More rice please!

I made another round of onigiri (Japanese rice balls). Jeff bought me a rice mold that creates little appetizer size triangles. They were so much fun to make!

Half the rice is packed in the mold. I poked a hole in the rice and added little bits of filling. For these I added finely chopped green onion kimchi. More rice is added to fill the cavity and cover the filling. The other half of the mold is place on top and squeezed down...

and VOILA! Perfect little triangles ready to wrap in nori and garnish.

I made some larger, more traditional size balls as well. Some filled with shrimp, others with chunks of cucumber kimchi. The pottery trays used in the photographs are all pieces that Jeff brought home from Korea. We use the wood fired tray in the first photograph a lot. I just love it.

I told Jeff that next on my "I Want" list is a nori punch...

clicking on the photo will take you to Amazon.com

 He rolled his eyes and said he draws the line at cute food.

Korean Pancake Update...

Jeff made Korean pancakes again on Monday night so I got pics of the finished product. SOOOO delicious.

소고기 파전

sogogi pajeon

beef and onion pancakes Korean style

Lot's of veggies and spices, and like Tracey Broome's comment about her neighbors gift of pancakes on my last post, watercress is one of them.
Robert Young is here until Sunday night. It is looking like Saturday may be the day that I can give him the Seagrove pottery tour. Of course anyone is welcome to stop in and visit here anytime... we will be knee deep in glazing pots and loading kilns, but we would be happy for a break to introduce you to Robert.

S. Korean pots and chopsticks...

Jeff unloading pots from a wood kiln in South Korea. This photo was taken by Elena Renker, one of the international artists that was also invited to attend the festival.

Last night I got try out the chopsticks that Jeff brought home for me. I like the simplicity of these, the natural wood color. and the square design. Much easier to eat with than the round, slippery,lacquered ones that I have. I didn't have to switch to a fork half way through the meal!

it's the veggies that brought us together

Every time Jeff and I make Asian style stir fry it brings me back to a night in 2009...

Shortly after Jz died, Jeff said he would come over to my place and make me dinner. We decided on his recipe for Asian stir fry. Together we chopped all the vegetables, placing each of them in a different handmade bowl from my cupboards. We had lots of fun arranging the bowls on the counter and taking photos of all the pretty veggies and pots. I think it was the first time in many weeks that I laughed and enjoyed myself. That meal was the first of many that we cooked together. Other times in the following months he came over and did all the cooking... it was such a treat since at the time my commute to work was nearly an hour in each direction and cooking was the last thing I wanted to do at the end of the day. I was in heaven!

... and I think you know the rest of the story.

My new obsession

Fresh Spring Rolls!

I love that they are so easy and inexpensive to make. The 12 oz. package of rice wrappers goes a long way and they keep forever in your cupboard. You can fill them with any raw vegetables that you have on hand. These were filled with shredded cabbage, carrots, zucchini, green onion, basil, and cilantro. I also added a little sauteed and chopped up shrimp that had been marinated in teriyaki sauce with garlic. I often squeeze a lime over the veggies before rolling them up. Jeff is in charge of mixing up a dipping sauce, usually some combination of tamari and Asian hot sauces we have in the fridge. I like to think of them as salad in a package!

Last night's dinner was leftover cashew chicken and fried rice that I had made on Sunday. We had eaten all of the spring rolls so the only work I had to do was to put those together. The dumplings in the (Jeff) bowl came from Super G, the Asian market that we like in Greensboro. Someday I will make those at home too. I am sure they would be much better for us!
Thankfully Jeff and I like to cook because we would have to drive to the next town to get anything other than diner/family style food. It also saves us money, we rarely eat out. Finding some ingredients in the nearby markets can be a challenge and we have learned that no matter what you go to Greensboro for, bring a cooler and ice packs and take the time to go to a good grocery store!

P.S. I am finally getting pretty good at using chop sticks... I didn't touch a fork once last night!

photo credits: Jeff Brown

and he's off!

We were up at 5:30 this morning, which is SUPER early for us, and heading to the airport in Greensboro at 6:30. I couldn't believe what Jeff managed to pack in his one checked suitcase (50lb limit), carry-on, and backpack. He needed to bring finished work to exhibit and hopefully sell, as well as bisqued pots to wood fire in the climbing kiln in Mungyeoung. The firing we squeezed in on Sunday was excellent, thank goodness, since I handled the kiln and some of the reduction for a few hours while Jeff caught up on some much needed sleep.
Here is a side handled teapot that didn't make the final cut...

