Friday Is Double Happiness Day Treasury

Here's another great Etsy treasury that featured one of my favorite square stoneware plates ... all of which have sold. It was sad to see the plates go, but I've made a dozen more for my next glaze firing. No time for tears ...

http://www.etsy.com/treasury/MTE0MzUwOTd8ODAwNDE1MDI3/friday-is-double-happiness-day

New Stained Glass Boxes

Lately it seems that my waking hours are consumed by making stained glass boxes. I promised myself I will devote tomorrow to clay! And along the counter near the soldering area are copper pieces that have been recently etched ... but I'll share that exciting project with you in a day or so. Can't wait to finish those pieces. Time ... time ... time ...

Here are my two newest boxes. The first one is made mostly of beveled glass. The top bevel has a 1" square center that is glue chip glass. The bottom of the glass is also glue chip glass that I cut. It has a fern-like pattern and was very popular in Victorian windows. The bottom box has iridescent glass on top and bottom and has beveled sides.

Handmade Rustic and Romantic Treasury

My rust handbuilt stoneware mug was featured today in this beautiful treasury:

http://www.etsy.com/treasury/MTE1NjQxMjZ8Nzg5MzkwODY1/handmade-rustic-and-romantic

Take a look at it and some of the pieces and shops featured.

Wow .... I'm so excited!

An unbelievable thing happened to me over the weekend. My RoseMarysClay Etsy site received a message from Fine Cooking Magazine. The representative said she was interested in having my four square handbuilt bowls at their office Tuesday/Wednesday for a photo shoot and the bowls would appear in their magazine. WHAT? She ended up purchasing the bowls and another handbuilt square bowl I had just listed.

So my package is off by air to Connecticut this morning. Whatever happens happens. I hope she will notify me if and when my bowls appear. I'll certainly keep you posted! It certainly was an honor to have the attention in any case.

Stained Glass

I have so much beautiful glass that was given to me by a friend who moved to Washington a few years ago. She made stained glass pieces that she sold in the gallery she owned, where I also sold my ceramics, gourds, glass ... and I also helped her during busy times. It was so much fun.

Recently I made a few stained glass boxes with hinged lids. They are fun and very challenging to make. The boxes with beveled glass are my favorites. I just sold one to someone who asked if I had a small box that would fit inside so she could include a necklace. I sent her a jewelry bag to put the necklace in. What a nice gift! A month ago someone from France bought a box with iridescent glass. She was getting married, wanted me to rush the box so that their wedding rings could be put inside during the ceremony. The postage was just under $30!

I made a few angels this week that turned out so nice. The wings are made with iridescent glass.

Clay Rollers and Handle

It was so exciting to get my back ordered clay rollers and handle today. I couldn't tell how the handle worked from the website, but it's such an ingenious design .... why didn't we think of it?!  No time today to try them out -- it's my birthday and a very busy day!

Egg in the Hole

Wow! Did you see The Pioneer Woman's show yesterday morning? She made "Egg in the Holes" for her husband and herself after their Date Night at the lodge. Does she like butter?!

I made an Egg in the Hole myself this morning and it was soooo good. Have you ever made one? I made them a lot when my kids were little. It was fun for them too. You take a piece of bread, better square than the long sourdough piece I used this morning. Cut a hole in the middle with a round cutter or free-hand it with a knife. Butter both sides of the bread, including the hole you cut out. Heat up a skillet, put in both pieces. Then break an egg into the hole. Salt and pepper. Cook until the bottom of the bread has browned a little and turn over. Then finish cooking until your egg is the way you like it ..... runny or firmer. The extra round piece can be used to clean up your plate!

In case you missed the PW show -- you might want to make yours this way -- she first melted butter (lots of it) in the skillet until it sizzled, added the bread and egg, then added more butter when she turned the bread over. It did make a very nice photo because the bread was beautiful, perfectly toasted in butter. You'll note I did not add a photo of my Egg in the Hole from this morning! Not pretty, but still very good.

Baked Chicken with Dijon and Lime

I tried a new recipe last night from the SkinnyTaste.com blog and I liked it!
http://www.skinnytaste.com/2009/08/baked-chicken-with-dijon-and-lime.html

After I mixed the Dijon mustard and seasonings, I tasted the mixture and thought it was too Dijon mustardy (I'm a yellow mustard fan), but after the chicken cooked, it was good. My package of boneless, skinless thighs had only five pieces in it, so I didn't use all the mustard mixture. After cooking for the 35 minutes, the chicken was a little pale, so I understand why the recipe suggested broiling to give it a richer color. And watch the amount of salt you use, as the mustard and lime have a lot of intense flavor by themselves. You can add more salt later. I enjoyed this with a little red baked potato and more marinated tomato salad. Will the tomatoes ever end?

Clay Work -- Handbuilt Mugs

I'm sure glad that U.S. Open Tennis is over so I can concentrate on other things! Time to get to work. I need more pieces for my Etsy shop and a local ceramics sale in December. In one of the clay magazines I just received, there was an ad for textured wooden rollers. Wow, how exciting! I ordered a bunch and received them a few days ago. A few are on back order, including a beautiful wooden handle that each roller fits into. But I managed to roll the textures into clay over the weekend and then made some mugs. The clay is a partial bag my friend Kim left me when she moved to France a couple months ago. It was pretty hard, but after 100 or so drops on cement, the clay softened! It was special to use her clay and remember the good times we had together.

