The Last Minute Baker

Blue eggs from the farmers' market. Take that, Martha!

Yup; I waited until the last minute again to execute The Daring Bakers' challenge. Which could only mean more spastic kitchen adventures for me. Good times, indeed.

The June Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Jasmine of Confessions of a Cardamom Addict and Annemarie of Ambrosia and Nectar. They chose a Traditional (UK) Bakewell Tart… er… pudding that was inspired by a rich baking history dating back to the 1800’s in England.

The recipe calls for ingredients in weight measurements. I hemmed and hawed and reluctantly bought an inexpensive kitchen scale (made more inexpensive by my 20% off coupon) from Bed, Bath & Beyond yesterday. I set all of my ingredients out on the counter this morning, and popped the scale out of the box.

The scale was broken.

If you’ve been reading my blog for a while you’d say what I did: “Well that just figures.” (I may have said something else, too, but no need to share that particular gem.)

The later part of the morning was spent trying to figure out exactly how much flour 225 grams is. I was flashing back to high school math. Not good. “If 30 grams = ¼ cup, then 225 grams = 1 ¾ cups + a schtickle.”

And that’s what I wrote on the recipe.

We were instructed to add a layer of jam, preferably homemade, under the frangipane. So this morning I also made peach jam. Don’t get too excited…by “made peach jam” I mean chopped and heated two ripe peaches and some sugar (a schtickle?) until it looked like this:

I layered crust and the jam in the pan and got all fancy with the leftover crust I trimmed off.

My crust set up nicely, but felt a little tough…I’m not sure my fuzzy math helped. It was still dotted with butter (important for flakey goodness) so I’m hopeful.

OK…we’re out of the oven. Not so bad:

And, better dusted with powdered sugar:

I’m bringing it to a big housewarming party in about five minutes tonight and if it’s not a hit I’ll totally deny I brought it.

Check out a couple of my favorite bloggers Mille Fiori Favoriti and Parsley, Sage, Desserts and Line Drives for their incredible projects. Both have the recipe posted.

Update: Yum! Not a slice left. I would have actually added a bit more fruit, but the frangipane set up perfectly -- definitely more tart than pudding. Someone at the party even asked what bakery it came from. Fabulous!

The tents are back in town.

Anyone who's familiar with (the many oddities of) Ocean Grove, NJ, knows there is a thriving community of tent dwellers. One hundred and fourteen tents, to be exact. I wrote about them last August (click here for that post).

At the start of the spring they begin popping up around town. A tent is considered ready when its residents put their front doors on. These two were the first ones I saw that were "done" this year, doors firmly on hinges. The one with the blue doors was the official "first tent up" in 2008:

But when I got in a little closer to read the note taped on the front door, looks like they were beat to the punch this year:

Oh, snap! Tent smack talkin'.

Towards the end of May, most of the tents were up but the residents (and doors) not yet in place. I wandered into a few of them and spotted some "grandma graffiti" in this one...

By flag day, this whole row was dressed and ready to go:

It's pretty much been raining ever since, so the seasonal residents don't seem to be in too much a rush to move into their canvas summer homes this year.

The tents are always a topic of conversation, and tend to mystify first-time visitors. When the cable guy came last week, he asked what they were. The conversation went something like this:

Cable Guy: Um, what are those?

M: Tents.

CB: What are they for?

M: People live in them in the summer.

CB: ::: Blink. Blink. Blink, blink, blink. :::

People also inevitably ask me if I've been in one of the tents. Is the sky blue? (Actually, it's not. EVER. So maybe that's a bad analogy right now on the East Coast.) They're quite fabulous inside. Here's one I went in last year:

And you can take a look inside, too. The Ocean Grove Historical Society's annual house tour is on Friday, July 17. You'll tour two tents as part of the deal. And you may even leave wishing you were a tent person (don't get your hopes up -- the leases extend year over year with little turnover. Word has it the waiting list is 10 to 12 years.).

