Pot Heads

It's been one of those weeks where I've been running around trying to do several things at once and so I have neglected this blog. I must make amends with a tale of domestic woe since I am unable, by the rules of courtesy and copyright to speak of anything that I saw at a couple of well known studios in the past week. The Northern California trip was for business, which I can't talk about either, since I signed a Non Disclosure Agreement with the nice people who sponsored it and asked me to 'sell' their products to the school. How I am supposed to do this when I am unable to tell my boss or colleagues what, exactly, I saw out there is a mystery to me. But it was a very educational meeting. And their products are very good. I definitely recommend buying them.

I spent the balance of Spring Break in Southern California, staying with friends. They work at rival studios and I am not supposed to know what they are working on. So since I can't talk about anything else in California I will talk about the weather.

They actually had some. Burbank was better looking than I'd ever seen it, due to the excessive rains that washed the brown tint out of the air. No one could recognize where they were anymore and so they kept complaining but I liked it. When one is leaving the subzero temperatures and sheet ice of Rochester in February, anything short of an earthquake is an improvement. Fortunately we didn't have one of those.

I came back and got ready for the new term and made plans for what I laughingly refer to as my personal life.

Now, I'm very fond of good cooking gear. Cooking is sort of a hobby of mine; I've always maintained that one can say what they want about my animation, but if you don't like my Garlic Chicken or New York Style Corn Bread or Vegetarian Cheesecake, you are dead tofu on a stick.

Most people like my cooking just fine, or at least they admit to liking it while I can still hear them.

I noticed the Pot and Pan sale at a well known New York department store at the same time that I noticed a nice check from a well known Government tax office in the mailbox.
I go on modest splurges when I know that there's something coming in as well as going out. I am a practical spendthrift.

These were such pretty pots and pans, too--all shiny and businesslike, used by The Best Chefs. They had good references on the consumer websites.
More practically, they were easy to clean and took less energy to cook something than a cheaper pot. I thought I could probably save on the gas and washing-up at the same time.

I justified the expense by figuring that it was pretty likely that I'll stay where I am and I need something to cook in since my old Pots and Pans are not in storage, but in someone else's kitchen. In other words, I gave them away. And it's not as if they go out of style and need to be replaced every year. Even if you move as often as I do.

I've moved house more often in the last ten years than most people do in their entire lives. Most people don't know where to find me. Even I don't know where I am any more. For years I stayed in one spot, then suddenly...I developed itchy feet, or Gypsy ancestry asserted itself. Sometimes I moved for the job, sometimes just because the home living situation wasn't what I wanted. It's getting to be a habit. It's so bad I've asked people to stop giving me housewarming presents. They are getting to be embarrassing. I've moved so often that I think I'll come back in the next life as a Bekins van, or a hermit crab.

Since the Pot and Pan sale was not indefinite, I ordered a set of carefully chosen elements from a line of steelclad, aluminum cored, hollow handled, Chef-preferred, top-rated, American-made, shiny triple ply cookware. I chose them for their usefulness; I have little need for a frying pan, but use a lot of steamers and saucepans. So I got them from Open Stock and got most of them on sale, which added a special thrill, let me tell you.
The Pots and Pans were on the doorstep when I got home this evening. At first I thought that the landlady had added an addition to the house.

They certainly were well made, but I'd completely forgotten the scale of the things. It's been a while since I thought in quarts.

The Kitchen Utensils, a spoon, spatula, and fork, are perfect for cracking the packed ice on the driveway or impaling marauding barbarians. I ordered a steamer, but didn't realize that this one's first name was Stanley. All it needed was the wheels and handle and a smallish person could easily use it for a scooter.

I had a vision of Buster Keaton in THE NAVIGATOR, trying to boil an egg in a cauldron meant for 500 servings. While things aren't quite that bad, the Steamer/Cook Pot was a distinctly businesslike Pot that would be best for large parties. Or large anything.

Another package contained a shirt that could only be described as Violent color. I will be able to hire myself out for a beacon. Normally I wear browns and blacks but I wanted a little color for the spring. I got it.

Maybe I can put one of the Pots on my head, wear the Violent colored pants, and go out as Tweedle Dee or Dum for Halloween.