I don't have many of my mom's possessions left. The only thing I really want are the photos from our trips together, and everything else is just... stuff. The majority of her things were donated, given away, or trashed (if they couldn't be donated or given away). I held onto a few things which had sentimental meaning to me, but it's not much else because I'm not a very sentimental person.
A few things I held onto simply because they were useable and it would be wasteful to toss them. Mostly stuff from the kitchen. Some pots, pans, bowls, utensils, and pot holders were saved. One of those potholders was a Bialosky Bear "100% Loyal and True" brand that my mom didn't use for decades, instead hanging it up in her kitchen. Then the last time she moved she wasn't interested in hanging it for some reason and started actualy using it. And since it was in great shape, I started using it too.
This past week I was moving a skillet off of a burner when it sloshed on the potholder, causing me to drop it on the hot-hot burner. The thing was scorched instantly...
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I don't know if it's because it finally dawned on me that this was yet another reminder that my mom was gone... or that all the pieces of her left on this earth are disappearing... or what... but it was pretty upsetting. So upsetting that I went hunting for a replacement on eBay, but couldn't find one since it was made in the early 1980's.
So stupid. Had I thought about the possibility of this happening before I started using it and how it might affect me, I could have saved it. Oh well. Not much I can do about it now.
It did mean my having to buy new potholders. This time I went for fancy silicone things that can withstand absurdly hot temperatures up to 600°F!
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No worries about staining them, I think. Just toss them in the dishwasher after you're done cooking. Nice. But not the same.
Since I had to order potholders, I went ahead and addressed another thing that's been driving me insane in my kitchen... the fact that the boxes that Reynolds uses for their foils and parchment are COMPLETE AND TOTAL SHIT and fall apart minutes after opening them...
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And it happens to their signature foil as well! Rage-inducing. In fact, it was so rage-inducing that the next time I went to the grocery store needing foil I ended up buying a different brand entirely in the hopes that they didn't have boxes which fell apart. And, while I was at it, I could buy the Safeway Signature Select brand and save some money too! It compares to Reynolds foil, because it says so right on the box...
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Except... no. It really doesn't.
This "foil" it super-thin, really hard to get ahold of in the box, and it doesn't crumple and conform like Reynolds foil... almost like it has plastic in it or something. It's fucking awful, and in absolutely no way "compares to Reynolds." But on the plus side, the box is built like a damn tank and doesn't look like it's going to fall apart any time soon. Which begs the question... why the fuck can't Reynolds built boxes that are worth a shit if they charge so much more money for their stuff? If a cheap-ass imitation can build a decent box, why can't they?
This lead me to try a more rugged dispenser/cutter that arrived on Friday so I could buy Reynolds stuff, take it out of their shitty boxes, and put it into something that will actually (assumably) stay together...
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It's kinda meh. I mean, it works, but it's got some problems. First of all, it relies on your wrap/foil/parchment being wound onto a big cardboard tube. You then stick pieces in the tube on both ends which sit in the dispenser. Except since parchment isn't on a tube and it wound down to a small coil, you can't fit the pieces into it. This makes it more difficult to control the cutting, which is a little frustrating while you're getting used to it. I can manage now, but it's still not ideal. What's really a problem is that it's not a square box which can be stacked. I stack up my wrap/foil/parchment up in my pantry, but this has to go in a drawer somewhere.
So I'm not sure what the solution is. I guess once I get my wood shop set up in my garage I can try building something that goes around the shitty Reynolds boxes to make them tougher?
Food for thought, anyways.
Food which can be cooked up to 600°F thanks to my spiffy new potholders.
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Have you looked into commercial wraps? I have some ‘Saran’ Wrap from Freeze-tite that is wonderful.
I have Saran-Wrap, but try to use as little of it as possible because it’s not recyclable like foil is. The roll I have will likely outlive me, because I think the only thing I use it for is covering bread when it rises? I dunno. The box in my cupboard belonged to my mom, and she’s been gone for a while. 🙂
ULine has aluminum foil.
It’s not that I can’t find aluminum foil I like… it’s that the foil I like comes in a crappy box! U-Line is owned by Trump mega-donors, so I try to avoid the company… but I do order my cardboard boxes from there because they have such a terrific, reasonably-priced selection.
Check out the Chicwrap boxes. They’re infinitely better than anything else I’ve found. Bought one for foil, one for cling wrap, and one for parchment, and I simply couldn’t be happier.
THEY’RE SQUARE!!! YOU CAN STACK THEM! Thanks so much!
Agree with you on the boxes, however if Safeway’s box is good – can’t you just put the Reynolds wrap in the Safeways box?
I have a huge box of Cling Film where the box is very sturdy but the plastic slider cutter came off the first time I use it – tons of clingfilm that will last for years but no practical way to use it!
That’s the plan! Though I have to make it through all this crappy fake-foil first!