New Years Greetings from Crazy Green Studio

Hello, remember me? I used to write and send newsletters! Last year, I started out with a great intention to do just that - had it recorded in my calendar with deadlines and reminders, and even projected topics, based on my end of year vision-board of what 2020 would bring. And while things may not seem to have gone haywire until March, I had my share of delays and distractions in the first quarter, and so this started to become more of a casual/occasional journaling stop - never posted because I kept planning to update more and of course find images. 2020 gave me another curveball at the end of the year, and I've just now been able to come back to my stream of conscious rambles and try to turn it into a little series of snapshots of my year past. What a long, strange road it's been! I re-read earlier notes as I've been adding images, so you'll see some additional comments on my own comments. 

Ending a New Year's Eve of stylish parties with
a proper New Year's breakfast at Waffle House!

Jan 1, 2020: start a draft for a newsletter - it's been 'too long' again, but this year has big plans and promise! (I really wrote that on 1/1/2020... really, I did!)

<-- The year started SO busy - working on multiple production orders, starting and keeping new exercise habits, making arrangements and plans to help sell my mom's house in Florida after her move, and working up all the year end data for 2019 so I could start on my plans for 2020.

Jan 15, 2020: delay newsletter because you need to get some things done for family, and it's the first quarter, which is usually quieter anyway. However - last year was the best year for the studio yet, and this year we're making more pots, working with more great clients, and moving the studio into its own space to grow (I'll elaborate on that more as I get to work on it), so there will not be a quiet quarter at all! That being said, I just got back from Florida, and planning the next trip to continue emptying out my mom's house and get it ready to go on the market, so planning and scheduling will be my jam!  (Still so hopeful...)

February: An incredible meal at Jargon, & planning for a new order --->    of plates - little did I know it would be one of my last meals inside a restaurant, much less see so many clients and other small businesses in a constant struggle for survival, including my own. I am so grateful that I was able to make some more plates for Jargon, and can't wait to go back!

Feb 8, 2020: No, I haven't forgotten, but it looks like I'll need to make monthly trips down to Florida for a bit, so I just haven't had a minute to put all my thoughts together for this blog. Not to mention sort through and edit pictures! Also wrapping up year-end business admin so I can send off my taxes - very glam! Thanks to wonderful assistants, production work continues in the studio and orders are getting out, and I did manage to get in the first part of my annual physical, and have plans for an eye exam. (I did get my year-end stuff done on time at least...)

My sister got my mom moved into her new apartment and cleaned out the garage, which was no small feat, and then over the course of short spurts of trips over four months, and with the help of dear friends, we got the house packed up, cleaned out, and ready to go on the market.

March 9, 2020: Just got back from my 4th trip to Florida in as many months, and thankfully we now have my mom's house cleaned out and on the market, because I don't think I'll be able to fly back down any time soon with the pandemic now moving quickly through the country. My mom is in a great community, and I do have that comfort in knowing she has great support where she lives, and we have a lovely realtor who I think will do very well for us, although I wonder how the impending spread of the pandemic will affect house sales, etc.  (Seriously, looking back, this feels SO long ago!!)

Nick oversaw the setting up of the dining room office/studio - it transformed from carving studio to production office when I was testing and writing content for my e-recipe books, which proved to be my own sort of kitchen therapy when there wasn't much else to be done.

March 17, 2020: We've closed the studio/gallery/teaching center. I'll be working from home in support of the studio, helping promote online sales and updating listings, and looking at what grant/loan options there may be to help keep my own business afloat - just like that I had to lay off my three assistants and all restaurant production stopped. I've brought some pots home for carving - that's pretty much the extent of what I can do at home, but at least it'll keep my hands in clay. Thinking also of working on some of the cooking/recipe ideas I've had in the back of my head.  (And I did! You can purchase them on my website: crazygreenstudios.com)

The "Porch Pano" became and almost daily meditation - another silver lining was discovering the lovely sanctuary of my front porch (Nick also enjoyed the panoramic bird views), and watching the transition from late winter into Spring and summer - it is indeed now my fair-weather home office!

April 25, 2020: Sheesh time moves rather quickly whilst in quarantine! In truth, I have been busy pretty much every day - working on some e-recipe booklets both for a wee bit of income, but more for personal

sanity. But studio support work, video conference meetings, keeping up with the house sale in Florida, and planning sure do fill the weeks. Started catching up with some old friends and enjoying social zooms as much as professional meet ups, too!  (The Zoom/online catch-ups and Marco Polo with good friends has been the biggest silver lining to this year-long cloud, and something that will not end when we get on the other side of the virus.)

