les jeux de cahiers de cuisine

tea

2012-01-22T15:29:00.001-05:00

drinking morning tea

the monk is peaceful

the chrysanthemum blooms

Basho

we finally had some sun here, enough so that my camera might take some good photos of the tea cups i've been doing lately in the pottery studio. fortuitously the sun was coming through my garden doors and orange tree and it cast the perfect shadow to be the setting for these photos. tea and the tea ceremony are a couple of those things i wish i could devote more time to. i studied the architecture of the tea house while in school and was able to once attend a traditional tea ceremony in boston.

i am not actually much of a tea drinker. i really only like it at a certain not boiling but not yet tepid temperature. however i still appreciate the culture behind it. i've been feeling that small tea cups are a noble pursuit for me; as i get more accomplished with throwing pottery. the cups are not perfect and there is a great lesson in that, in that they need not be perfect. fate and glaze add their voices to the process and out of everything, chance sometimes is the best course to follow.

i've been considering building small wooden boxes for some of the cups, just to make them more of a celebration of chance and the lesson that perfection can sometimes be set to one side.

many of these will go to the friends i have left in my life (though they seem to be lost like autumn leaves lately). others i may keep. one might even find its way to you.

perhaps it is time for a new blog contest?

21

2012-01-09T20:24:00.005-05:00

heather, over at the pottery studio, had a nice surprise waiting for me tonight.

all of my recent work had been bisque fired this weekend and was ready for me to glaze. a diligent 1.5 hours later and here is a photo looking down into the kiln of the aftermath. glaze is always a tricky proposition because glazes in their liquid form look nothing like what they eventually become. i've tried out some new tricks tonight based on what i've learned previously and added a new color - orange, into the mix of colors i am using. 8 hours to fire, 8 hours to cool, i'll pick everything up thursday and see what chance may have helped along

getting better with my brush swooshes. a good swoosh is everything in art pottery.

sawdust

2012-01-09T17:00:00.000-05:00

a couple, who bought a table of mine at Arbor Aid, contacted me last month about building them a large diningroom table. i am re-using an old factory table of theirs for this, splitting off the individual boards, replaning them and trimming them down to size. the table was frightfully heavy and i barely got it in my house. i discovered one reason for this was the table had been constructed with four 2 foot wide interior bolts and was in fact 3" thick solid cherry.

below is the result of 6 hours work - filling the holes with dowel plugs, splitting, planing and trimming all the boards. i've evenly distributed the boards to either side of a 5" wide section of cherry which will run down the middle as a spine to the table.

next up gluing everything together. i'll be using walnut as a contrasting wood to create breadboard ends for the table. after this project is done i'll build them 2 matching benches.

current work

2011-12-21T16:25:00.001-05:00

no, they aren't perfect. some are slightly off center and my rims are uneven sometimes still, but i am making progress and the investment of my time is beginning to pay off. here then, are some of my recent small ceramic bowls. all about 2" high and 4" wide

bento bowls

2011-12-20T20:27:00.003-05:00

with all the recent ceramics and boardgames posts, i've been rather remiss in my food blogging duties (food posts always suffer in the winter with the lack of good lighting to make the food in the photos appetizing). tonight though i wanted something different for dinner. one trip to the japanese grocery later and we have a bento bowl supper which only needs chopsticks to be complete.

in clockwise order - yaki-soba noodles, sautéed baby bok choi, fish cake, soy sauce, seaweed salad, pickled ginger, daikon, and crab shumai and some shrimp tempura in the center.

and yes i did make every one of those bowls.

more tea for one

2011-12-15T20:03:00.000-05:00

these might not look like it yet but they are my finest wheel thrown teacups yet. they need to dry some, be trimmed, bisque fired, glazed and fired again. but one day soon, they will be marvelous.

iTin

2011-12-15T20:00:00.003-05:00

i had some room on a recent playing card order from the printer in hong kong so i decided to make 5 double sided cards (playing card size) with a series of traditional board game layouts. from these 10 cards and some wooden cubes in 2 colors i can play 25 or so different two player games. the larger black wooden tiles are binary lots, which were used for most games before dice were invented. add in a metal tin from Michaels and i have a portable games closet.

tea for one

2011-12-13T14:33:00.003-05:00

my first pretty good japanese style tea cup

woodworking

2011-12-12T16:00:00.001-05:00

finished up a recent woodworking commission for a wedding present. i am pleased with how it turned out. shaping the handle for the lid was a lot of fun. walnut and maple with wenge details

serica demo

2011-12-10T19:56:00.001-05:00

well was a fun if long day. sold 5 copies of the game. 3 to people who stopped in and another 2 to the store itself. bob invited me back again next saturday to demo some of my other games. so i'll do it all again then. thanks to the BGGers/friends who stopped by and bought a copy.

for now some photos for those interested

my little corner of the store and a closeup of my demo setup

Games Unlimited is packed with a great selection (view from behind the counter)

view across from where i sat showing all the family/party games

games for my nephews

2011-11-21T15:01:00.001-05:00

a little something i cobbled together for my nephews to play on thanksgiving. built using the postcard wargame Rattenkrieg as a base idea but with spells and other rule changes. the map is from a deviant art site and the counter artwork is from the amazing melee re-design by kwanchai over on BGG. hope they like playing it.

a peek at things to come

2011-11-12T21:50:00.001-05:00

i've been doing some intellectual legwork on one of my next games for 2-4 players. i love using full page bleed images and lots of color in my work but i think i might go minimal this time. Uruk was the very first civilization (a city populace vs de-centralized tribes). among other things, they invented writing.

the font on the cards is Apogee which is a very spacey modern font but i like the application here. it is readable but the letterforms are divergent enough they feel like a proto-alphabet. more on this game as it develops

serica - almost ready

2011-11-11T14:31:00.001-05:00

i finally found some boxes for the game so the artisanal sets are almost ready for sale. i'll be doing a demo event with the game next month at Games Unlimited. hope you'll stop by..

winner take 2

2011-11-08T11:49:00.003-05:00

unfortunately the winner i drew last week seems to be MIA and i have no idea who he is or how to get in touch with him. yojimbo - if you are out there somewhere, please get in touch with me

at info@aanpress.com and we'll talk :)

so today i am picking an additional winner for the handmade copy of Serica out of the remaining entries.

without further ado then ....

