My First Mug Rugs

I have enjoyed seeing all the mug rugs popping up on the internet - if you haven't heard about it yet, a mug rug is somewhere in between a large coaster and a quilted trivet - designed to hold a mug and a snack, or whatever else you want.  They are also a great way to play around with different fabric combinations and quilt designs without the commitment of a larger project.  Both to try things out and because they seemed like they would be handy to have around (especially for resting a pot of tea), I made some up with green and grey scraps.

I started out by making a few zig zag designs - I sewed long strips together and then cut on the diagonal (with half angled one way and half angled the other way) and pieced together.  I had been wanting to try this technique so it was fun to play around with.  The one on the right is the first one I made and the one on the left was made with scraps from the first - which I staggered a bit to get a rectangle, but I actually really like the way that it looks! 

I quilted these to emphasize the zig zags and the borders and then bound them using Kerry of Very Kerry Berry's great single binding tutorial... but I sewed the back on via machine rather than hand.  It turned out OK but certainly not perfect - I don't mind too much since I am keeping these and it's on the back, but I don't think I would do it this way for something I was giving away.

I made another two mug rugs out of pieced strips, one with a kind of rail fence pattern and one with just slices of the strips surrounded by sashing (is there a name for this kind of block?).  I like these two better actually because I think the border fabrics I chose for them work better.

I did very simple quilting on the one on the right, and then practiced my free-motion quilting/stippling on the one on the left.  I did the same kind of binding but this time took the time to hand-sew it down on the back and it does look much neater and nicer I think. 

They are a great size for a small teapot, like this porcelain teapot that I made last year (it has a celadon glaze - love how that glaze looks on porcelain).

They also work great as mug rugs, with space for a mug and a snack.  The colors of the mug rugs go really well with a lot of my homemade mugs.  I hand-carved the patterns in both of these mugs, and I love how they feel a bit like a linoleum print.

How about you - have you tried your hand at making mug rugs or other mini-quilts yet?

Healthy Creamy Spinach Dip

This dip is an old favorite which I have made a number of times, most recently yesterday for a superbowl party we went to.  It is always a hit, and people are usually pretty surprised to hear that it really is actually relatively healthy.  It doesn't taste fatty and over-the-top, but it also doesn't taste like it's made with tofu and low-fat dairy products, which it is.  Unlike a greasier spinach dip, this one is still delicious but won't give you that same weighed-down feeling from all the fat... particularly helpful for a party like the super bowl where you end up mindlessly muching away throughout the game.  This dip comes from one of my favorite cookbooks, Entertaining for a Veggie Planet, which has a variety of really great vegetarian dips in addition to other great recipes.

It's healthy enough, in fact, that the picture above is from my lunch today (the recipe makes a pretty large amount... what else am I going to do with all those leftovers?).  I used a smaller bowl that I made last year to hold the dip and then served it on one of my plates.  I actually made this bowl as a glaze test; since the color in glazes is an actual chemical reaction, you won't know how two glazes will interact until you test it out (and it will be different depending which glaze is applied on top).  Rather than just making test tiles to do tests, I made a whole set of smaller bowls and tried out different glaze combinations, some with drips like this one, some with the glazes overlapped.  It was fun to see how they turned out and they were much more useful than a test tile would have been!

What treats did you make or eat for the superbowl?  What are your favorite dip recipes?

Healthy Creamy Spinach Dip

 Ingredients:

• 10 oz box thawed frozen chopped spinach (or you can use 10 oz chopped fresh spinach)
• 1 cup finely chopped red onion - about 2/3 of a medium onion
• 1/2 cup low fat small curd cottage cheese
• 1-2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 1/2 cups firm tofu (about 2/3 of a 16 oz container)
• 1/4 cup reduced fat sour cream (or regular)
• 2 tablespoons light mayonnaise (or regular)
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice (I use the kind from a squeeze bottle, but if you prefer to juice a fresh lemon this is about 1/2 lemon's worth)
• 1/2 teaspoon table sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 - 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
• sesame seeds for garnish (optional - I didn't do this)

Fully defrost the frozen spinach (I used the microwave b/c I forgot to defrost in advance, and it turned out fine), then place in a fine colander and press out as much of the liquid as possible with the back of a spoon or a spatula.  In a medium to large bowl, combine the spinach, onion, cottage cheese, and garlic and mix well to combine.

Cut the tofu into slices and lay out on a clean dishtowel, then fold it over (or place another dishtowel on top) and press to remove liquid.  Chop the tofu into cubes and transfer to a food processor or blender.  Add the remaining ingredients and process or blend until smooth.  Add the tofu mixture to the spinach mixture and stir gently to combine.  Taste and adjust salt if needed and add pepper if desired.  Serve chilled or at room temp.  Best if eaten within 2-3 days.