<--- Birthday ebelskiver that I made for myself, plus a lawn birthday party given by my fabulous studio mates made for a most lovely birthday!

May 25, 2020: It's sweet, but others seem to be more concerned with my "pandemic birthday" than I am - in reality, every birthday is a good milestone, and truthfully the introvert part of me that doesn't want to be the absolute center of attention is happy to stay in her jammies. Also, still no blog writing because we've been busy busy taking care of all the details for the house closing in Florida - lots of fun, long distance!  (But closing on the house just days after this entry was truly the best birthday gift!)

I also finished my third e-recipe booklet, because I didn't have enough else to keep me busy. In truth they were the best mental/emotional balance to all the other things keeping me busy, and yes, they're available for purchase at my website! --->

  <--- So much else has happened in this outrageous year outside of business challenges and pandemic worries - much needed attention and action following too many lives lost unnecessarily and as a result of decades of institutional racism. Brave souls out in the streets and a stirring of action that feels like it will go longer and deeper than the moment, and not a moment too soon. As we have been in an election year for the past several years, it also brings the conversation back to the importance of grass roots involvement in the legislative and judicial processes that make this country run, and how change may be made from the bottom up.

June 25, 2020: Fear is a self-fulfilling prophecy - I was afraid I'd go through half the year without writing the blog, and I was right! We're now allowed back into the studio to work, and we're working out how to open or partially open other parts of the business. Mom's house sold and the admin associated with that wrapped up just in time for me to start pondering studio life again. While my studio mate has been heading up a huge fundraising effort, and while it's been very well received, it's clear that we won't be 'out of the woods' anytime soon with the pandemic or with diminished work capability, and our fundraising will need to continue for the foreseeable future.

In March, Sarah Wells Rolland took on the daunting task of making 500 "Vessels of Hope", and her colossal effort sustained the studio during the months of closure, which in turn sustained my business, and I am deeply grateful for the sustenance of both! Pictured below is the Vessel of Hope that I purchased, a stunning representation of the tenacity and enduring faith you need to have as a small business owner and artist at any time, and even more so in these very strange times!

July and August: We partially opened the studio, so even my feeble attempts at keeping up this thumbnail log have gone poorly- I can work again in my studio, and our gallery is allowing in two people at a time. We're requiring our advanced students to sign up for times to come in so we can moderate the number of people in the facility, and we're working on creating online classes while we re-vamp the classroom to accommodate in-person classes. First order of business is to finish the sessions that were

interrupted when we closed in March. The classes go well, and everyone seems really happy to be back, and everyone is following our safety guidelines well. At the end of August we re-designed the ISM studio, and now participants there will have their own work space, so the only shared areas are the sinks, slab roller, and glazing areas. Every day and every state announcement of mandates and guidelines ripples through as we continue to navigate how to sustain the business and maintain the health and safety of all involved. I am making work for the gallery, and have had some small commission inquiries, including finishing an order for one of my restaurant clients - each sale and each order is a sign of hope! (The energy and exhaustion associated with trying to establish a new normal are surprising - continuing to learn and adapt as we go, and keeping track of our own protocols and not dropping our guard around familiar places and people proves to be rather taxing!) 

September: I taught my first online zoom workshop - I'm told it went well, but I haven't watched it back yet. It was fun to be in a teaching mode again, and while I was afraid of filling an hour, I had to start editing myself at 1:40 to make sure we finished in under two hours. Better to run out of time than not be able to fill it, I guess. I have another in early October - I've gone from a less frantic pace to "remember when you had to do it all at once?" pace - while preparing for the workshop, I was also beginning to make my pots for 'chapter two' of our Vessels of Hope fundraiser. Sarah finished and sold all 500 of her pots, and it did sustain us while we were closed, but we're not out of the woods, yet. Clay sales have helped, but are down as folks are slowly getting back to work. Gallery sales are a fraction of what they would be at this time of year. I am extremely grateful that they have been enough to pay my studio rent and materials/firing fees since we've been back, although it's not enough to actually pay myself, but thankfully I have a trickle of unemployment to keep gas in the car and feed the cat. My focus is still on the studio sustainability, as without my studio, I can't do much! I can see how we can and will be working to increase our online offerings, and I'm looking at ways to augment my own ability to create online offerings and better take part in the new developments at The Village.

 

<--- Got my early vote on with a lovely line of fellow citizens!