I guess you could say that I'm hooked on tents. Head over to Hooked on Houses to see what everyone else is hooked on.

April, May and June Showers...

...bring lots and lots of flowers. It has rained a lot...a WHOLE lot..these past few months. In fact, on Sunday we tried to remember when we last saw the sun. Last week of May, maybe? It's a blur.

While my mental state may be suffering as a result, the garden I planted only one year ago hasn't suffered a bit. It's grown leaps and bounds:

I planted this mum last year. It was a gift from a friend and I planted it at the end of the fall, but wasn't sure I'd see it come back. This one not only came back, it's up to my waist and it's only June. I figure by the time it blooms in the fall it may be the size of, I don't know, the house maybe?

The only things not growing well are the sunflowers. Go figure.

Speaking of flowers, to try and chase away the rainy day blues I went to Shop-Rite and bought these three for $10 flowers...



...and made myself a little bouquet of sunshine. 'Cause apparently it's the only sun I'll see for at least the next several days, so says Accuweather.

Now that I know Shop-Rite has such cheap flowers, I think I'll be sneaking spider mums and daisies into my cart with the toilet paper and windex more often. I actually had fun trimming and arranging. (Maybe "fun" = "stir crazy"?)

I also made some of the most delicious scones I've ever tasted. A friend recommended a recipe from Cook's Illustrated when I told her I had a pint of blackberries and nothing but time..since I'm clearly not going to the beach any time soon. Which maybe is a good thing because I ate two of these yesterday, so I'm further away from stuffing myself into a swimsuit than ever.

I hope there was a little sunshine in your weekend. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'm almost looking forward to going to work today...

On the road...to the Antiques Roadshow

I've mentioned ad nauseum that I scored tickets to the Antiques Roadshow in Atlantic City. And now I'm (finally!) back to tell you how the day went.

Once the (free!) tickets arrived in the mail, the pressure was on. Did I even HAVE anything worthy of the appraisers' keen eyeballs? I certainly didn't want to embarrass myself. Considering I buy most of my "treasures" from yard sales and the like, I wasn't expecting a windfall. Though I'd be lying if I didn't say that the retired teacher with the Secaucus, NJ, $25 yard sale table that made the Keno brothers almost vomit with excitement wasn't in the back of my mind. (If you're not a Roadshow Stalker like me, her "moldy" -- her words -- table was appraised by Keno Squared for $200,000 to $300,000.)



I mentioned I would likely bring my Napoleon picture from The Napoleon Room (click here for that post)...

...and I did.

Mom carefully loaded up her grandmother's china into her roller bag.


And it was time to take our show (and our stuff) on the road(show)!

I guess I shouldn't have been surprised when we arrived to a line that looked like this:

But I was, a little. Note how it snakes back and forth, back and forth....the whole circumference of the convention center. For ONCE I wore sensible shoes. Phew!

The good news is, those Roadshow folks are incredibly organized. You have a time on your ticket (ours was 3:00 p.m.) and were strongly discouraged from arriving more than 30 minutes prior to your assigned time. The room was divided into hourly sections so you didn't get to jump the line if you got there hours in advance.

The wait on line was only a bit over an hour, and I have to say it was just about the most entertaining hour of my life. The crap stuff people brought! You also had to carry in whatever your brought, so there were a lot of huge pieces on some interestingly jury-rigged devices (little red wagons linked together with boat rope, for example).

There were lots and lots of rocking chairs, like this one:

And this doll would have creeped me out as-is; the fact that she was seat belted into a doll's stroller...well, I'm just grateful there weren't nightmares starring Dolly.

I really liked this horse, and the woman to whom it belonged:

She had great stories of antiquing expeditions in New Hope, PA. I was sorry I lost track of her inside...I was curious to see how much the horse was worth. She bought it for $200, which at the time was a "whole lot of money" for her. She'd since been told never to sell it for less than $5,000 and she wasn't sure whether that was a load of horse poop or not.

Could this be the next $300,000 table?

