Sweet & Sour Pineapple Coleslaw

Here's my new favorite coleslaw, heck it's my new favorite salad. There's nothing better than coleslaw for outdoor BBQs but I always worry about a mayonnaise or sour cream dressing spoiling in the heat. Here's a colorful alternative: Sweet & Sour Pineapple Coleslaw. I may never make coleslaw the old fashioned way again. Yes, you can use green cabbage but why, when you can have an explosion of color in your salad with red cabbage. Here's the ingredients:

Slaw:
1/2 head of red (purple) cabbage chopped or shredded
1 package of shredded carrots
1 fresh pineapple, peeled, cored and chopped into bite sized pieces
1 mango cut into cubes
1 bunch of green onions chopped fine, light green parts only
I added chopped red peppers I needed to use but these can be left out
1 shallot chopped fine
2 garlic cloves chopped fine
salt and pepper to your taste
(put ingredients in a plastic storage bag till ready to use)
2 teaspoons celery seed - reserve till ready to add dressing
1/8 cup of sunflower kernels - reserve till ready to add dressing

Dressing:
1/4 cup red wine or rice vinegar
1/8 cup olive oil
3 tablespoons of honey
3-4 squirts sriracha hot chili sauce (it comes in a squirt bottle now)
2 tablespoons of lime juice
zest of one lime
whisk all of these together just before serving

Add celery seed and sunflower kernels to slaw mixture just before adding dressing (you want keep them firm for that crunchy element). Toss gently with the dressing and serve. Oh my, so many flavors to tantalize your palate. This colorful salad is sure to be a hit at any BBQ or summer potluck. Lots of additions come to mind for this slaw; how about corn, olives, blueberries, cilantro, or peas. Go ahead, get creative with your coleslaw. What do you think; tell me about your alternatives. Thanks for reading and for all your comments.

Remembering the Fallen

Blueberries

Fruit from rolling hills

dusky blue goodness abounds

sweet tart blueberries.

Clay Menagerie

Several of my customers have requested animal ornaments. Here is my clay menagerie thus far. I have to be really careful of the unicorn appendages to be sure they don't break. A lone teapot seems to have slipped in. I might make some of these as refrigerator magnets next go around. Thanks for reading and for all your comments.

Planting Bin for my Sugar Snap Peas

Gary built a planting bin for my sugar snap peas. I have planted two sections. I'll wait to plant the third in two weeks so I'll have successive ripening.

We moved my potting bench and tucked the bin behind a tall standard rosemary plant. I still have to paint the bin and will repaint the potting bench.

Meanwhile Gary cut the tops and bottoms off of some orange juice containers so I could use them to protect some small plants a critter has been eating. Here you see my parsley is coming back up again.

Here I have protected my Japanese eggplant which is sprouting new leaves.

If you look closely you can see some of my shallots are indeed sprouting. I am lucking out with the weather which has turned cool and we've gotten an abundance of rain. Thanks for reading and for all your comments.

Tribal Inspired Pendants

Here are three tribal inspired pendants I made in Florida which I finally got around to glaze firing. I used a thinly rolled white stoneware clay and hand formed the pieces. For the green one above I brushed markings with native Florida clay.

 The texture on this one is subtle and meant to evoke the feeling of a worn aged surface.

Here's another pale green piece with native Florida clay markings. I have others but I need to add jump rings to attach the leather cords. Others will have added embellishments.

Yesterday Gary built me a bin to plant my peas. As usual that project entailed moving my potting bench and filling with soil between rain storms. In other news some of my shallots are indeed sprouting, thanks goodness. Stay tuned for more. Thanks for reading and for all your comments.

May Flowers

 Here's what blooming in my garden this month, coleus and begonia.

 yellow poker

 scabiosa

 beard tongue or penstemon

 salvia

 sedum, salvia, lantana

 red poker

 hardy geranium'

 petunia in a pot

 paprika yarrow

 mixed border of shrubs and herbs, lavender, thyme and chives

 catmint

a lone weed I just couldn't pull up

Thanks for reading and for all your comments.

Planting

The other day I was at the hardware store and noticed all the bulbs were on sale. I decided to try growing some shallots in this bin that Gary painted for me.

After I planted the shallots, I read on the internet they need 30 days dormancy at temperatures between 35 and 50 F. The package said nothing about that. We shall see if they come up.

I've already planted six tomato plants and several mild to hot peppers and some basil. The parsley I planted was eaten down to the ground by some critter. Perhaps a rabbit. I also got a huge packet of sugar snap peas reduced to two dollars. Now where to plant those. We don't have much growing ground around here unless it's straight up and down. Thanks for reading and for all your comments.

Smokey Spicey Meatballs, Gluten Free

The other day I had a hankering for gourmet sausages. I even thought about making my own. When I saw how much work they were and how much equipment I'd have to get like a meat grinder and a sausage filler, I decided to make meatballs instead. These meatballs are so moist and delicious.