October/November: Well I did glance past this page several times in October, but never landed. And now here we are in early November, awaiting the election results, which will likely take us into next week. Faith, Patience, and Grace. Mantra words for the present. Our gallery is open and now allowing up to six people at a time, and lovely people are coming in and buying pots! We're still working on getting our online presence boosted, as well as dedicating pots for the online shop. Classes are going on in person, and we're still building the online. I'm subbing an in-person class later this month - not returning to teaching, but filling in, and looking to design a couple more online classes, hopefully. I am looking forward to teaching a fun workshop on Zoom for a group of high school art students in Canada later this month - made all the more fun by the fact that their teacher is one of my lovely cousins! (We had some unfortunate technical issues, but I was still able to tape a workshop for them, and their results were fabulous!) It's motivating me to up my hand-building game, too, which is always a good thing. 

I had a lovely zoom-Thanksgiving dinner and game night with my god-family in Atlanta - lots of fun and laughter, and loads of leftovers!! --->

Holidays are looming, but I'm staying put - we will get to the other side of this pandemic, and then there can be much merriment and sharing of food and laughter in the same room. I'm down for that future party, and until then, will continue to do my part to keep myself and my peoples healthy and safe. And while I'll greatly miss my usual end of year celebrations with friends, I admit freely that I'll be happy to snug in at home for an actual staycation when we close the studio at the end of the year. It'll be a good time for recharging, reflection, and planning.  (A great blessing at the end of November: I found out that I am a very grateful recipient of the North Carolina Arts Council Artist Support Grant. I'll use my grant to purchase and upgrade equipment for photographing work for online sales, and for live streaming and online teaching.)

<--- One of my favorite projects this year was a beautiful dinnerware commission that allowed me to revisit decorations used in a restaurant commission that was finished at the beginning of the year. It was a wonderful reminder of the work I love to do - design with talented chefs and create beautiful canvases for their work. 

December: The year continues to end with more hope for things to come. The studios and gallery are ending with sales steady and classes filling for the new year, and  As it looks like we'll be continuing some social distancing well into the new year. I will finish the year having delivered and shipped orders for wonderful clients, and with a nice list of new commissions to plan for the new year. 

One of the things to come out of working from home: playing with designs and ideas that had before been just ideas and daydreams, like these carved spoons. Using the designs in my 'vincent series', I'm carving the backs and handles of various spoons and scoops. It's been the year-end art therapy project that will see a spot in the gallery next year!

While sad I won't be having what has been a wonderful tradition of a year end visit from dear friends, Christmas toasts with the neighbors, pilgrimages to Mr. K's for books and Green Tea Sushi for dinner, I am looking forward to having some time to just be at home, put work aside for a week or two, and process the year passing and start looking ahead to what may be planned for 2021. 

Nick loves playing Santa! 

So it turns out that I got to start my staycation almost a week early. I woke up coughing on Friday, December 18, and out of an abundance of caution, stayed home and made plans to get tested for Covid. My last gallery shift was scheduled for 12/23, and much year-end work to get pots photographed for the online shop and cleaning the studio was planned for the days ahead, but my caution proved prudent as my symptoms increased over the weekend and I got my positive diagnosis on the following Monday. I consider myself extremely fortunate that I seem to be having a mild case - it's been like a bad head cold for the most part, and as I close out the year and finally finish this year-long post, I am feeling almost on the other side, with just lingering symptoms and happily still some time for my staycation that won't be lost in a fog!

January 1, 2021:  So that's the year in review, and a brief snapshot at that. I've kept other journals, and it still amazes me everything that's happened in the last 12 months. We're not out of the pandemic woods yet, but there is much hope on the horizon, and while I'm not one for resolutions at the new year, I will be taking time today to set some intentions. Happy New Year!

Winter Home Sale and other updates

Greetings and salutations! It's been another long minute since I've written here, and the good news is that it's mostly because of being busy in the studio! So let's get right to it!

When I make pieces for clients, even if I'm creating something based on a piece or pieces they see that I already do, I will make samples for them based on what they want or what we've designed together. I'll often also keep those samples - to show other potential clients, or to keep as a reference for replacements. And then there are the pieces I doodle around with when I'm in a production cycle - pieces I keep because I think they might become part of something else, or because I want to remember to develop them more (or maybe I just really like them!). And then there are the pieces that I make for a while, but then decide not to carry as a primary form any longer, or those pieces that are really lovely, but might have a little surface crack, or a separation at and attachment, or a slight warp - usually those get snapped up by friends and family, but sometimes it gets busy enough where even they don't find out about them!

