Pantry Challenge Report: Week Two - Defeat By Porkchop

I blew it. Sort of.

And it's Safeway's fault.

They roared out of the starting gate with some incredible prices this week -- specials, incidentally, that you can still get in on. (Through Tuesday, that is.) The star:

      Pork chops for 99 cents a pound. I haven't seen a price that good for years. Yow.

Their Friday-only specials were terrific, too. So yes, I spent more than $10 this week. But it was for a good cause... and I shouldn't need much, if anything, for at least a week. Maybe two, if I'm lucky. 
I'm not sorry a bit, though I did feel surprisingly naughty, overspending like that. 

Maybe a dozen oranges left -- they're going fast now. (Lots of apples to take their place.) Turkey bacon's nearly gone, but several sausages are left, from a package out of the freezer. We need to use up some of the canned tomatoes I've been stockpiling over the past few years -- maybe cheese enchiladas? Or Spanish Pork Chops? (The Brick wistfully mentioned them -- his mom used to make them. Think Spanish Rice, with the pork chops thrown on top.) 
     Definitely some soup next week, too. Maybe pea soup -- we're gradually eating the ham down to its bone. 

 

BREAKFAST:
                Cereal with milk
                Pork chops with pancakes
                Sausage and eggs
                French toast  (leftovers from a loaf given by our neighbors)
                A can of corned beef hash mixed in with the Colcannon leftovers from Week One
                Eggs, scrambled -- served on corn tortillas heated til crispy, topped with a sprinkle of cheese and a slice of turkey bacon  ('cheese guys' to our family)
                Cinnamon rolls, made with leftover pigs-in-blankets dough

No lunches, as usual...some leftovers, some crackers, some cookies, some fruit

SUPPER:
                Ham/rice/green beans casserole (okay, but not worth explaining)
                Sliced ham, baked potatoes, corn (canned)
                Pigs in blankets, green beans
                Chili leftovers from Week One, baked over chips and cheese
                Potato soup and sandwiches
                (blanking on the rest -- nothing memorable, obviously)

We are headed for our friends' house tomorrow, to watch the Broncos whip the Patriots' butts. (We hope.) Our scavenging neighbors gave me a huge bunch of browned organic bananas -- I'll make banana bread. 
     Also, I'll cube a package of chicken thighs, marinate them in barbecue sauce during church, then quickly bake them, to keep the meat moist and juicy. We'll spear the little devils with toothpicks for an appetizer -- Barbecued chicken bites.

Grocery tab:    $33.00 and change, including
                              11 pounds porkchops  (most of these are already in the freezer)
                              2 dozen eggs    99 cents each   (the chickens are slowing a bit)
                              1 20-pack Coke*   $5.00
                              a bunch of frozen burritos* -- 25 cents each
                              2 pounds sharp Cheddar grated cheese*   $5.00
                              half-price Australian hand pies
                              (the box was damaged, but not the pies, so splurged at $2.50.
                                               What can I say -- I'm a bad kitty.)
                              half-price dented mushroom soup can

*All outstanding-priced Friday-only specials at Safeway -- 
                       I got a raincheck for the Langers' 64 oz juice at 5/$5.00

Pigs in blankets were a specialty at our high school cafeteria...and my aunt just happened to be the head cook. The recipe is easy -- and one of our girlies' favorite foods. The Brick likes them, too. They're served in a roll -- one you literally bake around each dog, so the good juices go right into the soft bread.
    You can use a variety of hot dogs...or even substitute bratwurst or sausages. They'll still be good.