(well some ado since blogger won't let me upload the film)

congratulations to

JESSICA

i'll be in touch with you. hope you enjoy the prize

we have a winner in the Serica contest

2011-11-01T17:00:00.002-04:00

we have a winner! thanks everyone for entering. your support keeps me designing new games.

i'll contact the winner over on BGG (i am pretty sure this person is a user there)

and send the game out in the next few days.

and for those who didn't win, look for some retail copies soon!

UPDATE: yojmibo, who is the winner, seems to not be a BGG user and has no info in his google profile through which i can contact him. yojimbo, if you are out there, please contact me at info@aanpress.com and provide me with your mailing details.

serica contest update

2011-10-24T13:55:00.004-04:00

well i've finished the prize copy (minus the rules which i'll print up tomorrow) and i must say, i think the eventual winner will be quite happy.

want a peek? sure you do....

i found a great wooden box that fits everything over at Michaels. added a full sheet label sticker for the box art (first time i've used these, definitely a good thing to get if you are a PnPer). modded up a divider inside to keep the bits and cards from the board and caddy.

this board and caddy were made from maple.

110+ entries and counting. a little over a week left to go before i draw a winner. it could be you....

game designing year two

2011-10-18T17:01:00.000-04:00

and what is in store for year 2 you might ask?

working currently on 2 games. Polders, a 2-4 player eurostyle game about draining the sea to create arable land in the Netherlands. i have high hopes for this game. i think it is a great, easy to learn family game wih some great strategic decisions. and Shadows Upon Lassadar: Sorrow of Salilth, a 1-2 player prequel to the first Shadows game i developed a few months back. this is entered in the current microgame contest on BGG

a design anniversary

2011-10-17T14:49:00.003-04:00

this week marks one year of doing board game designing. it has been both a rewarding and an enriching experience. the gaming community i belong to has been very generous with praise, playtesting and PnP constructing my games. i now have games agents in france, have signed a contract for my first published game and several others are under review by other game publishers. in fact several will be going with my agents to Essen for some one on one time with some euro companies in a couple of days.

i've been thinking about what to do to celebrate this new avenue of art in my life and i decided what better than to have a contest giveaway and offer my sincere thanks to everyone i've come to know on this road to becoming a game designer.

one of my more recent and successful games is Serica, a 2 person deck-building game about the ancient Silk Road trade routes between the Roman Empire and the Han Dynasty in China.

while waiting for the company printerstudio.com in hong kong to print some professional sets of cards for the game i set about, down in the woodshop, building a custom all wood edition or myself. i decided to cut the board and caddy in half so they'd store easier in a box i'lll create soon.

so, for the contest, a complete copy of the game similar to the one above will be awarded to one lucky contest entrant. i say similar because this one was build out of walnut scraps i had down in the woodshop. the prize copy may be in cherry or maple, though i do not think anyone would much mind the type of wood.

the prize: a hand-made Serica game board and wooden caddy for all the wooden bits (15 wooden cubes in each of 7 colors, 6 wooden trading meeple peoples, 2 colored wooden score markers, rules, and a professionally printed deck of the cards used in the game. all packed in a nice box and labelled.

contest dates: the contest will run from today, october 17th through the end of the month. i'll pick a winner on november 1st and post a little video of me doing so.

how to enter: simply leave a comment (1 entry per person) at the end of this post with your name and a favorite game of yours. it is ok if you live in a foreign country, all are welcome to enter.

thanks again to everyone.

ceramics progress

2011-10-14T16:41:00.002-04:00

post glazing of the recent pieces. i like some of the glazing effects this time around. definitely new things learned to help the next time. a few of these pieces are destined for some friends

last harvest

2011-10-05T18:37:00.003-04:00

waning days of warmth here so i spent an hour or so this late afternoon cutting the rest of my tisane herbs to dry and send round to friends. (why yes they are all on my table for Arbor Aid, doesn't it look attractive and something you'd like in your own house)

my hands are awash in lemon verbena and rosemary oils and it is a heady combination.

drying will take a few days then i'll hunt down some glassine envelopes or something else interesting to package my tisane offerings in. this year's list will include:

a 5 mint tea blend
a lemon verbena/bee balm mix
and tins of infused lemon verbena sugar

ceramics progress

2011-09-29T20:16:00.003-04:00

round with level rims (well there is that one in the lower left, but i made the top squarish on purpose there)

tonight's dinner - goat curry

2011-09-27T20:56:00.002-04:00

i bought a couple of pounds of goat meat a month or so ago and have been waiting until it got cooler to make a goat curry. ingredients include - juice of one lemon, onions, carrots, potatoes, beefstock, tomao paste, israli couscous and a ton of spices - ras al hanout, salt, pepper, garlic, paprika, cumin, nutmeg and saffron.

marinated the goat for 3 hours before browning it and then braising it with everything else for another hour.
and wow it was great.

