Ever since I got my hands on Erin French’s new cookbook, Big Heart, Little Stove, I knew I wanted to cook my way through it, one recipe at a time. I love cooking, I love cookbooks, so it’s a good fit! But as much as a Iove collecting cookbooks, I often let them sit on my shelf, finding one or two recipes and then forgetting the rest. So I’m breaking a habit, doing something I love, supporting someone who has supported me.
Erin started buying my work for The Lost Kitchen in 2022 and we discovered it was a great fit. Erin was expanding her offerings at the mill beyond service, and her eye for unique handmade items that play with both modern and vintage aesthetic shine in her offerings. In 2023 I designed a few pieces for service at the restaurant - two plates, a bread stick vase, and a chocolate pedestal. This was a new undertaking for our studio, one that I was eager to explore. I’m honored to sell work at The Lost Kitchen, and even more honored that Erin and her staff brought the work into the restaurant. Knowing that we are contributing in some way to someone’s fabulous meal and experience feels right.
Here’s my first attempt, which maybe is a stretch to call cooking, but an enjoyable experience nonetheless! I started with Good Green Olives with Almonds, Honey and Rosemary. It was a Friday afternoon and I wanted a snack! I had never tasted Castelvetrano olives before. Their flavor is bright, salty, the texture is firm. So what a delight then, to pair it with a sweet honey and a toasty almond! I definitely over toasted, I definitely used crystallized honey. I loved it anyway.
The thing is, being someone who will procrastinate and talk myself out of an idea, I decided I needed to do it, without perfection, without the perfect toasted almond and the uncrystallized honey. I ate it by the spoonful, in my messy kitchen, then wandering into the dining room and smelling a fresh spring bouquet, feeling the textures, noticing all the flavors and sensations.
The plate featured is the Small Trega Plate, one of the plates Erin uses at the restaurant and sells at the shop. I couldn’t help imagine what she might serve on these plates this season. Maybe olives? Maybe something from the garden? Maybe they will sit on the sidelines, in anticipation of their next meal. Pots when not in use, hold so much, fill our space, serve our food, hold our memories.
Massive thanks to Erin and team for trusting the studio to bring these plates to life. Visit the Lost Kitchen here, or stop by the next time you are in Maine. Shop our plates at my website (or at The Lost Kitchen Shop), and watch the episode where she opens the storefront here! (Watch all of them? It’s so great to watch her process unfold!)