PIGS IN BLANKETS

For the dough:  5 tablespoons butter
                       1 cup water
                       1/2 cup milk
                       1 teaspoon sugar
                       1 tablespoon yeast
                       shake of salt
                       2-2 1/2 cups flour

One package of hot dogs or sausages -- your choice

Microwave butter/water/milk 30 seconds, until butter is softened. Check -- mixture should be warm, but not hot. (Wait a few min., if needed, to cool down.) Add rest, plus two cups of flour -- stir until a soft dough forms, then gently knead until dough isn't sticky anymore. (This can be done just before baking -- but the dough is even better, if you can do it an hour, up to 7 or 8 hours, ahead. In that case, cover with a damp towel after kneading.)
      When you're ready to bake, heat oven to 450 degrees. Pull off a scant handful of dough -- about the size of your four fingers, curled. Wrap around a hot dog, with the seam side down, and put on an ungreased baking sheet. Repeat for all the 'pigs.' (You can also add a strip of bacon or cheese in the split hot dog first -- delicious.) Bake for approx. 15 min.; serve hot or warm with barbecue sauce. Feeds 4-6, depending on how many hot dogs you have.
     Green salad is a nice contrast with these, too...provided you haven't overspent your budget, that is.

Hot, yes. A hot dog, no.    (P.S. Hey, Charley and Abby)

                         
           
           
           

An Encouraging Word For Those Who Serve the King

     Charles Spurgeon preached and wrote back in the Victorian era. But the words of this bold teacher, even with their occasional quaint turns, are so personal and vivid that they still apply today.

    'Chuck' has become an old friend. The Brick and I often visit with him via his Morning And Evening devotionals. Today's was so meaningful that I had to share it with you.
    (Reading is free -- just sign up here.) 

I have exalted one chosen from the people. Psalm 89:19

Why was Christ chosen out of the people? Speak, my heart, for heart-thoughts are best. Was it not that He might be able to be our brother, in the blest tie of kindred blood? Oh, what relationship there is between Christ and the believer! The believer can say, "I have a Brother in heaven. I may be poor, but I have a Brother who is rich and is a King, and will He allow me to be in want while He is on His throne? Oh, no! He loves me; He is my Brother." Believer, wear this blessed thought, like a necklace of diamonds, around the neck of your memory; put it, as a golden ring, on the finger of recollection, and use it as the King's own seal, stamping the petitions of your faith with confidence of success. He is a brother born for adversity - treat Him as such.

Christ was also chosen out of the people that He might know our wants and sympathize with us. "Who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin."1 In all our sorrows we have His sympathy. Temptation, pain, disappointment, weakness, weariness, poverty - He knows them all, for He has felt all. Remember this, Christian, and let it comfort you. However difficult and painful your road, it is marked by the footsteps of your Savior; and even when you reach the dark valley of the shadow of death and the deep waters of the swelling Jordan, you will find His footprints there. Wherever we go, in every place, He has been our forerunner; each burden we have to carry has once been laid on the shoulders of Immanuel.

His way was much rougher and darker than mine.
Did Christ, my Lord, suffer, and shall I repine?

Take courage! Royal feet have left a blood-red track upon the road and consecrated the thorny path forever.   
              -- Charles Spurgeon

Schorsch Auction Stars: Needlework Caskets

I've been having fun analyzing the Schorsch estate auction results. In fact, you'll be seeing several items over the coming days, with a final wrapup next week. What can I say -- this was an important one!

Results were all over the place, value-speaking...and not always in a positive way, either. (Ask the furniture department.) But one category really surprised me:

Needlework caskets!

These sewing boxes were a great favorite of Irvin and Anita Schorsch. (I'm guessing Anita especially, since she had such a strong interest in sewing, handwork and textiles in general.) They were particularly fond of the Charles II period (i.e., late 1600s) and had a number of graphic examples in their collection.

Which sold very well for the heirs.

Case in point: Lot #800, the casket shown below. It sold for $25,000 -- and many of its fellows sold for double, triple or quadruple pre-auction estimates. At a time when other items were barely selling at estimate...or doing much worse.

CHARLES II NEEDLEWORK CASKET, THIRD QUARTER 17TH CENTURY

Estimate 10,000 - 20,000 USD

Needlework-covered items did well, too. Lot #801, the book below, sold for $4000 -- more than double the high estimate.  (Note: whenever possible, I tried to give you what I watched the item actually sell for -- but the auction site gives you the total, including the buyer's premium. So their figures will be different than mine, when I know for certain.) 