Preheat oven to 350 F. Place pork and sauteed onion, garlic, ginger, and peppers in a bowl and sprinkle with the spices. Mix with a spoon. Add shredded cheese and flour and mix well. Form into 1 1/2 inch balls; then roll in cracker crumbs. Place on olive oiled baking dish or pan. Bake for 15 minutes, turn and bake for another 15 minutes. Drain on a paper towel to absorb and excess fat released in cooking. Makes about 15 meatballs. Next time I think I'll raise the temperature to 375 F.  I wish I had an instant meat thermometers especially when cooking pork. I have a regular meat thermometer but it's too large to insert into a meatball.

one pound of ground pork (unseasoned)
3/4 cup of smoked gouda (you can substitute cheddar)
3/4 cup of gluten free baking flour
1/4 onion chopped fine and sauteed
3 garlic cloves chopped fine and sauteed
1/2 inch fresh ginger chopped fine and sauteed
2 mini bell peppers chopped fine and sauteed
1/2 teaspoon dried ground chipotle pepper
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper freshly ground
1/4 cup gluten free cracker crumbs (reserve till the end)

I rarely have anything with this much fat in it (you know how sausage is) but I figured one time every few months wouldn't hurt. Thanks for reading and for all your comments.

Wall Pockets

Today I worked on some wall pockets. These are meant to be hung from the handle on the back of the pocket. I made two of these last year and they sold right away. Thanks for reading and for all your comments.

Provencal Greens Soup

Traditionally this soup uses any greens collected from nature or you can use purchased greens. Wild greens such as nettles, plantain, water cress, or dandelions are often used. This soup is not usually pureed but I decided to puree mine.

Greens I used I purchased from the farmer's market. These are green garlic; garlic which hasn't yet formed a hard bulb and is much milder than garlic cloves. Sometimes leeks are used.

 Here is a bunch of swiss chard I used.

And a large bunch of kale and collard greens were also used. A farmer friend gave these to me. Below is the soup before puree. I started by sauteing the chopped green garlic and a few cloves of regular garlic. When they were soft I added the chopped swiss chard stems. Next I added half a cup of water to wilt the chard, kale, and collard greens which I chopped chiffonade style. I discarded any overly large tough stems.

This was a big batch of greens so I added 10 cups of water, thyme, basil, rosemary, and pepper. Very little salt if any is needed since the greens contains quite a bit of sodium naturally. Cook over medium for 30 minutes. Add two large chopped potatoes and cook till soft. Cool soup till you can place in a blender to puree or use an immersion blender.

Beat two eggs and temper them and add to the soup slowly stirring constantly. I added 3/4 cup of half and half, a dash of sherry and worcestershire. My soup was a bit thin so I added one tablespoon of cornstarch mixed with water. Then I reheated the soup to thicken and cook the starch. Serve with some grated parmesan or some garlic croutons. Thanks for reading and for all your comments.

Mini Leaves

My intention for these mini leaves was to make several wind chimes. But I could also sell them separately. What do you think? The rosey burgundy ones are actually much nicer in person; my photo doesn't do them justice. Thanks for reading and for all your comments.

Bok Choy with Garlic and Mushrooms

At the farmer's market I bought some organic bok choy. To make this dish, chop the bok choy bulb and set aside. Next chop the bok choy greens and set aside. Slice mushrooms and set aside. Place olive oil in saute pan and heat to medium. Meanwhile mince three garlic cloves then add to hot oil. Saute till fragrant about two  minutes. Next add chopped bok choy bulb stir well and cover and let cook till soft. Next add sliced mushrooms and one tablespoon of butter stir gently and cover till mushrooms are al dente, stirring several times during cooking. Finally add bok choy greens till wilted and dark green, while cooking add one teaspoon of soy sauce and five shakes of your favorite hot sauce. I used chipotle. Add just enough soy and hot sauce to flavor but not overpower depending upon how much bok choy you use. This recipe takes less than half an hour to prepare, cook and serve. Thanks for reading and for all your comments.

Fresh Picked Strawberries

Here are the fresh picked strawberries I bought at the farmer's market. Yes they're perfectly red and delicious. Happy Mother's Day. Thanks for reading and for all your comments.

Spring Fling Saturday

Tomorrow is the Spring Fling Celebration at the Union County Farmer's Market from 10 am to 2 pm. The day will feature ramps (wild onion), strawberries and beef. The ramps will be served in several different ways. I'll be in Booth 9 with my pottery for sale.

When I took the green wall tile above out of the kiln I thought this red leaf would look nice hung with it. What do you think? Should I leave the wall tile plain or add the leaf? I plan to add a leather cord through the leaf and then up through the top of the tile. Below more pottery from this kiln load.

 oval planter 3in high x 13 in long x 4 3/4 in wide

(might keep this one; imagine succulents planted sitting on a windowsill)

 mini vase

 candle holders - I'll put soy wax in these

 business card holders in various colors

 alligator platter

 owl plate (although his face looks bat like; also darker than I planned) 

 kaleidoscope fern platter

 (but the red underglaze bubbled up through the clear glaze - strange?)

(I sponged on the underglaze, not sure if that made a difference)

large green leaf plates

 large red leaf plates

ornaments (wanted the snowmen cobalt to be lighter)

Remember Sunday is Mother's Day. My mom passed away several years ago at 89 but I still miss her. Thanks for reading and for all  your comments.