And look...Napoleon found a mate:

The owner wasn't sure of the origin or context (in French, mais oui) of the letter, and I couldn't seem to make out a signature. It seemed to be some sort of formal accolade "to" Napoleon, but I'm not sure it was actually to the little big man himself. But she was hopeful like the rest of us.

Each person was allowed to bring two things, so I also brought my grandma's wedding jewelry. It had never been appraised and I was curious more than anything. Isn't it pretty? It's not very old, only from the early 1940s, but very sparkly.

I also took along my great-grandmother's bracelet. I figured this to be Art Deco, and always thought it was pretty and unique. I just wanted to know a bit about the history. "But Laura, that's three items." Shh! Don't tell. I'd "group" it. Or something.

Once you got to the head of the line, you were briefly assessed and given tickets for the categories that most matched your items. Separate and much shorter lines formed inside on the TV set, and we decided to head to "Jewelry" first.

Virginia Salem got out her loupe and other fancy tools of the trade. She told me the main diamond was about .7 carats, and "good" (note lack of enthusiasm. At least I did.). That's when Ginny "Knock-the-wind-from-your-sails" Salem let me have it. "...probably $800 at auction." WHAT? For diamonds mounted in platinum? Was she kidding? She was, right? (Note to the ladies out there: Getting engaged? Buy your rings at auction! Save a LOT of money.). She told me due to the current value of platinum, I could pop the diamond out and get around $200-$250 for the mount alone. The wedding band is simply an "accent ring" and that would be about $125, again mostly for the platinum. She also said the insurance value for the set is significantly higher, about $1800. At least I think that's what she said. "Big difference, right?" Whatever.

Not that I'm ever planning on selling the rings, but I guess -- given what I know sort-of run-of-the-mill rings to cost -- I thought it would be quite a bit more. Did I mention it sparkles?!

She told me the bracelet was something that was produced in New York City in the 1920s, which makes total sense (my great-grandmother was living in Brooklyn in the 20s). They were quite common at the time, and designed to look like platinum but made with white gold to create the look for less. She pegged that at around $350, which didn't seem so bad to me. Again, they're not for sale but now I know. TO SHOP AT AUCTIONS!

Anyway...next stop: "The Pottery and Porcelain" line with mom.

The Limoges fruit set was a wedding gift her grandmother received (my great-grandma, whose bracelet I brought), and perhaps never even used. It is in pristine condition and missing no pieces.

Appraiser Christopher Lane immediately dated them to the 1890s, but despite that we could tell from his tone that things were about to head south. He spoke of how transferware was a popular technique at the time and "unfortunately, that's what we see a lot of here." Ouch. Basically, the images are applied -- transferred -- to the pieces, then passed through another factory (which is why you often see china that is double, triple, etc. stamped on the back) where someone applies some quick and basic hand painted brush strokes to it. Just enough to warrant the "hand painted" seal on the back of the pieces. At auction: 60 bucks. WHAT? OK, I've been to auctions and have seen crappier slightly inferior looking sets go for more.

Almost reluctantly, mom pulled out a little bowl (which I forgot to take pictures of). It's got some chipping, and is quite small (about 4 inches diameter) but she's always been fascinated by the images on it -- one side has what is clearly an old airplane, the other an auto. Her uncle was a huge collector and had held on to this piece. My mom told Christopher she was more curious than anything about what the pictures represented. "Now THIS is an interesting piece!" He went on (and on) about how it was a Dutch piece (uncle was Dutch, and his friend Reinhardt used to bring back bits and bobs for him from Holland), and the mark that was fading off read "Bleriot." Louis Bleriot was an aviator who invented the monoplane, and was the first to fly across a large body of water (the English Channel). The bowl was some kind of commemorative piece, and Christopher wasn't sure what the automobile represented and suggested I look it up (I Googled, to no avail). He said even in its condition, it would fetch $80 to $120 at auction, and higher if it were the right audience. Considering my mom was going to sell it at a yard sale for 50 cents, I'd say that's good.

