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Mediterranean Clay Pot Cooking-Paula Wolfert

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Well, we have to admit it, we’re kind of proud….of Paula Wolfert for her most beautiful book yet, with recipes that’ll make you drool; and to be a part of that new book: Mediterranean Clay Pot Cooking.

We just got our initial supply in and will have them up on the website in an hour or so.

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And we’ll have a price that’ll be more than competitive in that, with the $30.00 purchase of the book, we’ll include a certificate good for $10.00 off the purchase of any Clay Coyote pot.

Even without the ‘deal’ we think you’re going to find this one of those cookbooks you keep right up front. Just reading some of the recipes makes my mouth water.

Clay_Pot_Cooking_FrontispcBut it’s also going to become the ‘go-to’ reference on cooking with clay pots, both modern and indigenous.

Clay has been used essentially ever since man started cooking food, first for storage, then for actual cooking.

And as Paula discusses, there is something about pottery and food that just go together. There aren’t many metal pans you’d put on the table to serve with, but pottery just seems to go there naturally.

Clay_Pot_Cooking_InsideAbove is the frontispiece with a new flameware casserole which you can use like a crockpot. Betsy also made perfect risotto the first time out with one of them.

On the right is the Introduction with a couple more Clay Coyote Flameware pieces…saucepan and skillet.

So order your copy now. We can ship immediately.

Our Special Price ($30) includes a $10 certificate for Clay Coyote pottery.

Paula Wolfert and Flameware Pottery

As followers of Clay Coyote know, we’ve been working on developing a Flameware Stovetop Ceramic Cookware line for clay pot cooking some time now.
We just got our copy of ‘Food and Wine’ magazine today, in which Paula

Wolfert has a great article on Cooking in Clay. Her new book Mediterranean Clay Pot Cooking will be out in a month. As she was writing it, we had some long conversations on why food tastes better when cooked in clay pots. If you’ve tried our new Flameware Stovetop Ceramic Cookware, you’ll probably agree-food really does taste better when cooked in clay pottery.
My theory is that metal pots transmit heat very quickly. Clay, on the other

hand, is an insulator. When you put heat to a clay pot, it comes through very slowly. I think the metal causes a very slight burning where the food meets the pan. If you control your heat in a clay pot, this doesn’t happen and the food doesn’t get the bitter, burned taste that metal gives. Paula thinks it’s because the indigenous low fired clay pots that will withstand direct heat

gather flavors over time. In low fired ware, there probably is some flavor transfer. Our new Flameware is high-fired and I don’t think the pot itself picks up any flavor…so we’re probably both right.

So far we’ve cooked an apple pancake that starts in the skillet and ends in the oven, oatmeal almost daily, scrambled eggs and ham almost daily, risotto (fabulous) in the casserole, tagines in the tagine, Pollo Verde in the cazuela, stir-fried vegetables in the skillet and many more.

We’ll be getting some recipes on the website and would like to hear your thoughts and shared recipes.

Sushi Coming

Watch this spot. We’re running a Sushi
class at the Gallery March 21 and will be videoing the event and posting on line (YouTube with link to this blog). It’s a new effort we’re trying this year. So far we have people interested in doing Chinese and Indian Cooking Short Courses, we’re thinking of a “How to buy pottery” and “How to Buy Blown Glass”. What else might you like to see? Click on Comments (below) and let us know what might be of interest, or if you’ve got a specialty, and might be interested in teaching a 2 hour class.

LOCAL FOOD, LOCAL POTS

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Fresh veggies weeekly from our CSA Loon Organics

