Zaru Soba

 

 

 

 

 

 

Zaru soba (buckwheat noodle) has been my favorite food since I was little. I was not fun of eating up until the first year of my corporate world. I remember my parents were so disappointed whenever we went to the restaurant, I ordered the plain zaru soba. That all I could eat outside the home. It is not child food, more like older people's food. I just did not like the food grown-up. All changed when I started eating the dinner with clients almost every night, sushi, eels, tempura. I was a market researcher, and arranged lots of the focus groups and monitoring tests, almost every night. I was forced to eat new foods with other people, and all of sudden I developed the taste.  I cook almost every night because I still do not like easting, so I prefer eating something good.

Zaru soba is made of buckwheat, and eats cold. You dips a half of the noodle into the dipping sauce, and swallow it with noise. Swallowing probably was the key why I liked it.  Not eating like food. Sauce is made of dashi (bonito), sake, sugar and soy sauce. You add condiments, dried seaweed, wasabi, sliced scallions, grated daikon (white radish), or yamaimo. Better version comes with shrimp tempra.

Areial view of my studio

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here is aerial view of my studio. My tenant said 500 SQ feet, but actually about 400 SQ feet after deducting the wall spaces. When I have an open house, I hear at least one person said you uses every square inch of studio.  I have two electric wheels, an electric kiln, a gas kiln, a slab roller and a pugmill, a TV, a refrigerator and a toaster. One of the wheel is Shimpo, thirty some years old, brought from Japan when I got married. I threw sake cups for the wedding in a kitchen of my tiny apartment in Tokyo. My studio is three time bigger than that apartment. I do not store finished pieces in the studio.  I wish I have big enough space to store and retail my pottery.  I just do not have enough space.  If I leave the fired pieces in the studio for a few days, they will be covered with clay dusts and need to wash. So, After opening the kiln, I usually bring them to home to store.



 

 

 

 

 

I had a a dental hygienist appointment yesterday.  It has been one year since the painful periodontitis gum surgery.  She said my teeth is "Stable".  With my mouths open , I started to wonder with my not-good English, "stable" like "stable condition after the accident",  that is not good.  After a couple minutes of discussion with myself, and I began to worry, I asked her that "Stable is good, right?", She replied, "yes, good, very good."  I thought why just say so.... It has been good, no bleeding after brushing teeth.  But lots of works.  Dental floss, brush-picks, tooth brush and mouse wash for one cleaning. I would be very depressed if they find any problem with my tooth.

Worms are here.

I got worms yesterday by the priority mail. They are packed in a video cassette size priority mail box.  They are alive, but not active at all.  I prepared the compost bin with extra plastic container laying around for the craft shows. Drill bunch of holes on the bottom, and put an air hole with a cushion came with the Orton cones glued over the top.  My wife teased me about names for new pets.  I have checked them a couple time since, they are more active now.

 

I had very good firing, and found couple good leads for new glaze combination.



 



 

 

Web of information 2

Strawberry short cake with strawberry cream

I have been spending some time on the pinterest. I started this mainly for the etsy.  People the marketing mix, facebook, twitter, and pinterest, to draw people to the store.  Sound great, but actually they are too foreign to me.  I am not good English writer, nor social butterflies.  I found a bit difficult to write in forum or leaving a comment.  I always regret after pushing a submit button.  So, I still in a dark on this marketing mix thing.  If I ever figure out, I will be selling like crazy.

Anyway, I slowly get the hang of the pinterest. I was collecting things to pin yesterday, and stumbled upon the worm composting.  I have been using the garbage disposal every night when I cook, and thinking about the composting, but never materialized.  I tried in the past, but did not worked well.  Maybe this worm composting may work. My wife really does not like the idea of me keeping the worm in the kitchen.  Yes, some factory made worm composts are meant to have in a kitchen.  I will buy couple containers, and collect some dozen worms from my yard to start, instead of spending hundred dollars.

Weather has been very mild and cooler side, and keeps flower blooming.  This has been the best spring so far.

Teapot 40 &41

[caption id="attachment_1995" align="alignleft" width="375" caption="Teapot 40"][/caption]

 

 

 

[caption id="attachment_1996" align="alignleft" width="461" caption="Teapot 41"][/caption]

 

 

 

Bats with a hole

The bats with a hole seems working.  I have left a platter all day like this, but the rim is not lifting up.  I covered the platter with a plastic overnight, and continue tomorrow. I made a throwing bats with a hole part, and threw one yesterday so see if warp. It stayed flat. This is 1/4" MDF. If I can use it as the bats, I will make small bats out of the leftover 2'x2'.



I threw yunomi (green tea cup) and sake cups off the hump.  I don't know why I make them off the hump, while the most others off the bats.  My habits,I guess.

Web of information

I  spent last weekend reading through the blogs and watching the videos of demonstration. I was amazed amounts of information out there, like attending the several workshops at once.  It was lots to absorb.  I picked up one great idea from Tony Clennell's blog , a thin bat with a hole in middle, to cover the large platter, preventing the edge from lifting up while drying up the middle.  I am having this problem, and only solution has been to leave it under the plastic for 3-4 days before trimming, but I do not have luxury to have couple of these sitting around in my tiny studio.  I went Home Depot and got 1/4"MDF board, and made one bats.  I threw a platter today, and use the bat tomorrow.  I noticed several potters have converted from cone 10 to cone 6.  This makes me to think.... If I can convert, I can bring the studio back to home, something to think about it.  To test the glaze, I need a small test kiln.  I saw it on the craiglist, but was not quick to respond.