We weren't allowed to take photos inside since the TV cameras were rolling, but I did manage to sneak a shot or two. I call this one "Stalking the Keno Bros."

There was a lot going on there on the main floor. I did get to see a man find out his very bizarre and intricate life-size wood carving with serpent heads (I couldn't possibly describe this object well. You'll have to watch the show in 2010 to see for yourself) was worth $30,000 to $50,000. That was actually pretty fun to watch, and the appraiser was even more excited than the owner (he posed for his own personal photos with it). And we were told someone had brought a painting earlier that was worth $300,000. You would have had to scrape me off the floor.

Next it was finally time for Napoleon, who at this point in the day had his photo taken by several people. He was a bit of a star, and I think he'd be happy to know the ladies really seemed to dig him.

Appraiser Nicholas Dawes seemed to dig him, too. He said he'd never seen a Napoleon engraving exactly like this one. (I asked, "Do you mean that in a good way?" He smiled and said, "it's a nice piece.") He said the small images that surround Napoleon are called reliefs, and while not uncommon there were more than is typical on mine. He dated it to the 40s ("Oh," I said. "The 1840s," he quickly added. "OH!" That's better.). Since it's framed he wasn't able to see any marks to indicate where it came from. He put the price at about $400 which I think is quite good for an engraving. And much more than I paid for it.

But a day at the Antiques Roadshow with mom: Priceless.

A world of technical difficulties...

"If it's not one thing it's another thing."

-- Roseanne Roseannadanna

Since my last post, the old computer caught a virus that's making that crazy flu going around look tame. Thankfully, no one except Mr. Gateway is suffering and since he's an inanimate object, well...life will go on.

But my blogging will not go on until we nip the cootie in the bud. I'm checking in from a "guest computer"...I teased my Antiques Roadshow visit in my last post and hate to leave you hanging! (Though, truth told, in retelling the story today I realized maybe it's only interesting to me?)

In better news, a thrifty jaunt earlier today turned up the 12" globe in the photo above. And just look at the price! Sometimes I surprise even myself.


What about the rest of you? Any (happy) surprises this weekend?

Update: Since I'm back online, I think I'll take a look at the other Thrifty Treasures today over at Bloggeritaville. I mean, after all my 50 cent globe is the thriftiest thing that crossed the shore house steps in recent weeks!

Using of the flea finds.

In my last post, I mentioned a pair of lamps ($5 each) my friend Jim bought at the Ocean Grove Flea Market that I was remiss in photographing. Well here they are, already at home on his buffet:

Fun, right? He originally intended on using them for a design project but they look quite content right where they are.

Ditto for the fantastic Village of Berwinsdale sign he also got at the flea.

Don't you just love seeing what people do with their thrifty finds? I personally can't wait to see what I do with mine (as in, I need to *do* something with mine!).

On a completely unrelated note, I walked past the newly created pedestrian zone in Times Square on my way home from work last night.


It was rather odd to see a bunch of people plopped down on lawn chairs (provided by the city and already mangled and broken, by the way) in the middle of Broadway. Looking at, well, nothing really.

I'll be back tomorrow with my wrap-up of the Antiques Roadshow. That's right -- I went on Saturday and it was a fabulous dream come true. (I've never been known to dream really big.)

Hooked on the OG Flea

Saturday was a big, fun day filled with yard sales throughout town and the giant flea market. And I'm hooked on the Ocean Grove Flea Market! (Hop over to Hooked on Houses to see what everyone else is hooked on.)

We started out pretty early, fueled by Dunkin' Donuts coffee and pocketfuls of dollar bills. (Wait a minute...we sound like go-go dancers... .) My friend Jim "I'm-not-buying-anything-I-just-sold-my-house-and-everything's-in-storage-don't-need-anything" made it about 500 yards from my front door before making his first purchase of the day. When your name is Jim, and you love kitsch, and there's 11 of these sitting at a yard sale for 10 cents each...

