Category Archives: Pottery class

by | September 15, 2010 · 9:57 am

Eating Rats on a Hobo-Train!

     Yesterday’s recap: Hike…

Pretty!
Even more pretty!
     …Kitchen Sink Salad:
Healthy!
     …and work.
My thought exactly, young grasshopper.
     Today, I had an audition in LA, so I drove out a little earlier and met up with some handsome dudes for fooding.
Malachi and Dan! I’m so lucky! Le sigh 🙂
We went to an old abandoned train, prepared to eat whatever creatures we may find: rats, mice, praying mantuses (mantii?), all roasted over a hobo-fire.
Alas, our abandoned train had been taken over by chefs and customers! AAAAAAAH!
Turns out, this train that was abandoned on Ventura Blvd. was transformed into some ridiculously famous restaurant called Carney’s. Don’t worry though, they still serve hot dogs, which I’m pretty sure contain rats, mice and praying mantuses/mantii. 
DELICIOUS rats, mice and praying mantuses/mantii!
I was a little too frightened to have a hot dog, so I stuck with the safe choice – cheeseburger with everything on it and a small side of fries. Yesssss!
These fries are healthily fried! Is there such a thing? I think so!
Carney’s has EIGHT trained food handlers to make sure that your rat meat is fully cooked!
Malachi didn’t believe that they served rat meat. He was quite certain that the hot dogs contained “sweet crumb cakes and peppered snake’s wang!” He reenacts that here.
     After a delicious meal of grilled something-or-other, we headed over to BevMo! so I could show the guys some examples of good craft brews, since Dan is partial to PBR and Corona, and Malachi has learned about beer from Dan’s choices (c’mon, Dan!). We’ve decided that on Saturday I’ll be bringing a pack of the best craft brews I know over to their place where we’ll have a tasting and make some homemade pizza. Any of my beer-genius readers have any beer suggestions for me to share with them? 
Malachi…
Dan doing a “Shake your Face”. Sorry Dan, I had to post it 🙂
William Shatner. No words needed.
Billy, I’m not looking forward to your show. Sorry.
     I went to my audition over in Los Feliz. It took me thirty minutes to find the building and room, and two minutes to get through the audition. I got to smash lots of things and get angry. It was awesome. It’s also fun to scan down the sign-in sheet and see who’s already been in to audition that I know – apparently one of the guys who was also in the pilot of “Left at the Altar” (same pilot, not the same segment as me) had been in a few hours earlier. HI, GIB!
     I fought some crazy traffic to get over to my parental unit’s home, just in time to head to pottery class! Of course my mom and I had to get a little snack first to get our blood sugars up!
I got 5 ounces of red velvet, cupcake and cookies and cream topped with cookie dough, peanut butter cups and a piece of brownie. Oof.
Yes, this is pottery class. It’s a good way to get the creative juices flowing! I had a small mug of prosecco. Yum!
Today, I was kind of off. I blame my exhaustion from driving and eating rats/mice/praying mantii.
I think my rats/mice/praying mantii may have been undercooked… That is the only explanation for this monstrosity.
     Now I’m relaxing while sipping a pumpkin ale and watching reruns of “The Office”. I needed it to help cure my sorrows from the bowl above. 
OH HEY! Who wants this bowl when I’m done???   
😀  

7 Comments

Filed under Carney's, cheeseburger, Dan, frozen yogurt, hot dogs, Malachi, Pottery class, prosecco

by | September 8, 2010 · 9:05 am

Potential Pottery Giveaway?

     Today was a very busy day! I had two auditions and pottery class. While that may not sound like much, it takes a lot of prep for someone who doesn’t live in the city. It took quite a few hours, but the auditions went really well. Of course you’ll be the first to hear if anything comes of them :).

     For breakfast, I made an omelette with two eggs and some cheddar cheese and a mini-Monsta made with spinach, unsweetened soymilk, lemon, lime, banana, fresh peaches and some cinnamon! It tasted EXACTLY like peach pie. I have one peach left from the farmers’ market, and cannot WAIT for tomorrey’s Monsta!

