a good explanation of the difference between snow & freezing rain I call my Uncle. He has traveled the world & lived in Poland for a spell, he knew a Russian that could discourse on the peculiar distinctions between snow, sleet & frozen rain. After all "Rudolf, the Red, knows snow, dear!"
All groans aside, I must have looked pitiful because the neighbor came by with a snow blower
So that was my Valentine's Day. A year ago it would have been romantic to be snowed in with my sweetie. Now, since he works out of the house, it was just another day except that I couldn't leave the house.

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Day 3.5

Ok, technically it is day 4, but I was gone almost all of yesterday and didn't post. I got home around 9:30 and instead of posting on my own blog, I went to someone else's and commented. It really seems easier that way.

I used to be an OK writer--not bad even, but now that I'm trying to write several times a week I find it very difficult. I commented on another blog & after thought that instead of writing a novel on hers, I should write my own. While my comment started off apropos of the blog entry, I did kind of go off into my own little world & blah blah blahed. Now that I created my own little blah blah blah world, I'm having trouble spitting it all out.

Yesterday I went to baby sit for the children of a friend. It all started out swell, everyone was happy to see Kiki. They, in fact, named me Kiki. I was only watching for a few hours with The Mama poppin in & out. It should have been a nice little escape & chance to play. Only the baby (3 years old) needed help with something. First I didn't do it like The Mama, then when I tried to move on to the next step, she yanked her arm away from me & ended up with "Nursemaid's elbow" it is basically dislocating the elbow. Her arm hurt really bad & we couldn't look at it or figure out what was up with out her screaming. The sister (6) kept trying to help, but didn't really understand that hugs hurt and picking her up was a bad idea. That also was made worse by being said by me & not The Mama. (Mama lets me pick her up, Mama doesn't let her eat by that tv, Mama gives her a princess band-aid. )

I'm told that it is really quite common. The Mama has a good friend who's 4 year-old son had the same problem, but it happened on my watch & I still feel unbelievably bad. It could have happened when she was swinging on something or holding onto the Mama when jumping out of the van or if someone decided to play "airplane" with her, but it didn't. It happened when I was watching her.

So The Mama had to take off work for the afternoon (like any of us can afford that). She took the baby to the doctor (again, not a very affordable option) I took the sister to the pool so she could have her swimming lessons and not have to stay home. I was without a vehicle, so The Mama dropped us off and went to the doctor. When lessons were over the sister wanted me to go swimming with her. By that time I knew the baby was OK & her elbow was popped back into joint so I thought it might be fun. Just as I was about to change, The Mama called and said that she and the baby were done and almost there. We discussed it and realized it was probably better for the baby to stay in the van (instead of getting in & out of a car seat then not being allowed to swim) so I should bring the sister out. So I said that I was sorry and we couldn't swim. Tears ensued. It is always sad to see a little girl that unhappy, but I kept talking to her and we went in to change. She wanted to take a shower, but we didn't have soap or shampoo and that was when it started to unravel. I'm still not sure what caused her to snap, but she just stood in a shower stall bawling and pulling the curtain around her. I tried to talk to her, I apologized about 25 times. I left her alone for a little while. I tried most everything, but she just went off the deep end and was screaming and crying. So after breaking the baby and sending the other into emotional turmoil, I kind of lost it. This was supposed to be a day away from all my stress & troubles so I could play with the kids and everyone ends up in tears. Then The Mama calls, so I had to explain that her daughter was standing in a shower stall bawling, I was standing outside a shower stall, also in tears and she needed to come save the day.

So, as Sarah Louise says, sometimes we just need our Momma. I miss mine unbelievably, but since it has been about 11 hours since began recovering from the past few weeks, I'm not going to dwell on it. It makes me sad, but rarely causes a breakdown anymore.

As an escape from all things sad & stressful, I went to the ceramics studio this afternoon. I spent some time shaking glazes & refilling the the containers of the brush on glaze and other such necessary chores. A group of kids, mostly inner-city, (3rd or 4th grade I think) had a class today, so I helped with that. All the kids got to try their hand at the pottery wheel. It was fun to show them how to open up the ball of clay so they could see what it is like to make a pot. There wasn't enough time for any of them to really get close to a finished product, but at least they got play with the clay and feel how it is done. It was definitely hectic. I had two kids at a time, we staggered them a little so I had one centering and the other opening and then opening and pulling up. A few of them really seemed to have a good feel for it. One little boy could have created a small pot if we had the time. I hope that they got a feel for it and stick with it. It would be great to see the natural ability and excitement for it be nurtured!

