Out with The Old/In with The New
Aunt Connie believed aluminum cookware a culprit to dementia and or Alzheimer disease. She was next in line to inherit the Guardian Service pots and didn’t want them. Consequently, they were brought to me. I was more concerned with displeasing my mother-in-law than forgetfulness, so I cooked with them, for many years.
As advertised these hammered aluminum pots are indestructible and still highly coveted. Guardian Service has their own website and the collectable pots are for sale on eBay.
So, even thinking about replacing the Dutch Oven felt like abandoning a childhood friend. Nevertheless, I went shopping. But similar ceramic pots were heavier than what I was replacing. The new pot, Made by Designs, is a ceramic non-stick stockpot purchased at Target. It is light weight, easy to clean, oven safe, and reasonably price at forty dollars. I bought the damn pot but came home feeling guilty and happy.
Online, I discovered there are several songs with the title Out with the old in with the new. All were maudlin and depressing. I was still conflicted. Perhaps this was about change.
Change is difficult because change triggers fear and the natural instinct to fight or flee. The information and research done on the topic is extensive but to sum it up; in the aging brain, the parts that light up during a deemed deviation/change are not unlike encountering something life threatening. So, replacing an old pot can signal the alarm of a house invasion.
After mulling it over for a few days I came up with a compromise. The new pot will get the easy to reach spot in the kitchen cabinet, but I won’t throw out or give away the old valuable Guardian Dutch Oven, yet.
I’ll put it on a garage shelf and see how much I miss it.
. . . Just saying
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So it took a while to catch up with this but here I am. these are my sentiments exactly. I have a tube cake baking pan from my Grandmother, a Dutch oven an old friend and a chile pot all aluminum. Cannot part feel guilty somehow. Crazy is as crazy is….
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Or sweet . . . just saying, Claudia
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Claudia, Your Aunt Connie is probably turning over in her grave right now since you posted her pot is going to be on a shelf in the cold garage.. She allowed that special pot to bypass her so you over the years could inherit the ALZH disease.. As a close friend., I look forward to finding you walking around the neighborhood holding onto that pot, lost and looking for your husband if you remember him.. my suggestion is to Pass that pot on to the next generation and do it quickly.. PS: Have one more dinner from the pot.. Invite the neighborhood for a bite to eat..
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Marshall, You raise a good point. Your Bolognese sauce was made it that pot.
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I have some cookware that was given to us. Sure is hard to part with it.Just knowing who used them and all the good meals that were cooked in them will never be forgotten. Thanks for bringing back those great memories.
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Mary, Thank you for saying that, I hadn’t thought about its past, sweet. Claudia
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