Sunday, February 21, 2010

Mom's Bowls




Growing up in the 50's and 60's there was always one thing in my mother's kitchen that we loved and it was her set of Pyrex bowls.  It wasn't so much the colors, although we liked that, it was the things that she used each bowl for.



The smallest blue one was always used for fresh whipped cream whipped with one of those rotary beaters.  It went on warm ginger bread right out of the oven and nothing has ever tasted so good since.  Part of it I'm sure is that the heavy cream came right from my grandparents farm which was just down the road.  Couldn't get any fresher then that!  I still can see Grampy Hatch sitting there on the milking stool milking the cows and squirting milk at us kids if we walked by! He would ask us if we wanted to try milking which we did but just couldn't make it stream out into the pail the way he did.



The red bowl was used for different things but what I remember most was Mom's potato salad with the sliced eggs on the top sprinkled with paprika.  Yum!  Also if we had a big crowd, which was quite often the case, she would use this size bowl to whip the cream as we needed more.  With five children it was a crowd before anyone else was added to the mix but we very often entertained any visiting missionaries that were speaking at our church plus their children.  We loved chocolate mayo cake and Mom would make the butter cream frosting in the red bowl.




Ahhhhhhh...the green bowl.  I think this one was used the most.  Scrumptious molasses cookies came out of this bowl and tall fluffy cream of tartar bisquits slathered with homemade butter, again from my grandparents farm.  My hips are expanding just typing about this stuff!  To this day I have never been able to make biscuits as fluffy and soft as my mother, maybe I am using the wrong bowl!



The yellow bowl......just think of homemade bread rising in this bowl as it was used for that.  Also popcorn balls with their buttery molasses coating.  Oh my,  I am really drooling now.  I like popcorn balls the best when they are still warm and gooey, oh just to die for!!!!  We usually make some each fall but for some reason we missed this past fall but you can bet your boots we WILL be making some this coming fall if not sooner! Also this bowl was used to hold beautiful pond lilies from the lake with their pink and yellow centers.  Dad would go out in the little boat and pick some for her, they smelled sooooooo good!

What got me thinking about the bowls is that I have a set at the lake house.  When disaster struck there the first thing I checked on was my bowls which I brought home and put through the dishwasher, which BTW is  sacrilegious according to some of my sisters, you ALWAYS wash them by hand......ahem............

I have another set of the bowls here in my kitchen as all of my sisters do.  We have found them over the years at antique shops, flea markets and thrift stores.  I think one of my sisters had three sets which is a little OCD but that's the way we are.  Now we are passing the torch to my nieces who have their own homes or apartments and the tradition continues.  And oh, my Mom still has a set here in her kitchen in Maine and has her original set in her Florida kitchen.

So as my lake set of bowls sets on my kitchen counter it brings back such warm memories of my childhood and the special things that we used to eat from them.  Thanks for going down memory lane with me,  I'm sure you have things from your childhood that bring back fond memories as well!

Hope you are having a wonderful weekend, it's snowing here but is supposed to turn to rain any time now.  Waaaaaaaa!  We want some snow!!!!

21 comments:

ms martyr said...

I have a set like that except that I'm missing the smallest blue bowl. I always make my potato salad in the big yellow one. My husband doesn't think it would taste as good made in any other container.

Hollie said...

what beautiful memories. Thanks for sharing

Nonnas News said...

I have a couple of those bowls myself and should try to complete the set. I remember them from my childhood as well. I also have some of the square colored pyrex bowls with the glass lids. I remember the yellow one was always used for jello, and to this day that is what I use it for too!! Sweet memories!

Julie Harward said...

Loved that...we have a lot of the same kind of memories..the best! I'm having a give a way...:D

Susan said...

I had a set of these lovely bowls but over the years am just now down to the big yellow one. Which I LOVE. I've gotten a couple of the other sizes in the newer versions but that's not the same as these colorful 4.

My yellow one is used for lots of things but ALWAYS when I am making bread. Which I am going to do tomorrow!!!!

Alice Grace said...

Oh I remember those bowls from way back when! Wonder what happened to ours! It is so good to see that you cherish them and actually remember what they were used for! Great post!

Alice Grace said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Dawn said...

What a fun post - love the bowls, the colors, and the memories. It's great that you each have at least one set of them - where do you get them?

Glad your inventory is finished - what a horrendous task!

And as for your warm weather - that is so bizarre! Yes, I'm thankful Kev has been out in warmer air these days. He told me his feet have finally cleared up from the fungus - hopefully it won't come back in the warmer air.

