Twenty-four hours before this photo, these beautiful red tomatoes were still on the vine in a friend’s garden. Gotta love Early Girl. There is nothing like the flavor of vine ripened, fresh sliced tomatoes. Years ago at home, we served ours sliced on a plate with just a bit of sugar. Gourmet recipes with 30 […]
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Don’t get me wrong. I love cookie jars. I’ve had my share over the years, including the blue Cookie Monster. At home we had one of those 1950s crockery jars with A B C on it, and grandma had the classic Little Red Riding Hood cookie jar. Never used any of them day-to-day. I love […]
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When the weather turns colder, I get a hankering for ice cream. Go figure. Then I found a funky, 1970s soup mug and inspiration arrived. The dish is probably USA or Japan made, but there is no maker’s mark. It just screams retro, both from the motif and the colors. I was in a home […]
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The popular Royal Albert china pattern Old Country Roses came up, on a conference call with some Internet colleagues. It is a classic pattern, made since 1962 in numerous versions, that is still going strong today. Old Country Roses has a fluted and non-fluted version, the holiday version, the garden and damask versions. And that’s […]
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Pyrex made these round baking dishes, for layer cakes and similar desserts, in the 1950s and 1960s. We eat more pie than cake at our house, but these dishes work quite well for upside down cakes, coffee cake and similar, single layer cakes that are handy for snacks and quick lunch accompaniments. And they are […]
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Cool summer salads can hit the spot on these hot, dog days, and all year round. And it’s especially fun to eat from a charming vintage bowl — in this case, a macaroni salad in a cereal bowl by Mikasa, Sumay pattern, Eclipse line. This ware looks like it’s from the 1960s or 1970s. The […]
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Glass has so many uses for food, especially clear glass, when you want to make something special for a holiday treat. This red, white and blue gelatin recipe has been around for many years in different versions. I thought a vintage glass mixing bowl would really show it off, and take up less space in […]
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Pie, the most comforting of the comfort foods that we remember from childhood. At our house, cherry and pumpkin were often on the menu for family gatherings. My mother made her crust with lard, and it was very tender. There’s a cute song about pie in the movie Michael. Part of it goes like this, […]
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Weddings – in June or any other time – celebrate traditions important to family and friends. Vintage china, carefully selected to complement a wedding theme, can add meaning and beauty to your engagement party, rehearsal dinner or a wedding banquet. If the wedding will feature a big dinner, consider using vintage dinnerware on the head […]
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Blue and white china. Crisp and clean, great for summer table settings. Around our house, you can have any color, especially blue. It’s easy to mix and match with other blue and white wares, especially those with simple bands of color. Blue and white reminds me of the salty sea shore or a breezy summer […]
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Can you really use your vintage china — or find vintage china — for a special Father’s Day dinner? Oh yes, you can! There’s still time to tweak your table setting for Father’s Day, coming the third Sunday in June. Fathers don’t usually have the same interest in dishes that mothers do. Even so, adding […]
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Finding special vintage dishes is fun! See what I brought home with me in recent weeks, including some extra special items.
My dishie antennae perk up when I see pieces of Mikasa’s Mediterrania line in my shopping travels. The patterns are so retro. Many of them show the best of modern style from the 1970s. The shapes are simple and sleek. The colors and motifs just work for me. I think Blue Bird is probably my […]