Cooking with Cast Iron

I absolutely love cooking with cast iron!  To me, there is nothing more enjoyable than using a well seasoned cast iron pan to cook dinner for my family.  Tonight I used my flat bottomed dutch oven to make stew on the stove.  I have shared this delicious recipe with you before on a previous post titled Prospectors Stew where you can find the recipe.

I like using cast iron for a few reasons.  A well cared for cast iron pan will last you your lifetime, and can easily be passed down to future generations.  They are very durable when treated well, and easy to care for.  I wish I had known the value of cast iron when we were first married.  I would have sought out cast iron and bought nothing else.  They are a pan to last a lifetime.  We have gone through several sets of inferior quality pans in the past twenty years.  We have tried expensive pans and nothing has held up even in the most gentle of use to cast iron.  The final straw came for me a few years back when I saw a piece of nylon coating from a skillet in our food that was cooking in the pan!  The nylon coating was breaking down from use and flaking off into our food.  I do not want chemicals in our food and was deeply concerned about the chemicals leaching into our food from a heated plastic surface.  This began my journey of slowly replacing inferior pans with cast iron.  I do have a very nice set of stainless non coated sauce pans that I will continue to use which I foresee lasting many years.  Until cast iron I had yet to find a skillet that would hold up to continued use.  Cast iron not only holds up, but gets better with age.  The more you cook with it, the more seasoning it has and it has a better non stick surface that any brand I have tried.

Cast iron is very easy to find here, I find pieces in antique malls and flea markets.  I recently picked up four pans of various sizes that I reconditioned and will soon post on how to clean and re-season cast iron.  The four pans I picked up cost me around $20.00 and they will far outlast any new pan for that amount!

As our dinner simmered away on the stove, my husband mixed up a batch of his famous Chocolate Chip Cookie dough. (secret family recipe)  I baked Chocolate Chip Cookies in one of my newly re-seasoned pans. 

Did I mention that Cast iron is also versatile?  They can be used on the stove top,  open fire, hot coals, or oven with no problems.  It all depends on your cooking style and methods.

 Yum!  Look at those delicious cookies fresh out of the oven!  They lifted right out of the pan.  Another great thing about cast iron is that they retain their heat and cook with a nice even temperature.  I cook on a fairly low heat with my pans because once they heat up they stay hot and do not require a very high temperature to maintain.  They heat so evenly, that I prefer to bake my bread in a large cast iron dutch oven.  The bread is delicious each and every time!

Before I used cast iron, I wasn't sure about how to care for my pans.  I had heard they were "high maintenance" and hard to use.  I assure you they are not.  I will soon write a post on the cleaning and care of cast iron.  I want to rid you of any concerns that might make you apprehensive about joining the growing list of cast iron lovers who are discovering what cooks have known for hundreds of years  about the durability and versatility of cast iron.

In our home, when I need to replace things, I am looking for things that I can obtain that will not wear out.  I would rather buy something second hand, save the money and never have to replace that item again.  I am not as concerned with fashion as I am concerned with quality.  My goal on our homestead is to be self sufficient and purchase as few things over time as possible.  Using cast iron fits these goals perfectly because it is a one purchase item.  With proper use and care, I will never be replacing my cast iron and never have to worry about replacing a cheap or inexpensive nylon coated pan that will go into the trash dump.  Cast iron is a win/win in my book!

Let's Talk about Layers!

Brrrrr it has been very cold here!  Last night it was a toasty 4*, and tonight will not be much warmer.  Every region is different but for us, that's cold!  

Since moving here, one major difference has been that we use propane to fuel our central heat system.  To get the best fuel rates here, you purchase the amount you think you will use that season up front.  Not having gone through a full winter here in this house, and having a new heat system in place, we had no idea how much fuel to expect to use so we intentionally bought more than we hoped we would need.  At the same time in keeping with our goal of living simply and intentionally using less, we have kept our thermostat on the cooler side.  Using less propane and more layers.  For some this might be an obvious choice, but many people adjust their thermostats up and down according to their comfort level on a day by day basis.  I have known many people that walk around the house in shorts, T-shirt, and bare footed in the winter with the thermostat cranked up so they are comfortable!  I know several that have taken it one step further and have even opened windows because they are too warm from the heater being turned up too high!   We decided to make a change and adjust our layers instead of our thermostat based on our comfort level.  Big difference!  We are saving both resources and money.  The change has worked out better than we had hoped.

We are all used to the house being a little cooler now and dress both ourselves and our beds accordingly!  They key is layers.  

My dad worked outside a lot, and always had several jackets and shirts he would pile on finishing with a thick overcoat.  He always said layer up to stay warm.  It didn't really hit home for me until we moved out here and we have outside farm chores.  My husband often works outside and has used layers for years as well. 

