Samosas?

What do you do with half a bowl of leftover pea and mint puree?

That was the question I was scratching my head over last night. I tried out a recipe from an awesome new cookbook I got for lamb with a pea and mint topping. It was delish, but I had some odd leftovers.

D. suggested samosas, and that got the gears turning in my brain. Actually, it started an all-evening project.

I mixed up some pastry dough while boiling some potatoes and marinating some chicken in garlic, yogurt, cilantro and Indian spices. The potatoes I fried with some whole cumin and whole mustard seeds (makes them crunchy and delicious!) and the chicken I cooked until the yogurt was almost evaporated, just leaving a moist, flavorful coating.

I wrapped different combinations of chicken, potatoes and peas in little pastry pockets and then baked them until flaky.

They smelled so good coming out of the oven that I burnt my mouth gobbling them down. All I can say is “YUUUUUMMMM!!!”

Bucket ‘O Beads

A new batch of beads came out of the kiln this week and I’m very happy with them! Some new designs, some new stamps, and I even fired the kiln to a higher temperature (cone 10/11), so my normal glazes produced some slightly different colors. I’ve got some really cute little “button” beads that I’ll be posting soon…

Here’s a few highlights, soon to be listed in the shop:

Some swirly design beads and hearts (love how these came out).

A Victorian style bead, using a Judy Freeman stamp!

A double-heart (Need a jewelry project for Mother’s Day? This would be perfect…)

And a sample of some customizable alphabet beads!

Sooo hot…

I can’t believe it’s been over 90 degrees the past two days, and supposed to be 91 tomorrow!

Excuse me while I collapse in this puddle of sweat…

Moo

Got my new MOO mini-cards in! I use them as tags for my pottery, with my business information them.

So cute!

Made for Walkin’

Today was the first beautifully warm, 85 degree day of the season. So, like a fool, I put on flip-flops for the first time this spring and headed downtown for a little shopping.

I intended to catch the train a few blocks away, but got caught up in a phone conversation and wound up simply walking the 2+ miles to Center City. Boy, was I hurting when I finally arrived! Big blisters between my toes and many blocks to backtrack to a train station home.

But I knew a shoe store nearby, so I thought, what the heck, I’ll spend a little bit of my cash on a new pair of spring heels and they’ll at least get me home. I found a pair that was super-comfy, and managed to get all my shopping done plus pick up groceries with nary a sore spot.

All’s well that ends in new shoes!

Snowday

I know, I know. It’s just starting to get warm, and this is no time to begin missing the winter time. But I think these little snowmen are cute enough for any time of the year! They are the creation of a friend of mine here in Philly, and another Clay Studio artist, Carol Han. She’s new to Etsy, but it’s about time she joined!

Much of her pottery is whimsical, brightly colored and multi-handled cups, and I’m sure they’re going to be a hit as soon as the word gets out. There was even a nice write-about about her in the Philadelphia CityPaper blog last fall. If you’re in the area, check her out at the Art Star Craft Bazaar this summer. You’ll probably see me too, wandering around looking to score some crafty deals!

For that tropical feel

I was up past midnight tonight glazing – oy! Hope everything comes out looking pretty…

Above is a little peek at some new magnets I listed today. Don’t they sort of remind you of a day at the beach?

Yikes!

I am still in the early stages of considering grad school, but I figured I ought to schedule the “big test” for the summer so I can be prepared, whatever the end decision is.

Now I can add test studying on top of the rest of my crazy busy schedule!!

Spring Cleaning

The upside of my failed pumpkin muffins was the realization that I desperately, desperately needed to clean my pantry.

In the true spirit of spring cleaning, I decided to go for the gusto. I filled an Ikea shopping cart with those old style snap-closed, rubber sealed jars and tossed out every single thing that had sat around past its welcome (or ‘use by’ date). I restocked completely, using D.’s 20% discount card at Whole Foods to go nuts in the bulk dry goods section.

Everything is now clean, in lovely glass jars with labels and air-tight seals. Makes me want to just sit a chair in front of the pantry and gaze at its fine loveliness…

Saturday

Kickball party and barbecue, then free Phillies game tickets, Hurray for beautiful warm weather finally!