Simple Hearty Lentil Stew with Potatoes and Spinach

I have been realizing that I tend to post on here about the more complicated (and usually less healthy) recipes that I make, but I don't always put up the day-to-day staples that we eat all the time.  I am a huge proponent of eating solid, healthy meals on a regular basis which don't take hours of prep time, so I am going to make more of an effort to share some of the simpler meals we eat, too.  These recipes aren't necessarily sexy or exciting, but they are simpler to prepare and often create plenty of leftovers that you can eat in a pinch when you just don't feel like cooking at all... I keep a few servings in the fridge but often stash most or all of the leftovers in the freezer to eat more than a few days later.  I hope that these more basic types of recipes won't be totally boring to folks.  These lentils fit solidly in the basics category - the recipe is flexible to what you happen to have on hand, they cook up pretty quickly and with minimal prep and make a big batch which keeps well.  They are hearty and delicious and can stand on their own or are great served with bread, brown rice, or a side of salad or veggies.

On a related note, I realized that I have a lot of gluten-free and vegan recipes up here, not because I purposefully follow either of those diets but I guess just because I love to cook beans and lentils and other things that happen to fit in those two categories.  I have gone back and added gluten-free and vegan tags to past posts, so if you are looking for recipes in those categories feel free to poke around!

A note on the bowl the soup is in - this is a pot that I made after college when I was playing around more with surface decoration.  I have made a number of pots with this kind of line decoration around the middle, made by holding a textured or pointed object on the surface of the pot while turning the wheel.  In this case I used a plastic fork and slowly moved it up and down to give the design some movement - I like how it turned out!  This bowl is a bit on the small side but still a much-used and well-loved one in our house.

Hearty Lentil Stew with Potatoes and Spinach

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram
• 1 lb bag lentils, rinsed/looked over to make sure no foreign objects
• 6-8 cups water
• 2 medium potatoes, chopped
• box of frozen spinach, defrosted if possible (or bunch of fresh spinach, rinsed, if you prefer/have on hand - or this works well with Kale as well)
• salt/pepper to taste

Heat the olive oil in a medium to large pot, add onions and saute for 3-5 minutes on medium-high heat, until onions begin to brown.  Add herbs (note - you could substitute 2 teaspoons of an herb mix such as italian herbs or herbes de provence if you prefer), and saute for another 1 minute.  Add the lentils and water and bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer.  You can chop the potatoes while the lentils simmer; I left the skins on but you could peel if you prefer.  Add potatoes when chopped and simmer for 25-30 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Add the spinach and raise heat to return to a simmer, then lower heat again and cook until lentils are fully cooked, another 10-15 minutes.  Add salt and pepper to taste and serve.

Note: you could cook this in a slow-cooker if you started the onions/herbs on the stovetop and then transferred to the slow-cooker, but it would take significantly longer to cook.  It would probably turn out well if left to cook all day on low, however (maybe add spinach in the last hour to half hour).


So... what are your favorite kinds of basic everyday meals?  And do you enjoy my little pottery updates or are they distracting from the recipes?

Sweet Potato Black Bean Chili

I really love black beans (I may have mentioned this), and I think that black beans and sweet potatoes are an amazing flavor combination.  So this chili makes a natural pairing - I am almost surprised that I didn't come up with this a lot sooner than this year.  I had made chili with sweet potato or winter squash in it before, but usually multi-bean chilis with a lot of other stuff going on to distract you.  This version keep the focus on the black beans and the sweet potatoes, and it is earthy with hints of smoky sweetness.  It is moderately spicy, hot enough to be interesting but not so hot that it should make anyone squeamish.  I have made this chili several times this winter and finally remembered to write the recipe down, so I feel like it is already an old favorite and really overdue for posting here (especially considering the number of friends that have asked for the recipe).

I also realized that, since all our everyday plates/bowls/mugs are pretty much pots that I made, I am frequently posting pottery photos along with my recipes but rarely say anything about it.  So I may start highlighting some of the pots, too, and giving a bit of a backstory.   This bowl is one that I made in college, when I was first experimenting with carving on my pots.  I really like the simple basketweave type hatching pattern that I made on this bowl, and how it subtly shows through the matte glaze.  There is actually a small matching plate so I kind of think of this as a soup and salad set.  The earthy beige/brown color of this glaze is a great match for hearty bean and lentil soups like this one.

