flourless chocolate soufflé with whipped coconut cream topping

This is my new favorite dessert! It is gluten and dairy free, easy to make, and so good that you might have to run a finger around the bowl when done to get those last little bits of (almost) healthy decadence! The only tedious task is separating 8 eggs but once that is done it’s very simple. If you need some ramekins, mine are for sale here. Any small stoneware bowls will work. You will need 8.

Chocolate Soufflé

ingredients:

8 eggs

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1/2 t vanilla extract

1 lb chocolate chips

1/2 cup butter

1/2 t vanilla extract

1 can coconut milk (full fat) chilled in fridge at least 2 hours

1 t powdered sugar

Butter the ramekins.  Separate eggs into yolks and whites. Put yolks in small bowl and whites into larger bowl (or Kitchen Aid bowl). Add 1/3 cup sugar and vanilla to yolks and beat until color lightens.

Put chocolate chips and butter in microwave safe bowl. Heat in 40 second intervals. Remove and stir then return for another 40 sec. Repeat until chocolate is melted. Fold yolk mixture into chocolate.

Whip egg whites to soft peaks, then fold into chocolate yolk mix. You will get a coffee’'-with-cream colored batter. There can be some striations but no large patches of marbled color. Be gentle! Pour into ramekins. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Set ramekins on baking sheets and bake 25 min.

Meanwhile, open coconut milk and scoop only the white stuff into a Kitchen Aid. Whip on high until fluffy, adding powdered sugar. So easy! And this tastes better than whipped dairy cream.

Remove soufflés and try not to taste in advance if you have company. You might devour them by yourself! Serve warm or cool with a dollop of cream.

FAQ: Experimental Pieces, Prototypes,and Seconds

A. EXPERIMENTAL PIECES: I was never a great production potter because my mind, hands, and heart drift into unknown territory when left to their own devices. Strict replication over endless hours doesn’t appeal to me. A case in point: while making a Raven and the Halloween Moon luminary, this owl slipped in almost on its own. Other experiments are more intentional, like trying out new materials or techniques, mixing glaze tests, or gathering objects to see what kind of textures they make as stamps. I devote at least 5 hours a week to this kind of playful experimentation.

B. PROTOTYPES: Out of the chaotic creativity of experiments come ideas that I want to explore in more depth. Prototypes are made in small series with minor differences over a period of several weeks or months. I first try out different glazes and shapes that may not be repeated, and then work on perfecting the balance and function. Now in prototype are Arabesque, the Fox Casserole, and Nebula. I sell these pieces both in my Saturday Sale and Sale section on Etsy, raising the price incrementally. Once I am sure what the market price should be, I decide whether it is worth my time to continue that prototype as a new series. If so, it is listed for sale exclusively on my website at LeeWolfePottery.com. You can check New in 2014 for the latest pieces. My newest pieces are always at the best prices for first quality work. The more popular something becomes, the more the price rises.

If you are looking for a piece that used to sell on Etsy, it may be available on my website- be sure to check. Here are the website’s categories:

bowls

casseroles

dinnerware

goblets and mugs

keepsake box

luminary

ornaments

planters and vases

platters and trays

soap dish

wedding

C. SECONDS: Seconds are flawed or intended as a set but mismatched in some way. The issue can be as minor as a small glaze bubble, slight warp, or teeny crack or major issues such as large cracks, glazes that have run off the pot so that bottoms require repair, or large bare spots. Seconds have a charm of their own and I often like the quirky pieces even more for their peculiarities. Still, I sell them for significantly less than firsts. If you want to catch these bargains, like me on Facebook where sales are pre-announced, check my Saturday Sale and SALE section on Etsy.

Thanks for your interest!

New hosta leaf designs

I live somewhere between the pure artist and the production-driven artisan. Unlike an artist, my work doesn’t originate as a concept or idea. I begin, as most artisans, with the intention to make something on my production list, such as “20 hosta plates,” a result of an order I’ve been sitting on for several months until the hosta leaves in my garden were large enough to press into clay and then shape into a plate. Mine are pretty standard, with attention to curling the edges up with graceful curves. In the middle of this process, all these new designs emerged. Really, they just happened so intuitively that I had the thoughts of a spectator in my head… “oh, I like that curl… well, that works really well… I wonder where this one is going..” etc.

 

You’ll be able to see the results in a few weeks at LeeWolfePottery.

knowing that you are a flower, opening

I have watched the flower buds unfold this year. In spring, the tulips and daffodils slowly unfolded, showing a bit more color each day, incrementally, taking weeks to fully bloom. Now that it is summer, in the warm sun and soft rain, poppies, peonies and lilies that were tight balls the night before are wide open the next morning. And I think we are all flowers, too, bringing forth our unique thoughts, our softest emotions, our true art, more readily when the world around us is warm and welcoming.

Here are some of what’s been blooming in my garden and studio:

 

 

All pottery is available at Lee Wolfe Pottery.com

Easter table

 

I have a beautiful Modern Lace dinnerware set in Gray and Chartreuse ready to ship, so I shot these pics on the dining room table with my garden flower arrangements for this Easter. I love the neutral table linens with bright pops of spring blooms.

These Easter eggs are so easy! I wanted to use the natural brown of the local organic eggs. After hard boiling, each one was wrapped with different twines and cords I had on hand and then embellished with a scrapbooking paper flower with a glue dot on the back. Sometimes the simplest projects are the most successful.

 

 

Happy Easter! Happy Pesach! Welcome spring with your cool breathe and promises of renewal.