Here are photos of the textured rollers and a few of the mugs they created. I'm definitely going to order a few more -- aren't they great?!!  Top quality.

Artichokes

A few years ago, my friend Jean had a dozen or so small artichoke plants growing near her driveway and she asked if I'd like a few. We dug up a couple and I planted them as soon as I got home. Sure enough, they started to grow, develop small buds that grew to full-sized artichokes! It was fun to watch, and the plants were beautiful .... and big. But what to do with the artichokes? I probably had eaten two in my life time. They were cooked in boiling water for about 45 minutes. Then you started taking off the leaves and dipping the meaty ends in melted butter or mayonnaise. It was a lot of work. Finally you got down to the heart and had to cut the "choke" off and throw it away. I have to say, the heart is a wonderful treat and worth the wait!

Each plant this year had at least 12 artichokes. Quite a crop.

Somewhere I have a photo of the beautiful bloom that appears when an artichoke that has not been picked has "gone to seed", but I cannot find it right now. It's a light purple, lilac color. Here's what a dried up artichoke looks like. It has its own beauty, I guess.

The plants eventually dry up each year and you have to cut them at ground level. My job now is to get out the extension cord and my Sawzall and cut the two plants. I tried a handsaw, but that's just too much work. I was most surprised today to see the new growth already starting in the photo below! These plants aim to please. They spread.

Pizza

Have you ever used the fresh pizza dough from Trader Joe's? I had been thinking about it for a long time and finally bought a package. I've seen recipes using fresh dough to make small pizzas on the BBQ. A friend sent me an email with some good tips.

I opened the package and took out one half of the dough. The directions said to place it on a floured surface and let sit for 20 minutes. In the meantime I had cooked a package of turkey mild Italian sausage. I like the Jennie-O brand. I had also bought TJ's pizza sauce and fresh mozzarella cheese. After the dough had sat for 20 minutes, I rolled out two rounds as thin as possible. Then with a tray of all the ingredients, cooked sausage in a bowl, sliced mozzarella, pizza sauce, olive oil and brush, and the dough rounds, I went outside to the BBQ. I also had a package of grated mixed cheese, oregano and garlic powder. The BBQ had been preheated, cleaned, and turned down to low.

The instructions said to brush olive oil on both sides of the dough rounds. I placed them on the grill and closed the cover. I really can't tell you how long I grilled the first sides, but until they got a light to medium brown. I removed both pieces from the grill and turned them on my cutting board with the grilled side up. Then spread a good coating of pizza sauce over both. Added lots of the sausage (one half), grated cheese, a sprinkling of oregano, garlic powder and finally the slices of mozzarella.

I cooked this until the bottom was brown and the mozzarella cheese had melted. Wow, it was really good. I cooked the other half today for a friend who came to lunch, but did it in the oven so there would be more time to visit inside. It was also very good. It took 20-30 minutes at 375 deg. I certainly would use this dough again. The package makes four individual servings. Or you could roll and spread the dough on a cookie sheet. Use olive oil on the cookie sheet first.

Let me know if you try it .... Or have you ever BBQed pizza before?

Copper Foldformed Cuff

A friend and I have been working with copper lately and I introduced her to foldforming. Wow, did she love it. She made at least six pendants, cut out pieces for earrings and used the new gel liver of sulfur we recently purchased. She said these were going to be Christmas gifts. Smart! Now she's working on a small version of that piece she wants to hang over her fireplace mantel. As long as she uses rivets, she will be OK.

I had a copper cuff I had never finished and looked at it yesterday. The texture and folds were great, but it was a little plain. I added a series of punched holes and it ended up looking great. Here's a photo:

Oval Stoneware Plate with Buttermilk Glaze

I hope you had a nice weekend! When I try to remember it, the long weekend is nothing but a blur. Too much to do with so little time! And so much U.S. Open tennis to watch too. Today it's raining in New York, so tennis is on hold.

I did have time to add another oval plate to my Etsy shop. Here's the photo:

This is buttermilk glaze on red stoneware with added slip trailing.  It's a nice size serving dish and can be used in the oven and microwave.

New Cooking Site!

I'm always googling recipes and trying new dishes. I was so pleased the other day to find this site: http://www.skinnytaste.com/

If you follow Weight Watchers, this site will be helpful in that it lists points. I'm going to try the Buttermilk Dressing recipe today. Yesterday at Costco I bought the big pack of romaine lettuce hearts. I shared half of them; nevertheless that's still a lot of lettuce. Am looking forward to grilling chicken and vegetables and having the salad with home-grown tomatoes and cucumbers. Maybe marinate the tomatoes first with olive oil, balsamic vinegar and fresh basil. Yum. I'll report on the salad dressing. Let me know if you try any of the other recipes. Just reading them is fun (it doesn't take much to entertain me, I guess).

Yesterday I also bought 500 lb. of clay, although a few lbs. belong to other people. I wondered about my tire pressure when all that clay was loaded. The guy said, your back tires look OK. Then I asked myself if I should stop at Costco first or drive straight home. I could see one of my tires exploding in the mid-day heat ... Then I asked myself how many people could fit in my Pathfinder with all the seats it came with and how many pounds did that total. 7 or 8 people weighing 150 each ...  over 1,000 lb.!! So needless to say I stopped worrying and stopped at Costco!