arbor aid 2011

2011-09-26T16:37:00.001-04:00

a little over another month before the 2011 Arbor Aid fundraiser. i just finished my table to seat 4 for the dinner portion of the event. you'll be able to buy this table at the fundraiser (you are coming right? supports Tree Pittsburgh an amazing organization in the city). 100% reclaimed wood - horse chestnut from a storm downed tree and bloodwood scraps i had left over from other projects.

this year's theme for the artists is 'Vessel' so i think a bow shaped set of legs supporting a table of storm wracked seas seemed appropriate.

weekly bread

2011-09-26T16:00:00.001-04:00

rachel allen's seed bread is quickly becoming a weekly sunday baking event in my kitchen. i recently purchased one of those new-fangled gold tinted bread pans and it is a definite must have. the bread is great too with irish butter and honey. it is a yeast bread that requires no kneading.

today's bouquet

2011-09-24T18:35:00.000-04:00

sadly the last bouquet of the 2011 garden.

work in progress - ceramics

2011-09-24T18:31:00.002-04:00

continuing to improve my ceramics skills. much better these days at centering and creating even, level, rims to what i am making. and i am starting to figure out how to get some glazing effects i like. more work as it is kiln fired.

long live bookstores

2011-09-18T11:51:00.001-04:00

Why yes those would be my books on display at an actual living breathing independent bookstore near Pittsburgh. The Penguin Bookshop in Sewickley to be precise.

If you are in Sewickley, or near Sewickley, or passing through Sewickley or thinking 'hey today is a nice sunny day for a drive ... where should we go ... oh I read on a blog about this great bookstore in Sewickley why don't we go there', go in and buy something from the bookseller peoples there. And yes I do follow my own advice. I've already spent half the money I made in sales to them by buying new books there.

Oh and maybe mention I sent you. Then perhaps they will buy more of my books and I can buy more of theirs and so on and so forth.

woodworking - in process

2011-09-15T15:03:00.001-04:00

Table in process for the Arbor Aid 2011 fundraiser. I am one of the invited artists asked to create 4 person tables for the special dinner part of the evening. Working again with more horse chestnut from my now dwindling supply. Decided to try an arched segment to the leg supports this time around.

woodworking show at elan gallery

2011-09-09T12:01:00.003-04:00

a few weeks ago i was invited to submit some of my tables to the current Elan Gallery show in Sewickley (runs through September 30th - W-F 12-4, Sat - 10-3 : 427 Broad St.)

there are 6 of us in the show and i am certainly in the company of some amazing craftspeople. the opening was last night and it was a rare occasion for me to talk to other people who do the same thing i do. working and living alone, i miss the studio atmosphere back when i was in architecture school. below is a brie photo tour of the show. if you live in pittsburgh take a drive over to sewickley and see the work in person.

my 3 modest contributions

one of my show favorites

woodworking season 3

2011-09-03T13:49:00.004-04:00

snapshots of a recent small occasional table (completed a week ago) and the finished bench (completed today)

the table is constructed with a walnut top cut from an old tree and reclaimed maple for the 3 legs. it is quite sturdy and could also be used as a small bench in a hall. the branch haunch on this is my favorite part of this piece.

and the horse chestnut bench (8 ft long, 12" wide, with a slight curve, 15" high). i am pleased overall with the bench too. it sits, without rocking, on 6 legs (was a bit worried about that). stringers are out of walnut. i've included a few detail shots of the amazing grain revealed once the layers of mold and dirt were cleaned off.

hoping both these pieces will find themselves an owner at Arbor Aid this year. and now .. onto the table for that show.

tonight's dessert - peach tart

2011-08-30T19:28:00.003-04:00

i think i am calling this one a giant ravoli peach tart for obvious reasons. 3 peach halves, puff pasty sheet folded in half, cinnamon, honey and nutmeg. 400degF for 18 minutes or until delightfully golden

potting progress 2

2011-08-26T17:46:00.001-04:00

a photo of my first attempt at ceramics, glazed and re-fired

thee are very small bowls, no more than 3" across. i still have some way to go to understand glazes and how best to apply them

the one japanese-ish swoosh in the bottom bowl i like

potting progress

2011-08-26T17:21:00.002-04:00

getting better - larger wheeled pieces, taller too, thinner walls.

woodworking season 2

2011-08-18T15:30:00.003-04:00

continuing with the bench, today i milled down more of the horse chestnut to make the 6 legs i'll need. this photo was taken before they were tapered and i am quite enamoured by the grain pattern. the sets of legs will be bookmatched. i've tapered them all so the lighter ends are towards the floor. i think it will be visually exciting.

so far i really like working with horse chestnut.

game designing

2011-08-16T18:45:00.002-04:00

what is the fun of being a game designer if you can't indulge your nephews and surprise them with their very own (starring them as the characters) game they can play with their dad.

woodworking season

2011-08-13T16:41:00.005-04:00

with the days growing a little cooler and October almost upon us again, it is time once more to do some woodworking (though between you and me, i have no idea where i'll store anything new i make). especially since the Arbor Aid fundraiser is coming up in october and i've promised them 3 pieces including a special table i was invited to make.

a few weeks ago a friend and i crossed in the hallway at my consulting job and said 'hey i have all sorts of wood from a downed horse chestnut tree in my garage, do you want some of it?" heck, yes! i picked up everything i wanted of this last night and brought it back to my woodshop. i'll have enough to build a table or two i think. and some is even thick enough to be milled down into legs.

