Home from NYC

Sarah and I spent the last few days in NYC having fun and pretty much walking our feet off.  It was our first time there and we had a blast.  Sarah did her masters work at Appalachian State University here in NC.  ASU has a loft space in the Flatiron district that is available for alumni, their family and guests.  It's insanely cheap to stay there so we took full advantage of it and certainly plan to go back.

Sarah and I in Central Park

 

We met up with Hannah McAndrew there after she had been in Philly for a week as an exhibitor in the Philadelphia Craft Show. Hannah's partner Paul flew in from Scotland to join us too.

Having lunch at Katz's Delicatessen

I'll do a few posts over the next few days.  For now I'm happy to be back home in the slow lane of country living.  My brain and body put their selves into restore mode today so I spent it on the couch sleeping and reading.

 

What was your dinner served on tonight?

I am always taken off guard whenever we go to someone's house for a meal and we get boring dishes that came from a department store or that they picked up second hand somewhere. (Or even worse, paper plates and plastic cups!)  I guess I'm so used to eating and drinking from handmade wares that I often take it for granted.

I'm in the process of packing up some pots that we have had around for several years and I'm going to gift them to some folks who I know will love to use them in their home.  I am also going to give some things to people who may not even be aware that having handmade crockery is an option.  It will be a good opportunity to educate some folks and to pass on the joy of pottery.

Tonight I made tortellini with a homemade tomato sauce.  I sauteed zucchini and yellow squash to go on top.  Delicious, and even better eaten out of some of our favorite dishes.

On the left a shallow bowl by Michael Kline, on the right a dish made by Marcia Tani Paul. In the back cups by Stanley Anderson (left) and Bulldog Pottery (right).

We have so many pots in our home that we use constantly.  It's really does make a difference to use a pot that works so well for it's intended purpose.  Just this morning I mixed up biscuit dough in a large stoneware bowl that I made years ago.  It was neat remembering back to when I'd made it and it held the contents of my ingredients just perfectly.  Pots that we have bought from other potters usually carry a story, from meeting the potter, to visiting them at their studio or at a show, that memory comes back each time I take a pot out to use.

In a world where most objects are bland, poorly made, and carry no connection to other human beings its great to have handmade pots in our home to use and enjoy.  I know it may sound cheesy, but they make life better.

Looking forward to tomorrow morning when I'll pick a favorite mug to have my tea in.  Wonder which one it will be?....

Burger Heaven

Sarah and I went into Charlotte yesterday so that I could see the Grainer Collection at the Mint one more time.  Mr. and Mrs. Grainer were actually in the gallery but I didn't go up and start handing them my business card or anything.  I got to drool over the Maltby pots again and look really close at Grayson Perry's large urns with all their insane glaze treatment, gold luster, and decals.

For lunch we went to Big Daddy's Burger Bar on East Blvd.  It was hopping! I have been wanting to go for about a year now.

I ordered the Sam I Am burger which is topped with American cheese, rosemary ham, a fried egg and pesto.  Oh my, it was heaven.  I'd had a turkey burger w. a fried egg at the Birchwood Cafe in Minneapolis a few years back and loved it, so it was good to have another. (really good...yuuummmm)



Sarah had the black bean burger with green chilies, Monterey jack cheese, avocado, and chipotle ranch.  It was really good too (even though there weren't two meats and an egg on it!!!)

Later that night, after coming back home for a bit we went out to the new Ni Fen Wine and Tapas bar in Shelby.  Jeanette Sun has been missed for some time here in this town.  It's great to have her back in this new setting.  We had some drinks and I was treated to a wonderful piece of Jeanette's tiramisu.  If you live in Shelby, or nearby, please check out Ni Fen, you'll be glad you did.

It was an awesome birthday, spent with my favorite person, my sweet wife.  I got lots of warm wishes on my FB page that really made me feel great.   Well, here's to another year in the making.

(Today: Eat my veggies)

New Pot in Use

You may remember that I won Marcia Tani Paul's giveaway on her Blog not long ago.

One of the prizes was this great bowl made by Marcia.  It's my new favorite pot and has been in use regularly since it arrived.

This is pretty much a weekly meal, teriyaki salmon, short grain brown rice and edamame.

Marcia has sent me a new salmon recipe that I'll be trying soon as well as a recipe for roast duck.  For more great food and pots be sure to visit Marcia's blog and her recipe page.

K's Table

I ran across this site today called K's Table.  There are some really great images of pots and food there.  All the text is in Japanese I think and I haven't tried Google translator yet.  I'm just  enjoying the pics.  Click HERE.