It's a beauty but Jeff wasn't happy with it's pour and the lid did stick in one spot. Once ground, the spot is barely noticeable. Perhaps we will keep it and enjoy it's beauty ourselves.

After the airport I spent some time in Greensboro visiting friends and picking up some groceries at the Asian market & Costco. When you live in Seagrove, you take full advantage of a trip to the "city". This was the first time I wandered around alone in Greensboro (sort of weird since we have been in North Carolina nearly two years!). I actually had a little anxiety about finding my way around at first, but then realized... heck,   I used to drive in Boston... and for nearly a whole year was heading into Boston once or twice a week. I have gotten so comfortable living and working in one place... I really need to get out of town more often!

hanging out with the neighbors

Last night we invited our potter friend and neighbor, Phil Pollet (Old Gap Pottery), to join us for dinner. Jeff and I worked together in the kitchen to make a tasty dish of tofu and stir fried veggies, served over udon noodles. We broke opened a bottle of sake and had an enjoyable evening of smart conversation and good food.
We stayed up way too late and slept in. I couldn't resist take a picture of our cup selection washed and drying on the kitchen island this morning...

Starting in the back from left to right, clockwise: Tokkuri (sake server) by Jeff, faceted cup by Jack Troy, shino cup by John Zentner, Pedestal sake cup by Jeff Brown, sake cup by me, sake cup by Phil Rogers, and sort of in the center faceted cup by Jeff.
The flowers are in a hexagonal wood fired fired vase that Jeff made. It was the first pot the I purchased from him nearly ten years ago. It's still one of my favorites.

Evenings like this one really make me feel fortunate to be living in Seagrove.

As for today... we partially unloaded a kiln and I can't wait to share pictures of Jeff's Korean teabowls (chasabal). Hopefully I will have pictures tomorrow.

a potters day off...

Last week we made a plan to take a day off and head to the city (and I am not talking about Asheboro) for an outing. Yesterday was the day...first off, we headed to the Piedmont Craftsmen Gallery in Winston-Salem. It was our first visit there, nice gallery with lots of ceramics from well known artists. There are craftsmen represented that work in other media as well but of course I always tend to focus on the pottery!
After the gallery we called to check on some stove parts (see yesterday's post) that we ordered from a shop in Greensboro. They thought they might be in by afternoon... no luck there, we will have to go back another day.
After a trip to Costco to stock up on some things, we went to one of our favorite places in Greensboro...
The Super G Mart!
A fun Asian/International market. Their prices on some produce are amazing... limes 7 for a dollar, cilantro 3 bunches for 99 cents... and the BEST deal... a block tofu for 99 cents!
After a trip to the Super G it's time for Jeff's famous Asian inspired tofu stir fry with noodles...

That's mine up there on my favorite stir fry bowl/plate - a 2002 Watershed Salad Day plate by Kim Davy

... and Jeff's on his Hayne Bayless dish. The stir fry was delicious and the handmade pottery makes it taste even better. I usually abandon the chop sticks midway but last night I persevered!

Its back to work for us today. I have plates that need trimming and decorating. It will be a little warmer today so it won't be a struggle to keep warm in the studio.
Happy Thursday!

random pizza photo that was on my camera when I downloaded the stir fry shots

no wonder we wanted tofu last night... look at the sausage on that baby!

asian cookin'... southern style

after our big grocery shopping excursion to greensboro on wednesday, we have been enjoying cooking up a storm.  jeff made a fabulous tofu stir fry with ingredients bought at Super G's, the giant asian market.

we usually have rice with stir fry but we opted for fresh udon noodles this time... we cracked open a good bottle of sake that we brought back with us from NH.

we are not usually big on prepared/packaged foods, but we couldn't resist buying some pork & veggie dumplings...

the beautiful table runner is from the Etsy shop of HowlingBaxter in Hawaii, a christmas present to me from jeff.
the Iris Minc platter was a perfect serving choice for the dumplings.  i wish you could see the detail in the picture... it has flower and dragon flies impressed into the surface.

don't you have a craving for asian food now?  hmmmm... i wonder if there are leftovers in the fridge...