THE WHOLE BOOK OF PSALMES / BOOK OF PROVERBS, LONDON, ENGLAND, 1635

Estimate 1,000 - 1,500 USD

I still don't get this one -- an early sewing ball (a darning tool, perhaps?) "from a Quaker family"...selling for $1400?!?  (Its pre-auction estimate was a few hundred dollars.)

SILVER-MOUNTED SEWING BALL, EARLY 19TH CENTURY

Silver band engraved HH.
Length 2 1/4 in.

Go see for yourself;  just viewing these items is a real education in Americana.

  More soon.

Picking A Pocket...And A Quilt

Hopefully you've had a chance to visit the Schorsch estate auction currently hosted by Sotheby's.
Bidding has been going on for two days, in spite of the snowstorm. Last day's tomorrow.

One wonderful thing: if you're not in New York City, or can't fight your way in because of the storm, you can still bid -- or just watch -- the live auction. I have wasted all sorts of time dawdling about, just following general trends or checking on specific items. 

    Like this 1850s (or maybe later, to my mind) applique and embroidered quilt. 

At Lot #754, it sold for $3000. (Pre-auction estimate: $2000-3000)

Condition doesn't look that great...but it certainly is an unusual pattern. (Probably original design, I would guess.) And something I didn't notice, until getting info to show you -- two other quilts were included in the lot. No clue what those looked like.

PIECED APPLIQUÉ AND TRAPUNTO COTTON QUILT, AMERICAN, CIRCA 1850

Together with two pieced and appliqued cotton quilts, American, 19th century. 3 pieces.
80 in. by 80 in.

But Lot #755, this late 1600s "Fine And Rare" Needlework Housewife's Pocket, went for the same price: $3000.

It was valued pre-auction at $800-1200.

FINE AND RARE NEEDLEWORK SILK HANGING POCKET, ENGLAND, LATE 17TH CENTURY

Length 13 1/4 in.

(Greatly enlarged, so you can see the details.)


Which only proves what I've noticed during the auction's past two days: it's not the size that matters. It's how unusual the piece is...its connection to famous people, makers or events...and its age: the earlier, the better. 

Sampling (Sampler-ing) the Auction

Thought you might enjoy seeing one of the results of today's auction of the Schorsch estate. 






Pre-auction estimate: $10,000-15,000.   Sold for $22,000.
    (My guess: could have gone for more, had it sold at the beginning of the day, instead of the end.) 

FINE AND RARE NEEDLEWORK SAMPLER, MARY HAMMONDS, MARY BALCH'S SCHOOL, PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND, 1796

Worked in a variety of silk stitches on a linen ground in the charecteristic style of Mary Balch's school, signed Mary Hammon's work, Providence, April.
14 in. by 11 5/8 in.

Incredible.


More tomorrow -- and if you've got time, you can even watch it live.
     Just click here.

An Auction To Watch - Jan. 20-22 Schorsch Estate

Got any spare hours in the next few days? A very important auction starts today, going through the 22nd. The Schorsch family is selling more than a thousand items from the estate of Irvin and Anita Schorsch, many of them incredibly rare, and many from America's colonial days.




Go here for particulars.  It's hosted by Sotheby's...surprise, surprise. 


Only a few quilts, if that, which surprised me -- Mrs. Schorsch was, after all, the well-respected author of Plain and Fancy.   (Maybe the family kept them.)




She was known for other books as well, including Images of Childhood and American Clocks. (Not many items in either of those categories in the auction, either.) A few paintings, but not...

   Granted, this isn't the first auction of items from the Schorsch estate -- nor will it be the last. They were knowledgeable, well-prepared, well-funded, enthusiastic... packrats. (I recognize this, being a packrat myself.)

Jane Hunter Ewing, the gracious lady shown here, went for $50,000.

The auction is chockful of interesting textiles, including:

'dummy panels'   (free-standing needlework pieces, shaped like people, to arrange by the fireplace, minimizing heat loss)

casket needlework panels    (the Schorsches seem to have had a special 'thing' for the Charles II period -- third quarter of the 17th century. Many of their pieces date from this period.)

beadwork basket (dated 1659!)

