A working birthday

Was prepared to get a full studio day since we celebrated my birthday with friends yesterday with a brunch at the Grove Park inn; but as often happens, a planned day goes awry with unplanned chores which demand attention.

A huge amount of emails this morning, mainly from so many wonderful birthday wishes, notices that my Norton anti virus software has expired, and using the last of my bread, changed the plan. So now I'm downloading the software on one computer, with two other computers to do after this, then I need to start on another loaf of bread, and get an early start on tonight's braised lamb shanks dinner before I can even think about the studio.

I will get in the studio at some point this afternoon to finish sorting the test tiles and making those last minute notes, which I didn't get to do yesterday because we didn't get home till around 5 o'clock and still had to unpack the car and get groceries put away before thinking about dinner, which wound up just being some popcorn with some parmesan and spices.

After the lovely brunch and working through the tourist crowds at the Grove Park Inn viewing the gingerbread house contest entries, followed by a Sams Club shopping trip, there was no time or energy to do anything more than rest for the rest of the evening. Our friends have these insulated bags that they bought at Sams club, which work great for those long drives home from Asheville. No need anymore to spend several dollars on ice or deal with large, bulky plastic boxes. We bought two of them ($9.98 each),and everything was still solidly frozen after an hour and a half; and we can leave them in the car since they lay flat and hardly take up any space.

Time now to get that bread started, finish those downloads, and get the dinner started early.

Garden photos

The garden is lush and ablaze with color.All the roses and clematis are in full bloom as well as many of the other perennials.

Yesterday turned out to be kitchen and gardening time. The only studio chore I got was spending over an hour unclogging a sprayer only to find that I still need to seal the rubbery or vinyl area next to the brass nozzle. That area melted when using it to spray soda in the kiln. Once I got the sprayer working, it was spraying through parts of that melted area. That sprayer will have to get some sealant around that area and be designated for the garden instead of soda firing.

I got all the tomatoes, eggplant, squash and potatoes sprayed and did a bit more mulching on the potatoes. This morning, after breakfast, I need to re-plant corn. The seeds I planted a week ago haven't sprouted. It was older seed, but not that old, and should have sprouted. So today I'll plant a new variety of 2011 seeds.

Snails and slugs are doing too much damage on the broccoli and cabbage, so I need to wet the soil and put down some Escar-go, which is a safe granule to get rid of the critters. Then I'll head to the studio and get some pots slipped and decorated. I have about a week and a half before the TRAC tour and there's a lot to do before then. Now that the small Olympic gas kiln is ready to go, I should be able to re-fire a lot of pots Thursday or Friday when the current forecast is calling for sunny days.

Cooking marathon continues

Thought I was done yesterday, but realized I needed to deal with the leftover chicken livers (I only used a couple in the Bolognese sauce yesterday). So this morning I made this batch of pate. This recipe from an old Michael Fields cook book, using chicken livers, is the closest you can get to the taste and texture of a traditional pate de foie gras. It's a bit of work; but fortunately it makes enough to put one in the freezer and another to eat right away. I just had to clarify some butter to top it off to keep it from darkening. It's one of Jim's favorite things in the whole world but I restrain myself from making it too often because the recipe calls for a half a pound of butter - not exactly a heart healthy recipe!

I spent all day cooking yesterday and still didn't get to make the pesto so after a bit of a break I'll get that made before lunch and be in the studio after lunch. The cooking marathon is now over and there are enough frozen entrees in the freezer for at least ten dinners.

Japan pottery studio exterior

Here's an exterior shot of one of the studios I posted yesterday (the one with the potter throwing).

It's a beautiful fall morning - just enough chill, sun shining and the slightest of movement from the morning breeze.

Yesterday I got all my plates and bowls trimmed and waxed. This morning we're having breakfast out and then on to do some pick up food shopping. I need some mild Italian sausage to go with the fried corno de toro peppers and onion on tonights sandwiches. I also want to get a roasting chicken for Thursday. These colder morning are bringing up different comfort menu ideas.

When I get back this afternoon I have to check the other pots. I think there are some mugs that need handles. When I finish this latest batch of thrown pots, I'll slip and decorate them before I do more throwing.

Two days ago I checked my corn and the tassels are starting to turn darker. The ears don't look big, maybe because of all this rain and lack of sun; but we may actually get some. I put down more blood meal to keep the deer and raccoons away. About ten feet from my little corn area, I spotted what looks like a deer bedding down area. I told Jim that stinker is just sitting there guarding the corn patch for him or her self. When I lived in Oregon I had an old doe who would sit under the fruit trees and chase all the other deer away. Some of my late bush beans are coming in as well. I never did get to plant the spinach, but maybe I can get some in the cold frame in the next week or so.

Here's the requested fettucine alfredo sauce recipe that I use:

2/3 cup of light cream
2 egg yolks beaten
1/2 lb unsalted butter
1/4 C fresh grated parmesan cheese
fresh ground black pepper to taste

This mixture will make a generous amount of sauce for about 3/4 lb of pasta. It could probably be stretched for the whole pound; but we like a lot of sauce.

Melt the butter in the top of a double boiler. Separately, beat the eggs yolks. Add the cream to the yolks. Mix well. Then add this to the butter. Cook stirring till the sauce is hot and coats the back of a spoon well. You'll know it's right when it starts to thicken a bit. Season with the pepper.

Pour over fettucine cooked al dente. Sprinkle the parmesan over and toss well.

If you want it fancier, you can add some sauteed mushrooms and onions. If you want meat, you can also sautee some ham, sliced about 1/2-3/4" wide with the mushrooms and onions. Cook this mix until the onions, ham, mushrooms, get lightly browned. It brings out all the flavors.

Morning raindrops on the daylilies

Rain, rain and more rain. I did a short walk through the flower garden this morning and these daylilies caught my eye.
The weeds are taking control again, so I need to get out there as soon as weather permits and try to get on top of them as well as getting the rest of my planting done. I was hoping to dig more potatoes today; but the ground is probably too wet and more rain is expected.
Right now I'm waiting for the carpet stretchers to arrive. They're already a half an hour late.
We got the allen wrenches at our local Ace Hardware yesterday. I'm hoping my friend Jim and Aaron will show up to tilt my monster pugmill to drain the oil so we can get new oils in there and get it working in time for me to start a throwing cycle.
I still have more paperwork to file in the studio. My desk looks like a hurricane blew threw, as I'm in the middle of sorting and filing all these papers.
I'll take Bonnie in with me this afternoon. So far, she's been good in the studio. It will be interesting to see how she responds to me throwing; but that may be a few days away.
I haven't even though about tonight's dinner. Last night I made one of Jim's favorites - fettucini Alfredo. I topped it with some cold, leftover salmon.
At some point today, maybe when the carpet people are her, I have to feed my sour dough starters. There's always so much to do, and seemingly, so little time.