oh what joy spring is....

(new pottery by Gary Rith)
So, like I was saying yesterday, why not paint flowers all over pottery? Blue-ish purple OR pink?
I am following some other ideas along those lines this week, wait and see!

Penny and Yogi, of course, are, like me, New Yorkers......




 

In other news, I have many new items going on my etsy site, click here, shop now for Mother's Day! FATHER's Day! Get a jump on, um, somebody's birthday! Or Christmas!

it is with some relief....TEAPOT TUESDAY!

That I show you this teapot!
Yesterday I posted pictures of self decorating it.  I had no idea if it would turn out OK, new idea, new technique, and what if it had looked AWFUL?
Cooled and came outta the kiln Monday, and it didn't look awful, quite the opposite :)
Have an awesome Tuesday!


(new pottery by Gary Rith)

the birds and the bees: making...flowers!

Well, trying to make flowers.
You have seen I have had some luck painting underglaze flowers in a watercolor-y way, so I decided to try to cover pots with flowers.  I will find out later today how that glaze firing went with THESE pieces...one thing is true, most glazing I do is a quick dunk in color, but this takes FOREVER, painting flowers...great fun though :)
Have a super Monday!

HUSH PUPPY: adventures in cornbread, redux....

(hush puppies:  I have heard that years ago in the south when frying up dinner you would also fry up some cornbread to toss out to the dogs, so they'd stop howling...must have been noisy little hounds like mine ;)
You will recall that not only do I like to explore the frontiers of pizza (see last week:  baking pizza with ramen noodles!), but I am gluten-free and like cornbread A LOT.  It has the pretty golden color, the nice texture which is even nicer if you crisp it in the toaster or fry pan.

SO, maybe you remember some months ago I made my usual small cornbread loaf spread out thinly in a pan and baked it into a YUMMY and QUICK pizza crust.

I write about this again for 2 reasons:  1)  for my birthday I got a tiny little iron fry pan (6-7 inches) and it is the little friend of my big fry pan and 2) the person who gave it to me tells me they love cornbread, but had never baked any in a fry pan and could NOT BELIEVE you could make pizza from regular cornbread....isn't that little pan a cutie?

Recipes follow, have a great Sunday!


Gary's small cornbread recipe

-preheat to 350, grease a small loaf pan or 6 inch iron skillet
-in large bowl, add one cup cornmeal (or corn flour or fine cornmeal or a combo of different textured cornmeals)
-add 1 1/2 TBS sugar, 1 teas. baking powder, 1/2 tea salt--stir dry ingredients together
-bowl 2, stir one egg, add 1/2 cup milk (I use soy), 1/8 cup cooking oil like canola--stir then mix into the dry flour ingredients until well combined
-spread into loaf pan or skillet, bake 25-30 minutes

to make the cornbread pizza

-preheat to 350, grease either an 8 x 8 brownie pan or 10 inch iron skillet
-make the small cornbread recipe above, spread it into pan--it will be fairly thin, 3/4 inch or so
-bake about 25 minutes, remove from oven
-spread a little tomato sauce and spice on the cornbread (not too much sauce!) top with whatever you like and cheese, return to oven--since the cornbread is already cooked, I turn off the oven now, because it is going to stay hot enough, but this prevents the cornbread crust from burning--pour yourself and gorgeous wife a glass of vino, dress the small salad and eat it, toast your good health and that of your friends and family, after about ten minutes of salad and wine you can check the pizza, and the cheese should be nicely melted, toppings perfect, carefully slice into 4 pieces and serve---makes enough pizza for 2 adults to GET STUFFED!

first of the season...

(new pottery by Gary Rith)
I rolled out of bed and...didn't turn the heat on!  It is 40 something outside overnight and not too cold in the house....THIS is what April should be like, not like the snows of last week....I think the heat has been on since October, HA!
A few more flowers on pots, and a cup and saucer I gave to myself, ridgey and checkerboardy.
Both ideas moving along, as you shall see...have a great Saturday!

iris and pesto pasta with pets....

(antique postcard I got on my birthday-they had beagles 100 years ago?!)

OK, so like I was saying yesterday, there are some magic dwarf iris around coming up...it usually seems iris are a late May thing for us, what a delight these few guys are...Nook and I were walking near his house and saw these....


IN OTHER news, I made Lori's broccoli, tomato pesto dish (click here) with some of my abundant basil...gawdamn it was GOOD.
If you click there you'll see the specific recipe, but it can be summed up simply, the way I made it:
broccoli, tomato pesto pasta for 2
-Boil a cup of noodles
-saute 2 cups broccoli with 1/2 cup diced tomato, some pesto, some garlic, some sundried tomatoes
-add 1/2 cup of the pasta water, some parmesan and some more pesto, red pepper flakes, stir around to warm, mix with drained noodles, top with more parmesan MMMMMM!

blue iris....

99 percent of our snow has melted.  There are little white snowdrop and crocus flowers here and there, with tulip and daffodil stalks coming along...iris are maybe the most gorgeous spring flower, usually a late May thing, but one garden has so many of these little tiny purple iris: WOW.  I should get a photo today.
So, you know, I try it out...pretty, eh?

flower blossoms, inside anyway!

Last week I had a super good firing of flowers on pots and it all went to Cooperstown Art Association.
Except the bowl and plate...that went onto the kitchen table with food on it, a surprise to the wife....
have an awesome day!

teapot Tuesday, spring edition!

I was delivering pots to Cooperstown the other day and this guy had just come out of the kiln. I brought it with me, they put it on a pedestal, turned out nicely, hmmm?
Have a great Tuesday!

(new teapot by Gary Rith)

you heard me right: RAMEN PIZZA

You also heard THIS right:  twas a snowy Easter indeed......

SO, the other day I am wondering "I bet SOMEBODY invented ramen pizza" ...imagining 20 something stoners on a tight budget with a little imagination, the munchies, and only a couple of ingredients in the fridge....
YES.  Many people have invented ramen pizza, and I chose the recipe I thought was easiest. (click here!) It was really easy and really tasty, (and I adapted it to be gluten-free (rice ramen) and used dairy-free cheese...).  I was realizing I have tried pizza many many ways--on potato, on cornbread, now ramen, polenta, on eggplant and zuccini etcetcetc....kinda fun, you know?

dreaming of a WHITE Easter.....

I mean, c'mon...of COURSE it is snowing on Easter!  It has been one of those winters...and today, when the kids go to our park to find Easter eggs, they will be in snowsuits and boots.  I'll get a photo of the snowcover later today.  Mind you, none of this is unusual, we get snow October-May, but you do wish we get have things a bit more springlike....

Fall Creek is the small river behind our house, totally flooded now after rain Friday night, and then tumbling down the falls.....
have a great Sunday!

Large LIZARD LOVE.....

You know how it is ... you're walking your dog...or SOMEBODY's dog...and you think "I should sculpt Godzilla and his girlfriend...the world needs that!" so you go home and make it.
Have a great weekend!