Sema is going to be able to visit him next month - a month from now, as a matter of fact. I'm so excite for them. Please pray that it will be the best week-end ever for them.

What a lot of shopping you have to do! But I know how much you hate shopping ;0)

Needled Mom said...

What a great post! It is so true how you relate a bowl with memories and certain foods. You should do a challenge and have everyone submit pictures and stories. Wouldn't it be fun to read all the great memories?

It's a good thing that they are not porous as I would have hated to see they needing to be thrown out. Did you have any quilts up there that need to be thrown out? I imagine the mold would really affect them.

I have a set of those bowls (wedding present) and they are the most durable bowls that I own.

Val said...

Oh I love the bowls but love the memories more! I am so glad that they were ok. I am behind on reading what all is happening with the lake house but please don't think I have not been praying and thinking of you. I have. I hope to catch up this week on things in blogland.

Sharon said...

Oh what memories those bring back.
My mom had a set of those bowls and they too were in use all the time.
Thanks for sharing.

Margaret Cloud said...

What pretty bowls, I sure do like the color. Think I will start looking for these bowls and I want them the color of yours. They look so pristine, not a chip. Thanks for sharing that wonderful memory and thanks for coming by. Have a nice week.

Mikey said...

Those bowls surely bring back memories. Your post was perfect. I'm super hungry now, and I want my own set of bowls.

Carole Burant said...

You would not believe how high people are willing to bid on those types of bowls at the auction!! Wish I would have kept mine from when I first got married! lol I so loved hearing each memory you have for each bowl. I remember mom having a set like that as well and like yours, some were used to make icing for cakes, the largest one was always used for popcorn which we'd eat while watching Bonanza:-) My two oldest brothers used to use one of the medium sized one for their breakfast cereal!!!! Mom would always buy the hugeeeee bag of puff wheat and every morning they would fill up one of those mixing bowls! lol It must have cost a fortune to feed those two! Sheesh!!

I was glad to hear that you don't have to do the cleanup of the cottage yourself. It really must be heartbreaking to have lost so many personal items that are irreplaceable, though. You and your family will just have to make new memories:-)

Hope your day is going well, I'm being lazy and visiting blogs while watching the Olympics!! Love you to bits. xoxox

KC said...

awwww.. I love all the memories and how you all have past these on.. I love it..
After my grandma passed away and my aunt was going though her stuff and just boxing things up for good will I couldn't help but take her every day dishes.. they weren't pretty they weren't expensive my aunt couldn't figure out why I wanted them.. but It was the memories of just being at grandma's eating breakfast, lunch and dinner. now I have them mixed in with my every day dinners.. and every time I eat off one or am washing a dirty one I think of my grandma.

hippo chick said...

Your sister is right. I have put my (two sets) through the dishwasher and they are all faded. If I get another set, I will keep them pristine.

Thanks for the memories. Everyone in my family had a set of these bowls.

~hippo hugs~

Countrygirl said...

Oh, I loved your post. Reminds me of my Grammas. I have only the big yellow bowl - and yep, we mix alot of bread in it. Just like she did. Wonderful memories - thanks!!

So glad you stopped by my blog, come anytime. Meeting fellow ladies of faith is very encouraging!

Paula said...

I LOVE those bowls. I have a similiar set that I got as a wedding gift almost 20 years ago. No chips, still in great shape!

About the washer . . . I LOVE IT! As a matter of fact, I can do such a large amount that I'm gonna have to go get the dryer because my old dryer can't handle that much. I counted 15 large bath towels in my last load. It spins them out almost dry. Cut my drying time in half. I'm not using the High Efficiency Tide because I make my own laundry soap, but I just cut that in half also. It does tend to twist clothes somewhat in the spin cycle. So if you have a nice blouse, wash it on the gentle-handwash cycle. Still comes super clean but less spin. Sometimes, I feel kinda bad if my load isn't as big as the tub!

Farmchick said...

Hi~ thanks so much for stopping by my blog! :)

LOVE the bowls....I love the colors! Funny how those sorts of things bring back such wonderful memories. :)

Hope you will come back for a visit soon. :)

palmtreefanatic said...

lovely memories and such cute bowls!

Callie said...

Love the bowls! I have a half baked collection of Kroger wear, lite pastels glass plates and bowls and such, from the 30's I inherited from my Grandmother. I believe it was like Gren Stamps in which they were collected by grocery purchases made at the Kroger Grocery stores, I think they still have those stores down south.