Chocolate Amaretto Cheesecake

 

When your 90-year-old mother asks for cheescake for Mother's Day, you make a cheesecake. It's the law. It might even be in the Bible. I know this is not remotely pottery related! I couldn't even bake it in a stoneware pan - you need a springform pan for cheesecake. but I made a cheesecake, it was amazing, and I want to share it with you. 

Chocolate Almond Cheesecake

Crust

• 1/2 package of chocolate wafer cookies
• 3 Tablespoons packed brown sugar
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/4 cup finely chopped almonds

You'll also need cooking spray

Cake

• 3 packages cream cheese, room temperature
• 1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 3 eggs
• 3 Tablespoons milk
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
• 1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate morsels, melted in double boiler

Preheat oven the 325°.

Grind cookies in food processor to coarse crumbs. Melt butter in microwave (takes about 30 -45 seconds) Mix crumbs, butter, brown sugar, and chopped almonds well in batter bowl. Spray interior of springform pan with cooking spray. Press mixture into bottom of springform pan. Bake 10 minutes, then remove from over & place on cooling rack. 

Meanwhile, put softened cream cheese in bowl & beat with stand mixer or hand mixer until creamy. Add sugar & beat until uniform beige color. Add eggs, milk, and almond extract; beat until well blended. Mix in melted chocolate. 

Pour into crust.

Bake at 325° for 35-40 minutes (at least, that's what the original recipe said. In my oven, it was more like 45 minutes.) until the center barely jiggles. Turn off oven, crack open door but leave cheesecake inside for an hour or more, to cool slowly. 

Cover with foil & place in refrigerator to chill overnight.

Enjoy. I plan to have the last piece for breakfast! 

PS! I meant to mention, I swapped out the amaretto for almond extract, because we're an alcohol-free household. Tastes exactly the same!
Just seeing if you're paying attention. 😄

This Year's Cookies!

 My compulsion to make stuff - & make it fancy - does not end with pots! I also make soap, & in December, I make Christmas cookies. The fun for me is the decorating, & I'm happiest when I am learning new things. This year I tried out an airbrushed design. Check it out here:

Inconvenient Ideas

 Does this happen to you? You've got important stuff to do - in my case a firing deadline to meet - when an idea pops into your brain and just will not! leave! you! alone! until you make it real. That happens less than it used to- or maybe I'm just better at stomping them down until a better time -  but every so once in a while such a notion will hijack my brain. 

On my commute to class on Monday, I started thinking about a series of images reminiscent of Tarot cards, only more personal: the Three of Cats, the Two of Kayaks, the Page of Snacks; and some Major Arcana: The Potter, The Kiln, Caffeine. I really don't have time to do all of these, but I did do one:

It took me all day, because I really don't know how to use graphics programs; I made a lot of false starts & did a lot of clicking around; in particular I had struggled to make the background transparent, which it needs to be if I am going to use this image for anything. I did, already, upload it to my teespring site where, much to my aggravation, the featured image keeps reverting to the BLANK back side. That seems to be a system glitch, so I am going to have to let that go. 

It has seemed to satisfy whatever noisy, insistent muse put these ideas in my head in the first place, however; at least for now. Tomorrow I will be back in the studio, trimming & slip trailing & mixing glaze - like I should have been doing today. But whaddaya gonna do? 

A Friend in Need

 

A couple of times over the last 16 years I have asked readers for help. I hate to do it, because I know you are mostly potters & so probably not the wealthiest! This time a friend is in desperate need, & we are running out of solutions. I know that many of you will not be in a position to help, but if you can, you will be doing a great kindness and it's deeply appreciated. If it's not feasible to give money, maybe you could share the fundraiser to your social media? 

I have known my friend Jon for nearly 40 years. In that time we have helped each other through hard times and crises. In every tough time, he has been there for me, despite having troubles of his own. That's how he is with all his friends - the one we all lean on. Jon has worked all his life but, like so many people, has never had a good enough job that he could get ahead. He was laid off in the fall and shortly after was diagnosed with congestive heart failure. 