As I was in a post-holiday break cleaning fit earlier this year, I discovered I have a lot more of these pieces than I thought I had, and where I might just take some of these home and enjoy them myself, I also discovered I've done a good bit of that over the past year, so there really just wasn't room, but what to do with all of these lovely pots that just don't quite have a home? 

The answer: have a Winter Home Sale! Next Sunday, February 17, from 12-4, I'll be hosting at my home and hopefully finding new homes for all these lovelies.

Joining me will be my friend Dawn Dalto, who has made some beautiful ceramic creations in her day, but she also, in a former life, owned a bead shop. She has beads...LOTS of beads. 



She's going to bring ALL of her beads and join me next Sunday at the Home Sale - glass beads, beads by the piece, beads by the strand, vintage beads, beads big enough for buttons and small enough for weaving. She has the beads!!!

So if you're in the neighborhood, drop by next Sunday between 12-4, enjoy some light refreshments and good conversation, and find great deals on beautiful pottery and beads! Here's a LINK to the Facebook event, and if you're not on FB, just send me a message for details.

What's coming out of the kilns...

It's been busy busy in the studio this Spring, and that's just how we like it! Cranking out work for clients, developing new things for the gallery, and taking part in fun studio events. Here's a little visual re-cap, with fascinating descriptions and trivia tossed in:

Introducing the "Chloe" line of Sheeples - ready to hold toothpicks,
Q-tips, matches, felting needles, hair pins, or even small air plants.
Solid versions are great for holding your ring or just cutely keeping you company!

At the end of March, I finally started getting caught up on production orders and the first fully developed 'sheeple' started coming out of the kiln. These cuties will have an official launch at the end of this month, with a give-away on my Instagram page, so go give a follow if you'd like your chance to win!

Bad Happy logos under
your burger!

Ready for all the
gravy love!

In April, I was thrilled to meet with Tom and Stephanie Kern to design service ware for their soon-to-open Bad Happy Poutine Shop in north Asheville. While a good bit of the order was in the April firing, more poutine pots and other pieces are being cranked out for the May firing and hopefully in time for the Grand Opening!

Wonderful sponsors, killer assistance from TVP apprentices,
fun competitions, and a good time had by all!

Now we're half way through May, and it's already been a crazy busy month! The Village Potters hosted NC Clay Club for the Clay Olympics, and I got to play Emcee as area potters competed for cash and prizes, and in the process made bowls for the Asheville Empty Bowls event later this fall that will help MANNA FoodBank create over 6,000 meals - well done potters, and thanks to all our sponsors. You can read a recap and list of winners at the NC Clay Club Blog.

Blindfolded Throwing competition with rapt audience!

And just days after that, we had a weekend filled with the TVP Spring Open House on Saturday, celebrating our expansion and showcasing work in the Laguna Clays we carry - if you're interested in trying some, check out what we have at The Village Potters website or call Lindsey to learn more:

TVP Apprentice Julie Johnson with the killer
Laguna test tile board she made.

And it also celebrated the opening of the new Village Potters' Tool Shop, carrying potter tools from MudTools, Kemper, and Dirty Girl (for now - more to come!):

The Village Potters' Tool Shop

The Open House also saw the opening of the Emerging Artist Gallery, plus new work by all Resident Village Potters in the main galleries, including our two newest Resident Potters, Julia Mann and Christine Henry. So if you're in the area and you haven't been by recently, there are lots of reasons to check out The Village Potters!

As for me, I'm back in a new production cycle, finishing up some Bad Happy pots, filling other orders and talking with creative chefs about beautiful pots I can make for their own exquisite creations. Like these lovely dumpling/appetizer bowls, which were the starting point/inspiration for what became the poutine bowl for Bad Happy. If your signature dish needs a signature dish, get in touch!

Dumpling/Appetizer Bowls. Also great to hold toppings
for a Dessert Bar, or a Taco Bar, or lime slices for a Tequila Bar....

And if you need a larger serving platter, or some
individual sauce servers...

Individual • Handmade • Design

More about the Handmade, and always more Homemade!

If you've been following my work and musings at my Crazy Green Studios blog, welcome! I've merged my two blogs, for more efficient organization, and in hopes of having more frequent posts to share what's going on both in the studio and in the kitchen. If you're new to this blog, welcome! I'll be sharing everything from what's going on with Crazy Green Studios, new work in progress, events and activities at The Village Potters, and of course, recipes! So it'll be lots of homemade on lots of handmade, with a few extras tossed in to add flavor.