Sweet Potato Black Bean Chili
Makes 4 quarts

• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 Tablespoon olive oil (or less, if desired)
• 2 stalks celery, chopped
• 1 green pepper, chopped
• 1 Tablespoon chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground chipotle chilis (optional)
• 2-3 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and finely chopped into ~1/2"-1" pieces
• One 28 oz can of diced tomatoes (or two 14 oz cans)
• 3 cans black beans, drained and rinsed, or 1 lb bag of dried black beans, cooked (not drained)
• 1/4 cup tomato paste (optional)

Like most soups, this soup is best if you let it simmer for several hours (or simmer for a while and then refrigerate and serve the next day).  If you have a slow cooker, it is easy to start this soup on the stovetop and then transfer it to the slow cooker to simmer away.  If you don't have a slow cooker, you can also easily make this on the stovetop and just simmer it there.  If you are going to transfer to a slowcooker, start the first step in a large skillet, but if you are planning to cook entirely on the stovetop, you can start in a large stockpot/soup pot.

Heat the olive oil over medium heat and add the onions and saute until soft.  Add the peppers, celery, garlic, herbs and spices, and saute for another 5-10 minutes, until onions are slightly browned and vegetables start to soften.  If cooking in a slow-cooker, transfer this mixture to the slow cooker and add the sweet potatoes, tomatoes, beans, and tomato paste.  If the herbs/spices are stuck to the pan when you transfer the mixture, add some water to the skillet to loosen and add to the slow cooker.  If cooking on the stove, just add the ingredients to the pan and stir to loosen anything that has gotten stuck to the pan.  Add water until it is chili consistency - 6-8 cups if you used drained canned beans, and 2-3 cups if you used cooked dried beans and added their cooking water (or whatever amount seems to get you to the right consistency.  Simmer for at least 1 hour, ideally 2-4 hours or longer (Note - 1 hour may not be sufficient in a slow cooker - 3-4 hours or longer in slow cooker is probably best).

Note on optional ingredients:

• The chipotle peppers add the slight smoky flavor and are really delicious.  If you don't have them though, you can make this without and just add a bit more chili powder.
• If you omit the tomato paste, this is more like a black bean soup than a full blown chili, but also very good.  This is actually what I did the last time I made the soup.

Big news! I opened an Etsy shop!!

I am super excited to let you all know that I have opened an Etsy shop!  I have felt a bit like I was keeping a secret, as I was crafting away making a bunch of stuff to post in my shop and not blogging about any of it.  But now that my shop is up, I can tell you all about what I have been making!  Here is a quick rundown of some of the stuff that I have put up or will be soon... 

I made a number of pouches from my pleated pouch tutorial, some of which are shown above.

I also made some really fun patchwork clutches, similar in size/construction to Noodlehead's gathered clutch but with a fun patchwork stripe on the front instead of the gathered piece.

I got excited about valentines day and made some valentines gifts and cards...

More patchwork clutches in a fun pink color with some of my favorite pink and red fabrics in the patchwork stripe.

And I had so much fun making these cute little watercolor valentines!  I make homemade valentines for a few special folks in my life each year and these are a reprise of a past favorite.

I am also listing some pottery that I have made.  Most of the pots I am going to put up will be celadon-glazed porcelain vases, including the ones above, very similar to the pots that I had at my wedding.  I haven't blogged too much about my pottery I realize, so it is fun to get to show some more to you.

Finally, I think I am most excited about this messenger bag!

I loved doing free-motion embroidery/applique on my needlebook and was excited about the leafy vine design, so I made a similar design on the flap of this purse.  The purse incorporates some of my favorite design features including an organizer pocket under the flap and a zip pocket inside.  Check out all the details here.  I definitely plan to make more of these purses and hope to even write up a pattern to sell in my shop!

I'm so excited about having the shop up (did I mention yet that I am excited?), especially because now I can share all my projects as I make them!  As you can tell from the initial set of items I listed, I am planning to sell items that run the gamut of my crafty interests.  I am not sure this is the best business plan as a lot of successful etsy shops seem to specialize in certain types of products, but I like making so many different types of things I just can't really imagine limiting myself to making just one type of thing.  Check out my shop and let me know if you have any thoughts or advice for me!

Christmas Decorations

As I mentioned yesterday, we decided not to get a Christmas tree this year, so I put extra effort into all the other holiday decorations.  In addition to the pillows that I showed you yesterday, I also sewed up a tree bunting garland using this tutorial.  

When I saw this tutorial, it immediately reminded me of a Christmas garland that we hang on the mantel at my mom's house every year - my grandmother made it using wallpaper samples cut out in stocking shapes, and it is a very special family heirloom.  So I was very excited about the prospect of making my own special garland, and I love how it turned out!  As I have mentioned, green is my favorite color, so I have quite the stash of green fabrics.  This was a great way to showcase some favorites... some are new favorites, and some are scraps from quilts that I made about ten years ago.  I look forward to using it for years to come.

