Non-Consumer Photo Essay

by Katy on June 23, 2016 · 30 comments

It’s time for another Non-Consumer Photo Essay, because sometimes a photo is simply easier better than words.

I had the opportunity to interview Rachel Cruze this afternoon. I’ll be turning it into two separate articles, which you’ll soon see right here at The Non-Consumer Advocate.

Of course, it was a delight.

Rachel Cruze

I then drove across town to have lunch with my father to commemorate his 81st birthday.

81st birthday

My father had just baked his signature sourdough bread, and he made sure to give me a loaf to take home. Luckily my Prius comes with a built-in bread box. Handy.

Prius bread box

I went to my local Dansko shop, and cracked up when I saw how they were using one of those normally useless souvenir Dutch wooden clogs to hold the stockinettes. (Is that the word for these?) I usually point out these clogs as a classic example of a terrible and cluttersome souvenir, or as I call it “Dutch Tulip Fever.”

I stand corrected.

Wooden shoe

I bought this book at the Friends of The Library sale in Ashland, Oregon. It has wonderful illustrations, which I’ll share in a later post.

Health & Happiness

I bought this cast iron grill pan at Goodwill awhile back and have been absolutely loving it. It’s pretty much replaced our backyard barbecue at this point, as it’s simpler to use and doesn’t dry out the meat so much. Plus, it makes gnarly panini sandwiches when I weigh them down with a full tea kettle. I see these all the time in thrift shops. Go get one now.

Grill pan cast iron

Katy Wolk-Stanley

“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.”

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{ 30 comments… read them below or add one }

Elizabeth June 24, 2016 at 2:41 am

Oh, I want one of those grill cast iron pans now. Nice!

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K D June 24, 2016 at 3:25 am

I love your phote essay and can’t wait to read about your Rachel Cruze interview.

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Val :) June 24, 2016 at 3:59 am

I have jumped on the band wagon of cast iron cookware. Bought my first piece full price (gasp!) but now know better from you. Will be heading out hunting for my next piece via thrifting today. 😉

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jennifer June 24, 2016 at 5:06 am

I have bought new cast iron also but I like the used ones I find better because they are already seasoned.

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Gina in KY June 24, 2016 at 4:20 am

Ha! I just unloaded a bunch of those shoes to the GW. Years ago, I had seen where someone had them on a wall together or maybe they were planted with flowers of something (I can’t remember!!). I started picking them up at the thrifts and they languished in boxes forever after. I have to say curing my Dutch fever was one of the best parts of decluttering!! 🙂

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isabelle June 24, 2016 at 4:40 am

OMG I feel stupid now! I have one of those grill pan and never ever use it because I always found it odd (the shape of the bottom), never understood why it was made like this. Now I see : to do grill marks. Oh well, now I know! Not that I will use it…. Should probably just get rid of it.

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Bee June 24, 2016 at 4:54 am

I have been looking for a secondhand grill pan for the last year. They are wonderful!

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Mrs. Picky Pincher June 24, 2016 at 5:19 am

Ooooh that loaf of bread looks amazing! I’m trying out a new ciabatta recipe this weekend myself, so we’ll see how that goes!

I used to have a little grill like that, too, that I picked up at the thrift store. It was perfect for living in an apartment and cooking just for myself. I can’t wait to get into a house so we can properly grill up some delicious, healthy food. 🙂

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Lori June 24, 2016 at 6:22 am

I want a grill pan like that, and I want a loaf of bread like that too!!!! Actually I want the bread more than I do the pan. Actually I would pay more for the bread than the pan. I – WANT – THE – BREAD (sorry, I haven’t had bread in a while, sorry) 🙂

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Katy June 24, 2016 at 12:50 pm

Hmm . . . how do you really feel? 😉

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Barb @ 1SentenceDiary June 24, 2016 at 6:51 am

Hmmm… I have a big, cast iron griddle which fits over two burners on my stove (we use it mostly for pancakes and French toast) that I love. On the other side is a grill pan, with ridges just like yours. I never use it because it is such a pain to clean! For example, if I make burgers on it, the drippings go into all those ridges. I don’t feel like I can leave meat drippings on the pan for the next time, but it takes forever to clean. How do you do it?

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JD June 24, 2016 at 6:55 am

Barb, I have a grill pan like Katy’s. I took a tip from Alton Brown, and it helps — sprinkle a small handful of coarse salt in the grooves of the pan before cooking. The salt makes cleaning out the grooves much easier, and of course, the more you use it, the more seasoned it gets, the easier it is to clean…..
I also have a nylon bristle kitchen brush that I use for this pan with cold water for “stick-ons.” My pan is so seasoned now, clean up is quick though.

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A. Marie June 24, 2016 at 11:56 am

Thanks for the salt tip, JD. I have a small Lodge grill pan (thrifted, of course) that I now use for steaks and small cuts in preference to lighting the grill, but I admit that the cleanup has been a hassle–especially after DH gets through cooking his steak “Greek style” with feta and oregano!

