Labor Day Weekend

We don't have a grocery store in Seagrove. They are building one, but it's been in process for four years now. I might be retired or dead by the time it opens. In the meantime it's about a fifteen minute drive to buy food. This summer there has been a guy in truck parked on the Pottery Highway, about 1/4 mile from us, selling fruits and vegetables. It's been very convenient to buy fresh tomatoes every few days. His prices are reasonable too. We didn't grow tomatoes this year, only basil and greens. Jeff and I both love tomatoes and can go through quite a few in no time at all. 

 A few weeks ago I tried my hand at making tomato pie. It's a little time consuming to put together, but it's worth the effort. I have been using either a frozen or refrigerated  pie crust, to cut down on some of the work. It's a recipe from the infamous Paula Deen so of course you know it's very rich. I cut the mayonnaise in half. I can't imagine it with more than that. I have also added a few strips of bacon, cooked and chopped. The key to a less sloppy pie is to drain your tomatoes longer than the recipe says. I even layer a couple of paper towels between them to squeeze out some more liquid. The recipe says to peel and slice the tomatoes. The easiest way to peel them is to blanch them. Ms. Deen even shows you how to do that in the video.
You can find the recipe here. If you love tomatoes, I think you will love this pie.

Aside from eating, we have been making pots and finishing pots. Right now, Jeff is fast asleep, after firing the kiln overnight. I think I heard him creep into bed at 7:15 am. We have a deadline to meet and orders to fill.

These little pigs were made on August 27th, put outside to dry on the 28th, bisque fired the 29th, glazed and loaded in the gas kiln on the 30th. Lots of other pots were pushed through as well. We keep the bisque under 200 degrees for a few hours. Once there is no steam coming out of the kiln we fire as usual. A blow up is a rare event in the bisque firing and we usually have a few wet or damp pots in every kiln load.

My plan for the day is to finish unpacking from the Lazy Days show. Right now it looks like our trailer threw up it's contents onto the porch. I can't look at the mess for another day. Jeff (when he wakes up) is heading down the road to help Fred Johnston cut wood and get ready for a wood firing this week.
It's definitely Labor Day weekend here at the pottery... we are laboring away as usual.