139 replies to this topic

[andiesenji]

DH says my folks had it before they left for San Diego in 1962. That's my timeline.

The writing on its underside says "West Bend. Penguin. Hot & Cold Server".

Who knew West Bend was manufactured in West Bend? Neat.

My sister worked at West Bend Aluminum Co. right after she graduated from high school - Campbellsport where my mother's family lived then, was close enough. She started in the office as a clerk but then got a job operating a polishing machine as it paid a lot better but was a dirty job - she said even wearing coveralls, a snood, gloves and face protection she would have black aluminum powder on and in her skin which required scrubbing with a brush.

[Kerry Beal]

A day of thrift store shopping today - yielded this lovely old electric ice crusher -



And surprise, surprise - we also saw this item - $4 - had a bit of a dent.

[KatieLoeb]

Those penguin ice buckets are all over the place. But they're so spectacularly fun, everyone should have one. I've given them as gifts but need to get one for myself. Who doesn't love penguins parading around? Fantastic!

[andiesenji]

That Ice-O-Matic is gorgeous. There is a yard sale down the road but I have rigorously resisted the lure, so far...

The people are new to this area and I should get down there and welcome them. They bought the house fully furnished so I think most of the sale items are from the previous owner.

They didn't put the stuff out until an hour or so ago. Most of the yard sale hunters are out much earlier and I doubt they will get much action now. Most people are at the Poppy Festival this weekend. Not a spectacular display of wildflowers this year but the festival itself is usually a lot of fun.

Edited by andiesenji, 22 April 2012 - 11:04 AM.

[Kerry Beal]

That Ice-O-Matic is gorgeous. There is a yard sale down the road but I have rigorously resisted the lure, so far...

The people are new to this area and I should get down there and welcome them. They bought the house fully furnished so I think most of the sale items are from the previous owner.

They didn't put the stuff out until an hour or so ago. Most of the yard sale hunters are out much earlier and I doubt they will get much action now. Most people are at the Poppy Festival this weekend. Not a spectacular display of wildflowers this year but the festival itself is usually a lot of fun.

Resistance is futile....

The Ice-O-Matic works a treat - it's actually quieter than the the manual Ice-O-Mat I picked up in the fall. And a whole lot easier on my tennis elbow.

[Prabha]

My craigslist find of the weekend - a Zojirushi 5 1/2 cup rice cooker, for 10 bucks! Had to brag about that. Barely used too.

I have only cooked brown rice in it so far, and that was definitely better than what my 15 year old National cooker turned out. I'm looking forward to trying all the other types of rice listed, and maybe some things other than rice.

[Kerry Beal]

My craigslist find of the weekend - a Zojirushi 5 1/2 cup rice cooker, for 10 bucks! Had to brag about that. Barely used too.

I have only cooked brown rice in it so far, and that was definitely better than what my 15 year old National cooker turned out. I'm looking forward to trying all the other types of rice listed, and maybe some things other than rice.

Nice score!

[Anna N]

Holmegaard decanter/schnapps bottle for 25 cents at a garage sale last Saturday. In mint condition - has never been used - cork stopper in perfect condition.

[Prabha]

Pretty! Would be perfect for brandied cherries. Cherry season is coming right up too.

Actually, maybe not. Getting cherries out of it would not be easy.

Edited by Prabha, 30 May 2012 - 05:55 AM.

[andiesenji]

Would be great for cherry cordial. - Dried sweet cherries marinated in brandy for several months. Strain the "cordial" into bottle, cherries into jar for use on top of ice cream, puddings, etc.
I can't consume alcohol but I do make this for others - took a quart to my daughter for Christmas, gave a quart to a friend for her anniversary in February.

[KatieLoeb]

This gorgeous Culver highball is one of a set of six I picked up on eBay recently. The trim is 22k gold, I believe. That's a SIngapore Sling in there. Everything tastes better in pretty glasses...

[Dakki]

Got this for the equivalent of 40 US cents. I'll clean it up and season it this week if I find a few free minutes to do it. I could post photos of the process if anyone wants to see.

[andiesenji]

Looks good, Dakki. The photos would be interesting to see.

I use the extra large stainless steel scrubbers (not steel wool) to remove the crusty stuff that isn't taken off by oven cleaner.

[Dakki]

Thanks, Andie. Soaking in dilute vinegar will soften the rust quite a bit if you decide to do it by hand. I have a grit blaster at the shop so I'll probably be using that (unless someone specifically wants to see the traditional method?).

[Anna N]

In response to:




Found yesterday. Spice grinders. Paid $2.00 for all three. They have hardly ever been used.




Manual slicer. Perfect for me - I'm alone so don't need much. I am accident prone so it's hard to take off your fingers with it. It worked fine on the only things I had to try it on - a kielbassa chub and a baguette. Will be roasting an eye of round for a test of its capabilities. Cost me $14.99 - more than I usually spend in thrift stores but I have no complaints.

Other exciting things unfortunately are not food related. Perhaps Kerry will post her food related finds later today when she gets a few moments away from work!

Edited by Anna N, 05 October 2012 - 10:35 AM.

[judiu]

Thanks, Anna !

[rotuts]

Im dying here. I need Just That Slicer. an occasional slicer. one ultra sharpens the blade, etc

id pay easy 19.95 USD. 5 cents more for CAD.

lucky you!

[toolprincess]

A friend just gave me a food steamer that she had earmarked for Goodwill but since I'm a sucker for kitchen items...
Anyone have any novel or ingenious uses? Or can point me to such discussion on eg?

[Kouign Aman]

I got the cast iron corn-on-the-cob shaped cornbread pan I've been craving.

Now to make cornbread! (shame I'm the only one in the family that likes it.)

