More new pieces for Spring!

Soap pump - in my new Ho-Jo's inspired design & colorway

Ho-Jo snack set: funky triangle plate and bowl

Close-up of detail

 

Ho-Jo snack set in alternate colorway

Aerial view

Ho-Jo snack set from another angle

Remember Howard Johnson's?   Not just a restaurant and not just a motel. The distinctive orange, sloped roof of the restaurant, topped with a turquoise spire.  Inside you'd find all-American favorites like grilled cheese, meatloaf, tuna salad and orange sherbet.  Thinking about it now is bringing back memories from summers in the 70's on Cape Cod - crossing the Bourne Bridge and spying the orange and turquoise as we crested the bridge's peak and headed toward our vacation destination, hoping my parents would let us stop for ice cream.  Such simple times back then, it seemed...  Anywho, that's what inspired me to create these new pieces.  Well, that, and seeing a recent episode of Mad Men that featured Ho-Jo's.

I created the snack sets thinking they'd be nice for serving hors d'oeuvres in non-mammoth portions.  To go off on a tangent a bit, I've been reading so much lately about the war on obesity.  This is not a new problem in America, but it seems like portion control and eating food that's closer to where it came from (e.g., local fruits and veggies rather than a chemical-laden Twinkie that could survive the Apocalypse) could help solve the problem.  With that in mind, I thought why make a giant serving set?  Why not do my share to help and make some smaller-sized pieces to encourage smaller portions?  Right?  You're welcome.

I had some issues color-correcting these photos.  The turquoise is all the same color, though it doesn't look like it here.  The top two pictures are the most accurate, color-wise.  The orange, in real life, is a warm, cantaloupe color.  Hopefully your monitor will show the shades in a more uniform tone.  Maybe I will re-edit and re-post, since I have so much free time.  Yeah, okay.

Made-Up Recipe: Vegetarian Fresh Spring Rolls

There's this amazing Vietnamese restaurant in Harvard Square, Le's, formerly known as Pho Pasteur.  It's located in a building that used to be a parking garage, and thus named The Garage.  I love everything I've eaten there... warm and fragrant pho, steaming vegetarian noodle dishes, shrimp salad with shredded cabbage and deliciously sweet dressing... but my favorite are their shrimp fresh rolls.  Thin, clear rice paper wraps around shredded cucumber, carrot, fresh mint and cilantro, and slices of cold shrimp.  Once this marvelous handful is dipped in the spicy sweet sauce, you've got a mouthful of heaven going on.  My creation is based on the amazing rolls at Le's, but with a few different ingredients.

I started by using two pieces of crunchy Boston lettuce instead of rice paper.

Shredded one small cucumber.

Sliced up a hard-boiled egg instead of shrimp.

Arranged the egg on the lettuce.

Dressed the egg with shredded cukes and chopped cilantro.

Added shredded carrots and a dressing made from Key Lime evoo and Honey Ginger vinegar, muddled with cilantro and mint, and a dash of S&P.

YUM!

Happy 2012 a little late!

It's been a few months since I've last written.  Lots has been going on.  I moved to a new place, set up a new studio and am getting re-organized.  Though the Boston winter wasn't harsh in the least this year, I feel now that spring is here, I'm ready to get back on the saddle with my pottery, the blog and trying new vegetarian recipes!  I am also planning on growing my own tomatoes this year.  So crazy!

I've been working on some new items that aren't ready to be photographed yet. To satisfy your desire to see some "new" pottery, here are some pieces I've only brought to shows and haven't tried selling online.  I'll be adding them to my Esty shop very soon!

Yellow flora appetizer dish

Dark grey circle pasta bowl

Pair of grey pasta bowls

Green wave soap pump

Royal line and dot tumbler

Stay tuned for more pottery, an easy vegetarian spring roll recipe and some vacation photos, taken with my fancy new camera!