Recently he suffered a medical emergency: a cut got badly infected and required emergency surgery. More surgery will likely be needed to remove dead tissue & repair the wound with a skin graft. Jon will be too unwell to work for the foreseeable future. 

He has applied for disability, but that decision can take many months, & he only has a few weeks of unemployment left. I feel certain he will qualify - we just need to keep a roof over his head until it comes through. So I started this fundraiser. 

As I said above, I really, really hate asking, because I know you all have demands on your money, families to care for, retirement to think about. (That's a big one, for the self-employed. No 401ks for us!) But if you have any room in the budget, or maybe you hit a lucky scratch ticket this week, any help you can give would be deeply appreciated. And I hope you have in your life a friend as good as Jon. 

https://gofund.me/e4ffc9cc

Still Worthy

Luckily I haven't had to in a while, but longtime readers will remember that sometimes I write about depression in this space. With that in mind, I enjoyed a particular moment in Avengers: Endgame, which Doug & I went to see last night. Technically I suppose a Spoiler Alert is in order here, but I don't think I am giving away much of the plot or its resolution with this. But, I'll put in a page break, just in case.

HELLO BLOGGER THERE IS SUPPOSED TO BE A PAGE BREAK HERE

Off-Topic: Some Thoughts About Public Art

What makes you want to visit a city? I'd argue public art is instrumental in creating a sense of place, a uniqueness that draws people.
I hiked three miles across the city of Minneapolis to take a photo of the iconic Spoon Bridge. That was no hardship - I like to walk in cities I am visiting, and I like to have a specific destination. Which kind of proves my point: monumental and very visible art creates landmarks and reference points, and brings the city into focus. It interrupts the sameness of cities, in the same way that a focal point in a painting will do.
I wanted to take a photo of the Spoon Bridge, even though there are thousands of better photos of the Spoon Bridge online. I wanted to touch it (visually only!) and make it one of my places, in that way. The Spoon Bridge helps anchor my sense of place and sets Minneapolis apart from other cities I have visited. I've already forgotten the convention center and the airport (even though I am currently sitting in the airport!); the hostel was fine and interesting but could have been a crumbling mansion in any city. The Spoon, though? The Spoon defines the visit, though I was only there for a few minutes, and creates commonality between visitors. It's a shared, and memorable, experience.

Anyway. More public art please, cities! It's always what I remember about my stay.

What I found on my Vacation; or Welcome Home, Fish-Boy!

One thing I hope I have learned from many years of self-employment is that even if you love your work, you gotta take a break. With that in mind, this past week has been my vacation! Other people taught my classes, and I took a break from all things pottery-related. Well - almost all things. I did spend an afternoon cleaning & organizing the studio so it would be ready when I am.

Instead, I did some hiking and some biking, and caught up on projects that have been nagging at my mind for some time. I cleaned out two big storage closets that seemed full but in fact still had plenty of space - just needed to be organized. I donated six bags of office clothing to Goodwill, despite a nagging superstitious fear that in doing so I may have precipitated some unforeseen event that will cause me to again have to get an office job.

Doug & I also just did some tooling around, visiting yard sales & junk shops, a favorite pasttime. One of those was one I visited in the spring, on my way to Blue Hill to deliver pots, and it was then that I encountered Fish Boy - a piece of yard statuary depicting a cherub embracing someone's ichthyologically incorrect idea of a fish.

I was immediately enchanted by Fish Boy, due to his charming oddity, but also because saving fish is Doug's business. He's a consultant for riverine ecosystem restoration. Fish Boy seemed made for us, but at $185 he ws right out of the budget. Nope, uh-uh, no way. So I reluctantly left him behind and went on my way.

Yesterday, when we returned to the junk barn (not sure it has a name), I remembered Fish Boy, and went to look; but he was gone from his place in a dusty corner. I mentioned this to Doug, and the Junk Barn lady heard me. She pointed out Fish Boy, out near the roadway, welcoming visitors. We had driven right past him.

