Out with the old, in with the red
When there’s a nip in the air, and autumn leaves are falling, it’s time for bean soup, stews, and roast beef, potatoes, carrots and cabbage cooked until tender. My old reliable slow cooker finally gave up, and that’s when my downfall began.
Spying a brilliant red crock pot at the Fairchild exchange started my decline. My husband says I would make a penny beg for mercy – I try to stretch one so far. I got tired of being practical and frugal. I wanted that scandalous red crock pot – so I bought it. Of course a red dish pan, dish drainer and red hot pads tied everything together. Then I bought a red potato peeler, spoon and spatula. You are looking at the new me!
I had been given a gift certificate and carried it around all summer. When I saw red cookware on sale last month, I just knew it was a sign and I splurged. I justified that by reasoning with my husband. My current pots and pans were too big. We bought them when I invited 12 international students from Whitworth to a Thanksgiving dinner. I cooked a ham, turkey and all the trimmings, plus rice and vegetables for my vegetarian friends. I still hear from around the world thanking me and reminding me, “It was a cold day outside, but a warm day in your home.”
It’s true I still cook for our two teenage sons, and they’ve been gone 25 years. We eat a lot of leftovers, and I assured my husband these smaller red pots and pans would actually save us money and he wouldn’t eat spaghetti for a week.
Our friends, the Eccles on Five Mile Prairie, share their garden produce. When I came home from a refreshing weekend in Portland, I found a black garbage sack full of beets on my kitchen counter. Pickled beets are favorites, and being red they matched my kitchen décor.
Washing, cooking, peeling, pickling and processing is a huge undertaking. I needed canning jars stored under the stairs when we moved to this house 17 years ago. It was a history lesson reading the September 21, 1989 edition of The Spokesman-Review as I unwrapped the newspaper from the canning jars.
President George H.W. Bush was on the front page with Spokane’s representative and speaker of the House, Tom Foley. Shari Bernard and Rob Higgins were finalists in the primary mayoral race. Doug Clark looked a lot younger in the picture next to his column. As I unwrapped the canning jar the words on it – “long life, wide mouth” appeared. I chuckled while thinking that pretty much describes Doug. All the other headliners were retired, and he’s still going strong writing columns.
A bright red enamel colander filled with red apples sits in the center of the kitchen table. My husband just bought me a red tea pot. I’m saving him money again and we’re in the black – and red.