ReStore – Korean Kimchi Pot

Once again, Farmhouse Magic Blog brings our readers a glimpse of the wonderful items for sale in the ReStore shop this week.

Handblown Martini Glasses with Ball Stems

The first item I noticed, was this box of handblown martini glasses with ball stems. The ball stems are multi-colored with bubbles. You could either purchase one or two, or the whole box of ten at a bargain price.

I don’t drink martinis, however, I own a set of vintage cut glass martini glasses. Martini glasses come in handy for serving up fresh fruit, small special salads, shrimp cocktails, or for desserts.

Fancy and elegant dinning can be yours with these lovely handmade martini glasses.

Corner Chair

The below corner chair has a Ethan Allen tag on it. It is made out of wood with a warm cherry finish and has an off-white material seat covering.

Corner, or roundabout, chairs were introduced to the the United States from England in the early 18th century.

They were designed to be placed in a corner and only used occasionally. The seats on some chairs were removable.

Handmade Kimchi Pot with Lid

I know of one person who lived in Korea for a short time. He tried kimchi and describes it as tasting like sauerkraut only spicy and hot.

It was interesting to find this homemade kimchi pot in the ReStore shop. After speaking with Eric, ReStore’s Sales Associate, he said their shop gets quite a few things from all over. I find this is pretty much true of our area since we have lots of international travelers, plus a diverse ethnic population.

What is Kimchi?

Kimchi is a traditional Korean dish. The ingredients can vary. Most often it includes cabbage, vegetables, ginger, garlic, chili peppers, salt and fish sauce. The mixture is then pickled and fermented in a large crock which preserves the vegetables.

The two photographs below shows the special handmade kimchi crock.

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Other vegetables can be added to the kimchi mixture such as carrots, cucumbers, scallions, and radishes.

If you look closely at the second photograph, you will see two pieces of pottery in the bottom of the pot. I believe these two pieces of pottery are placed over the kimchi when it is fermenting and pressed down. This keep the kimchi mixture in the brine.

Years ago, when people made homemade sauerkraut, they basically did the same thing but used a plate and or bricks to hold the fermenting vegetables down in a large crock like container.

Oak Sideboard, c. 1900 to 1920

I love the below photograph of the Oak Sideboard because it comes with a detailed history. All the information for this blog item has been taken from the sheet placed on the oak sideboard’s top.

Apparently, this piece was owned by a family in the Frankford neighborhood of Philadelphia, PA.

At one time, this piece probably had a mirror attached to the top. This sideboard is constructed of oak and mixed hardwood framing. A mirror would highlight the collection on top and it also served to reflect light into the room. The front is faced with zebra-pattern oak which was popular in the early 20th century. If you look closely at the front, it does indeed look the pattern from a zebra. The top drawers would hold table linens and perhaps silverware.

The grandson become the owner of this piece and hopes this special sideboard finds a good home to someone who will appreciated its long history.

All of the above items were available for sale this week at the ReStore shop in the Reston/Herndon area.

A Big Thank You to Paul for allowing me to take photographs and blog about the items in the ReStore shop.

ReStore shops are run by the non-profit organization of Habitat for Humanity.