I went out to look, and discovered that his price tag now read $48. This would still be a splurge for me, on something very silly. But I mean...it was so perfect.

I dragged Doug out to look at it with me. He declared it the ugliest thing he had ever seen. This just made Fish Boy more appealing to me. I went back in and asked the shop owner if there was any possibility that Fish Boy could be had for less.
"Forty dollars," came the answer.

Sold.

Now Fish Boy enjoys a place of honor in my overgrown garden among the sedum and echinachea.

My vacation has been a marvel, and now I'm excited to get back to work.

To Dad with Love - CHECK OUT MY TOMATOES

It's sort of a running joke in my family - my Dad and his tomato plants. There are reels and reels of home movie footage of beautiful green growing fruit. He was so proud of his garden.

So, not for nothin', I grew up to be a gardener, and I sort of specialize in tomatoes. And this year I have blossoms already on some of my plants! In the middle of June.

Dad would be proud.

A Remembrance, on Memorial Day

Dad, looking so handsome in his uniform. 

I enjoy a long weekend as much as the next person - maybe more, if the next person is a curmudgeon! - but I do want to take a moment to recognize the people who risked all, and in some cases sacrificed all, to make the gardening and the barbecues possible. Thank you to our military service members, active and retired, past, present, and future. A special and heartfelt thanks sent to heaven for those who lost their lives defending our freedom.

My father was in the Air Force, before I was born. It was how he paid for college. He was stationed in Germany and though he came back well and whole and singing German songs, he enlisted during the Korean War. He didn't see combat, but he could have. He was willing to risk it, for his country.

A friend of mine (who's also a ceramicist) is a veteran of the war in Iraq. She suffers with a disability due to her service. Today she posted photos on Facebook of friends she lost in that war. It was so hard to see smiling young men and women, and to know they were gone, lost in service to their country.

It's a luxury for Memorial Day to be abstract.

My nephew is a soldier today. He is training right now for his specialty, and I fear in my heart he will be sent to Afghanistan, or some new war. He is a brave young person - they all are, to be soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines in the first place - but I can't help but hope that his courage is not needed. I'm not much good at praying but I use whatever ability I have to ask that he be kept safe, that all our young men and women in the military be kept safe; that, if they should be forced to fight, let it be for a good cause and let justice prevail.

Enjoy the weekend, and thank those who made your enjoyment possible.

Be well.

Bowls of a Different Sort

Chocolate bowls with Raspberry Fudge frozen yogurt, whipped cream nuts & berries

It's Mother's Day! My family typically come up here from the Portland area for lunch and just hanging out. Usually we sit on the deck but it a wet one out there today so we'll be staying warm and dry.
I decided to do something special for dessert: chocolate balloon bowls. I had them at Portland Pottery's Valentine's Day Date Night event, and just fell in love with the idea. So pretty! So clever!

Readers of this blog know I am not shy to try new things even when I don't know what I am doing, but this time I prepared reasonably well; I watched a few youtube videos, and asked the chef at PP  (Chef Manda! I just love her) for any tips she could pass along. Nevertheless, hilarity ensued. But then eventually success:


If you, like me, enjoy reading about other people's debacles - maybe you, like me, find it comforting to know that other people are fuck ups, just like you are, but they figure it out, and so will you - you should read this entry, my first efforts to make chocolate bowls. If you prefer to skip right to the lessons-learned bit, you should read the update, which is the got-it-figured-out part.

Mom & me. In real life we're less blurry

Lunch as great, dessert was great, now I am settling into a sugar-crash coma. Tomorrow I'll get back to making clay bowls.

Not Remotely Pottery Related, but

,,,I made a new t-shirt! I took the photo last summer while delivering ware to Handworks, a gallery in Blue Hill, Maine. Doug came with me and we decided to make a day of it.

We visited Blue Hill Falls, which changes direction when the tide comes in or goes out. So cool! We waded in the gelid water and made a remarkable discovery: starfish come in colors! Beautiful, jewel-tone colors. There were masses of them, but I just couldn't capture the colors with the underwater shots; but I did get this small grouping on a rock that the departing tide had just uncovered. On the way back we stopped for lobster rolls at a little roadside stand. It was a great day.

