How were the results of the last firing? The colour was excellent and there were very few losses. I was really pleased with the evenness of the firing, with the black glaze coming out amazingly well from top to bottom. These dinner plates were from the top shelf and the bottom shelf. The difference is barely noticable, the edge of the glaze turning amber on the left hand plate.
You'll have to wait until I get the photos to see what the chef has done with them, but today was my first chance to try them myself. I always like to test the new work in my own kitchen first, it's the best way to find out the strengths and weaknesses. Lunch today was for three, as
Rohan was home from school with a cold, so I tried out three of the new designs. It is interesting to compare the same food on different vessels. For
Rohan, who is six, I chose this 7 sun (21cm) plate with slip trailing on the edge. "Sun" (the "u" is pronounced "
oo" as in "foot") is the traditional
Japanese inch, 3.03cm. Ten "Sun" make One "
Shaku", the old
Japanese foot. Many Japanese potters, chefs and craftsmen still use the old measurements.
I finely chopped some "
Negi" from the garden, which is like a
Japanese leek, and lightly fried it with diced
celery in extra virgin olive oil. To this I added a small can of tuna and a half glass of light red wine. The wine was made by one of my friends from
Yamanashi and he gave it to me at the exhibition opening to bring home to
Mika....she let me have half a glass. I served her pasta on a 9 sun (27cm)
celadon dinner plate.
After the wine had reduced to half I added black olives and a can of whole tomatoes, then simmered it down till it thickened. A pinch of salt to finish, then I served it on the pasta with avocado topping. (Avocados were cheap this week, 99 yen each!) My plate was a 9 sun "
Hira zara". When we sat down to eat we added some freshly ground black pepper and a sprinkle of
Parmesan. I'm not sure which plate worked best with the food, but it all tasted delicious!
How were the results of the last firing? The colour was excellent and there were very few losses. I was really pleased with the evenness of the firing, with the black glaze coming out amazingly well from top to bottom. These dinner plates were from the top shelf and the bottom shelf. The difference is barely noticable, the edge of the glaze turning amber on the left hand plate.
You'll have to wait until I get the photos to see what the chef has done with them, but today was my first chance to try them myself. I always like to test the new work in my own kitchen first, it's the best way to find out the strengths and weaknesses. Lunch today was for three, as Rohan was home from school with a cold, so I tried out three of the new designs. It is interesting to compare the same food on different vessels. For Rohan, who is six, I chose this 7 sun (21cm) plate with slip trailing on the edge. "Sun" (the "u" is pronounced "oo" as in "foot") is the traditional Japanese inch, 3.03cm. Ten "Sun" make One "Shaku", the old Japanese foot. Many Japanese potters, chefs and craftsmen still use the old measurements.
I finely chopped some "Negi" from the garden, which is like a Japanese leek, and lightly fried it with diced celery in extra virgin olive oil. To this I added a small can of tuna and a half glass of light red wine. The wine was made by one of my friends from Yamanashi and he gave it to me at the exhibition opening to bring home to Mika....she let me have half a glass. I served her pasta on a 9 sun (27cm) celadon dinner plate.
After the wine had reduced to half I added black olives and a can of whole tomatoes, then simmered it down till it thickened. A pinch of salt to finish, then I served it on the pasta with avocado topping. (Avocados were cheap this week, 99 yen each!) My plate was a 9 sun "Hira zara". When we sat down to eat we added some freshly ground black pepper and a sprinkle of Parmesan. I'm not sure which plate worked best with the food, but it all tasted delicious!
Just left my pots long enough to eat some apple and cheese. Would have liked to sit down with you and your family for lunch- that looked so delightfull- those plates show the food off to perfection.
ReplyDeleteHi, You're welcome to come over for lunch anytime. I sometimes wonder whether I would make a meal like that if I wasn't cooking for Mika and the family, but thinking about life before marriage, yes I probably would. There is, however, nothing to be sneezed at about apples and cheese! It's a bit hard to get nice cheese here, which is one thing I look forward to when we go to australia for christmas this year. Lot's to do before then though, watch this space....
ReplyDeleteEuan