I took a class at the local community college, “Farm to Table Cooking”. And in the final class, we made pasta, focaccia and garlic knots. And this was a good thing, because one of the many reasons I’ve resisted making bread for so many years is the learning curve. (The other reasons being I don’t need help eating any more bread, and I don’t need help eating any more cookies and cakes.) But Sal Shandra’s family owns a local pizza shop, and Sal is a really good teacher, and the hardest part of the baking learning curve is at the beginning. Specifically, “Is this the way it’s supposed to look?” and, “Is this doing what it’s supposed to be doing?” And now I have an idea how it’s supposed to look, and what it’s supposed to do!
Here we pause to see Mosca in class. Mosca likes being the only guy in a class full of beautiful women.
Well, learning how to make bread and pizza dough in class made me decide to get a stand mixer. But at my age there’s no way I’m going to buy one retail; gotta find one at a garage/yard/estate sale.
So the next weekend I took a little journey, plugging addresses into the GPS, starting with estate sales. I like those the best, because the people who run them aren’t married to the goods; they price stuff to sell.
The first three sales were junk. Dishes, flatware, old microwaves, toasters, scratched non stick pans, etc.. I was ready to pack it in, but there was one more sale in the nearby area, so what the heck, right? I plugged the address into Waze and followed the map.
“You have reached your destination.” Huh? Where? No cars, no people, no house nearby…. And this is a narrow country road, there’s nowhere to turn around. So I kept driving a bit. And then I saw a mailbox, with a house number: 1512. I’m looking for 720. Waze had 720 on the other side of the road.
I turned around in someone’s driveway, headed back, and finally saw a little red SALE sign with an arrow. No cars, no people, nobody. I pulled in, a guy came out and I told him “You know, the GPS….” And he interrupted me, “Yeah, I know, it says we’re back that way about a quarter mile.” Geez buddy, shoulda put that in the ad.
Anyhow. All junk. Gas grill? No-name brand, flimsy, dirty. Stereo? Record player/8 track combo. (Those are actually worth something to some folks!) Kitchenware? Old microwave, plates, some cheap cast iron, some decent stainless steel pots and pans but nothing I was interested in.
So we’re making small talk, and I said, “Yeah, I came out today looking for a couple specific things. I’m looking for a pressure canner [same rationale, I’ll buy one if it’s cheap, to make salsa and put up vegetables],” “Yeah, I don’t have that.” “And a stand mixer, like an old KitchenAid” “Oh, yes, I have that! it’s right here!”
Right here being, under the counter, on a shelf, covered in opaque plastic? I guess that counts as “right here.”
And he brought it up. and it’s a KitchenAid. A KSM90, so it’s pretty basic, but plenty good for what I want. And he said, “And it has the meat grinder attachment, too.”
Oh hell yeah. “Can you turn it on?” He turned it on. No gear whine, and it rotated well at ”stir”. (They can lose adjustment, and not spin when on stir. It’s a simple adjustment, but that’s an indication of a lot of use.)
“How much?” “It’s a KitchenAid. I have to get at least $50 for it. It has the meat grinder attachment.”
“$40.” “$45.” “Deal!”
I brought it home. I watched some videos on simple tune up and maintenance, and there are lots of DIY vids on how to disassemble, clean, and regrease this; it looks pretty simple, step by step. That seems like it would be a fun way to spend a rainy day, so I did just that. I’ll follow this up with some shots.
There’s no serial number. That means it is pre-Whirlpool. It’s a Hobart! And while cleaning it, I found the date of manufacture inside the rear cover: 7/85. This mixer is just a shade over 40 years old.
This is a damn nice unit. Seriously.
Here we pause to see Mosca in class. Mosca likes being the only guy in a class full of beautiful women.
Well, learning how to make bread and pizza dough in class made me decide to get a stand mixer. But at my age there’s no way I’m going to buy one retail; gotta find one at a garage/yard/estate sale.
So the next weekend I took a little journey, plugging addresses into the GPS, starting with estate sales. I like those the best, because the people who run them aren’t married to the goods; they price stuff to sell.
The first three sales were junk. Dishes, flatware, old microwaves, toasters, scratched non stick pans, etc.. I was ready to pack it in, but there was one more sale in the nearby area, so what the heck, right? I plugged the address into Waze and followed the map.
“You have reached your destination.” Huh? Where? No cars, no people, no house nearby…. And this is a narrow country road, there’s nowhere to turn around. So I kept driving a bit. And then I saw a mailbox, with a house number: 1512. I’m looking for 720. Waze had 720 on the other side of the road.
I turned around in someone’s driveway, headed back, and finally saw a little red SALE sign with an arrow. No cars, no people, nobody. I pulled in, a guy came out and I told him “You know, the GPS….” And he interrupted me, “Yeah, I know, it says we’re back that way about a quarter mile.” Geez buddy, shoulda put that in the ad.
Anyhow. All junk. Gas grill? No-name brand, flimsy, dirty. Stereo? Record player/8 track combo. (Those are actually worth something to some folks!) Kitchenware? Old microwave, plates, some cheap cast iron, some decent stainless steel pots and pans but nothing I was interested in.
So we’re making small talk, and I said, “Yeah, I came out today looking for a couple specific things. I’m looking for a pressure canner [same rationale, I’ll buy one if it’s cheap, to make salsa and put up vegetables],” “Yeah, I don’t have that.” “And a stand mixer, like an old KitchenAid” “Oh, yes, I have that! it’s right here!”
Right here being, under the counter, on a shelf, covered in opaque plastic? I guess that counts as “right here.”
And he brought it up. and it’s a KitchenAid. A KSM90, so it’s pretty basic, but plenty good for what I want. And he said, “And it has the meat grinder attachment, too.”
Oh hell yeah. “Can you turn it on?” He turned it on. No gear whine, and it rotated well at ”stir”. (They can lose adjustment, and not spin when on stir. It’s a simple adjustment, but that’s an indication of a lot of use.)
“How much?” “It’s a KitchenAid. I have to get at least $50 for it. It has the meat grinder attachment.”
“$40.” “$45.” “Deal!”
I brought it home. I watched some videos on simple tune up and maintenance, and there are lots of DIY vids on how to disassemble, clean, and regrease this; it looks pretty simple, step by step. That seems like it would be a fun way to spend a rainy day, so I did just that. I’ll follow this up with some shots.
There’s no serial number. That means it is pre-Whirlpool. It’s a Hobart! And while cleaning it, I found the date of manufacture inside the rear cover: 7/85. This mixer is just a shade over 40 years old.
This is a damn nice unit. Seriously.
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