...it's hard to walk away. The conversation with the owner went something like, "Jim -- can I call you Jim? -- I need to buy these from you like I need a hole in the head." And, into the box they went.

Across the street from the Jims, Karen found this great little silverplate bowl in perfect condition for $2.

Then we passed this note, one of many found on furniture pieces on someone's curb:

As my neighbor said, "Only in Ocean Grove." And if I was in the market for a set of four ladder back chairs, I would have totally tucked $40 into the window of the Mazda.

After yard saling we worked our way to the flea, and the nice weather made it hard to concentrate...on anything other than the interesting clothing people choose to wear in public when it's hot out. Wowza. But we were able to focus long enough to spy this fabulous outdoor dining set, solid as a rock and marked $145 for the set:

It was already sold or it would have been a shore house contender for sure. At the same booth (a good one!) my friend Karen picked up this vintage swine sign for her kitchen for $25:

Mister "I'm not buying..." Jim picked up a pair of very cool lamps for only $5 each. I forgot to take pictures, but they are sort of mini milk cans with great typography on them (one with a "1" and the other with a "3") and since we're hooked on fonts, that was good enough.

He also scored this amazing tin sign for $60 (marked $85. I really need to learn how to bargain...). It's big (maybe four feet long?) and beautiful. And we had to Google to see where the village was (central Pennsylvania, fyi).

He also picked up this bribe pin for the realtor helping him find a new condo. For 50 cents, I think it was money well spent.

I picked up three cookie cutters for 50 cents each that will be crafted into Christmas ornaments:

I was convinced not to buy this desk and chair for the guest bedroom (everyone thinks we should stick with a pew or some sort of similar bench for the The Napoleon Room). It was marked $195 for the set but "very negotiable" (that's code for "please buy this so I don't have to schlep it home!").

And I was tempted by this fabulous red bike, but with three vintage bicycles in the basement (five bikes total), I think it's best just lusting from afar. (And how did I miss the Jesus paint-by-numbers in the background until I saw this photo? Whoa.)

And I didn't have a place for this beautiful piece ($300) but I sure did love it...

Then there were the, um, unique items. Like Eleanor in oil ($250)...

...and this meticulously crafted needlepoint (had it been less than $15 I think Jim and I may have arm wrestled for it) with its meticulously crafted message:

I went home a little sad that I only managed to grab three cookie cutters. I mean, come on! I'm better than that. So...I went back in later in the day.

I found this pair of glass candlesticks for $4. I've been looking for something unique to use with two clear glass hurricanes. Black glass...so cool! Until the woman I bought them from said, as I was paying her, "Isn't the purple glass stunning?" Purple? Oops. But they are very dark...even out in the sun:

Then a set of six Wm. Rogers fancy forks ($10). I guess good things come in sixes; I bought a set of six knives earlier this year and a set of six spoons just a few weeks back at the Avon townwide yard sale. "Shore house, party of six!"

Look at the detail on the back:

We've also been looking for an inexpensive quilt rack. Two of our bedrooms have no closets so a compact clothing/towel/whatever rack is something we've been on the hunt for. How I missed this in the morning ($15) I have no idea! Just glad it was still there waiting for me in the afternoon.

It cleaned up great, and of course I think it's also the perfect display piece for my Labor of Love:

And last but not least, I picked up postcards from a lovely woman in town who's cleaning out her Bed & Breakfast. I bought some odds and ends from her last week (and come to think of it...what did I do with the pictures of that stuff?! Hmmm...), so she let me have these cards for 50 cents each. Most are super old, and that scallop-edged one is fabric and hand painted. I'll tuck these into gifts. So much nicer (and eco-friendly!) than your typical Hallmark (with apologies to Hallmark).

She also had a VERY old dress form that she said I could have for $20. I passed, mostly thinking that the purchase would put the man of the shore house over the top. "But...you don't SEW." I'm still having non-buyers' remorse over that one.

But there will always be more sales around the corner.