So, I made a t-shirt commemorating my very Maine day. You can get it on a tank or a tote, too! Check it out here.

Tidings of Comfort and Joy

Happy Holidays from the House of Many Cats.

Comfort & joy, indeed.

Fire Monkey Shines

In the Chinese Lunar calendar, today is the first day of the year of the Fire Monkey!

I'm not one for superstition; good thing, too, because the Fire Monkey sounds like a handful. The Monkey is always clever and adventurous; fire can make him irascible and unpredictable. The year is associated with fast-moving change, that the quick of wit can successfully navigate and benefit from.

That's what the literature says; take it for what it's worth. I prefer to think of ours as a tribe of Fire Monkeys, and if so, this is our year to shine.

Yesterday In Bed I Lay

Yesterday I was stuck in bed with either a cold or the flu - I can never tell the difference. I'd have been kicking myself for declining the free flu shot because I hate shots, but I was too wrung out. It was the kind of illness where you feel fine until you try to get up, and then you are weak as a kitten.

It was probably better that I stayed in bed anyway. I don't have anything urgent on my to-do list, and because I stayed down I am feeling much better today. And - as the self-employed among my readership will recognize - even when I am too sick to work, I get some work done.

Yesterday I crossed off a task that has been on my list for a while, and create my new Etsy shop, Sweet Life Bath and Body. Check it out, if you are into that sort of thing.

One More New Thing in The New Year

I really, really need a new laptop, preferably before but possibly shortly after I put my fist through this one. I really can't complain - which doesn't stop me, not at all - because this machine was several years old when I bought it in 2011. (Hint: It's an IBM, not a Lenovo.) All of the software is maxed out; it can't take anything newer. The browsers make me pull my hair with waiting. And now I can't upload files to my website anymore, or type the letter "f" without both hands. The letter A is a little hinky, too.
The good news is, I have proceeds from holiday sales (which, of course, I would have preferred to spend on something else!) The bad news is, I haven't a clue what sort of laptop to buy. I see there are lots in my range, and even below; but how do I know they aren't crap?

So, putting it to all of you: I have $300(ish) to spend, though I'd rather spend less: what kind of laptop should I get? What kind do you use?

ETA: Luckily I was able to repair my two funky keys, so I can stop spelling funky with a "ph." (Not to mention "phuck this shit."And I found a work-around for uploading files: Filezilla! How did I not know about this? Anyway, crisis averted, so I can spend my $300 on what I had originally planned: a dishwasher!

So Many Unanswered Questions!

Lazy Evening

Last night was the first of many, I hope, warm evenings on the deck, drinking seltzer and being lazy.

Lazy looks different for the self-employed, however, as I'm sure my potter-ful readership is aware. For us, lazy often means "working on something other than the most important thing we could be working on;" or "working on something less physically taxing than the thing we should be working on."

For me, sitting on the deck with my seltzer water, it was Zazzle. I made a Zazzle store a few years ago, because I like to snap some photos once in a while, and once in a while I get a pretty good one, and Zazzle is something I could do with those that doesn't involve a whole new artistic business. I've never gotten a check from Zazzle, but I do occasionally get an email that I sold something. The way it works it, you have to reach a threshold of $25 $50 before they send you a check, and since I was mostly selling greeting cards, the royalty on which is something like 11¢, well, I ain't there yet. (Zazzle increased the threshold! Must have been too many people getting checks.)
But as I said, my "products" were almost all cards, or mousepads. Sad to say, the mousepad is nearly dead; and cards have that tiny royalty. You know what is not dead? Phone cases! A friend visiting during the pottery tour mentioned that he had phone cases listed on Zazzle.

So that was what I spent my lazy evening doing: choosing images and listing custom phone cases. Check them out: 

Stony Shore

Wild Mushroom

Rusty Gear

Wildflowers

Gazing Kitty

B&W Boots

2 Sheep

Daylily

BTW: do people really spend $56 on a phone case? If so I feel much better about charging $80 for a lidded casserole.