THE CLAY COYOTE BLOG IS NOW HOSTED AT
www.claycoyoterecipes.com

SOMETHING IMPORTANT!
Like so many, I pay attention to the frequency with which I hear various subjects, to try to determine trends. That has to be tempered with awareness that where you are and what you’re doing may color what you hear.
That being said, I’m hearing from a lot of different directions and sources, that people are looking at trying to use more and more locally grown foods…both for health reasons, because it helps our local economies and because it “feels” better as well as tasting better. Amazing isn’t it? We’re beginning to figure out that the foods we eat and our health are linked.
There’s also something about linking to your local community that completes a circle. There is a commonality between food and handmade pottery, in nurturing us, our families and our communities. The level of humanity in growing, harvesting, preparing and serving food to each other is complimented by the use of utensils that have been made by people you know.
A couple of years ago there was an article in Ceramics Monthly, which we posted here, which explored this in more depth.
Recently, perhaps partly because the ‘growing season’ will be upon us soon here in Minnesota, we have become aware of the almost explosive growth of CSA farms, and local organic foods, changing what we eat to be more healthy and healthful.
There has been a spate of books recently that talk about these topics.
A few we’ve read and can recommend highly are:
The Omnivore’s Dilemma” by Michael Pollan
The Hundred and Fifty Healthiest Foods” Jonny Bowden
Good Calories-Bad Calories” by Gary Taubes
In Defense of Food” by Michael Pollan
Weeds and Why They Grow” by Jay McCaman (for gardeners)
If you have thoughts on this topic, and other good books to recommend on better eating, please share by posting a comment below.
Adam and Laura have taken over Katy and Peter’ August Earth CSA Farm and renamed it to Loon Organics. They’re still looking for some members, as is a new CSA “The Farm of Minnesota” being established by Dan and Donna Moe. They won’t be certified organic for a couple of years, but are using organic methods now (Website to come shortly). They can be reached at 320-587-7882.
Dan observed in a visit a couple of days ago that if you consider cost of food as part of healthcare, you can spend a smaller amount on food and pay for it in bad health later. Or you can pay more for food now, live better and have better health later with lower costs for medical care.
If you’re not in the Hutch area, we strongly recommend looking at www.localharvest.org which is an excellent starting resource for locally grown foods.
This is all another reason we’re so excited about our new line of Ceramic Flameware Stovetop Cookware. It adds another dimension to being able to use handmade pottery for cooking.

TWO MID-WINTER IDEAS

Cassole_Cassoulet_YSSo far it’s been a cold and snowy winter here in ‘ da Nort ‘ …so what better time to warm things up with a fantastic dinner with your friends …and a non-intensive project that will pay dividends all year.The first is one we wrote about last January at length, a cassoulet based dinner, and the second, making your own homemade vinegar.

The cassoulet (the pot you make it in is called a cassole) can be as complicated or simple as you wish. This is a traditional French bean “stew” which would have been made, over a series of days, as ingredients were acquired as parts of other meals.
There is ongoing argument over what is the most authentic, and we won’t get into that one. See an article in “Departures Magazine” where Sylvie Bigar has done her best to walk the middle ground.
We have made Paula Wolfert’s recipe twice, once with simplifications, and then the full recipe including homemade sausage and duck confit. Doing it the full way made a big difference.
Paula swears the angle sided bowl that we make, also makes a big difference. Others use a pot more like our standard casserole. For other recipes. just Google “Cassoulet” and you’ll get a bunch. Once you get the basic idea, make up your own with what you have.
Then invite some friends over, open a bottle of wine, some french bread and maybe a bit of salad and you’ll have an evening to remember.
WINE VINEGAR

The second project is even easier, but takes some time and patience. Make your own wine vinegar. A pottery crock, like the Clay Coyote Vinegar Crock is perfect, but you can do it in other containers if you want. First check out this Sunset Magazine article that appeared last year.

/VINEGAR%20SUNSET%20ARTICLE.pdf
I’d suggest starting with at least one bottle and then topping it off later with more. You can get a mother from Beer-Wine.com. Once you have one, that’s all you’ll need as you can keep a bit in a jar for your next batch. We’ve experimented with freezing it and that appears to work, just as it does for sourdough.
It’ll take about 10 weeks for your first batch of red wine vinegar and 16 to 20 for a white wine batch. You’ll never find a commercial product that comes close. Use it in making sauces, a bit in almost anything to enhance flavors. Pasturize it and you can store it forever and make herbal vinegars, too.

Your Clay Coyote crock comes with instructions and there are websites all over the ‘net if you search for “homemade vinegar”.