6 Flea Market Treasures

While I was in Tennessee, we hit up the largest flea market in the state.  I'd never been to a flea market before, but I struck beginner's gold at the entrance!  On a low shelf I spotted the telltale orange-flame of a French oven.  I ran over, snatched it up and clutched it to my chest like Miss Haversham and her erstwhile wedding dress.  In my excitement I knocked over the glass flume of an oil lamp and it shattered all over the floor behind me. (Whoops!  I confessed immediately and offered to pay, but the proprietress waved me away.)  In the bottom of the pot there was a smaller non-fitting lid in the same flame-orange, and I turned it over and saw that it was imprinted with "Belgium."  I didn't even bother turning over the pot, I just KNEW it was Le Creuset by the gorgeous paint job, very vintage.  Both pieces together were $10!

We spent the rest of the scorching afternoon tripping around the market with my Mom and Dad, my husband and daughter, and my aunt, uncle and my cousin Sam and his wife Nari.  I picked up some really nice - and rare! - comb-in Sourwood Honey, and a loaf each of white and sourdough from a Mennonite bakery.  We packed our treasures under our arms, and headed to eat some good Tennessee BBQ at Big Boy's BBQ.  The baked beans were outrageous!  I've never had anything like them - dark, spicy and smoky-sweet, stewed with pulled pork.  My aunt claims she ate the best ribs of her life at this place.  I had a pulled pork sandwich, which was really good too.

I'm stealing this photo from their Facebook page...

After lunch, we rolled ourselves out of our chairs and headed back to their condo where I investigated my flea market finds.  My first gut-reaction was shock when I turned my pot over and found that it wasn't Le Creuset.  I was confused.  It was marked "Descoware" and "Belgium" on the stamped bottom.  But oh well, right?  It's still a heavy enameled cast iron oven, and even European.  I jumped on Google and started researching the mark.  I found that Descoware was manufactured until the mid-70's, until Le Creuset bought them out and took over their patents.  The paint-job mystery is solved!  And apparently they are quite collectible!  It really is a beautiful pot, I just need to find a matching lid for it, and a matching pot for the small lid.  For now I have two stainless lids that will do for now.  Searching eBay now....

Aren't they pretty?  It's gotta be at least a 5 qt, since my 3.5 qt fits inside with room to spare.

Here the lid sits in my contemporary 9" Le Creuset skillet in Flame.  

The story is continued here.