I get knocked down...

I get knocked down
But I get up again
You're never gonna keep me down

I get knocked down
But I get up again
No you're never gonna keep me down

I just finished reading Hand to Mouth: Living in Bootstrap America by Linda Tirado. Linda was the lady who wrote the amazing Kinja post, Why I make Terrible Decisions, or Poverty Thoughts. The book is an expansion on the theme. It came at a good time for me, having a pity party as I was, because I had an expensive car repair for the third time in as many months. Tirado makes a good point: getting ahead when you are poor depends on everything going right for an extended period of time. Which it never does, not long enough, anyway. And then I get depressed because DAMN IT. No matter how hard I work, no matter how frugal I am, something always comes along and knocks me back to square one.

It was good for me to read the book for a lot of reasons; one of them was to remind myself that we are not really poor, not compared to many people. We do live an extremely tenuous economic existence - if Doug or I got ill and couldn't work even for a few weeks, we'd be screwed. If the car had died this time instead of just needing approximately a million small repairs (exhaust system, oxygen sensor, tires, plugs, wires, coils, some other little shit) and I couldn't get to Portland for my classes, I don't know what we would have done.

And then I remind myself - I have had these thoughts before. Something always works out. There is nothing stopping me from putting on my interview suit and getting an office job, and then I wouldn't have these worries; but I never do it. It helps to think of it like this, to remind myself that not only did I chose this, I am choosing it every day.

And anyway, it's only credit card debt; I ring it up in the winter, I pay it down in the summer. It is always like that. I get knocked down, but I get up again.

Never gonna keep me down.

 

8:5:3:1 Plus Honey

As you will have noticed, my joy in making things does not end with pottery! Soap has been a major interest for the last couple of years, and now I am trying my hand at lip balms.

Lip balms are both simple and complicated: you can just melt beeswax and coconut oil and get something that will serve. Because I can never do things the easy way, I've been trying out various proportions and kinds of wax, oils, and fragrance to get a balm which is, in the words of the infamous Goldilocks, "just right." Not too hard, not too soft, not too oily, not too strong-smelling. Also important: doesn't melt if you keep it in your pocket!In some ways it's like formulating a glaze: I need the right balance of flux and refractory at ^body temperature.

This batch is made of beeswax, coconut oil, grapeseed oil, vitamin E, and honey. The proportions of the first four are 8:5:3:1; the honey a half-teaspoon in 60 grams, I'll have to figure out later what that comes out to in parts. I'll probably also switch out the grapeseed oil for sweet almond oil next time, only because the grapeseed oil has a shorter shelf life.

I am starting to have a fantasy of a retail store selling handmade home goods.(I even have a name for it: Nesting Instinct.) In my dreams I make all the pottery and bath and body products...and somehow also manage the store. Guess I'll have to ask Santa for an extra 48 hours in every day.

Happy Festivus, all. Keep on making.

Update: Like Papa Bear's chair, this batch was too hard. Need to increase the proportion of liquid oil.

Holiday Show! And a dumb story

Last night was Portland Pottery's big holiday party! Every year I tend the bar for this event, and I like to overdress for it, just for fun. This got a lot harder last year when I reached size 12, officially plus-sized. Here's me shopping in Goodwill for this year's dress:

Me, flipping hangers: Ugly. Ugly. Ugly. Ugly. HEY THERE'S ONE THAT DOESN'T LOOK LIKE IT WAS MADE FROM THE CURTAINS AT MOTEL 6!! Oh, wait, it's a size 6 that someone put away wrong....[Keeps flipping] Ugly. Ugly. Ugly. Ugly.

I did finally find a pretty fabulous dress, that fit...size 14. Even though I'm no heavier than last year at this time! Whatever, looks great, I'll take it.

I get dressed, get in the car, and....rrrrrrrip. Right up the back.

So I went in my dowdy office-party dress.

FML. Going to the gym. 

The show's still up until Sunday. You should go!