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JD June 24, 2016 at 7:04 am

I want to read the interview, want to see the book’s pictures, and happy birthday to your dad! I miss my daddy so much at times; he and my mom died when I was 42 and they are greatly missed. How wonderful that you still can go enjoy your dad’s birthday AND come home with a loaf of super good looking bread to boot.
Re: the Dutch shoe. My sister has one amidst the tons of clutter in her garage. One of my goals in life is to get her clutter free, and that shoe, if she doesn’t find a use for it, must go!
Side note — I had, for sentimental reasons, the old metal match holder from the wall of my grandfather’s farm house. I didn’t know how to keep it from being clutter, though — who has strike anywhere matches in their house anymore? My husband hung it on the wall and slid pencils and pens and cut up leftover printer paper for notes, and now we always have a pen or pencil and paper handy. Maybe a Dutch shoe could do that?

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nancy from mass June 24, 2016 at 7:04 am

I use my cast iron pans (including my grill pans) about 10 times more than my outdoor grill! So much easier and the food cooks up better without drying out.

I use a little plastic scrubby thing to clean the grooves of mine. they are all seasoned so well, it doesn’t take long to clean them. (and i don’t have to make sure the gas tank is full before cooking supper).

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Marilyn June 24, 2016 at 11:33 am

I love that you went to the library book sale while you were in Ashland. I often go to the local library when I vacation in or visit a new town. And if there’s a book sale taking place when I visit, I wouldn’t want to miss it.

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Marcia June 24, 2016 at 11:37 am

I used my cast iron exclusively for many years but now it makes my iron in my blood TOO high. Not a good thing for heart disease, I understand, although I have forgotten exactly why. Waiting to find out if my grand-daughter ever gets into cooking. Not much so far.

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A. Marie June 24, 2016 at 12:00 pm

Happy late birthday to yo’daddy, Katy! When I saw your Tweet that all he wanted for his birthday dinner was toast with toppings, I was worried that he might be ailing. But now that I see that it’s his own homebaked sourdough bread toast, I’m reassured.

And I sometimes put whole cloves in the glove compartment as a car freshener–but I’ll bet fresh sourdough bread takes this concept to a whole new level!

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Ruby June 24, 2016 at 12:02 pm

Your dad looks like a hale and hearty fellow, especially for 81. And he makes a gorgeous loaf of bread!

The FFT at my house:
1. I had to attend a work event last night that included a meal. My husband was invited to attend, so the work meal stood in for our usual cheap date night.

2. Brought my lunch and tea from home all week. Last week’s $4.99 rotisserie chicken from the grocery store was stretched to a few extra servings when added to a bean side dish and frozen. (We made seven plates of food that included that little chicken.) The chicken-bean dish was still a little small for a meal, so I supplemented with cherry tomatoes from our container garden and homemade cole slaw.

3. Last night’s work event pointed out that my skimpy wardrobe has a serious deficiency of meet-and-greet clothing. So I took advantage of a 30 percent off promotion at Land’s End and bought four dresses on clearance — averaged $35 each after the discounts — that will cover everything from a very classy cocktail party to little black dress to slightly more casual. I’m quite short, so dresses that will fit me are a very rare item in thrift stores, so this was a “good spend.”

4. Before today, sixteen days of not spending this month!

5. Spent a little while this morning adding coupons to my grocery store’s shopper’s card, so that I can get money off on sensible things like apples, celery, cat food and dish detergent.

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Sandy June 24, 2016 at 12:06 pm

I have a grill pan like this! Finally, it is seasoned enough to be really good on most things! Love using it, but haven’t done paninis on it yet!

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Kim from Philadelphia June 24, 2016 at 12:22 pm

I just don’t get the magic of the Dave Ramsey cult. Yes, debt reduction makes sense and many people benefit from a solid plan, however…his debt snowball doesn’t seem particularly logical to me (paying off highest debt first instead of highest interest rate debt)
Sorry, just couldn’t jump on to endorse him or his daughter and their mega fortune.

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K D June 25, 2016 at 3:41 am

The debt snowball is a psychological thing. Luckily, I was debt free by the time I heard of it but I understand it (not logical but whatever works). I also don’t believe in his 12% average annual investment returns but Dave Ramsey has helped a lot of people.

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Rachel June 24, 2016 at 2:27 pm

Happy Birthday to your dad!

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Dale Emanuel June 24, 2016 at 2:46 pm

It made me so happy to see you professor dad. You have the eyes of this handsome man!

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Katy June 24, 2016 at 3:39 pm

Thank you, although I know I look pretty much nothing like him.

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Kim from Philadelphia June 24, 2016 at 4:03 pm

My comment sounded too snarky.
I’ll just say they aren’t my cup of tea!

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janine June 24, 2016 at 7:24 pm

I agree with what you say about Dave Ramsey. As the old saying goes – take what you want and leave the rest. At least he is advocating getting out of debt – not my politics or my way, but some good too.

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WilliamB June 25, 2016 at 9:08 am

“Go get one now.”
Now that is something I never expected to read in your blog. ;->

Question for you grill pan fans: does it do anything that flat cast iron doesn’t, other than add grill marks to your meat?

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Katy June 25, 2016 at 9:21 am

I think that it keeps my meat moister since there’s not much that’s in contact with the pan’s surface.

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Sherry June 29, 2016 at 10:26 am

I live in Medford, Oregon 🙂 I love those book sales!

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