I also have some pottery displayed on the mantel.  Lately I have had a group of celadon vases out on the mantel, but I switched them out for these copper red glazed vases for halloween and then realized they were also great for fall and Christmas!  My pottery studio had a new glaze this year which reliably gave this copper red color (which is often hard to acheive) so I was very excited about it and made several vases - although the second from the left was a gift which I did not make.

I also have some turquoise/green candlesticks out which I made, they seemed Christmas-y enough to keep so I left them out.

On our coffee table, I put out two of the items that I made in the warm glass class I took last year - the Christmas tree sculpture and the slumped green plate.  I also filled a bowl with decorated glass ornaments that I made a couple years ago.

These ornaments are a quick and fun holiday project - you just buy some colored glass ornaments and a metallic paint pen, then draw designs on the ornaments.  We made a bunch of these the first year we had a real tree to help fill it up a bit, since we didn't have a ton of ornaments yet.

This year we actually have quite a few ornaments, especially with the new ones I made after I won Fa La La La Felt in the giveaway... so I was sad not to get to put them out on the tree.  We decided to hang a few favorites, both new and old, from the chandelier over our dining table.  It doesn't look entirely elegant but we like it!

Finally, we got a Pointsettia plant for our sideboard and we hung our fake evergreen bunting on the railing (we also have a lovely wreath on our front door which was a gift).  So now it certainly feels festive even without a tree!

Wedding Pottery

Photo Courtesy of Joe Shymanski

I had mentioned in a few other posts that I had made pottery for our wedding, but hadn't gotten around to doing a post on it yet.  In addition to the flower pots that I made as centerpieces for each table, (shown here), I also made lots of little 3-6" tall vases for the mantelpieces.  There were two fireplaces with big mantels in the ballroom, and another one in the room where the buffet was set up, so as you can imagine it was a lot of vases!  I had so much fun making them though.  For one thing, I was throwing in porcelain and I had a lot of trouble getting the flowerpots to turn out how I wanted (eg, round), whereas the vases were easier to keep from getting distorted.  Plus, I just had a ton of fun experimenting with different shapes and trying to think of ways to make each one unique.  At the reception, we had enough pottery in between the centerpieces and the vases for each person/couple/family to take a pot home.  People seemed to have a great time picking out a piece and appreciated getting to take home a special homemade item.  I didn't really think of them as "favors" but I guess that's what they were, in a sense. 

My mom got and arranged all the flowers in the vases which I thought looked great!

Photo Courtesy of Suzanne Thurston

Photo Courtesy of Suzanne Thurston

Photo Courtesy of Suzanne Thurston

Photo Courtesy of Suzanne Thurston

Here is my spout

Today I went in for a makeup pottery class and worked on assembling the teapots that I had thrown at my last class.  I enjoy making teapots because they bring together so many different pottery techniques (lids, handles, spouts...) and it always feels like an accomplishment when I make one I really like.  To make a teapot, you throw a teapot body and lid to fit.  I usually throw at least two lids per pot to be sure that I end up with one that fits and that I like.  I also try to throw 3-4 teapots at once, and then try to make all the openings the same size so that I will be able to try out various lids with the different pots.  There are a lot of different styles and types of lids so it can be fun to try out different kinds and see what looks best.  I also throw 2-3 spouts per teapot and try to make a variety of shapes so I can see what looks best with each pot.

After the pots get to be leather hard, I make the handles and assemble the pots.  I pull the handles off a lump of clay and let them dry a bit on a board.  This was the first thing I did when I came in today so that they would have a bit of time to dry and be a bit easier to work with.  The pottery studio where I take classes now also teaches a technique where you pull the handle on the piece, but this is the way I have always done it - I'll have to try the other technique at some point.

While the handles were setting up, I trimmed the lids and the teapot bodies, picking out which lid I thought went best with each piece.  Trimming is just the process of removing extra clay and making the bottom of a piece (where it was originally attached to the wheel) look nice and cleaned up.  Then I picked out which spout I thought looked best and cut it at an angle to attach to the pot.  I hold it up next to the pot to see what angle looks best and how high on the pot to attach it.  You have to be careful that you position the end of the spout higher than the top of the teapot body or you won't be able to fill the teapot all the way without spilling!  I am happy with how these pots turned out (and the other two partially finished today).  I could theoretically let them dry out at this point but I like to keep them wrapped in plastic for another few days to a week so let all the pieces get to the same moisture level before they start drying out - this helps reduce cracking as it dries.