Lunch was some leftover pineapple-fried-rice made with brown rice in one of my new pottery creations. Hooray for microwave and dishwasher safe!
     After the auditions, I headed over to the parental unit’s house and we all went out for some frozen yogurt!
At Tutti Frutti I got a small amount of peanut butter and cake batter fro-yo, then topped it with peanut butter cups, cookie dough and brownies. I was craving the sweets today!
     My mom and I stopped at Trader Joe’s to pick up some supplies for pottery class.
We brought some delicious, fancy Monte Ducay “red wine” to share with the class! Cheap and classy :).
Wine out of handmade pottery just tastes more earthy and robust!
This was my setup for the night. I had quite a few bowls and mugs to trim!
I accidentally trimmed one of my mugs too much and punched a hole in the bottom. I decided to make this mug into a berry mug. You all know how much I love eating food out of cups, so now I can throw a bunch of berries in here, rinse them off and have some food to-go!
At least it looks interesting!
My mom made some awesome bowls today! This was made with 2.5lbs of clay. She’s much more brave than I am!
This entire row consisted of all of my creations. I ended up making two handles for my taller mugs. You have to “pull” handles, which is a very, very awkward thing to do. Google it and you’ll understand what I mean. WARNING: Prepare for awkwardness. I’m such a teenager 😛
I think I’ll make all future handles by wrapping coils…
I also got back a bowl that I finished glazing last week!
I have no idea what I’m going to do with so many bowls! Anyone want one? Maybe I should do a giveaway!
     I definitely learned a lot at class tonight! I learned that pulling handles is just not for me, that sipping wine during class makes me more mellow when I puncture holes in beautiful mugs, and that I should start bringing a sweatshirt to class. Fall just might be here – officially!
If I did a giveaway of some of my creations, would anyone be interested?

8 Comments

Filed under audition, green monster, Monte Ducay, omelette, peach pie, pineapple fried rice, Pottery class, tutti frutti

by | September 3, 2010 · 5:19 am

Arts and Crafts!

     Happy September!!! Fall is my absolute favorite time of year. I love hunkering down, wearing big baggy sweatshirts, sipping hot mulled cider with freshly-made donuts, getting red cheeks from hiking in the chilly air, roasting potatoes with sea salt and herbes de provence, lighting pine-tree scented candles and having icy cold PUMPKIN ALE! I think the pumpkin ale just might be my favorite…

     However, it’s still very early in September and the temperature hasn’t dropped yet – in fact, it was really hot today! With my Autumn mindset, I did something not-so-smart.

HOT Banana-Bread-Oatmeal. This was absolutely delicious but I was sweating while eating it in my 80 degree house. This had 1 cup of cooked steel cut oats, 1/2 of a banana mashed in, a teaspoon of cinnamon, 1 tablespoon of walnuts, a splash of unsweetened soymilk and a dollop of whipped cream to make it pretty :).
     After a little coffee and digestion, I hit the gym for an hour and a half. I spent 40 minutes on the elliptical, burned 400 calories, went 3 miles, then did a variety of weights. I did four sets of fifteen reps on the lat pulldown at 45lbs. I tried for 60lbs, but I really overdid my first day there and decided to be smart this time. I tend to be an extremist – I love going on ten-mile hikes, spending three hours running on the beach, lifting weights until I can’t move any part of my body and planning half-year camping excursions that never seem to amount to anything. I’m working on balance, and being okay with healthy amounts of exercise. It takes time. ANYWAY, after the lat pulldowns I did assisted pull-ups, tricep dips, leg presses, and about a billion crunches. I’m sore but I definitely didn’t overdo it today. I’m learning!
     I promised you an arts and crafts blog, so here we go!
This one is hard to see, but it’s a drawstring bag made of old jeans I had. I was inspired by the leather shoulder bag that Amanda Bynes had in the movie, “What a Girl Wants“. Yes, I made this bag a very, very long time ago. I’m pretty slick with the sewing machine and added an accent around the bottom with an old scarf.
This is an apron I made with another pair of old jeans and ANOTHER old scarf. I actually made about a dozen bags out of jeans and sold a couple to some neighbors when I was younger. 
This is the last denim apron that remains. It’s actually very handy for when I cook – the pockets hold all of the utensils.
I went through a painting phase a few years ago. For this frame, I took a picture from my Backpacker magazine and glued it into a wooden frame I found at Michael’s, then mixed together my paints to match the colors and extended the picture out onto the frame. This was my first one! I was quite proud :).
This was one I made for my dad for Fathers’ Day. After this one, all the time and detail started to feel very tedious and I gave it up.
That brings us to today. Here again are the bowls I made. I’m not that happy with them, but I realize that it’s a learning process, and I’m looking forward to next week.
     Other creations of mine include hemp bracelets, friendship bracelets, hair wraps, sewing fabric extensions onto the bottoms of my jeans (remember when these were in style?), and slicing and dicing t-shirts into what I believed were “fashionable” shirts. I also have a candle-making kit in my closet, as well as a soap-making kit. Up next on my craft list is beer – creating Craft Beer will definitely be my new art and hobby!
     Let’s see some pictures of your favorite arts/crafts you’ve made!

2 Comments

Filed under arts, banana bread oatmeal, beer, candles, crafts, denim bags, Pottery class, soap

by | September 1, 2010 · 8:57 am

Quesadillas and Serenades!