[ChadHahn]

For sometime I've been wanting a roasting pan but since I would only use it once every couple of years I didn't want to fork out the dough for an All Clad. Whenever I would see one at a thrift store it would be junk, until yesterday.

I was at my local Goodwill and saw a nice stainless steel roasting pan with big tall handles. I pulled it off the shelf and saw that it was Chalphalon model 1805. Made in China but for $12 I guess I couldn't complain, especially since a quick Google search on my smartphone showed that they sell for around $150! The only problem was the pictures showed a roasting rack with it. I looked around on the shelves and there wasn't one. Oh well, I guess I can live with out it I thought. As I was walking to the check out they wheeled out a new cart and there was the roasting rack with a $2 price tag!

I got it home and the rack cleaned up nicely and a little bit of Bar Keepers Friend made the pan really shine. I guess this means I'll have to cook a turkey this thanksgiving.

Chad

[andiesenji]

A friend just gave me a food steamer that she had earmarked for Goodwill but since I'm a sucker for kitchen items...
Anyone have any novel or ingenious uses? Or can point me to such discussion on eg?

I use my steamer all the time. Steamed dumplings, to "refresh" dried fruits (including raisins, cranberries & etc) that have gotten a bit dry and tough. I steam all kinds of vegetables. There are numerous steamed puddings, both sweet and savory, which turn out perfect in a steamer.

[toolprincess]

A friend just gave me a food steamer that she had earmarked for Goodwill but since I'm a sucker for kitchen items...
Anyone have any novel or ingenious uses? Or can point me to such discussion on eg?

I use my steamer all the time. Steamed dumplings, to "refresh" dried fruits (including raisins, cranberries & etc) that have gotten a bit dry and tough. I steam all kinds of vegetables. There are numerous steamed puddings, both sweet and savory, which turn out perfect in a steamer.

Thanks Andie great ideas! Yum I hadn't considered dumplings.

[andiesenji]

A friend just gave me a food steamer that she had earmarked for Goodwill but since I'm a sucker for kitchen items...
Anyone have any novel or ingenious uses? Or can point me to such discussion on eg?

I use my steamer all the time. Steamed dumplings, to "refresh" dried fruits (including raisins, cranberries & etc) that have gotten a bit dry and tough. I steam all kinds of vegetables. There are numerous steamed puddings, both sweet and savory, which turn out perfect in a steamer.

Thanks Andie great ideas! Yum I hadn't considered dumplings.

I've got this cookbook. The pork and mango potstickers are alone worth the price of the book. No real exotic ingredients and the recipes are easy to read and follow.

I can't eat ocean fish but I often steam catfish and trout. I've made spring rolls - a cinch with the store bought wrappers.

[aliénor]

anna -that manual slicer you bought for $14.99 is exactly the one we bought when we were living in denmark 1972-73. having three young boys at home it was great to have a manual slicer and not an electric menacing machine. i only wish i could find a replacement blade as mine is getting a bit dull. still good, though for sliceing homemade breads and sausages.

[Margaret Pilgrim]

DH says my folks had it before they left for San Diego in 1962. That's my timeline.

We received ours as a wedding gift in 1958.

eta: this was in response to the manu date of the West Bend Penguin decorated aluminum ice bucket.

Edited by Margaret Pilgrim, 13 October 2012 - 04:12 PM.

[thock]

Today, I went to an estate pre-sale with my partner. He got a bunch of tools, and I got several things for the kitchen. Among my finds were four embossed measuring shot glasses. Three are Glasco, and the fourth doesn't have a name on it. The Glasco ones have teaspoon, tablespoon, ounce, milliliter and dessert spoon measures. The other has tsp, tbsp, oz and cc measures. One of the Glasco ones has a pouring lip. I have never seen anything like these before. I'm going to use one, and put the rest away for just-in-case.

I also got two aluminum canning funnels. One had a strainer insert, and the insert had some sort of cap for the strainer. It is a push-on fit, and I'm not really sure of the reason it's there. Once it's out of the dishwasher, I'll take a photo and post it.

I also got an acorn-shaped tea ball, an old Foley pot strainer (with a little handle on what I would consider the inside surface, and a yellow Bakelite handle), and a spritz cookie press.

[thock]

Here are photos of some of the items I scored today.


Foley pot strainer


Shot glass measuring glasses



Funnel with strainer and cap thingy.

Edited to remove extraneous signature line.

Edited by thock, 17 October 2012 - 04:00 PM.

[Toliver]

Funnel with strainer and cap thingy.

The "funnel with strainer and cap thingy" looks like the top to a cocktail shaker. You're just missing the shaker chamber.

[judiu]

Thock, I believe that your strainer thingie is not aluminium, but silver, perhaps plated, or maybe sterling. Any marks probably would have been on the bottom of the shaker part. Enjoy it!

[thatchairlady]

Always looking for new places to get and share cooking stuff. When I join a new group, like to start with one of 2 topics.

Cooking disasters... picture PERFECT beef Wellington with crust that could NOT be CUT!! Had to almost chisel the crust off, but luckily beef was pretty much perfect inside!

Kitchen finds... I'm a yard saler and thrift store shopper. Have made what I think are some GREAT finds for very little money. A "vintage" KA stand mixer... crank up/down model... $19.99 at Good Will... with paddle, whisk and dough hook and smooth running motor. A Le Creuset grill pan... blue enamel exterior in perfect condition... NO chips or cracks... little clean-up needed on cast iron interior... $5! A Cuisinart food processor that I bought mainly for possible need of an extra bowl... all the blades... ended up being a step UP from what I already had... $8! KA 7-speed hand-mixer... never even outta box... price on box something like $69.99... for $5.

Love to cook/eat. NOT into super fussy stuff. Rarely have "fails".

What are your fails & finds?