Tag Archives: Downtoearthenware

Christmas in July

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Is it July already??!!?? The studio has officially moved into the garage! Pottery is starting to take shape in this new environment which is riddled with little fingers wanting to help dad with his “pottery”! Help that sure has good intentions but is sure to end in terror if you were a freshly thrown pot!

Working at home sure has its benefits though, quick breaks from throwing slows for spur of the moment water gun fights and yummy blackberry picking!

This year we are working on some new additions to our line of pottery. These nesting bowls will make their debut in Staunton Illinois in September.

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These are an adaptation to the design of our baking dishes, otherwise known as our cobbler bakers. This new design will feature handles (some with, some without) and a new rim style, similar to the ‘split rim’ design pictured above on the mixing bowls.

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We will continue to offer the favorites, like the little birds nesting on top of the spoon rests.

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We will also continue our line of pie plates. This year look for the option of two different sizes. The Large will allow for a Small to nest inside for greater storage options. We will continue our new bread bakers (late fall 2015) they were a hit and people have sent pictures bragging about their wonderful loaves of bread.

You will also be able to find our interesting salt shakers. The salt shakers are a bit larger this year, hoping to reduce the amount of refills needed as well as still offering something that can be easily grabbed with the hand.

All of these items will debut this Fall at local area Art and Craft fairs around the St. Louis area. You will, of course, still be able to contact us directly from our Facebook page.

Look for all these new items at the DowntoEarthenware booth which is also getting a facelift. Look for unique crates to display all of our awesome functional pottery!

Christmas will come soon enough, don’t forget to complete your Christmas list early by contacting us for a one-of-a-kind dish for your loved ones!

Red Hot Apples Comin’ at Ya!

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Have you tried our first baked apple recipe? Every bite of it tastes like fall, doesn’t it? If you’ve tried it you’ll also know that it was super simple to assemble and bake. In fact, you were probably thinking, “Wow, this was super simple and the presentation is beautiful.” Or, “Wow, this is what September tastes like.” Or, if you’re like me, you were thinking, “Nom, nom, nom…it’s gone already?!” (Obviously my level of sophistication exceeds that of many.)

For those of you who haven’t tried that baked apple and are feeling a bit green with envy that we’ve all taken a bite out of September and you haven’t, then in the words of Smokey the Bear, “Only you can solve that problem.” Perhaps that was my fourth grade teacher….

In any event… Here are two more delicious apple baking recipes for you to savor in our fabulous apple bakers!

Red Hot Apple:

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You need one large apple and a handful of those spicy little red hot candies

Begin by coring your apple and cutting off the skin around the top of the apple. Place your apple on the spoke of your handy little apple baker.

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The second step is very simple: drop as many of those red hot candies into the center of the apple as possible and then let them mound on top.

 

 

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Bake your apple for 20-30 mins at 350. Pull it out when the apple seems done and the red hot candies are melted. ** We used larger red hots and they didn’t melt as quickly. This would probably work best with the smaller red hots. However, it did not have a negative impact on the taste of the apple. **

This apple has a similar flavor to a candied apple.

 

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Apple Praline:

One large baking apple

1 tablespoon butter

1 tablespoon brown sugar

2 tablespoons pecan pieces

1/8 teaspoon cinnamon

a few drops of vanilla

Core your apple, cut off skin around the top of the apple.

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Melt your butter and combine with your brown sugar, cinnamon, drops of vanilla and most of your pecans. Pack the mixture into the center of your apple and let it mound on top of the apple. Place extra pecans on top of brown sugar mixture.

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Bake at 350 for 20-30 mins.

 ** If you don’t want the pecans to get too brown you can cover your baker with foil.

Clean Crustless Egg Casserole

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Beautiful Ceramic Baking Dish

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 This breakfast dish has quickly become a family favorite.  It’s great because it’s versatile, high in protein, and convenient! It makes a delicious, nutritious hot breakfast a breeze on a hectic school morning. You know those mornings. The mornings when the kids are off-task (because organizing Rainbow Loom bands must be done at 6:47am), their socks don’t match (which, thankfully, is the trend these days), the permission slip that you signed yesterday went AWOL and it’s due today, and while scrubbing those pearly whites your daughter ends up with toothpaste slobber on her school shirt and now you have to rummage through the laundry pile (five loads, none folded) because if you try to get a new shirt from her room you’ll wake the toddler and no one wants to wake this toddler! Or maybe that’s just our mornings…

Back to the point of the post.

This dish serves 4-6 depending on the appetites you’re feeding and if you offer fresh fruit or toast or any other sides. I am using our large baking dish that easily accommodates a dozen eggs. We also have a smaller baking dish available that is great for 6-8 eggs.

Ingredients needed:

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Start by browning your breakfast sausage.  I use one pound of Jimmy Dean All Natural Regular Pork Sausage because it is MSG free, nitrate/nitrite free, and phosphate free. (Plus it’s gluten free, which matters to some.) Yes, organic would be preferred, unfortunately that’s not in the budget this week.

 

Brown Sausage in a small to medium pot on the stove.

Be sure to drain off the fat or let the sausage rest on paper towel to absorb the grease. To be thrifty, put half of the browned sausage in a baggie and throw it in the freezer for later.

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I get my eggs from a local farm on a weekly basis. Not only are they beautiful, but they have a deliciously rich flavor.

I have found that 12 eggs is ideal for our family, but you can use 8-6 if you don’t need quite as much. Beat your eggs and add milk.

I’m not big measuring, I just pour some in until it looks pretty good. Around 1/2 – 3/4 cup organic whole milk.

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After you beat the eggs and milk so they’re fluffy, toss in 1/4 cup-ish grated cheese. We change it up around here, which is mostly due to what I have on hand. Some days I use cheddar, other days it’s been mozzarella and parmesan. For a great kick add pepper jack cheese!

 

 

 

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Next add 1 1/2 cups torn baby spinach. If you’re cooking with the kids this is a fun thing for them to be doing. While you’re busy beating eggs your little helper can be tearing baby spinach leaves. It doesn’t have to be extra tiny or sliced or all the same size. Just let the kids grab a few leaves and rip them up a couple times.

 

 

imageAt any point you can add your sausage and salt and pepper to taste. Which, really is an odd thing to say. After all, who is going to add some salt and pepper to raw egg soup, stick their finger in and taste it. Really? Don’t do that. Just add some. and then add more after it bakes if it wasn’t enough.

This is where our additions end because of the taste preferences of our 5 minions. If you’re minion-free or have minions with different taste preferences you could add even more deliciousness to this dish, such as fresh mushrooms, diced bell pepper, broccoli, chunks of ham, onion, kale, etc. Have fun with it. Get creative. Throw in anything you like! (Just don’t tell the kids until after they have eaten it!)

imageBefore I pour my egg mixture into my baking dish, I spritz the dish with grapeseed oil. You could use Extra Virgin Olive Oil or Coconut Oil or even butter I suppose. I have made this several times before in a glass baking dish and in Corningware.** If you are preparing this the night before and don’t want to bake it until the morning then you can cover your dish with plastic wrap and refrigerate it overnight.

I bake mine in my convection oven at 350 for 40 minutes. I honestly don’t know if it takes longer to bake in a conventional oven. Just be sure that the egg in the middle is completely cooked before you serve and enjoy!

** Note about this bakeware:  I have made this several times before in a glass baking dish and in Corningware. The eggs stuck to both of those dishes regardless of how well I oiled the pan. The casserole baked in the DowntoEarthenware Baking Dish was extremely easy to cut and came our without any of the egg sticking. Beautiful results!

 

Check out this style of baking dish on Etsy
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