     Busy, busy day today! I woke up at 7am and hit the gym for an hour and fifteen minutes. I spent 35 minutes on the stair-climber: 35 minutes, 2.92 miles, and 140 floors. The stair climber is no longer my favorite cardio at the gym. Ouch. I did three sets of ten leg presses at 120lbs, then spent the rest of the time attempting to do arm weights (couldn’t because my arms were crying), and crunches (couldn’t because my abs were crying), and stretched out.

     I got back home and blended up an icy Monsta!

This had 5 cups of spinach, 1/2 of a banana, 1 carrot, 2 sprigs of asparagus, 1/2 of a cup of unsweetened soymilk, 1/2 of a cup of frozen blueberries, the juice of a lemon, and a handful of ice.
     Next up: Audition time! I fought the LA traffic, had an amazing audition, then headed over to my friends’ Dan and Malachi’s for some lunchy goodness.
Malachi got all gourmet – frozen chicken, defrosted in the microwave, then sauteed…
While Malachi chef-ed, Dan serenaded us with some lovely acoustic guitar.
That chicken turned into a magical quesadilla with green chilies and cheddar cheese!
Malachi was not pleased with my picture of his quesadilla. It was delicious, though!
Dessert was the same theme: Green Chile Peanut Brittle. I am in love! This stuff is amazing! I’m thinking of taking a road trip just to get some. Or maybe making my own…
I brought the boys some delicious, ridiculously cheap wine (Monte Ducay, $5.99 at Trader Joe’s) in exchange for all of the fooding and serenading.
     After the deLUSCIOUS lunch, I headed over to my parental units’ house for pottery class. FIRST…
Tutti Frutti is always a necessity. I was craving sweets and got red velvet with cookie dough, peanut butter cups, a shortbread cookie stick. Oh, yeah! My eyes were too big for my stomach, and I had about 1/4 of this leftover that got trashed :(.
I also had enough time to make a miniature Kitchen Sink Salad. This had 2 cups of chopped lettuce, 1/2 of a cup of warmed lentils, 1/4 of a cup of egg white salad, and some leftover sauteed zucchini and summer squash.
      When we got to pottery class, we found out that our glazing was finished! Yay!
Here are mine. Meh, not bad for a first try, but EW!
My HikeBikeEat bowl failed. BIG crack down the middle. Oh well…
I made FIVE pieces tonight! My favorite is the one on the far right – my new mug!
These are my mom’s! They turned out AMAZING! I’m only slightly jealous – and by slightly, I mean COMPLETELY!
     We headed back home, stopped by Trader Joe’s and picked up some Panang Curry Sticks and we’re now relaxing, sipping some wine and watching Glee. My life is a fairy tale! I am so content :).
Do you have any artwork you’re proud of? I’ll be posting pics of my favorite craft pieces tomorrey!

3 Comments

Filed under audition, glazing, green monster, gym, kitchen sink salad, Mom, peanut brittle, Pottery class, quesadilla

by | August 11, 2010 · 9:45 am

Covered in Clay!

      It was a wonderful, WONDERFUL day! I really can never complain on my days off, but today was exceptional. I started off with a Monsta!

5 cups of spinach, 2/3 of a cup of unsweetened soymilk, 1/3 of a small banana, 1/8 of a cup of frozen blueberries, 1/4 of a cup of frozen strawberries, and the juice of 1/2 of a lemon.
     After finishing off my Monsta and a few cups of coffee, my cousin/friend Allie came over for our day out on the town! The first stop was to visit the love of our life…
INDIAN FOOD!!! IN VENTURA!!! There was a buffet today, so I filled up this plate, and then… stopped. I could have gone back for more, but I didn’t, and that’s saying something!
     Afterwards, we headed to my favorite chocolate shop, Trufflehound’s.
You can watch them make the chocolates as you peruse their gigantic selection.
     Allie and I parted ways after our amazing day of foods and ocean views in Ventura, and I headed over to meet up with my mom and head off to our pottery class! 
I am completely enamored with this yard!
Grapes STRAIGHT FROM THE VINE in their yard!!! These were wonderfully delicate and sweet. I want to grow my own!
     Our teacher’s hubby brought in an array of snacks for the class.
Delicious lemon bundt cake from Costco! I didn’t have ANY!
And by not having any, I mean I only had half of one of those huge hunks. YUM.
     Tonight we trimmed the feet of our bowls and wrote our initials. Well, we were SUPPOSED to write our initials…
WOOHOO!!!! HikeBikeEat 2010, bay-bee!
My mom was bad-ass and went for the red clay that beginner and intermediate potters are scared of. She kicked its ass and made an awesome bowl!
     We headed home, covered in clay, mud and dust (and by we, I mean me. My mom stays entirely spotless somehow, even with the red clay!) and opened up something amazing that my parental unit caved and bought after I’d talked them deaf about it. That sentence was too rambling to understand, but look at this picture and drool your cares away.
OH MY GEEZ, NO WAY, THEY DIDN’T, DID THEY? COULD THEY? THEY DID!!!!!
They bought a Vitamix! I’m so happy/excited/jealous/FREAKING OUT!!!! Tomorrow’s day of food will be Vita-EPIC!
     Pardon me for now: I’m going to sip my “red wine“, flip through the Vitamix cookbook, and then attempt to sleep while tossing and turning like it’s Christmas Eve, waiting to use “Josephine” (we have officially named the Vitamix after a lovely character played by Lena Olin in the movie Chocolat). Side note: Lena Olin is my hero! She is amazing!

