Ceramics: Teapot

Clay: Soldate 60

Glaze: Temmoku and Val's Turquoise

This was the first assignment in my beginning ceramics class: a pinchpot that our instructor neglected to tell us at the beginning to form into a teapot.  It's functional and food safe.  I like the handle though not the shape at the spout.  However, this was a good project to see how high fire glazes turn out.  I dipped the bottom in Temmoku--and I love that brown and then filled the bowl and filled and dipped the outside in Val's Turquoise.  I love the combination of brown and blues and greens and even the rough textures where the glaze "crawled" or where the glaze beaded up and left bare spots of bisque.  It's all a learning process, and it's all good!

Ceramics: Bowl

Handbuilt Slab Bowl

Clay:  Soldate 60

Underglaze:  Teddy Bear Brown on the outside of the bowl

Glaze: Stormy Blue on the inside and inside etching of the exterior bowl

I rather love this bowl.  I had  rolled out a slab on a Thursday evening and while waiting for the Soldate to dry to leather hard, the edges started to get crumbly-looking which lends a lacy look to the clay "fabric."  Studio mates commented how pretty the edges were after I texturized it with my instructor's roller, and so I didn't trim it off and rolled into a slab bowl rather than slab mug (the edges would've been too rough on the mouth).  I also love the contrast combination of brown with blues or greens.

Ceramics: Wall Vase

 Clay: Soldate 60
 Glaze: Stormy Blue

Ceramics: Personal Salsa/Dip Bowl

Clay: Soldate 60
Underglaze: Black for lettering, antiquing
Glaze: Clear

Inscribed with "NO DOUBLE DIPPING," this is the first bowl I'd ever thrown on the pottery wheel.

Ceramics: Chocolate Dish

Clay: Soldate 60
Underglaze: Amaco Pomegranate and Black
Glaze: Clear

This is a pop-up plate, meaning I rolled out a slab of clay, which I then texturized with a floral-designed mat.  I then pressed the smaller mold with the clay underneath it into a larger mold in a foam pad in order to make the sides come up.  I then stamped it with a quote from Elie Wiesel and what you can't see because of the lighting is the imprint of a Cupid in the upper right.  After bisque-firing, I underglazed the plate with the black and the red and low-fired it again.  I'm assuming that the high firing of the clear glaze made the color in the center spread out though maybe I sponged off some of the pomegranate in order to see the lettering.  Interesting.

Collage: Spring

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How to Cook Filipino Adobo

A staple of every Filipino household is adobo, a tart and salty braised meat, served with steamed and sticky white rice.  There are a myriad of adobo recipes, and my parents immigrated to America from a northern region of the Philippines called Pampanga, where the adobo sauce is simply bay leaves, garlic, peppercorns, soy sauce and vinegar.  Also every Filipina housewife cooks her adobo to suit tastes individual to her family, and I remember an aunt cooking both pork and chicken in her stew.  I like my adobo very garlicky and a little more salty than sour and the sauce I pour on my rice less watery, which this recipe reflects.  Adobo if cooked authentically is not very heart healthy, and so to lessen the fat and the calories, I drain or skim off a lot of grease (though you need some for flavor and viscosity) and use low sodium soy sauce.  I cook this dish ahead on Sunday to serve my husband and me for a few nights of leftovers over the weeknights.

I start by chopping 6 to 8 cloves of garlic with peppercorns (I like them cracked and fine rather than whole):

In a dutch oven, I saute two pork spareribs and four chicken thighs on medium high heat until the skin is crispy.  I don't bother adding oil to the pan because I cook the meat with skin side and fat side down to render some of its grease.  

In the meantime while my meat is frying, I pour into a measuring cup, 3/4 cup light soy sauce and 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar.  Most people use 1/2 cup soy sauce and 1/2 cup vinegar, but as I mentioned earlier, I like my adobo less sour.

At this point you would also add another cup of water for a total of 2 cups of cooking liquid.  I like to add a bit more richness to my sauce by adding a cup of water with a teaspoon of chicken bouillon mixed in.

Next I drain the grease from the meat (which saves you having to skim it later from your stew) and toss the chopped garlic and peppercorns and 2 to 4 bay leaves into the frying meat.

And then the soy sauce, vinegar, and water or chicken broth.

Then simmer for 30 to 45 minutes until the sauce is reduced and the meat is cooked.  Because I like my sauce of a thicker consistency, I open the lid a bit to release steam.  Burn a scented candle and turn on your stove's fan because this stew's aroma is pungent.

I like my sauce syrupy rather than watery, and so I remove the meat and cook the liquid down.

Done!  My sunday lunch of Anna's adobo and steamed brown rice.