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| First I made some chocolate chip cookies because I just happened to have the ingredients for them. See the mixer? That was my mother's. I got it recently when we cleaned out her house. Before that, I had been using a hand mixer that I got when I went to college. It's much easier to use the stand mixer, let me tell you. Also, the canisters in the background were a gift from a high school friend. |
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| After the cookies came out of the oven, I cooled them on this heavy duty cooling rack that was also my mother's. The metal is about twice as thick as the one beside it. |
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| I served the cookies on this pottery dish from my sister in Maine made by a local potter there. |
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| Next I prepared a vegetable plate with dip. The divided vegetable tray came from my mother's house and the dip bowl was my grandmother's. The cucumbers for the dip and tray came from Uncle Billy. |
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| Then I fixed a fruit tray with yellow watermelon from Uncle Billy and the tray was new to me from my mother's things. |
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| To add some salty to the mix of food, I had crackers and hummus served in a plate made in Kentucky given to me by a friend. |
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| The drinks were served in glasses that were a gift from Ward's grandmother. |
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| The napkins were from a friend at work who was giving them away. |
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| And tablecloth (not pictured) was a gift from Ward's aunt in Guatemala. I didn't get a picture of the tablecloth so I'm using the cookies again. They turned out delicious. |
So with my village of things, we had a successful meeting with good refreshments.
But Wait, There's More for Inquiring minds:
Why did you spend over 30 years using a hand mixer when you wanted a stand mixer?
I ask myself the same thing. Have I ever mentioned that I have a hard time spending money?
What did you use for these plates and trays before you got them from your mother?
I made do with whatever I could cobble together. I'm into practical solutions which sometimes comes at the expense of pretty.
Do you entertain very much?
No, and it's usually outside where we supply the meat and others bring the sides. Then we use our picnic plates which are melamine ones we got from MacDonald's years ago that feature the movie Aladdin.
What recipe did you use for the cookies?
The standard one on the bag of chips. I added a little less butter because I like chewy better than crunchy cookies.
You were able to access many memories with your book club soiree!
ReplyDeleteI wanted to laugh out loud about your melamine Aladdin plates.
I still use a hand mixer that I bought (on the cheap) as a young, newly fledged adult. I have inherited my mom's stand mixer but I found that I don't use it much and it takes up too much valuable real estate on my kitchen countertops. So there you have it! Also, like you, I have a hard time spending large amounts of money when I have something that works relatively well. Hence I still am riding a bike that my dad found for me year's ago in a garage sale. My hubby recently took it in to be serviced and people told him "what a cool old bike", so, there, I'm cool and retro, not cheap!!!
I don't use the stand mixer all of the time, but there are somethings it's just better suited for. I am very happy to have this one. But the other one worked good enough (my mother won it as a door prize), so I never got the kind I wanted. I'm trying to do better with this. If something is in the budget and it will make my daily life better, then I'm trying to go ahead and get it. As you can guess, I'm not very big on frivolous stuff either although that's okay, too, sometimes.
DeleteYou must look so cool riding your bike through the neighborhood. I bet the other kids are jealous. :)
Oh yeah, that's me, super cool kid. I've always referred to my bike as the "old lady bike" as it's an old 3 speed with a wide seat (which makes it comfy enough to actually get me on it!).
DeleteOn a different note, if you add a teaspoon of cornstarch to your cookie mix, it will soften your cookies. Just a little tidbit I've learned from a food blogger. :)
I don't make cookies very often, but I'll try to remember the cornstarch thing. It's hard for me to imagine that just a teaspoon of cornstarch could make much difference, but I guess it's tried and true. I always learned that you cut back on the butter or add a little more flour for softer cookies. The cornstarch addition sounds much easier.
DeleteNice memories and set up. i hope the book group enjoyed everything.
ReplyDeleteThe book club was happy with the food and set up, and we had a good discussion about the book. I hope to mention it here soon.
DeleteI would not even begin to name the names of things I have received 2nd hand from various people. Would I remember to include MeMaw's fruit bowl or Grandmother's buttermilk goblets (We called them that because they always drank buttermilk from them) , the teak tray TheHub's uncle brought to his mother (from Korea maybe?), My great aunt Etta's sterling serving spoon? They all get used on a regular basis but I really don't think much about them and the givers until I am washing and putting them away.
ReplyDeleteWhat I didn't realize until I was setting up is that I have never bought any of these kind of items for myself. It seemed kind of strange that when I'm old enough to be talking about retirement, I still hadn't bought some of the things you buy as an adult.
DeleteI loved reading this post and seeing all the lovely things you received from others! This is what I miss from having left practically everything behind when we left the country of our birth. My mother either sold or gave away everything because we were limited by the amount of luggage we could bring with us. She left my stepfather's mother's tea sets and her fish dishes with one of her sisters; six years later, when we went back on a holiday, we brought them back with us. But, other than that, everything I have in my kitchen was either what my mother and I bought or we were given or picked up (my pyrex mixing bowls, for example).
ReplyDeleteYour chocolate chip cookies look delicious and I'm sure the book club members all enjoyed everything you had prepared. I don't think I've seen golden watermelon, before.
I'm glad you were able to retrieve some of the family heirlooms when you visited. I imagine that they mean even more to you because of the story of your family immigrating to the US.
DeleteUncle Billy has grown yellow watermelon for a couple of years now along with the red. They taste the same, but it is fun to see a different color.
OMG wish I'd been there to enjoy that great looking food!
ReplyDeleteI think you would have enjoyed the food and had some interesting things to say about the book. Maybe you should look around for a book club to join. I think you would enjoy the discussions. Our local library has one. Maybe yours does to.
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