All pottery in pics can be found on LeeWolfePottery.com

new series: Arabesque

Here’s the good thing about listing stuff on Etsy: lots of people see it. Here’s the bad thing: lots of potters floundering in their own development copy it. Or try to. My flower bowls, with altered rims in a ‘flower’ shape, have more look-alikes than Cher at a drag queen show, so it’s time for something new. The Arabesque series has been in development for a year, and I finally have prototypes to test market. They will be sold on OneClayBead (Etsy store) until I decide on a full line, which will then be for sale exclusively on Lee Wolfe Pottery. Meanwhile, the prototypes are value priced, so if you like them, take advantage of that. I like the arrow points, the negative spaces between pieces, and the strong visual geometry.

 

 

 

Winter Snow

Snow fell large as leaves and blanketed the yard with somber stillness. Each ordinary object, once outlined with white, became a discovery. I tramped through deepening drifts and felt buoyantly pulled into winter’s most glittering spell. Here is my home.

 

 

 

               

table settings for Valentine’s Day

I’m not a big fan of making a big production out of Valentine’s Day, not that I haven't been there and done that a gazillion times, so if you are young and still relatively unjaded, go ahead and buy the perfect dress and pressure your lover to find the perfect restaurant, or even better, the perfect romantic weekend getaway. And good luck with that!

I’ve found that it’s pretty easy to just create a bit of magic and enchantment at home, with simple objects, whimsical plating of food, candlelight, wine (optional) and a decadent dessert (essential).

For example, here is a salad Ken and I enjoy, made with roasted butternut squash, strawberries, shitake mushrooms and greens with a balsamic vinegar dressing. On the left, I cut a heart from the squash, and on the right, I arranged the salad in a heart. It’s a simple way to make him smile.

 

My poppy bowls are great for evoking romantic flair without being predictably Valentine-y:

 

On the left, layers of patterns in table linens and textured plates set off a whimsical arrow. On the right, a simple Modern Lace bowl with a single strawberry heart are a prelude to a romantic meal.

 

Love lives in the moments when two people are present to each other. If you have that, it only takes small gestures to celebrate Valentine’s Day. And some of my best VD days were spent with a wonderful friend, or my child, or one time when I set the table for myself, ate a nice meal, drank for 2, sang You’re So Vain while channeling Mick Jagger more times than I care to recall. I am glad to not be in my 20’s anymore. Because love before you get at least halfway jaded is exhausting.

All pottery pieces are available from Lee Wolfe Pottery.

More Valentine Cookies

Here is another batch of my gluten free sugar cookies (recipe here).

I made royal Icing with Martha Stewart’s recipe here.

I used neon food coloring, adding it in increments, from pale pink to bright neon pink, and then used sanding sugar and colored sprinkles on some. You have to put the sprinkles on right after the icing is applied as it dries quickly. I piped the icing on as an outline and then spread about a teaspoon of icing inside to fill.

These are easy and delicious!

The White Minimalist platters are available at Lee Wolfe Pottery.

Gluten Free Valentine cookies

I spent a chilly afternoon baking Valentine cookies with my girlfriends. What a fun way to bring out your inner 8 year old child! I originally thought we would just bake and cover them with sprinkles, but when the sprinkles failed to stick, I pulled out some lemon curd, berries, pink sparkle gel, candies, and sanding sugar and we got creative. This gluten free sugar cookie recipe is not overly sweet so you can add sugary toppings without turning them into a lump of corn syrup. Lemon curd also adds a tart balance. The cookies will keep up to 2 weeks in an airtight container but the fruit and lemon curd need to be eaten within a few hours or they lose their fresh look. So don’t decorate alone unless you have guests eminently coming!

 

The Modern Lace bowl, minimalist platter, and gray Poppy Bowl are available on Lee Wolfe Pottery

Ingredients:

For cookie crust:

1 C (2 sticks) butter, room temp

1 C sugar (I use organic)

1/2 t salt

1 egg

1 t real vanilla extract

3 C gluten free all purpose flour blend

toppings:

1 jar lemon curd, berries, whatever sprinkles or candies you like

In large bowl or Kitchen Aid, cream butter, sugar, and salt until creamy and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla and beat until batter is one consistency. Add flour a cup at a time beating on low until fully combined but don’t overbeat.

Pat into ball and into circle on floured board. Place in center of oiled 12” pizza pan, and press out to edges with a shallow lip on the rim. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper. Bake at 350 degrees 7-12 min until golden brown on bottom. Remove from oven.

While crust is still warm, spread lemon curd over surface. Decorate as desired.For fruit decoration, sprinkle with sanding sugar and bake an additional 3 min.

Clay Club Olympics

Once a month Clay Club meets at a designated potter’s studio in Western North Carolina. If my schedule, obsession with my own work, and introverted moodiness allow, I go and always enjoy meeting and hanging out with my claymates. This January was the second annual Clay Olympics, with categories such as Biggest Thrown Vessel, Blindfolded Throwing, and Ugliest Face Jug. It was definitely the most fun I’ve had I ages. Free spirited, creative and dirty… these are my people.

 

Tallest Thrown Vessel

 

Blindfolded Throwing

 

Team Throwing

I entered Ugliest Face Jug, where we had 8 minutes to decorate a pre-thrown jug. Here is my entry:

It was a tough competition with 20+ entries. I won 3rd place. The highlight was the experience of working side by side creatively with other potters. I want to do that more. Maybe I’ll take a class at Odyssey this year. I don’t have the temperament to work well with others but when it comes to play…. that’s easy.

Thank you, John Britt and Emily Reason, for creating and managing the NC ClayClub.