Occasionally I reflect on things in a weird way. Most times when we purchase something, it's out of necessity and fills a specific need. The item in question fills its purpose quietly until such a time as it's no longer useful due to obsolescence, wear and tear or a change of interest. Certain things grow dear to us for various reasons. Perhaps the purchase was surrounded by a happy event, or maybe the item has proved to be so useful we can't imagine living without it.
One particular item which has ingratiated itself into our life is a lowly 24qt stainless steel stock pot. On the surface, it's just a pot. But it goes much deeper than that. You see, the pot was purchased on a trip comemorating our 1st wedding anniversary. We'd gone back to the island where we'd been married, and wanted to replicate the low country boil we'd had for our rehearsal dinner. Lacking a sufficient sized vessel, we visited the only hardware store on the island and reluctantly purchased a 30qt Southern pride aluminum pot with steamer basket (similar to the Imusa tamale pot) for the princely sum of $60. Being not wealthy folks, buyer's remorse immediately set in, but we'd promised friends and family a LCB for dinner the next night, and there didn't appear to be an alternative. Next morning we visited the seafood market on the mainland. The friendly proprietor and I were discussing the intricacies of the LCB, when he asked what kind of pot i planned to use. I told him about the previous day's pricey pot purchase, admitting it was somewhat frivolous. He then clued me in on a secret. A half mile away was a wondrous place called BIG LOTS, where we would find just the pot we needed for cheap. We thanked him and headed over there to find a 24 quart stainless pot, with universal lid, for a much more affordable TEN BUCKS!! We immediately headed back to the island and returned the fancy-pants pot to the hardware store. The boil was met with rave reviews by all in attendance, despite the fact that the thin bottomed pot took over an hour to bring the liquid to a boil on the anemic stove in our rental condo. As my mother in law said, however, any excuse for an extended cocktail hour is not to be questioned.
In the years since, the pot has been used in every conceivable way. We've had many LCBs, in addition to gallons of soup, stew, stock and chili. It's also been used as a vessel for dying curtains, soaking beans, soaking stained items in bleach or oxy clean, and lastly, the ungracious activity of soaking a sore foot in epsom salts, resulting in it's name. My wife came home to find, to her horror, her hapless hubby happily sitting in front of the TV with his big nasty size 11 stomper submerged in her favorite cooking vessel. I'd stubbed a toe or something, and decided that the pot was the perfect repository for a soothing soak. She disagreed. The next time the pot's services were required on the stove, she immediately interceded. "You're not cooking food in that...that...that...FOOT POT!!!"
"But honey, I've washed it several times!!" I meekly replied.
"There isn't enough detergent on Earth..." was all she said, as she walked away.
I persevered, and made a very public show of washing the pot AGAIN with scalding water and bleach, and she finally relented.
The food was untainted.
The lid is another story. Serendipitously, it fits each and every pot and pan we own, from our largest skillet to our smallest saucepan, due to the concentric ridges stamped into it. It truly is universal, and is, on its own, worth the $10 price tag.
Today I was reminded again of the versatility of this wondrous vessel as I used it as toilet flusher. You see, we live in a rather old building, which requires periodic maintenance to the plumbing. When this maintenance is performed, usually 4 or 5 times a year, the water is shut off between the hours of 9 and 5. The manager always gives us plenty of notice, and over the years we've learned to deal with it in a number of ways. One such way is to fill the bathtub with water in the morning so we can flush throughout the day, as we both work out of our home. The foot pot is the only container that easily holds the required 2-3 gallons of water to dump down the bowl and accomplish the flush, avoiding the inconvenience of removing the top of the tank and filling it.
Yeah, it's just a pot. But every time I get it out to use it for some inglorious task, I'm reminded of the years it's been with us and all the happy memories over those years.
Anyone care to share their story of a utilitarian item that's become an indispensable part of your life?
One particular item which has ingratiated itself into our life is a lowly 24qt stainless steel stock pot. On the surface, it's just a pot. But it goes much deeper than that. You see, the pot was purchased on a trip comemorating our 1st wedding anniversary. We'd gone back to the island where we'd been married, and wanted to replicate the low country boil we'd had for our rehearsal dinner. Lacking a sufficient sized vessel, we visited the only hardware store on the island and reluctantly purchased a 30qt Southern pride aluminum pot with steamer basket (similar to the Imusa tamale pot) for the princely sum of $60. Being not wealthy folks, buyer's remorse immediately set in, but we'd promised friends and family a LCB for dinner the next night, and there didn't appear to be an alternative. Next morning we visited the seafood market on the mainland. The friendly proprietor and I were discussing the intricacies of the LCB, when he asked what kind of pot i planned to use. I told him about the previous day's pricey pot purchase, admitting it was somewhat frivolous. He then clued me in on a secret. A half mile away was a wondrous place called BIG LOTS, where we would find just the pot we needed for cheap. We thanked him and headed over there to find a 24 quart stainless pot, with universal lid, for a much more affordable TEN BUCKS!! We immediately headed back to the island and returned the fancy-pants pot to the hardware store. The boil was met with rave reviews by all in attendance, despite the fact that the thin bottomed pot took over an hour to bring the liquid to a boil on the anemic stove in our rental condo. As my mother in law said, however, any excuse for an extended cocktail hour is not to be questioned.
In the years since, the pot has been used in every conceivable way. We've had many LCBs, in addition to gallons of soup, stew, stock and chili. It's also been used as a vessel for dying curtains, soaking beans, soaking stained items in bleach or oxy clean, and lastly, the ungracious activity of soaking a sore foot in epsom salts, resulting in it's name. My wife came home to find, to her horror, her hapless hubby happily sitting in front of the TV with his big nasty size 11 stomper submerged in her favorite cooking vessel. I'd stubbed a toe or something, and decided that the pot was the perfect repository for a soothing soak. She disagreed. The next time the pot's services were required on the stove, she immediately interceded. "You're not cooking food in that...that...that...FOOT POT!!!"
"But honey, I've washed it several times!!" I meekly replied.
"There isn't enough detergent on Earth..." was all she said, as she walked away.
I persevered, and made a very public show of washing the pot AGAIN with scalding water and bleach, and she finally relented.
The food was untainted.
The lid is another story. Serendipitously, it fits each and every pot and pan we own, from our largest skillet to our smallest saucepan, due to the concentric ridges stamped into it. It truly is universal, and is, on its own, worth the $10 price tag.
Today I was reminded again of the versatility of this wondrous vessel as I used it as toilet flusher. You see, we live in a rather old building, which requires periodic maintenance to the plumbing. When this maintenance is performed, usually 4 or 5 times a year, the water is shut off between the hours of 9 and 5. The manager always gives us plenty of notice, and over the years we've learned to deal with it in a number of ways. One such way is to fill the bathtub with water in the morning so we can flush throughout the day, as we both work out of our home. The foot pot is the only container that easily holds the required 2-3 gallons of water to dump down the bowl and accomplish the flush, avoiding the inconvenience of removing the top of the tank and filling it.
Yeah, it's just a pot. But every time I get it out to use it for some inglorious task, I'm reminded of the years it's been with us and all the happy memories over those years.
Anyone care to share their story of a utilitarian item that's become an indispensable part of your life?
