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Silverware and Sifting

Avatar photo - 1 Avatar photo - 2

I was near my favorite thrift store earlier in the week and found a few gems a few tarnished utensils.

I got all eight pieces for two bucks.

Forks and spoons with fancy designs on handle - 3 Forks and spoons with fancy designs on handle - 4

Apparently the only thing you can get for a quarter anymore is a old dirty fork, and I’m thinking they will be perfect in photos with some dark wood.

Forks with fancy designs - 5 Forks with fancy designs - 6

Or with this

Cinnamon Bun Pie - 7 Cinnamon Bun Pie - 8

I love the spoons.

Especially the one in the middle with the open spaces in the handle.

Spoons with fancy handles - 9 Spoons with fancy handles - 10

It reminds me of something my grandma would have used to stir her coffee.

Spoons with fancy handles - 11 Spoons with fancy handles - 12

Or something I can use to dig out mouthfuls of a Microwave Strawberry Vanilla Mug Cake with Vanilla Buttercream Glaze

Microwave Strawberry Vanilla Mug Cake with Vanilla Buttercream Glaze - 13 Microwave Strawberry Vanilla Mug Cake with Vanilla Buttercream Glaze - 14

My big score was this 5 dollar sifter with the turn-crank handle and wooden knob.

Too bad I never ever sift flour. Nor does Christina Tosi so I don’t feel too bad.

Sifter jar with cherry pattern - 15 Sifter jar with cherry pattern - 16

It feels so old-fashioned turning that crank.

Makes me almost contemplate sifting just to put this sifter to use. Almost.

sifter with crank - 17 sifter with crank - 18

The retro-chic of it was just too cute for me to pass up.

Cherry pattern on sifter jar - 19 Cherry pattern on sifter jar - 20

Between the tarnished silverware and the vintage sifter, I felt like I hit the 1950s jackpot and may make June Cleaver jealous. It was the best 7 dollars I’ve spent all month.

Okay, well, the best 7 dollars I’ve spent all month was on ingredients to make these .

Magic cake bars - 21 Magic cake bars - 22

Do you sift your flour?

I don’t sift because the flour most of us buy is pre-sifted. If there happens to be a little lump, gently tossing the flour in the bag will break it up.

I also give the bag a little tossing and jostling before I measure my flour to make sure it hasn’t compacted and is a little bit fluffed up. “As flour sits, it slowly settles, becoming more compacted. A cup of sifted flour may weigh 20% – 25% less than a cup of flour that has settled. This difference can significantly affect the results, making breads and cakes more dense.”

Also important to remember from here : A recipe that asks for, say, “one cup of flour, sifted” will use more flour than one that asks for “one cup of sifted flour”. In the first instance, the flour is measured prior to sifting, while in the second it is sifted first then measured.

But let’s face it, the less steps and dishes dirtied in the baking process, the better, which is why I don’t sift. Nothing I am making is so ultra-precise that I’ve found it matters when cooking at home for just myself and my family. Many websites suggest sifting is an antiquated practice rarely used anymore, but maybe I will do some side-by-side recipe tests to see if my results vary dramatically.

I also recently did a post comparing different types of all-purpose flour .

Have you found anything fun at the thrift store lately?

Or anything cute or fun in general?

Have a great weekend and thanks for the Lemon and Orange NuNaturals Stevia Giveaway entries