Kazak rugs

leather and linen fire buckets and bags   (LOTS of these)

needlework pictures, samplers

c.1730 embroidered child's cap and shoes

embroidered mourning pictures (their collection was noted for mourning items.  No doubt many included hair from the dearly departed)

stumpwork

needlework books  (as in cloth books to hold your needles and pins - they were valuable, too)


Plus Colonial currency, furniture, you name it.  Price estimates are fabulous, because that's what the majority of these pieces are -- one of a kind (or incredibly rare), in excellent condition, and now with the Schorsch provenance, as well.

"It is one of the greatest Americana auctions ever assembled," experts are saying. (Go here for an interesting look at how the Schorsches collected All This -- including what All This entails.)

Bidding can be done in person or absentee, as well as via the Internet. You can watch the auction progress online, as well. Yes, there's a buyer's premium, but Sotheby's is saying that all lots will be sold without reserve.

Appraisers will be thrilled to death about this auction, because it should give a better, more accurate 'record of sales' in the current market. Therefore, 'comps' (or comparisons) will be especially important -- at least to us out there who must pay attention to this sort of thing. That's part of my job. I am a personal property appraiser...I cover many things, but specialize in textiles.

I've been watching it 'live,' which is even more fun. You can, too.


  Doesn't the range of these items make you wonder, though, what the family decided to keep?

 Go here to register.


Try not to drool.

Pantry Challenge Report: Week One

Are you doing the Pantry Challenge with me?

This is a month-long plan to keep your food purchases to a bare minimum by using up what you've got: in the cupboard, fridge or freezer. (I'll be spending $5-10 weekly for milk and clearance goodies, too.)

Granted, I tend to be a bit of a chipmunk in this department. We just spent a mini-vacation at a hotel: I snagged a handful of apples, a few tea bags and a few packets of apple cider mix during our time there. (Yes, I took the soap, too.)

So far, it's been going quite well. 

Breakfasts:  Pancakes and turkey bacon
                   Oatmeal (with nuts and apples)
                   Cereal and milk
                   Eggs, Hashbrowns
                   Eggs, biscuits (with a jar of peach jam that was unexpectedly delicious -- 
                                       and made me think about making tarts)

Lunches:  Other than Sunday dinner, we don't tend to eat these -- I've noticed, now that the Brick is retired, that we seem to do better on two meals a day. But if one of us gets hungry, there's always cookies in the jar, red licorice, a peanut butter sandwich (I'll make more bread when needed), or leftovers.

Suppers:   Chicken vegetable soup with crackers (we've had the flu)
                 Some kind of soup (made with chopped this and that, plus sour cream)
                 Chili (with venison) - and blue tortilla chips
                 Colcannon  (made with turkey bacon)
                 Shrimp with Green Beans (from the freezer)
                 'Buffet' of leftover bits and pieces

root vegetables are good keepers, even in warmer places

Drinks:  tea and coffee -- we like it STRONG, diluted a bit with milk
                  (The Brick had a beer, too)

Desserts:  Coconut flan (from a box at least a few years old -- but it was good)
                Cookies & small candy bars (from the Christmas stockings)
                Clementine oranges (must eat them up - they're starting to bottom out)
                Apples (from the hotel, plus a crisper-ful still holding out from the fall jaunt to Michigan)
                Applesauce

Popcorn, yogurt, a glass of milk now and then, and crackers, too. The best thing for nausea in the world.

I have lots of apples -- maybe apple crisp? And fried chicken or rabbit looks like it's on the future menu.

Six dozen eggs went to various customers in the past few days, so we're a little low on eggs. The chickens will make that up quickly. We're almost out of milk, so a trip to the grocery store is next. 

Results of the shopping trip:    2 gallons whole milk        $1.99 ea
                                                4 cans tuna in water             .50 ea    (saved 79 cents each)
                                                                              -----------------
                                                                  TOTAL        $6.22