in looking over what i've received this piece strongly struck me as something rare. the board is over 8 feet long and has some beautiful spalting to it. after cleaning off the years of mold and dirt i began rough sanding it just to see what i could do with it, having not yet worked with horse chestnut

the image on the left is the board cleaned but not yet sanded. these boards were milled with a chainsaw and too wide to fit through my planer so it is down to my belt sander and lots of manual work. the image on the right shows the other side of the board after an hour with the belt sander. most of the chainsaw marks are removed and a few reddish burn marks remain which i actually like. the character and grain are being revealed (especially after a test swipe with some mineral spirits) and the board is really quite gorgeous. grain colors go from white through cream with spots of deep red and all the way to black. the gentle curve to the board reminds me strongly of the meandering banks of a river, reinforced by the striations of grain color.

i definitely would like to make a bench with this piece. i am a little concerned though that 8 feet long might be too much for prospective buyers and though i could cut it in half, making 2 companion pieces, that really seems a shame. for now it will remain this length.

there are two chain saw gouges on the one side which is a bit of ill luck but perhaps reminds us of the history of the tree that was lost in the storm, and the tracings of those this tree once sheltered. the image on the right is at eye level, sighting along the board. the photo brings out this concept of a river of grain.

living here in Pittsburgh of course i am surrounded by rivers. i think though i'd like to be more poetic, as i begin to create the furniture piece this will become, and look more to the rivers of Hades or or those mentioned in James Joyce's Finnegan's Wake: rivers of memory, rivers of passion, rivers of myth, rivers of song....

today's harvest

2011-08-06T15:11:00.004-04:00

first time i've tried growing these. seems to have worked well.

Aether Captains - Triad 2

2011-08-05T20:36:00.003-04:00

photos of Triad 2, featuring expansions to the first 3 games and 3 new games. all in one deck of 54 cards.

work in progress - serica

2011-08-04T17:04:00.002-04:00

Serica: Plains of Dust - is a 2 player game of trade and empire building that takes place within the Silk Road of Asia, which spanned from the Han Dynasty to the Roman Empire in 200BC. The game uses tableau building and card drafting mechanics that have cropped up in recent years. This is my own spin on those. I am happy to say I think I reached another small milestone in my game designing with this game. It is far more complex than any game i've created previously, though it is still simple to learn, takes only one deck of 54 cards, and plays in about 30 minutes.

I really like the bottom two photos above, imagining the leaders of each of these empires looking across Asia imagining what that other mysterious empire is all about.

I did a lot of research prior to beginning the design of this game, reading about the Silk Road and how trade happened across such distances. The game is currently in its alpha playtesting phase and some great people around the world are giving it a try or two. Out of this will come a great deal of revising and strengthening to the game which will make it all the better in the end.

A few friends have suggested I print the board on cloth which is certainly an idea in keeping with the game narrative.

ceramics

2011-07-30T21:02:00.004-04:00

i know by this photo these bowls do not look like much but they've actually had their first firing, followed yesterday by color glazing and then further dipping in a transparent glaze. they'll have a second firing this week and then i can bring them home. one is promised as a birthday present to someone, and the others i think i'll keep.

tonight's dinner - stuffed peppers

2011-07-19T19:18:00.002-04:00

the peppers i harvested from the garden yesterday needed to be used for something special. they were stuffed with a semi middle eastern mix of ground lamb, israli couscous, onions (diced and carmelized), goat cheese and ras el hanout, covered with fire roasted diced tomatoes and olive oil, and left to roast in the oven at 350degF for 40 minutes. followed by a period of prompt eating

steam lords card game

2011-07-18T15:16:00.004-04:00

copies of my latest game - Steam Lords - have arrived from Hong Kong. this is a 19th century worker placement/resource management game for 2 players. shown here is the scenic view down the River Shale in the City of Iron. i'll be putting together some small box artisanal sets soon. just have to figure out how to boil 6 pages of rules into a more compact form.

if you'd like to PnP craft up your own version of the game, or find out more about it, click here.

today's harvest

2011-07-18T15:15:00.002-04:00

yellow peppers. i'll be stuffing these with lamb and spices later in the week for a new 'tonight's dinner' post.

finished project - chess set

2011-07-09T20:13:00.002-04:00

i finished work on my reproduction 12th century chess set last week and finally had time for a few photos. it is shown on one of my larger self-made chess boards. a good experience though my sculpting skills need further practice. if i do this project again i definitely need to find a way to make the detailing much more prominent

bouquet garni

2011-07-09T17:44:00.000-04:00

for today's middle eastern beef stew. all from the garden.

bread and jam

2011-07-02T19:45:00.004-04:00

some of you asked me how the cherry/golden raspberry/apricot jam i made the other day turned out

really good. i was able to get 4 jars for the amount of fruit i had so they'll have to be strictly rationed and enjoyed. i tried rachel allen's wheat seed bread again today. came out much better the second time. definitely a recipe to keep around.

today in the garden - sequel

2011-07-02T14:58:00.001-04:00

tiger lilies, hydrangea, poppies and butterfly bush

today in the garden

2011-07-02T14:57:00.002-04:00

color everywhere

honey and cheese pairing contest winner

2011-07-01T22:03:00.003-04:00

you did not think i'd forget to pick a winner tonight did you?

i had a wonderful series of comment entries on favorite cheese and honey memories, so thank you very much to those who participated.

the prize again, for those who have tuned in late - a jar of rose infused honey from roses in my own garden

and now the winner, chosen at random by a duly licensed cheese assistant in philadelphia

drumroll

Amase Levasseur

congratulations to you Amase. I'll be in touch shortly for shipping details.

i'll do another contest soon since they are fun. just as soon as i figure out a good prize

oh and photo credits go to cookworm, who has a very nice eye for composure.

orange yellow

2011-06-29T19:57:00.002-04:00

farm market this evening. abundance as far as i could see, but i quickly zoomed in on these golden raspberries and yellow french cherries. the only trouble ... have to do something with them tonight. 3 apricots in my refrigerator, some turbindo sugar and some lemon verbena from my garden later, i decided jam making is in order for the evening.

i think i will call this batch - summer berry sme(a)ry

tomorrow's to do list - make more wheat seed bread.