I used to be of the mindset that one big heavy comforter is cozy and warm.  For years we used a feather bed and down comforter on our bed.  This was indeed warm because the feathers trapped a layer of air in them keeping us insulated and warm.  Later when these wore out I tried the big comfy comforter approach to no use.  I just wasn't warm enough.  This year with the thermostat cooler we keep snug and warm with just the right amount of layers on our bed.

 We have five layers and it's just right.  A sheet, a velour blanket that instantly warms to your body heat and feels like an electric blanket with out needing to be plugged in.  A thin down comforter, a regular cotton comforter, and a thin quilt.  Individually these blankets are not very warm, but by layering them there is air trapped between the layers and we are very comfortable and warm.  Everyone has layers of cozy blankets on their beds.  They keep us so warm in fact that when I turned up the heat last night a couple degrees thinking it would counter the extreme cold outside our children complained it was too warm.  Layers work!

The same concept applies to the clothing you wear.  It is easy to adjust to the temperature outside by adding or removing layers when you are working if you have several layers on.  If you are relying on one big heavy coat you can become too hot and if you remove it, may become to cold  and chilled. 

When in the house, we all wear sweat pants, lounge pants or warm but comfortable clothing.  We always wear socks and slippers when walking around.  We were never the family that opened the windows in the winter but we were guilty of adjusting our thermostat instead of our layers.  Those days, and ways are long gone and we couldn't be happier!  Blessings

Conscious Purchasing

The more mindful I am about the purchases I am making, the harder time I have making a purchase!  I do not have the energy, and you do not have the time to read about what I have to say about the quality of products and the cost for these inferior products so let's not go there today, except to say the trust of this consumer about the quality of what I am buying is wearing thin. 

As much as I like to save money, I have no problem paying a bit more for something that is going to last, wear well, and be made of superior quality.  In other words, I want the quality to match the purchase price.  Very few purchases hold up to my standards. Do I see myself as a hard to please consumer?  No!  We are a complacent society that has simply shrugged and accepted the slipping standards.  You can help change that by buying good quality vs. cheaply made products.  Our money speaks for us.

My feet get sore easily and I have tried several types of shoes.  I wear runner's tennis shoes which break down after about six months.  They are expensive and for the money I am spending in "my world" would like them to last longer.  It seems no matter what type or kind of shoe I wear except good quality flip flops(thick cushion feels best) my feet hurt.  This time I decided to go with a time honored shoe that I felt was not only good quality but has a reputation for longevity.  I feel like I have a good value for the money.  Very few shoes these days are considered an "investment" that can be said of many purchases.  The search for those type of products is sometimes long but I feel it is worth the time it takes to find good quality products that will be an investment.

My husband often paraphrases the quote below to our dd's who at this stage of life are learning the concept of earning and spending.  It is something I think about often when making purchases for our home and family.  My husband earns the income for our family and I often remember I am trading his life, the time he spends at work for the items I bring home.  I often ask myself it is is worthwhile to send him to work for X amount of time for the item I am holding.

"The cost of a thing is the amount of what I will call life which is required to be exchanged for it, immediately or in the long run"  Henry David Thoreau

It Arrived!!!

A bit overeager I admit... but I have been waiting for what seems like forever to order this... and not so long for it to arrive I must say I have a bit of built up anticipation and here it finally is!!!

I'm talking about the canning jar pump lid retrofit.  Yes I'm sure I somehow could have made this, but I spotted this some time ago in a Lehman's catalog and instantly knew that I would at some point order a set for this gorgeous canning jar to hold my dish soap.  The picture doesn't do the jar justice but it is full of beautiful air bubbles from being poured into a mold not pressure cast and the color is wonderful and the whole thing makes me smile when I enter the kitchen to open the blinds in the morning. :)

And on another bright and cheerful subject...

The beautiful little yellow blooms are called butter and eggs I believe, given to me by my lovely friend last fall and I am enjoying their blooming for the first time in my garden.  I was greeted by their surprise blooming the last day of school as I stood watching the girls walk down the lane.  Wishing you big joys from simple things and special people in your life.

Treasure Hunting

Today I went treasure hunting!  I am looking for a small bookshelf to put my cookbooks on and decided to go through several local antique/flea markets and see if I could locate one that would work.  I did not find a bookshelf.  However I did find a treasure!!!

This beautiful wooden bowl was just waiting for me to discover it.  I have no idea how old it is but I love the worn look it has like it has been used faithfully in someones kitchen over the years.  I envision using it to hold my fabric bits while I am sewing.  Right now it is gracing my kitchen table because it is just so beautiful to look at.  Later I will clean and put some protective wood wax on it to help with the dryness and protect it from further cracking.  I'll solve the shelf problem another day.  For now I'm enjoying my wonderful unexpected treasure.