we have covered how nice luminarc glass ware is...sort of bistro durable yet still nice glass.....and many of us use the picardie tumblers for everything.
i was in target yesterday and they have wine/spirt glasses in boxed volumes...with a few name brands.....
what caught my eye and wallet.......
was luminarc wine glasses.......12/box.........$11.99.......
man that's a deal. and since they are in divided cardboard boxes...they are ready for travel...the box is pretty good.
pix below......
so i picked up a 12 box or 10.5oz multipurpose goblets...
and a 12 box or champagne flutes........
each is 11.99 a box.......
checked their web site and this isn't listed but the stores sure have 'em.
this is luminarc made in usa, not the usual french ones.....but they are very nice.....i'm testing them now..
We love our nesting pots and pans set, which stores in the oven in a cast iron skillet sitting on an "airbake" cookie sheet, which helps prevent burning the bottom of food from the heat of the gas oven burner. We keep a pizza stone on the very bottom of the oven, which also helps moderate the heat. We also have a silicone muffin tin that's flexible and fits in a lot of places.
We also have a knife safe mounted inside one of the cabinet doors, and 3 small cutlery trays in the top drawer. One holds the three handles of the nesting set (new sets only have two).
For more counterspace, we usually keep the Corian cover on the right sink, over a stainless dish drainer sitting on a sink mat. This allows us to save water by rinsing everything at once.
In the "appliance garage" under the microwave, we have a mini-crock pot, 2-slice bagel toaster, and hand mixer. Next to it is a 4-cup Mr. Coffee.
Heavy stuff (flour, sugar, canned goods, cat food, etc) is stored low. Light stuff (chips, pasta, breads, cereal) is stored high. It fits a lot better, especially in the overheads, if you take it out of the rectangular box and throw that away.
Glasses travel in clean socks. Every other bottle in the liquor cabinet comes out, a strip of bubble wrap stood up along the remaining bottles, then the bottles taken out are replaced.
We've also bought a Lexan hand-crank coffee grinder and JavaPress for the boat, but for the Airstream, I think we'll take along the little KitchenAid electric grinder.
The In-Laws gave us their fondue pot from their wedding in the 50's. It's aluminum and reeeeetro. The kids love it, small and lightweight. Perfect for happy hour, snack time or whatever, requires no electricity - packing it up for the next trip out.
__________________
WBCCI 24291
New England Unit
Metropolitan NY Unit
I value my vacation time, so doing dishes (paper/plastic for me) and grocery shopping just cuts into camping time. All meals are planned so that nothing is missd on the load up. If we plan on having bacon, it's precooked at home and frozen in zip lock bags. Pasta sauce, chili, taco meat; all prepared as much ahead of time as possible to cut down on cook and clean time. Not that cooking isn't part of the experience - that's what the bbq is for. I just like to cut down the prep, cleanup and trash generation to the minimum.
__________________
WBCCI 24291
New England Unit
Metropolitan NY Unit
Just bought a two slice Dualit toaster for the Airstream. We have both a three slice and four slice at home. The three slice has a sandwich cage. Very well built. The toast doesn't pop up instead it stays down and warm and when done you have to lift it with the lever in front. Kinda has that Airstream look.
I personally prefer to not always eat off paper/plastic plates nor do I like to drink from non-glass ware. IMHO, there is nothing like opening a nice bottle of wine at your campsite and sipping from real wine glasses and dining from real stoneware/glass plates using real silverware.
The solution I found to traveling with glassware and real dishes is bubble wrap and lots of it! I also save the original boxes the dishes and wine glasses came in because they have the perfect packing to keep things from breaking. I've been camping this way since 2003 and haven't broken a glass or dish yet.
Recently I picked up a veggie scrub and its really handy in the trailer for cleaning produce and not taking up a lot of space. It works like a mini colander too which is useful for the small tomatoes and things.
__________________ Steph in MI Air# 6996- I Hockeytown USA!!
A really organized camping friend had one of these picnic caddies and I noticed she made fewer trips in and out of her trailer... Its really nice for this camping mom! I have seen lovely bamboo and wood versions, this works great though if you have to wash it down.
__________________ Steph in MI Air# 6996- I Hockeytown USA!!
it's the a/s of can openers, or is the a/s the 'swing-a-way' of trailers!
ok kitchen freaks and gadget addicts...
it time to make a BIG decision.
my 30+ year old can opener is about 2 be retired....
actually it still works, but has gotten tough to crank and the gears are no longer smooth.
yes, it's been clean, the bearings repacked and the runny gear is balanced...
and it's been badly abused since college, back when cans were tough!
but it no longer turns or cuts nicely.
i'm hard pressed to consider ANY replacements other than another of the "originals"...
after all this is the only can opener to go into skylab!
how cool is that...
and they are still made in saint louie, which used to be in the usa...
so before i spring for the next swing-a-way 407 (which may be last can opener i purchase)...
are there any other favorites?
-gotta be manual
-gotta be durable
-gotta come in black or white only...
cheers
2air'
and here is an excerpt from a 10 year old nytimes piece on these classics...
the only stat missing is "over 66% of the 100 million sold are still on the road"
"the other is the Swing-a-Way, which was invented in 1938 and was one of the first openers to use a wheel as the cutting device instead of a punch. The original Swing-a-Way was mounted on a wall and pulled forward for use and swung back for storage. It is still made and costs $7.95. But like all wall-mounted openers, it is not as popular in today's smaller kitchens. THE newer all-steel hand-held Swing-a-Way, $5.95, has a strong turn key and two cutting wheels. ''The NASA people came to us and said they had tried for two years to make a can opener, but they couldn't better ours,'' said Al Packer, the president of the Swing-a-Way Manufacturing Company in St. Louis. The Swing-a-Way accompanied astronauts on the Skylab missions in the 1970's and it is still a best seller in this country and sells briskly abroad. Mr. Packer did not have sales figures for outer space.
Among the materials that soldiers in Iraq took to war was Swing-A-Way's 407 can opener. The company provided about 7,000 in March--adding to those the military has purchased over the years-- to open food field trays. The military has used the Swing-A-Way 407 for many years, said company president Al Packer, with the model currently slightly modified by military contractor GSA of Rapid City, S.D., for its current mission."
__________________ all of the true things that i am about to tell you are shameless lies. l.b.johnson
we are here on earth to fart around. don't let anybody tell you any different. k.v.
Last edited by 2airishuman; 01-25-2008 at 04:30 PM.
Reason: it's the a/s of can openers, or is the a/s the 'swing-a-way' of trailers!
A really organized camping friend had one of these picnic caddies and I noticed she made fewer trips in and out of her trailer... Its really nice for this camping mom! I have seen lovely bamboo and wood versions, this works great though if you have to wash it down.
These are great. I got mine at my favorite basket company: Peterboro Basket in Peterborough, NH. Lots of folks in my Unit have purchased them too. It makes for a pretty and easy setup for rally dinners / potlucks.
__________________ Michelle & Leon
WBCCI # 7032 New England Unit
White Mountains NH Unit
Vintage Airstream Club Tin Can Tourists Vintage Club
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Veggie/fruit scrub handy for trailer 
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