Other pottery pieces from this spring

It's been a busy spring/early summer and I finally got a chance to catch up on this blog.  Think I carved stamps to make the cars, trains and planes this winter.  My husband drew the plane for me to trace. 

Vertigo side 1

Vertigo side 2

Totem Exchange

 I had the pleasure of participating in a totem exchange with 8 other wonderful clay artists!  It entailed making 9 pieces of art with 1/2-inch holes on the top and bottom in order to thread onto a piece of re-bar.  Some of us threw our pieces on the wheel, while others hand-built them.  Sign-up ended March 1st, and we had until the end of May to finish them.  It was a fun and freeing project for me because it didn't matter if they looked the same at all!  Then we had a party in June and exchanged them.  What a great excuse for a party!

Jan's owls--She came up with the project!

Bisque-fired totems by Gina

Bisque-fired turtles

Jill's turtles still in the kiln!

Kiln opening is like Christmas Day, you never know if you're going to get a potholder or a new car!

My vertigo pieces

Brenda's totems

In their intended location!

The artists minus Barb in order
!

Cars and faces

How to make a stopperless shaker

I'm going to quickly post this before I get distracted again and never post this. 

Forbidden Rice

I was at a health food store a couple of weeks ago and happened to spot Forbidden Rice in one of the bulk bins.  What is it about those bins that makes me want to buy a little of everything I see? What is forbidden rice, you ask?  It's that black/purple stuff along with the carrots, celery, onions, mushrooms, and navy beans.  According to legend, only the Emperors of China could partake in such substance to enrich health and longevity (taken straight from the link above). 

Apparently I'm the only one in our house with a royal palate.  Oh well, more for me!

Pottery

Heritage Food: Hulobzi, Halupsy, Pigs in a Blanket, or Cabbage Rolls

My mom used to make Pigs in a Blanket.  Sometimes her German would come out, and she would say Halupzi, just like when she would say they used to "schlegga the bones", which meant "lick/suck the bones" of the chicken when growing up.  She would also make a messier version in which the "bed wasn't made" where everything was mixed together and not tidy.

This recipe is from my aunt's recipe book on my dad's side.  It was my grandma's recipe.  She died when I was 3, and I don't remember her.  I also found another recipe for them in another cookbook that added raisins.  Weird. 

Hulobzi

For cabbage rolls:

1 head cabbage                  2 c. cooked rice
1 small onion, chopped     1 lb. ground beef
1/2 lb. lean pork                1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. pepper

For topping:

2 T. brown sugar
1 c. water
1 c. catsup
1 c. tomato soup 

Remove outer, wilted cabbage leaves and core.  Place cabbage in large pot of boiling water; simmer gently for 10 minutes.  Remove, drain.  Gently pull off leaves; set aside.  Mix meat, onion, rice, salt, and pepper until it holds together well.  Place a tablespoon of rice mixture on a cabbage leaf and wrap.  Place in a greased casserole.  Combine topping ingredients and pour over rolls.  Bake at 300 degrees for 2 hours. 

p.s.  Do you say catsup or ketchup?  I like ketchup better.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Brownies

For a couple of years, I've been on the lookout for good non-box/mix brownies.  Here is my own recipe I created by tweaking other recipes and swapping out the oil for pumpkin.    The brownies are a little hard to cut, but I love them!  If you heat the cocoa powder (usually with water) before adding, it's supposed to let the cocoa "bloom".  That's why I decided to heat the pumpkin.  Next time I'm going to add amaretto. 

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Brownies

1 c. canned pumpkin puree
1 t. instant espresso
2/3 c. unsweetened cocoa powder
2 eggs
2 c. sugar
1 c. flour
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. baking powder
1 t. vanilla
1 t. cinnamon
1 c. chocolate chips

Heat pumpkin in the microwave (3 minutes maybe) in a medium bowl.  Add instant espresso and cocoa powder to the pumpkin and mix well and set aside.  Mix sugar, flour, salt, baking powder and cinnamon together in a larger bowl.  Add eggs and vanilla.  Gradually add pumpkin mixture and then chocolate chips.  Bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes.

Twenty years

***Finally decided to post this.  It was sitting in my draft box for a couple of weeks. *** 

My name is Luka.
I live on the second floor.
I live upstairs from you.
Yes, I think you've seen me before.

It was summer.   We were driving to an oil distributor convention and to visit Uncle Willy in Minnesota.  I was in high school and in my pre-country music phase.  We had just driven through that part of Western Minnesota on the way to Minneapolis where it's hard to find a radio station that wasn't playing country music.  My dad who usually preferred gospel or "country western" let me listen to what I wanted as long as it didn't sound too heavy or like "devil music" since we had survived the land of rural music.  Luka was one of the most popular songs on the Billboard Hot 100, so it was played at least once an hour on the radio stations.  To amuse me, my dad would start singing the phrase "My name is Luka" every time it came up in the song.  That is why I think of my dad every time I hear that song.

It's been 20 years since my dad passed away.  It's hard to believe, but so much has happened since then.  Whenever I hear of someone older die, I have to calculate how many more years they had than my parents.  Then I remember that it's the moments that count, not the years. 

Heritage Food: You Say Plachinda, I Say Blachenda

I'd like to share on this blog some of the foods that my mom made that are part of the Germans from Russia heritage.  Since my mom and grandma aren't around (and other relatives live in another state) to share these with my son, I feel that it's important to share them with him myself.  If I don't make them every year, at least I will have them recorded somewhere.

The first recipe I'd like to share is taken directly from an in-law family reunion cookbook from my sister, Marcia.  Basically it's for pumpkin turnovers or tarts.   There are different versions of the filling, but basically it consists of pumpkin with the usual spices of cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves.  Sometimes pepper is added.  Speaking of different versions, there are also different versions on the spelling.  In the church cookbooks I have, I've seen it called plachenda, blachenda, plachinda, or blachinda.

I highly approve of this recipe!  I usually don't make my own pie crust (or pies for that matter) and figured out it was easier to handle the dough after it is chilled.   Since I made very small tarts which were easier for my son to handle, I had a lot of filling left over and improvised by adding an egg and making a pie.  Yum!

 

Dough:  

2-1/4 c. flour                               1/4 c. sugar
1/2 tsp. baking powder               2/3 c. shortening
1/2 tsp. salt                                 1/4 c. milk

Mix flour, baking powder, salt, sugar, and shortening as for pie dough.  Add milk and mix lightly. 

Filling:

2 c. cooked pumpkin                  1/2 tsp. cinnamon
3/4 c. sugar                                1/4 tsp. ground cloves
1/2 tsp. salt                                1/4 tsp. allspice

Mix filling ingredients thoroughly.  Divide dough into six equal parts; roll out to about 7 inch rounds.  Place 3 heaping tablespoons pumpkin filling in the center of each round.  Fold over and seal edges.  Prick tops with fork.  Bake at 375 degrees for about 30 minutes or until nicely browned.  

When my mom would make them, I remember the dough being less sweet with less shortening.  She would always try to make a recipe healthier, so I guess that's where I get some of my habits from.  She probably would've tried it with Splenda or Agave nectar nowadays, maybe even would've added chia or ground flax seeds.