Aether Captains - The Search

2011-06-28T16:41:00.004-04:00

the card decks for my newest game finally arrived today from Hong Kong and it joins my growing line of games. You can find these at Games Unlimited here in Pittsburgh or by direct order from me, or craft a copy for yourself.

presenting - Aether Captains - The Search - based on the ancient game of Fox and Geese, involves the hunt for a heinous criminal on the streets of Val Justinia. A game for 2 players set in my steampunk world of Arkady. More info can be found here, as well as a link to order your own copy.

retail box

the components within

a game in progress. the police have their man.

tonight's dinner - roast pork and wheat seed bread

2011-06-27T19:33:00.003-04:00

too bad you did not come for dinner tonight. you missed out.

pictured above:

Rachel Allen's Whole Wheat Seed Bread (an interesting bread that uses yeast but is more like a soda bread)

Roasted Pork stuffed with Apricots, Rosemary and Garlic and basted with olive oil and honey

and yes, plenty of roasted peach ice cream as well for dessert.

handicrafts

2011-06-27T15:39:00.001-04:00

a hair clasp for a friend in tulipwood

slower 2

2011-06-26T19:44:00.002-04:00

and here is day two's finished ice cream from yesterday's day one post. can't ask for more than this on a summer evening. well ... except for a 2nd bowl

slower

2011-06-25T20:28:00.003-04:00

summer is when i do not have to rush to do food photography before 5pm, which is when i lose the outside light that works best with my camera. it is a bit after 8pm here and i present to you a bowl of roasted peaches.

summer is also when it seems i have more time to pursue my self-invented recipes that take more time to create. case in point - and this is where the above image comes into the picture, so to speak - roasted verbena peach ice cream.

this recipe actually began last monday when i happened unexpectedly by a roadside fruit market about an hour from my house. table after table was filled with baskets of peaches, and i bought my bountiful share. i've been eating them all week waiting for them to build in flavor for today's step 2 - the roasting.

in a 400 deg F oven, i roasted 8 peaches, halved, cut side down for 45 minutes in a mixture of rose infused honey, verbena infused organic sugar and fresh lemon verbena from my garden on a baking tray. then let them cool.

a few minutes ago i combined 2 cups of heavy cream, 1 cup of milk, 3/4 cup of verbena infused sugar, 3/4 tbl mexican vanilla extract and the syrup from the roasting pan in a heavy bottomed saucepan, along with more fresh verbena to simmer and then steep until the verbena infuses the cream mixture.

this will shortly be mixed with the crushed roasted peaches and allowed to cool and marry flavors overnight.

and tomorrow ... tomorrow i'll make ice cream.

don't forget: my contest to win a jar of rose infused honey from my garden is still ongoing. all you have to do to enter is leave a favorite memory of cheese or honey. i'll pick a winner next week.

today in the garden

2011-06-24T14:27:00.002-04:00

butterfly bush and hydrangea, the garden is into its blue/purple period

tonight's dessert - chocolate cake?

2011-06-20T19:53:00.004-04:00

well not really a cake mind you (no flour), more of a decadent ganache.

i saw this recipe on new scandinavian cooking and adapted it, adding half a poached apricot in the center and leaving out the espresso (i am not much for coffee). add some fresh blueberries and mint from the garden and it is a quick dessert to create.

poached apricot chocolate cake

7 oz. dark chocolate, broken into pieces

2oz. butter

2tbl. brandy

2tbl. espresso (optional, can be added if you like coffee with your chocolate)

2 apricots, washed and halved

1/2 cup apple cider

pinch of sugar

4 ramekins

wash the apricots and halve them, removing the stones. in a small saute pan bring 1/2 cup of apple cider to a simmer, adding in 1 tbl of the brandy, and place the apricot halves in, cut side down, to poach in the pan for 5 minutes or so. sprinkle the sugar over top of them as they begin to poach.

meanwhile, in a heavy sauce pan or double boiler, slowly melt the chocolate, butter and brandy until they are silky and mixed. this will take a few minutes so be sure to keep an eye on the chocolate.

when the apricots are beginning to lose their firmness, and most of the liquid has evaporated, transfer them, cut side up, one to each of 4 small ramekins. pour the chocolate mixture over top, nearly to the rim.

cover each ramekin with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for a few hours until the chocolate firms up.

when it is time for dessert, briefly dunk the bottom of each ramekin in a small bowl of boiling water to loosen the 'cake' from its mold. run a sharp knife around the inside rim of the ramekin and turn each over on to a plate for serving.

can be paired with ripe berries, caramel sauce or a dusting of cocoa powder.

serves 4.

today in the garden

2011-06-19T17:48:00.000-04:00

hydrangea, butterfly bush, privet

work in progress - chess set

2011-06-19T11:27:00.003-04:00

over at BrickPitt Studios i've been working on a reproduction set of 12th century Persian chess pieces. yesterday i glazed the pieces after the first firing. i am giving myself a C+ so far on this project. my 3D plastic hand skills are not the best. my hand does not seem to do what my mind/eye wishes with this type of work. but i am having fun nonetheless.

