Yesterday we had the privilege of visiting my cousin and her husband’s home for dinner in Ashe County, NC. We arrived early so we could have as much time together as possible. I admired her gardening ability, something we both enjoy doing that was passed down from our grandmother, Grace.
We worked on cutting and chopping for dinner all the while talking about various sorts of things. I happened to notice a beautiful pewter tea pot on her sideboard. When I asked her where she got it, guess what? It had a story! 🙂
She opened the lid to read a note she had taped to the inside. It was a wedding present given to her maternal grandparents back in the 1800’s. The tea pot looked brand new, but in reality it was one of the oldest things in the house. Note: the couple in the framed picture is my parents on their wedding day.
As we were about to eat, she took the chicken out of the oven that had been baking in this old, clay pot. She told me it was nearly 200 years old and had been passed down from generation to generation and was still “cooking,” literally! We talked about how amazing it would be to know all the meals that had been cooked in that clay oven. The chicken was moist and delicious, as was the entire meal.
Sometimes you can’t improve on the old way of doing things.
My cousin is a great cook!
Question #17
What is the oldest family possession you own, and what is the story behind it?
_____________________________________________
This is post #17 in the challenge to post everyday in April.
Write from the heart 
Oh my! I would have loved to see you two together. Such fun!
Ah, yes, the hand-me-downs….
In our case, we can never trust a clay pot- since, unless we are CERTAIN that the previous users clung to the rules of Kashrut- it’s ‘verboten’. (One of the reasons that cheap clay pots were used long ago for cooking is they were ‘thrown’, used, and trashed after a single use….) We can “kosher” other kinds. And, we have a pewter mortar and pestle that is about 200+ years old that has been handed down (only for use on Passover, where the rules are even more stringent). It’s the thing my kids (now grown) love to use, since it helps tie in the holiday with their ancestors. (And, builds strong muscles in so many ways, since it is not a delicate item at all.)
Love to hear the stories of those vessels. If they only could talk.