OldMtWoman – Praying you and your DH stay safe and warm despite the nasty weather!
Corsaire – Yes, I think Jill Winger’s new book sounds good too! From what she said in an email I received recently, Amazon has lowered the price to pre-order a hardcopy of that book from $35 down to $22.48 (and I think there’s a $1.38 off coupon also available). Jill said she wasn’t sure how long that lower price will be in effect though.
Cinnamon Grammy and Columbia River – The type of clothes drying rack I mentioned, (which is sometimes called an “airing rack” or a “clothes airer” in the U.K.) can be seen in Episode 2 of the older BBC television series “Wartime Kitchen and Garden” (at about minute 6:34) being used by the young actress who’s portraying an evacuee from London billeted with an older lady in the country. (Most of the episodes of that series, including Episode 2, are now available to watch for free on YouTube). The rack in the show, which is seen in its lowered position, looks very similar to the “clothes airer”sold these days at SheilaMaid dot com and in other online stores. It has two cast iron end pieces that are suspended from pulleys fastened into a ceiling beam. You insert long wooden slats through openings in the end pieces, and then hang your damp clothes over those slats. The end pieces/slats apparatus can then be lowered down from the ceiling or raised back up out of the way by means of sturdy cords that run through the pulleys. I believe that once you get the rack into its desired position, you wrap the end(s) of the cord(s) around a cleat that is screwed into a nearby wall. From what I have read, that sort of rack was often used in the kitchen where, presumably, the air was warmer and dryer due to the heat from cooking. I’m wondering if perhaps the hanging rack might have also been used to hang herbs to dry???
Littlesister – I agree, the SheilaMaid clothes airer is pricey. I did a quick check online this evening and saw some other, similar, hanging clothes drying racks and rack kits for sale for prices ranging from $89 to $120 though. I wish some company would make a version from thick aluminum or some other strong metal that wouldn’t be as costly. I suppose it might be possible to make something like it from wood but I’d worry that it might not be able to support the weight as well as those cast iron end pieces can. I also noticed some used cast iron end pieces for sale for about $55 U.S. (including shipping) but they didn’t include the pulleys and cleat 🙁 . . . I received the drying/baking rack for my Sun Oven today. It came amazingly quickly since I just ordered it about 2 days ago! Great service!
Today I watched more of the free preview Heritage Cooking and Kitchen Skills Course videos from Jill Winger at The Prairie Homestead. I really enjoyed the videos on how to cure a picnic ham roast, how to make an improvised smoker to impart a nice smokey flavor to the ham while it roasts in your oven, and how to easily make beef Summer Sausage.