On this second day of the 12 Days of Valentine's Day, I propose you make one of your grandmother's recipes and serve it in a vintage vessel. Vanilla pudding? Orange pie? Shrimp dip? What was something she was known for? I can think of nothing more wonderful than honoring her with a whirl in the kitchen.
Does this Pyrex display bring back memories? I spent a few hours at "America's Largest Antique & Collectible Show" at the Washington State Fairgrounds in Puyallup, WA last weekend. This beautiful collection of vintage Pyrex caught my eye. Are you a collector? I consider Pyrex a salute to the American kitchen and I love it all. I have a small collection and I regularly fight the urge to make it a bigger. (wink)
When I shared this photo on Instagram, several people chimed in that they treasure their grandmother's Pyrex bowl. Or pointed out in this picture, which one she had. I am sentimental and nothing makes me happier.
Today I am sharing my maternal grandmother's recipe for vanilla pudding and serving it in my solid aqua Pyrex bowl with lid (just like the one in this picture!). I make this pudding all the time (usually doubling the recipe) and it is a family favorite.
Vanilla Pudding
2 egg yolks
1/4 c. sugar
2 T. cornstarch
2 c. milk
1 T butter (though it was written "a walnut size piece of butter)
1 t. vanilla
Put egg yolks, sugar and cornstarch in a saucepan. Stir together with a fork until well mixed. Pour in milk and stir. Turn on burner and cook, continuing to stir. When the mixture has thickened quite a bit, remove from heat and stir in butter and vanilla. Fill 4 small ramekins with pudding and refrigerate.
#grandmothersknowbest #grandmasrecipe #recipe #vanillapudding #vintagepyrex #collectingpyrex #momentsofdelight #antiquelover
My Aunt Carol made the big trip out West to see my mom and we had a wonderful week showing off our new turf. Knowing that she and my mom loved antiquing, I hoped for a nice day when we could drive up to Snohomish, WA for a day of treasure hunting.
Country Living magazine published an article calling Snohomish the "antiques capital" of the Northwest and having visited the town twice, I knew that we would have fun looking in the boutiques full of up-cycled items, as well as the tried and true antiques they both collect.
Our most successful moments were at the Star Center Antique Mall and Remember When Antique Mall. We spent hours looking everything over and considering things like how much room my aunt had in her suitcase and trying to remember which pieces of vintage Pyrex I really owned. I stood looking at this massive display for quite a while before I realized that I probably had a photo on my phone of my aqua Pyrex. Remember this day? That photo helped me make my decision. I wanted to buy one piece of Pyrex to remember this day paling around with my mom and aunt.
I bought this small turquoise bowl in Butterprint at the Remember When Antique Mall. It's perfect.
When I got home, I took a picture of my collection in the new cupboard. Now I can refer to this picture on my phone (in the favorites album) whenever I am in doubt. You can see that the new bowl fits perfectly right in the center of the lower shelf.
Throughout the day, my mom kept saying, "Stop calling it vintage; we both got these same pieces for our weddings." Ha!
There are a lot of things that I love in this picture. It is important for me to "look at what I love" and my apartment counter is pretty crowded lately. When we scoured our house in Michigan, looking for duplicate items to set up an apartment in Washington, I knew it was time for my vintage Pyrex collection to step up. I needed my beloved pieces to transition out of the treasured decorative items category and back to their status as an everyday kitchen workhorse.
I use them daily, now and they are fantastic. The white bowl in front holds the batter for some quick blueberry muffins. I like how the Pyrex looks, so I keep it stacked on the counter.
When the holidays (and my 6-month stint living in an apartment in Washington) began last October, I got really nervous about holiday baking. I love making muffins, cakes, cookies repeat. When I say I am a big holiday baker, I mean that I bake almost every day. It's relaxing. It makes the house smell good. I can give these treats away. It is a big part of my October November December.
How would I bake without a mixer in the apartment?
Should I buy a hand mixer? I don't want a hand mixer.
Should I buy a stand mixer? I don't want a stand mixer.
I want my white Kitchen Aid mixer that is on the counter in Michigan. Dan saw me start to twitch and suggested that my Christmas present could be a new Kitchen Aid stand mixer that just happened to arrive in October. *sigh* I love this man.
We scoured the internet for colors and options and decided, who were we kidding, I was an aqua girl, through and through. I had the Pyrex to prove it.
Some bakers store their stand mixer because counter space is too valuable. I can't. I like to see this beauty and get inspired to bake and mix and stir. It's part of the fun of being in the kitchen. And it looks perfect with the Pyrex. Our apartment is small, but my holiday plans are big. As for my Michigan mixer, it's in a box in storage awaiting my next move.
Do you feel this way about your mixer?
#kitchenaidmixer #baking #holidaybaking #aqua #bakersgottabake #apartmentliving #vintagepyrex