Who’s your favorite actor/actress?

4 Comments

Filed under bundt cake, Chocolate, grapevines, green monster, Indian Food, Mom, Pottery class, red wine, Vitamix

by | August 4, 2010 · 9:41 am

Baking and Pottery!

     Today was a perfect day. All of my perfect days start with a Green Monsta! Today, I had a Monster Monsta!

This thing had five cups of spinach in it! FIVE!!! It definitely tasted a little more spinach-y than usual, but in a good way. I could feel myself absorbing that green energy with every sip!
     My roommate and I, fueled up with green, went on an hour long hike down and back up our ridiculously painful trail. It was a hot one outside, but it felt great to finally be moving again!
     After we got back, I threw some of the leftover Oatmeal Blueberry-Cocoa pancake batter into the pan.
The batter really thickened up overnight! I mixed up the leftover mashed banana into the batter and didn’t need to use any to top it.
They were good the first day, but today they were AMAZING! Thick and rich and gooey inside!
     Since I had gone to all the effort to make my CocoButta, I decided to put it to good use and make Angela’s Summertime Cherry, Banana, Coconut Butter Bread. This recipe has been on my mind since she first posted it in June. Prep was very easy – I find that vegan baking setup generally is very fast.
I used the cherries that I pitted, halved and froze last week.
It took a little longer to cook than she stated. Mine was in the oven for roughly an hour.
Delicious and gooey! Overall impression: it’s good, but very, VERY dense. It was so thick that I stopped after 1/4 of a slice. I think next time I’ll use fresh cherries, add another tablespoon of coconut butter, and try a different flour (I used oat flour). I also added 1/4 of a cup of walnut pieces to the batter for some added crunch.
     All that baking made me hungry, and since I’d only had a quarter of a slice of the bread, I threw together a mini-burrito.
A small raw tortilla topped with 1/2 of a cup of refried beans, 3 tbsp of salsa, 2 tbsp of guacamole, 1 tbsp Tofutti’s “Better Than Sour Cream”, all on a bed of lettuce. I finished about 3/4 of this before I was satisfied and made myself stop. So. Hard. To. Stop!
     I did a little work for the manager from home, ate 2/3 of a cup of leftover Potato-Corn Chowder from yesterday, and then it was time to head to POTTERY CLASS with my mum!!!
I was excited and grungy! I wore all old clothes, prepared to get dirty!
     We got to the studio, which is located in an adorable little neighborhood on the beautiful property of the owners/teachers. I wanted to dig up their backyard and transplant it to my house.
We went under an archway that is covered in grapevines, with HUGE bunches of grapes on them! This backyard really is magical and alluring.
     We got inside, got on our aprons, and had a quick lesson on kneading the clay, throwing it onto the wheel, centering it, opening the clay, drawing up the sides, and shaping it. It was really that quick of an introduction, then she let us get straight to the wheel.
Boo to the Yah.
Yay, mom!
     My mom made 3 bowls, a mug and a soapdish, and I made 4 (really, really flat) bowls, and a small teacup. The teacher watched us center, helped us even out the clay, and walked us through every step. It was nice to get right into it and get our hands (and clothes) dirty – I’m not a fan of watching, I like to DO! This class was perfect for me, and I got some awesome girl-time in with my mom :).
     We got out of class around 8:45pm, COVERED in clay (I found some underneath my ear when I washed my face), and headed home. I had a big mug of caffeine-free peppermint tea, and a few water crackers with a little smoke gouda on top. Since I have another day off tomorrey, I’ll be hanging with the parental unit and enjoying being HOME! Charlie St. Cloud might make an appearance too, depending on our lunch schedule :).
What’s your favorite arts/crafts to make?

11 Comments

Filed under burrito, Cherry-Banana-Coconut-Butter Bread, clay, green monster, Home, Ohsheglows, pancakes, Pottery class