and while the above looks like everything has been done with the same glaze, the upper set of pieces are actually in a 'natural' glaze and the lower half a milky white. one more firing to go next week. then i can build a new wooden chessboard.

harvest today

2011-06-18T19:50:00.002-04:00

i began harvesting the tea/tisane herbs today. i'll be drying everything throughout the summer and making up batches to sell later in the year as well as give away to friends.

pictured above: peppermint, apple mint, pineapple mint, chocolate mint, bee balm, and lemon verbena

yet to gather - hyssop

cheese and honey pairings and a new contest

2011-06-14T20:03:00.005-04:00

Recently, I decided to do a pairing of cheese and honey since I've been busy making infused honeys this early summer. I invited ms. cookworm to come over and she generously helped lay everything out and then helped me taste it all. We set up a little tasting station out in the garden on one of the tables I built recently and I brought out a number of tiny bowls from my collection for all the honeys to be contained in, and some of my antique spoons for the drizzling.

I had done some reading and research about which cheeses to choose and what honeys they should be paired with. As it ended up, I was surprised by which I liked the best.

our first pairing:

La Tur with rose infused honey

La Tur is a mixed milk cheese from Piedmont, Italy and comes with an interesting curling pattern across its face. It is a mix of cow, sheep and goat milk and is very soft and delicate. The pairing of rose infused honey was definitely the right choice, the floral quality of the roses mingled well with the cheese. This was my 2nd favorite of the testing.

our second pairing:

aged Gouda with rose infused honey

Aged Gouda is similar in texture to a Parmigiano-Reggiano. It is rich and crystalline and has a salty taste as well. It was paired with lavender honey (not infused but the bees were busy in the lavender to make this one). This one was ok but ended up being my least favorite. Perhaps some wine might have brought out something more complex in the taste.

our third pairing:

fresh goat cheese and Chaumes with rosemary infused honey

Chaumes is a strong smelling but mild tasting cheese and is my favorite when I do grilled cheese right. It is a cheese that definitely needs to sit out before eating to let it get properly runny. Goat cheese is, one of my other best liked, and I found a wonderful one at the store which was very creamy and mellow. Both of these were paired with a savory, rosemary infused honey I made last week. This pair turned out to also be a definitely one to remember. I think this time the cheese enhanced the honey instead of the other way round.

our fourth pairing:

Passendale and buckwheat honey

I was a little skeptical at first about this one. Buckwheat honey is really the molasses of honeys. It is deep and strong tasting and very thick. Passendale is a flemish cheese and is similar to Chaumes. It is creamy but firm and has a fairly upfront but not overpowering taste. And together, by far my favorite of the night. The Passendale does something complex to the buckwheat honey, some sympathetic magic. If you get a chance, definitely give it a try.

so on to the contest ....

I am going to give away a jar of the rose infused honey, handcrafted by me from the roses in my garden, to one lucky winner here on the blog. I'll run this contest until July 1st.

All you have to do is leave a comment on this post about cheese or honey, a memory of yours or a favorite recipe suggestion. Whatever you'd like to share with everyone. On July 1 I'll randomly pick a winner.

As a brief teaser, this year has been exceptional in my garden due to it being cool and rainy early on in the spring. A vintage year for rose infusing.

tonight's dessert - cherry/strawberry clafoutis

2011-06-12T18:32:00.004-04:00

i had some cherries that were starting to see better days and some strawberries so i whipped up a quick clafoutis tonight using a from scratch pancake batter. also featured, since i am often asked what i do with them, rose infused honey, tossed with the fruit and lemon verbena sugar sprinkled over the top after i pulled it out of the oven. this is one of my favorite baking pans by the way, from spain. it is 7" square and just right for smaller portions.

tonight's dinner - roasted herb stuff lamb

2011-06-10T20:32:00.002-04:00

i am trying to find some interesting things to do with the infused honeys i have been making. tonight i took 2 lamb chops, stuffing between them copious amounts of oregano, rosemary, garlic, pepper and salt, then tied them together. a quick sear followed: 20 minutes at 350degF in the oven.

after i pulled the pan out of the stove i drizzled rosemary honey over the roast lamb and let it melt into the lamb while the meat rested.

then i did copious amounts of eating.

new boardgame contest

2011-06-09T18:09:00.003-04:00

a peek at the 2 new games i am designing for the July boardgame contest over on BGG. for this contest we are to design solitaire board/card games with an adaptive AI

Bibliogamo (a game about creating books for a librarian in a city of books [a la jorge luis borges])

and Shadows Over Lassadar (a quest to defeat the Grayking and his servants and send them back to the Tower of Ash. in this game magic can have a corrupting influence on you so you must decide when and how much magic to use)

tonight's dinner - seafood flatbread pizza

2011-06-04T17:50:00.003-04:00

vegetables, fresh mozzarella, scallops, plenty of garden herbs and good olive oil on whole wheat naan.

a shame i have no one to share dinner with.

