Mushrooms in Italy

As promised on my previous post, here are some Italian mushrooms.

I went on holiday to visit my son, Ben, who is farming in Italy.  When I arrived at the small town of Borgo val di Taro, near where he lives, there was a mushroom festival going on.  The streets were lined with stalls selling mushrooms and other local produce.  The man in the picture above is selling mushroom driers, an essential piece of kitchen equipment in the area, so you can keep all those lovely porcini to use through the winter.

I took a present of one of my oven dishes and was pleased to see that it felt very much at home in this lovely old farmhouse kitchen.   We took one of those baskets out to the woods near the house and came back with enough porcini for a delicious feast.  Iris also found a huge parasol mushroom which she dusted with flour and fried whole.

As you can see, it took up the whole pan!

No wonder that so many of the recipes in my new Pots and Food Calendar include mushrooms after that kind of inspiration.

Pots and Food Calendar 2013

Firstly, I must apologise for the long gap between posts.  It has been a very busy summer, mainly in the studio, though I did manage a trip to Italy, arriving in the mushroom season, which was great.

Last week was very much focussed on pots and food, as I did a photo shoot for a calendar for next year.  The calendar features a different dish, with recipes, for each month, presented on a selection of my pots.  Some of the recipes have already featured on this blog, but the images are all new.

I was lucky enough to be able to work with the photographer, Jose Lasheras, to create a series of mouth-watering shots. We had help from a food stylist, Alison Clarkson, who assisted us to make the most of each dish.  It was hard work, but a lot of fun, doing the photo-shoot, and my daughter, Hana has done a great job with the artwork, putting it all together.

It has certainly helped with my own Christmas present list, as the calendars come cellophane wrapped with their own envelope, so very easy to send to friends here and abroad.

I am selling the calendars (Size 30 x 30 cms) for £9.95 through the Devon Guild of Craftsmen and my showroom here at The Studio.  I am also making a special offer to people like you, who follow my blog - for £8.00 - including postage and packing, for customers in the UK.

If you would like to order one (or more!) just email me at psimpson@thestudiopots.fsnet.co.uk , giving me details of where to send it and send me a cheque, made payable to Penny Simpson, at The Studio, 44a Court Street, Moretonhampstead, Devon TQ13 8LG.

The images shown here are a summer recipe for a spanish Tortilla - approved of by the photographer, who is Spanish! 

Also a mushroom risotto.

Talking of mushrooms, I will post about the Italian mushrooms I met on holiday next.  Promise not to leave it so long between posts this time.

Mugs

I have been feeling a touch of bloggers guilt about the length of time between posts.  Apologies for the delay in getting around to talking about the mug swap I mentioned in my last post.  It has been a busy time in the workshop.

The mug on the left is like the one I gave to Josie Walter in exchange for her spotty one on the right.
I am enjoying using the mug she made.  It is well balanced and the handle feels comfortable to hold.
I remember having a discussion with another potter about why we make mugs.  The thing is that for the amount of work involved, they are less cost effective than many other pots, such as bowls or jugs.  However, this is the pot which people really develop a close relationship with.  You pick it up, hold it, put it in your mouth and warm your hands round it.  Often it is chosen from a selection of mugs, according to personal favourites or the type of drink to be consumed.  I think for many people it becomes a way in to an appreciation of hand-made pots.  Hopefully when someone has been seduced by a mug, they will come back and buy more pots, realising the warmth that comes from something which has not been mass produced.

I have a shelf of mugs and my favourites change with mood, season, whim etc.  I also enjoy asking friends to choose a mug and seeing which one they choose.  Sometimes they get worried that I am making character assessments according to their choice.  Perhaps, subconsciously, I am, though I am not sure that I would be able to articulate what they are.

I do like a large cup for tea in the morning.  My current favourite is the one second from the right at the top - a chunky robust mug by Doug Fitch.  It has some tactile sprigs on it and a general feeling of warmth and generosity which reflects his own character.  I guess that's another thing about hand made pots, especially where you have met the maker, you can feel the presence of the potter in the pot.

Papaya and Avocado Salad

My latest discovery for an easy starter which is healthy and a bit exotic is this salad with avocado and papaya.  It was a chance combination following a trip to the supermarket where I'd bought myself a couple of treats in the form of a perfectly ripe avocado, a papaya and a lime.  Lime and papaya is a marriage made in heaven - a perfect balance of sweet and sour.  This is teamed up with cubes of avocado and a couple of spoonfuls of greek yoghurt, a glug of olive oil and seasoned to taste with salt and pepper.
I have tried different versions with fennel or basil and mint, depending on what I have around at the time.

