My New and Different April 2016

Every month presents something new or different to try. Cooking something new isn't really a new thing for me, but if I run across a particularly successful new recipe, I'll share it for posterity.

In the meantime, the most notable new thing this month involved woodturning. I have enjoyed working with wood for quite some time, but I'd never worked on a lathe before. So I took a Saturday morning to learn how to make a "3-hour bowl." The 3 hours accounted for the teaching; once you learn how to turn a bowl, you can do it in a fraction of that time, like an hour or less.

But anyway, I enjoyed being able to put my own spin on this basic project. The instructor liked a more curvy outside edge of the bowl, and the other members of the class followed that suggestion. But I wanted to put my own twist on it, I chose a slightly different look. I guess you could say my finished product has more the shape of a flying saucer than it does a rice bowl.

The "raw" maple wood.

Cut the outside first.

My instructor cutting the inside of the bowl with
very sharp tools that need constant resharpening.

A bowl is born.

To make the wood grain pop and keep it food-safe,
use a butcherblock treatment of mineral oil and food-safe wax.
Easy to find at the hardware store.