2011 garden tour

2011-06-04T11:44:00.004-04:00

here is my, now yearly, garden tour for everyone. so far it is a very abundant year out there, for the roses especially.

today in the garden - sequel

2011-06-01T19:49:00.002-04:00

peonies, roses and scotch broom

today in the garden

2011-06-01T19:47:00.005-04:00

blooming right now: roses, peonies, scotch broom, more roses, more peonies, astilbe, snow in summer and bridal veil, oh and tarragon, which i did not know blooms, but does with very small yellow flowers

500th blog post

2011-05-31T20:03:00.003-04:00

i've been curious about what my 500th blog post would turn out to be about. the wait is now over ...

strawberries

which have been out in the garden, in the heat all day, and now taste like warm strawberry jam.

here is to the next 500 posts.

today in the garden

2011-05-26T19:10:00.001-04:00

peonies

roses

cosmos

vases by my craftysister and brickpitt studios

progress

2011-05-24T21:48:00.004-04:00

tonight i was able to center the clay on the wheel and make some basic bowls which, though thick walled, are actually even, have flat rims and are round.

they will be fired next week then glazed

by the way, the one object at 6 o'clock in the top photo is actually a low vase, not a bowl.

tonight's dinner - herbed pasta

2011-05-21T18:23:00.003-04:00

on tonight's menu

three cheese tortellini with sun dried tomatoes, salami, artichokes, fresh herbed goat cheese, good olive oil and aged balsamic vinegar and the following fresh herbs roughly chopped

chive blossoms (whole)

chives

rosemary

tarragon

greek basil

opal basil

oregano

cilantro

in heaping quantities

infusions of honey

2011-05-21T16:41:00.004-04:00

honey is of course a miraculous substance for many reasons. one of my favorites is its ability to draw essential oils and scents out of other plants when they are infused/steeped in the honey. shown above (right to left) is honey infused with mint (peppermint, pineapple mint, ginger mint and apple mint), rose infused honey just packed and lastly rose infused honey after a week.

as the honey draws all the flavor out of the herbs it, in essence, dehydrates the petals and leaves.

for any of these recipes use a light flavored honey (i am using poplar for these), fill the jar with fragrant rose petals, mint, rosemary, lemon verbena, etc... and let it sit for a week, turning the jar over now and then to make sure everything is getting mixed, then use a sieve to strain the honey into new jars and enjoy.

as the herbs start to dehydrate i'll add in more honey until the jar is full.

rosemary honey is great on lamb. rose honey i use on anything and everything, and the mint honey i use in a vinaigrette with other fresh herbs. i'll be bottling some of this to sell down at Wildcard in Lawrenceville in the coming weeks so look for it there

radishes

2011-05-21T16:39:00.003-04:00

luckily it has been very cool here this spring which means i get to enjoy radishes and they have not bolted and gone woody in the garden. these are small and best with a bit of butter and salt, eaten raw

today in the garden

2011-05-21T16:36:00.002-04:00

alot.

today in the garden

2011-05-16T18:51:00.002-04:00

chives, peonies, lily of the valley, snow in summer, cosmos, and a few other things

table no. 16

2011-05-16T16:09:00.003-04:00

working on a new table commission. this time it is a 48" round cherry table for a kitchen.
these photos show one way to round a table. and let me just say, whew that was hard work.

today in the garden

2011-05-15T14:18:00.003-04:00

roses beginning to bloom as are the japanese tree peony, my other peonies, the snow in summer and bridal veil and the lilacs and privet. radishes are popping up everywhere as well

acquiring skills

2011-05-11T11:57:00.000-04:00

after touring Brickpitt Studios here in Pittsburgh, i decided to try and attempt something i've wanted to do for years, build a reproduction 12th century persian chess set out of clay which will be fired and glazed. heather, at brickpitt, has been very helpful and i've been going over to her open studio sessions to work on the set. i finished the pieces last night, having a few false starts since i am not very conversant with that sort of modeling. my hands do not really do what my mind wishes them to do. but i am learning as i go and getting better at it.

the pieces will now dry for a week then they will have their first firing, followed by glazing and a 2nd firing. i've made extras of each in case they crack in the kiln.

early chess sets are very different from those used today. pieces were used carved from jet or bone, or made of clay and are much blockier and less stylized as the staunton set most people are now familiar with.

progress posts as i progress

today in the garden

2011-05-08T21:15:00.003-04:00

everything is ready for my many visitors arriving this week. everyone is coming at a good garden time.

validation

2011-05-07T18:58:00.002-04:00

nothing like having your name on the wall of your gallery show

tonight's dessert - upside down apple chocolate cornbread

2011-05-07T18:54:00.002-04:00

like a pineapple upside down cake except there is not any pineapple nor is it a cake. the upside down part is comparatively accurate though. next time a bit more sugar in the cornbread to offset the bitter powdered cocoa.

today in the garden

2011-05-07T18:53:00.002-04:00

lilac, tulips, dogwood, cosmos and some bell-shaped flower i do not remember the name of

solo gallery show - furniture, books, drawings

2011-05-03T20:23:00.004-04:00

a photo tour for those unable to make it to my show here in pittsburgh this month. all work - tables, artist books and drawings are mine. this represents a year of my artistic life.

Aether Captains - Triad :: Contest Winner

2011-05-01T17:25:00.004-04:00

and our winner is ...

interview with me on game designing

2011-04-30T14:08:00.004-04:00

you can find an interview with me on my board/card game designing as well as some photos of games in my collection over here. i talk a bit about how Aether Captains came about and how i go about designing a new game.

very grateful to Patrick Rael for wanting to interview me.

gallery show

2011-04-29T20:23:00.004-04:00

a week and a day until my first solo gallery show has its opening. and i do hope some of you can come. i'll be showing a range of my furniture, artist books and drawings and a couple of sculptural pieces.

the show runs may 3rd to may 28th and the opening is 5:30-8:30 next friday, may 6th at gallerie chiz in shadyside on ellsworth avenue.

quick woodworking project

2011-04-28T19:51:00.003-04:00

today's quick woodworking project, a dice tower.

i've been finding my chessex dice tend to roll the same numbers a lot so i thought this might help the randomization. i tend to test games i am working on sometimes late night in bed and this should cause the dice to not bounce everywhere either.