What makes it a starter with 'wow factor' is choosing a lovely ceramic platter or shallow bowl and arranging a circle of salad leaves - little gem lettuce is perfect for this - which are then filled with the mixture.  The whole can be garnished with herbs and a sprinkling of paprika for colour as much as taste.  Some marigold petals or other edible flowers would also be good.

This one is presented on a shallow bowl by Jane Cox.  The decoration on the dish is revealed as people help themselves to the contents, which again brings added interest to the table.  We did a swap of pots this time last year - one of my favourite things about exhibiting at craft fairs is arranging swaps with other exhibitors.  I just did a great mug swap with Josie Walter - which could be my next post!

Posh Pavlova

Last week Carole and Jonty Williams came to dinner.  They are from the Husbandry School near Ashburton in Devon, where they grow vegetables and edible flowers and run various courses on growing fruit and veg sustainably.  I visited them a few weeks ago on one of the rare sunny days this summer and their place felt like a little bit of sustainable paradise.  They have beautiful pigs, goats and chickens as well as the flowers and veg.  The views of the Devon countryside from their place are stunning and they have a house which they built themselves at the heart of their land.

I was delighted to be given a bunch of flowers and a salad pack containing lots of edible flowers - of the kind which they usually supply to top chefs.  I used some of the flowers - marigold petals in yellow and orange, borage flowers and violas to decorate the pavlova I had made for dessert.

The flowers completely transformed the dish into something spectacular - aided by placing it on a large serving dish I had made.  The dish is formed with a slab top and thrown ring for the base, so it stands proudly on its pedestal, giving it that much more importance.

The pavlova recipe was from Nigel Slater's book, Appetite, which I find brilliant as a guide and inspiration for all kinds of dishes.  He gives you some basic recipes and then suggests variations to encourage you to try your own versions.   I used a combination of strawberries and passion fruit on the top, which had the right amount of acidity to complement the sweetness of the meringue and the richness of the cream.

The great thing about a pavlova for a dessert is that it is very simple to make the night before and then all you have to do is whip the cream and chop the fruit.  I assembled it just before serving.

This is a quick photo of the pot without pavlova.  It would also be good for serving lots of other dishes, such as a selection of cold meats with salad garnish or cheese and biscuits.

I'm definitely going to start growing some edible flowers of my own.  Looking forward to colourful salads and beautifully garnished dishes.

Sunday Market at La Bastille in Paris

Two weekends ago, I visited my daughter in Paris. On the Sunday we spent a very pleasant morning browsing the ethnic crafts and food market at La Bastille.  It was such a delight to see such a huge range of really fresh vegetables as well as some delicious prepared food.  We bought cannelloni and antipasti from an Italian stall for a picnic lunch.

This woman was handing out free carrier bags made of recycled plastic and printed with a list of all the Paris markets and the days when they take place.  It was a great way to promote the markets and encourage shoppers to buy more, as they were generously sized and made to last.

  

 There was lots of lovely asparagus around and these delicious looking spears tied up in bundles, which looked similar but more delicate.  Unfortunately, I didn't find out what they were called and didn't have a chance to try them.
There was a great variety of salad leaves - including this superb lamb's lettuce which is my favourite.
The baby turnips looked great.  They are great sliced thinly and salted to make pickle.

I wish I had access to a market like this, here in England.  The stall-holders all seem to know and care about what they are selling and are always ready to give you ideas for how to cook or use the ingredients and produce.  A little glimpse of foodie heaven.

NEW SERVING DISH

It has taken me a while to get inspired to post as I have been busy getting going again after my trip to Japan.  Yesterday I unpacked the kiln and was pleased with the new design of serving dish I had made.  The top is a slab of clay, rolled out using my slab roller, with a cloth texture and stamped decoration on the edges.  I like the colour contrast and the way the textures work together.

Today I put it to the test, to make a good looking lunch platter for an Italian journalist who was coming to lunch.

With some soup and home-made bread, a few left over bits and pieces I had in the fridge turned into a respectable kind of lunch.

The key elements were really the serving dish itself and some lovely fresh small-leaf watercress which provided the backdrop to the other ingredients.

The serving dish has a thrown foot ring.
The thrown foot ring is pushed into shape when soft and left to firm up before attaching to the slab, when both are leather-hard.
The thrown foot ring seems to support the slab better than feet which I have used before and the dish was less prone to warping.



I feel inspired now to make more of these type of serving dishes - trying some larger ones and maybe other shapes.  Also to use it for some more adventurous ingredients.