Link to the new blog

Check out Diary of a Dishie here. Lots of new stories since 2008!

We've moved....

....to our own hosted blog at www.diaryofadishie.com....

Hope to see you there!

Kimbesa

Tall Cooler Glass of Lemonade

On a hot, muggy evening, I could sure use a tall cooler glass full of lemonade. Fresh-squeezed, with just a bit of sugar.

Glasses like these, made for Corelle's Landscape pattern, would work just fine. They have nice heavy bottoms, and hold a good 16 ounces.

Tomorrow I’ll go back to the Produce Palace and get some fragrant lemons, to keep for those humid August evenings that are sure to come. And perhaps a jar of those Sechler’s sweet lemon pickles, too, for good measure.

Handy, refreshing treats for the end of summer.

It's Peach Cobbler Season

It's that time of year. Peaches are on. And they're soooo good from the farmer's market. You can smell them as you walk the aisles...

I have a special casserole dish that I love to use for cobbler – vintage Corning Pyrex, in the distinctive ribbed berries and twining vines of the Gooseberry pattern, in pink and white. I don’t know how long Corning made this pattern. My educated guess says it was in the 1960s or 1970s, but it is now discontinued. I got a set of three Gooseberry dishes at a “granny sale” years ago, and I’ve enjoyed using them ever since.

The bowl is Haeger, bought from JC Penney some years ago. (Works for ice cream as well as cobbler...)

My favorite cobbler recipe is of older vintage. It came to me from a neighbor 30 years ago, and it smacks of having been around a lot longer. The sweet, fruity smell of mouth-watering cobbler is sure to bring your family to the table long before the dish is ready, especially if you use fresh fruit instead of canned.

This cobbler is very simple and very good. Here’s your excuse to get out your favorite baking dish, and combine the art of the food and the art of the bakeware into a masterpiece. Enjoy!

Essie’s Cobbler

¼ cup creamed butter or margarine (was oleo)
½ cup granulated sugar (plus ¼ c. extra)
1 cup flour
2 t. baking powder
¼ t. salt
½ c. milk
1 quart sliced fruit (best with fresh fruit in season)

Cream butter and sugar together. In a separate bowl, mix flour, baking powder and salt. Add this dry mixture to creamed mixture, alternating with milk, to make a thick batter. Best to do this by hand, as over beating will make the cobbler tough.

Grease a 1.5 quart casserole or baking dish. Spread the batter in the bottom of the dish.

If using fresh fruit, prepare and slice it, then add the extra ¼ c. sugar. Leave it to set while you prepare the batter, so that some juice will form.

Add the sliced fruit on top of the batter. If using canned fruit, add the extra ¼ c. sugar at this stage, depending on sweetness desired.

Dot top with butter and bake at 375 degrees for 1 hour. The batter will bubble up through the fruit and make a delicious dessert that’s great plain, or with a side of ice cream.

Mosser Glass is Luscious

Recently, we made an opportunity to visit Mosser Glass in Cambridge, Ohio. We'd already seen the factory on Made in America on the Travel Channel, but there's nothing like a personal visit.

It really was like being a kid in a candy store. Only you can handle the goods if you're careful!

We arrived in the afternoon, and had plenty of time, with the shop to ourselves. The wholesale catalog shows many items, but not everything. And we were treated to some new items, like this spooner in the Bermuda Blue color.

Watching them make the glass is a treat, too. They were doing the Georgian pattern pitchers in cobalt blue that afternoon.

Each piece starts with a glowing blob of hot glass on the end of a metal pole. It’s pulled out of a furnace and put into a metal mold. We saw these pitchers being made by a group of men who are working in concert, but it’s not that obvious at first. It’s a little more to it than the average assembly line. -- an artisan production concert.

After initial shaping, a worker puts the piece into another furnace, called the glory hole, to heat it again, so it can be worked some more. The spout is shaped by hand. Then the piece is broken off the pole, fire polished, and placed on a conveyor through a hot oven, so it can cool slowly. If this wasn't done, it would put stress on the glass and it could shatter. When the piece comes out of the oven, it is still warm to the touch.

We want to go again, so many beautiful pieces of this luscious glass to see... We have been impressed with this glass and how well it goes with vintage dinnerware!

Hartstone Pottery - Sweet!

This quality pottery is handmade in Zanesville, Ohio, by “the original” Hartstone.

This company has roots back to the 1970s. It went through a period of corporate ownership, and was closed.

But in a town of 25,000, the loss of 400 jobs was painful, not to mention the loss of a piece of history. Southeastern Ohio has a long history of pottery making, and most of it is gone. Roseville, McCoy, Crooksville, Shawnee and Weller are just a few of the Ohio potteries that are familiar to collectors of vintage American pottery and dinnerware.

So in 2005, a group of local business people got together and Hartstone Pottery was reborn.

We made a visit to the factory recently, and enjoyed seeing this charming pottery being made.

The patterns are hand painted on the bisque. Then the piece is fired, coated in clear glazed, and fired again.

Also, we’re quite fond of the unglazed baking stones line, which includes pieces for bread, pie, pizza, cakes, brownies, muffins and lasagna. These pieces are dishwasher safe, and you can cut right in the dish!

I made a Pineapple Nut Bread recipe according to directions. This recipe called 3 cups flour and that is about the right amount for the capacity of this generous sized pan. The nut bread was similar to muffin batter, in that it was leavened with baking powder. This is the kind of batter that you want to stir until just mixed.

The loaf was nicely browned and evenly baked. We love this dish! Based on the crustiness of the bread, I think this dish will really shine when used for a kneaded loaf. Can't wait till cooler "bread baking" weather...

Restaurant ware, vintage and modern

Remember the days of swivel bar stools covered in red Naugahyde, Dixie cups and burgers in a basket? That's where restaurant wares take us, whether modern or vintage. Back to Happy Days...

Syracuse China has been known for many years, for restaurant ware china in the vintage market, and for its modern cousins. Many people like these wares because they're so durable. You can use restaurant ware plates to help melt the cheese on your grilled cheese sandwich, for example, without worry about the plate's taking the heat. These heavy plates can take normal use and then some.

Buffalo China is another favorite. Vintage examples were made in the USA, and available in the secondary market. You'll see the modern versions of this ware in buffet, cafeteria and other restaurants, too. Bowls like these in the photo, in white, are great for serving chili or stew on a cool evening. There's something comforting about the weight, as well as the memories...