8" x 2.5" x 3.5" out of some nice scraps of ribboned maple i had around.

the tower can also store itself in the bottom tray.

today in the garden

2011-04-26T16:24:00.002-04:00

mostly daffodils, one tulip and some pear blossoms

today in the garden - sequel

2011-04-25T18:33:00.001-04:00

photos after the grass had been mowed and new seeds planted and seasonal such things taken care of.

this week in the garden

2011-04-25T16:34:00.002-04:00

indoors and out

dogwood, daffodils, and a few assorted bursts of color

now in stock

2011-04-22T14:21:00.003-04:00

i'll be adding more games to the shelves at Games Unlimited in Sq. Hill after i get my next order of boxes.

and why yes, those are my games right next to the new LOTR LCG game. thanks for noticing

retail packaging concepts 2

2011-04-21T14:28:00.003-04:00

and with a recent visit from the post office elf i've been able to put together some sets of Aether Captains: Capek Golems for retail sale. In this box you get the cards, compactly folded ruleset and 42 wooden cubes to play the game.

All of the boxed games can be found over at Games Unlimited here in Pittsburgh and I'll be selling sets as well through BGG

Radio Interview

2011-04-20T22:08:00.003-04:00

my radio interview/poetry reading from a few months back on WYEP 91.3 here in Pittsburgh is finally in the Itunes Store. you can download it for free over there if you do a search for Prosody and look in the Podcast area.

direct link will get you to a place where you can click on "view in Itunes"

retail packaging concepts

2011-04-19T15:15:00.004-04:00

as my games - Ragnarok: Aesir and Jotunn and Aether Captains: Triad - start to gain popularity i've been giving some thought to retail packaging solutions. these clear plastic boxes made for baseball cards and CCGs seem a great solution. heavy duty, stackable and portable. the Triad box even has enough room for the Triad 2 expansion i am working on now. i've even been able to slip the tuck boxes in in case you want to carry the card decks without the boxes. most importantly the games now show my Air and Nothingness Press logo and copyright info

Don't forget to enter my contest to win a copy of Aether Captains: Triad whih is taking place now until May 1st when i pick a lucky winner.

Woodworking Class Projects

2011-04-17T17:19:00.004-04:00

taught another of my cheese/bread board classes today for beginner woodworkers. projects turned out great and everyone had a good time. pictured above are finished projects in cherry, maple and canarywood. i'll teach another class in a couple of months

today in the garden

2011-04-16T18:00:00.002-04:00

hellebore, daffodils and peach blossom

Aether Captains - Triad :: Contest

2011-04-14T15:38:00.004-04:00

In celebration of my newest Aether Captains steampunk game - Triad, I am going to run a little contest.

The Prize: A retail ready copy of Aether Captains: Triad, complete with five 12mm dice (in a nice steampunkish gun metal gray with copper pips) and 50 euro-style wooden cubes all in a compact box (the box has room for the planned Triad 2 expansion deck with 3 all new games, currently under development).

The 3 games in Triad innovatively use 1 deck of 54 custom cards, all set in the steampunk-themed Aether Captains game world. Games are designed to share components and be able to be played quickly by 2 players in a compact space. The deck includes all cards to play each game, cards which become the game boards, and rules.

Intrigue: a 2 player game of area control across the city states of Arkady, using 24 eurocube style markers per player. Players take on the role of Grand Council members, vying for influence in the city states. Players use groups of matching cards to place 1-3 markers in each city state during their turns, trying for a majority, or can use cards to remove an opponent's influence. The game is played in 2 rounds, scoring each round, and takes 10-20 minutes.

Zeppelin Derby: a simple 2 player race game in the skies over Thoia. Players roll 5d6 and use cards as roll modifiers to race across a 3 card course. Cards include Dirty Tricks and Engineering bonuses. 5-10 minutes.

Celinian Trader: a pick up and deliver style game of trade on the Celinian Sea for 1 or 2 players. Needed are 14 eurocube style markers per player and 5d6. Players fill their holds with different types of goods - copper, glass, coal and linen - as they sail from port to port buying and selling goods, amassing their fortunes. The game is played over 4 rounds whose length is determined by a series of events both players are subject to. Different values for buying and selling are set by a Trade Market that changes prices from round to round. Competing for victory points, players may also purchase upgrades to their ships. This game is also suitable for solitaire play and takes 20-30 minutes.

All three games are designed to be quickly learned, easy to play and fun. Read more over here.

The Rules: To enter, simply post a comment here telling me what Aether Captains games you've played (and it is ok if you are new to the games and have not yet played any), what you've enjoyed about them if you have played them, and what you'd like to see in my next game design. From the comments posted I'll randomly pick a winner on May 1st, so be sure to check back then for the announcement. If you've won something on my blog before that is ok, you are welcome to enter this contest as well. Good luck to all.

tonight's dessert -cake

2011-04-11T18:09:00.003-04:00

cashew blackberry chocolate cake with a chocolate brandy ganache to be exact. oh and dusted with chocoalte as well.

why cashew, i like cashews, why the other items, why not...?

super easy ganache

9oz good dark chocolate chips

1 cup heavy cream

1tbl rum, brandy, or cognac etc..

pour the chocolate and alcohol into a bowl. heat the cream until it begins to boil, being careful not to scald it. then pour the cream on the chocolate and whisk for about 5 minutes until smooth and glossy. let this sit for a few minutes to thicken and pour over whatever you desire. if you refrigerate it it will thicken.

private backyard cherry blossom festival

2011-04-10T15:08:00.000-04:00

didn't even have to drive to washington DC