Sunday, October 18, 2009

That Red Pot (version 2)

Followers, I had to re-scan and re-post these.
For more detail please
click on image.













I hope readers will write of
their own enchanted objects below.

21 comments:

Lawendula said...

My enchanted object is a wicker basket where all the babies of our family slept in.
My mother was the first and my daughter the last one. Now its bottom has got loose and it's not safe for babies anymore, so I use it as a basket for my wool, waiting to be spun to lovely yarn...

bobbie said...

I have a few old pieces of crockery that were my mother's. I do not use them, but treasure them.

I also have a pitcher of thick, green glass which has an egg beater fitted to the top. Mother used it to beat whipped cream for the ice box cake we always had for desert on Thanksgiving, as well as for many other purposes. I use it all the time myself, and always remember the smells of our Thanksgiving dinner.

Your pictures are priceless.

Marguerite said...

I love this! I found you on Beatrice's blog. I love your drawings and the way you make almost a childrens book out of it.
We have an old yellow pyrex mixing bowl from the 60s. It is scratched, and doesn't fit with anything else in the cupboard but it brings back maybe hundreds of memories of making cookies, cakes, etc with my sister and mom. Yes, it is an enchanted bowl.

Anne said...

I can't imagine not having that big old ugly metal pot that was handed down to me from my mother. It is ever so perfect for boiling pasta...sure, other things get cooked in it, but it's magical what it does for pasta!

Elaine Fine said...

for some reason your post made me think of this story Hans Christian Andersen, which gives a unique perspective from the point of view of the discarded object.

I have a red pot that has already housed some great culinary memories, even though it has only been around for a short time. I'm looking forward to looking back at it in years to come.

Stark Raving Zen said...

My enchanted pot is my mom's old cast iron dutch oven! It weighs at least 900 lbs and gets all rusty if I don't treat it with oil, but mom always said it made you iron rich to cook with it. I feel so healthy when I do, infused with iron and my mom's direction. Enchanted, indeed. (as is your art...)

Lana Gramlich said...

I love your tale of kitchen magic. I don't know that I really have anything along those lines, but I DO have a favorite paintbrush--so much so that I still use it even now that it's half-hardened with paint. I've even bought a brand new one (same brand, size & everything,) but I keep using my good old favorite (& suspect I will until it's completely destroyed.)

Lila Rostenberg said...

What a treasure you have there!
We have some very old cast iron cookware in the family. It is definitely magic!

Maya Sara Matthew said...

The tava ( a flat iron griddle) on which I make phulkas/chapatis and my cast iron griddle for making dosas both are used practically everyday and its been tempered and seasoned beautifully with use. I have to say they have magical properties now because the food I make on them are simply perfect for flavour and texture.I can't do without them.
That's a beautiful post Caroline and that red pot is so jolly.

Mark said...

I like the heavy red pot and have always loved your stories about the past. I have favorite, old sweater that I often wear to concerts. It must have some charm, as it never seems to age and always keeps me warm. Mark

Dr. Monkey Von Monkerstein said...

I love this post so much that I'd hug it if I could. ;o)

Barbara Anne said...

What wisdom for the world is in your words and your word pictures.

Our treasures is DH's grandmother's little blue bowl (the small one from that Pyrex set) that 4 generations have used for making scrambled eggs.

Thanks so much Caroline!

coolwaterworks said...

Our family's enchanted object is a very old coconut shell used to measure the amount of rice to be cooked every meal...

The shell was passed on from my grandmother's mother.

We still have it at my parent's home... :)

Balisha said...

I am drooling and I'm not even acquainted with these dishes.
My enchanted objects are my cookie cutters. So many memories come to mind, when I use them.
As usual you have captured real life with your crayon drawings.

Margaret Benbow said...

I'm glad your blessed red pot is still being used. They should be!
My mother made splendid berry pies, and always used the same old pastry blender to make the crust. It's like an UR-blender, the first ever. It has a wooden handle, green,with worn places where the palm would go, and exactly six parallel wires to mince the flour and butter together...now I make pies with it. My sibs and I (and our whole generation) also grew up with a set of those Pyrex mixing bowls in beautiful vivid colors. My favorite meal was potatoes au gratin and ham in the yellow bowl...I swear the yellow made the meal richer. Now that set is gone, but I'm eying the intact ones in antique shops with a lot of interest. They're lovely AND sensible.

kerrdelune said...

My grandmother Franklin's great big oval ironstone platter which is well over 100 years old. We have served turkey on it for many years, roast beef, brisket, stuffed cabbage, meat loaf and all sorts of other fine spicy meat dishes (no pork though). Every time I take out the platter, I remember Gran's kitchen and what a fabulous cook she was...

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
dguzman said...

What a great story, Carolyn. I have some kitchen utensils that I nicked from my mom before I left for college; I love them because they're so old, and they have melty spots on the handles because my mom would leave them on the edge of a pan or whatever. I have moved those spoons and things at least twenty times, over three different states. They may be made of plastic and a little metal, but they've lasted over 25 years and they're still going strong. Every time I cook with them, I think of my mom's cooking and growing up watching her. It just always makes me smile.

Kimberlee said...

Love this story!!! Mine is an old cast iron (avocado green) bundt pan. It was a hand-me-down from an aunt about 25 years ago and it still bakes wonderful cakes in spite of its frightening appearance. :)

Jacky said...

I have a beautiful old cutlery set that I found in a market in Armadale. It is old (which I love) and some pieces quite marked and tarnished but I LOVE it. It makes me happy every time I use it...so we use it every day. Unlike my newer cutlery, it cuts through everything. It is beautifully balanced in your hand and just so wonderful to look at. I am very proud of it adorning my table when people come to share a meal and I wonder at its previous life in someone elses home.
I will sketch them later today.
Thanks for a wonderful post and those recipes sound scrumptious.

Suzy said...

I also LOVE this post! I have my mom's Settlement Cookbook -- grease stained, broken binding and all.

I also have a spatula on which my dad engraved our last name in his spidery handwriting -- so that it wouldn't get lost at potlucks.