And to get things kicked off, here's a quick image re-cap of some of what's been going on since my last post, with a quick recipe if you follow all the way to the end. Thanks for reading, and stay tuned for what's ahead!

The Village Potters Clay Center finished a 5,000 sq. ft. expansion, and among my favorite new features is the new Resident Potter Studios with windows!! If you're in the area or plan to be, mark your calendar for our Spring Open House on Saturday, May 12, 2018 and see the new space!

Because The Village Potters Clay Center offers clays from Laguna, Miller, and Axner (and just announced and coming soon: Standard Clays!), I've been able to test some new clay bodies. I'm really liking this dark stoneware, both for the possibilities in my wax resist work for the gallery, and for new and exciting options for my wholesale restaurant and food professional clients. If you want to see more ongoing studio work in progress, follow my Crazy Green Studios Instagram page.

I got some cute new glasses!

New client The Rustic Grape opened, serving their
delicious brunch and small bites on small plates
I designed with the owners.

My "XO" mugs have been very popular this Spring, and nothing makes me happier than spreading love through pottery! This lovely image is from photographer & videographer Studio Misha from a styled wedding shoot.

I volunteered to register voters at the March for Our Lives event in Asheville, and was inspired by the turn out, and the spirit and passion from young voices who are engaged, informed, and ready to make things happen. 

And of course I've been cooking. Starting off the year with #cook90 was a lot of fun, and inspired me to keep larder items on hand for more spontaneous cooking, even on busy days. One of my favorite winter go-to meals has been some version of Shrimp & Grits. In this version, I made a batch of East Fork Farm Grits (follow the recipe on the bag), and topped them with a slightly altered version of Gambas al Ajillo (recipe as I remember is below), and a 6-minute egg. The yolk made a great sauce with the shrimp and grits, and on a chilly Spring night it's pure comfort!

Gambas al Ajillo (Garlic Shrimp)

2 TBSP olive oil

7 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced

9 shrimp, peeled & deveined

large pinch of dried chile pepper, crushed

1 TBSP fire whiskey

Salt

large pinch of dried parsley

Heat oil in a cast iron pan on med/hi heat - let it get hot, but not smoking hot. Add the garlic and cook until nicely browned (keep stirring so it doesn't burn). Toss in the shrimp and dried chile pepper, and stir constantly until the shrimp are cooked (about 2 minutes). Add a nice splash of fire whiskey (usually brandy is called for, but this is what I had) and the dried parsley and and a nice pinch of salt - stir/toss it another minute. The liquid will cook down, and the parsley will soften and coat the shrimp. 

Snow/Iced-In: The Curry Edition

We're a little more than half way through January, and we've already had two snow or ice "events" that have slowed down life as we know it. This week, the forecast of snow was for Tuesday night into Wednesday. Wednesday is my gallery day, and when I can, I like to cook in our studio kitchen for myself and my studio mates (with hopefully enough for anyone else who might be around). So I had already planned on a curry, and in fact a version of this very curry, which I had developed last fall when I was cooking for all the lovely people at Sandbridge. 

Curry first day, with Rosetta's Peanut Butter Tofu

I had been making a curry for "Thai Tuesday" for the past couple of years, and they were good, but I was continually tweaking. I ran across a recipe for a red curry in the New York Times (I'd link it, but I can't remember which one it was), and that became the inspiration for this version. If you've followed any of the recipes I share here, you know that I occasionally like to follow a recipe as written, but usually use it as a guide. So images of what I actually made this week that I'm posting here may not match up exactly to the recipe as written. Perhaps I should start always adding one more ingredient: Variation. I'd say follow the recipe for the seasoning aspects, but then use what you have/love for the vegetables. And add protein, if you want. You'll see I did a couple of versions myself.

Veg Prep: I'm kind of a nerd with 'mis-en-place',
and hey, I have the bowls!

Now back to our story - I was planning to prep all my veg and have some mixed together and ready to transport to the studio to make the gallery smell all kinds of good. And then the weather that was forecast actually happened! I was home, snugly iced into my little neighborhood with a kitchen full of yummy ingredients waiting to become a seriously sexy curry.

Whenever someone questions why I have some
random thing in the pantry, I answer 'for times like this!'

