When I think of the things that were in my mothers kitchen, such great memories and the feeling of nostalgia soars through my soul. My mother  would make the best, I mean, THE BEST food. It always seemed that every dish she created came out just right. For example, the cookies were perfectly browned on the bottom with that indulgent crunch that melted as it entered my mouth. The meatloaf had  perfect slightly burnt crisp edges. Oh and don’t get me started on her Banana Pudding with the meringue. Okay I’m rambling now, anyhow, after my mother passed away from Lupus complications 5 years ago and I begin organizing and making arrangements for her things. The images of the food in those pans were overwhelming when I came across them. These were the only items of hers that I kept. I don’t know if I was  attracted to them because of the good food memories or if it was because they still looked new. Anyhow, I kept them. Fast forward, now I’m addicted to them. I go to thrift stores and buy any  pre 70’s pots, pans, and dishes. I’m especially obsessed  with the Corningware with the  little blue corn flowers on them. When I first began collecting I didn’t even know of the brand!  Mind you by the time I got around to cleaning out her house, there were only two Corningware items left there. One day I decided to organize my kitchen cabinets and noticed how huge my collection had become, no wonder my husband said that I was hoarder:-) For those of you who don’t know, here is a brief history lesson☺ It was an accidental discovery in 1953 by  S. Donald Stookey of the Corning Research and Development Division and later introduced in 1959 by Corning Glass works. The blue cornflower version of Corningware is considered the vintage version and was the first design of the family, it is made with a special type of material called pyroceram, a white glass cyramic which allows the dish to go not in any specific order, from the freezer, to oven, to stove, to microwave basically it is thermal shock resistant.  So you can cook it in, serve it in the same dish, store it in the same dish, then reheat in the very same dish. That’s an A+ in my book, less mess. So take that Hubby-LOL! Who knew?! Such a great history and quality of a product. No wonder my mother took such good care of these pans.  I guess it’s not that surprising at all how my love for corningware began. My love of cooking has evolved thanks to my obsession. Fyi…There are also many other vintage versions of Corningware serving ware with various graphics on them to suit your style. Does anyone else out there love the vintage brand as much as I do? What is your favorite design?