As for my own work, I glazed 3 bowls and a vase. They will hopefully go in the kiln tomorrow and be out by Monday. I think they will use the big kiln so it takes about 3 days to go through all the cycles. I am currently using a low fire clay that will be fired at cone 04, which is roughly 1920 degrees Fahrenheit. Or about 1900 degrees warmer than it is right now. Hopefully they will turn out well & I can post pictures. I have previously used cone 6 glazes (fires around 2200 degrees Fahrenheit) and generally like some of those better. At Cone 6 I use some textured glazes and oxides that I think are really cool, but since I got the free clay (all reclaimed) and it is low fire, I am trying that. Let's all keep our fingers crossed.

Since I have now written my longest post ever, I think I made up for skipping yesterday. Since I wrote this at night and not early in the day, I'm not sure I'll have anything to say tomorrow. Of course, that hasn't stopped me before!

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Day 2

I'm stuck at home today. I don't mind being at home too much, but the idea of being "stuck" no car, no escape, depresses me. Especially since I didn't find out my husband's car was dead until after he left. (Oh by the way...)

So I'm stuck at home, cold & cranky.

I did get some of my pieces out of the kiln yesterday. A couple bowls, a little bitty cutting vase & a hand built flower vase. I'm not sure I'll be able to put any flowers in it, but it is shaped like a flower. I like it. I can't wait to finish it. I think I'm going to do a Raku glaze. I also trimmed a couple pots to go into the next firing. My old instructor said that one of them was very nice, which was good to hear. I made a couple on the kick wheel. Similar to the one on the left. I find it harder to center & open on the kick wheel (I need the constant speed of the electric, this slows from the friction of hands on clay) I definitely prefer to trim on a kick wheel. I find it easier to control for that. I am planning to continue throwing on the kick wheel to see if I get the hang of it.


Last night's dinner was shrimp with tomatoes, red onion & feta cheese; it wasn't bad for a quick dinner, but I think it needed more lemon. Tonight is turkey steak with exotic spices & a carrot puree. Hopefully it will turn out.

I'm watching a friends kids tomorrow so she can work, so I probably won't cook tomorrow. Or write. Today's is pretty boring, but since no one reads this, I guess it doesn't matter!

Oh well, maybe I'll go play Zelda

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My first Blog

Ok, "Everybody's doing it" why shouldn't I?

I've never kept a diary, I really did try, for a day or two.
I don't really want to share much of the chaos that is my life currently.

But I am full of random thoughts. I am trying to nurture my inner creativity. I feel like talking, but don't feel like bothering anyone. I don't know, it doesn't hurt to try.

I'll start with the weather, it is remarkably cold. My toes are frozen despite the heater, socks & slippers. I'm wrapped in my quilt in front of the computer trying not to freeze. I want to go out today, my car needs an oil change, I want to go to the pottery studio & see my stuff that was fired today. I'm really trying to believe I won't freeze. I'm not convinced since I am freezing just sitting here.

Maybe some homemade stew will warm me from the inside out. It is quite yummy with turkey thigh, garlic, shallots, tomatoes, carrots, a little wine, and my secret blend of herbs and spices. It was really simple, done in a crockpot. I fiddled a little with the ingredients, then turned on the crockpot and went to the pottery studio. I had my hubby throw some carrots in an hour or two before dinner time and voila a stew. Served over noodles with a crusty bread.

I'm still hoping to go to the pottery studio, I had 4 "pots" that went into the kiln for bisque firing on Saturday. I hope they came out ok. Then I get to glaze! Glaze can really make (or break--no pun intended) I'm not sure if they have done a glaze firing yet so I have another waiting for the glaze firing. I'm not very good, but I am enthusiastic. Besides, clay is good therapy! Maybe I'll pull out the camera & take a picture of some of my stuff. If I don't hate it.

Ok, I've tried this blogging thing today. It didn't suck. I may try again tomorrow. If I feel like it.

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