Variation is often motivated by taste, but sometimes it's also a way to adapt to the unforeseen. In this case, I found out only after the weather started that I was out of curry paste. Happily, I have a habit of stocking up on interesting things at Hopey & Co., in case I find myself in a situation where I can try something new, or use parts in other recipes. I had tried Marion's Kitchen Thai Red Curry Kit before, and it's really very tasty. More important, it contains a pouch of delicious red curry paste, a pouch of dried basil and chiles, and even bamboo shoots (along with coconut milk, which I had plenty of, so I used the pouch to make my morning porridge bowl). So if you're in a rush, grab one of these - adapt it, too, if you like, and you'll have a quicker curry (although my favorite 'quick curry' is still to plotz a tub of Roots Thai Coconut Curry Hummus into my curry broth and blend it with an immersion blender). 

The recipe is a guideline - use what you have on hand.

Ok, seriously back to the recipe now - for the snow/ice day version, I used veg I had on hand, using up the last of a few things, so there are more and different components in what I made than what the recipe says. That's variation - the sauces and the process are the same.

The key to this recipe is to prepare the various parts in advance, and then put them together as ordered. This will give you much better flavors than dumping it all into one pot. It may seem tedious, if you're used to more streamlined recipes, but if you have the time, it's totally worth it. Cut up all your veg, prep your sauces, then it's just assembly and simmering!

I had my first bowl of warming, spicy curry with some Rosetta's Peanut Butter Tofu that I roasted up from my freezer stash. My intention was to take the leftovers to the studio, and for that I roasted up some chicken thighs (marinated 1 hour in olive oil, lime juice, salt, and pepper - roast at 375), but the cold stayed, which means the ice stayed, which means most everyone stayed home. So tonight I'm having the roasted chicken version, and tomorrow I'll take the rest to the studio - having an extra day to meld flavors, and spice (I left the chiles in the soup!) will make this even better on day three!

So here, after all that, is the recipe*!

*This recipe was first printed in the Sandbridge Calendar.

Vegetable Panang Curry

1 can coconut creme (this is simply creamed coconut - no added anything!
1 can coconut milk
1/2 cup vegetable stock or broth
4 tsp. tamari sauce
4 tsp. maple sugar (or brown)
6 TBSP. red curry paste (use your favorite, but if you're making it vegan, use a paste that doesn't have fish sauce - Maesri Panang Curry Paste is very good!)
1/2 cup diced onion
2/3 cup thinly sliced fennel bulb
2/3 cup sliced zucchini (cut in half length wise first)
2/3 cup diced sweet potato
1 can bamboo shoots, drained
1 can baby corn (or kernels from one cob of corn)
1 cup green beans, trimmed and cut in half
1 lime
8 large basil leaves, thinly sliced (chiffonade)

Utensils:
1 large soup/stock pot
1 large bowl
2 small-medium bowls (2 cup capacity)

Open the can of coconut creme - there will be a really thick layer on top (you can refrigerate the day before if you want to be sure of separation). Spoon that layer out into the stock pot. Pour the rest into one of the smaller bowls. To that, add the can of coconut milk, stirring well to combine.

Broth/Tamari mix on the left, Coconut Milk on the right

In the other small bowl, combine the stock/broth, tamari sauce, and sugar. Stir or whisk until the sugar is dissolved or mixed thoroughly.

As you prep the vegetables, place them in the large bowl - all together.

Stir the curry paste into simmering coconut creme
(this is a still of a video I posted in an Instagram Story).

Meanwhile, back at the stock pot: heat the pot over medium-high heat until the coconut creme bubbles. Add the curry paste (you thought I forgot, didn't you?!), stir to combine and lower the heat to medium-low. Stir constantly for about three minutes.

Curry-Coated Vegetables, ready for the coconut milk.

Dump in all the vegetables and stir to coat them all in the curry paste. Cover and cook for about 2-3 minutes, or until they're all heated throughout. Add in the coconut milk, and bring it all to a boil. Then reduce the heat to a simmer, and cook uncovered until the veggies are tender (but not squishy soft, unless that's how you like them) - about 10 minutes. Add the tamari mix, a generous squeeze of lime, and half the basil. Stir to combine, and add water if you think it's still too thick. Bring it all back to a simmer for another five minutes. Sprinkle the remaining basil on the top if serving family style, or on individual portions.

Leftovers, with more developed flavors, deeper spice.
This time served over bean thread noodles.

You can serve this as is, as a soup, or over rice or rice noodles, zoodles, or spaghetti squash. You can also add protein, like roasted chicken, baked tofu, or any other leftover or separately cooked proteins. Add them when you add the tamari, and heat throughout. This has a nice, warming spice to it, but if you're serving serious spice-heads, you might want some additional chile sauce or oil on the side.