Build Me a Dream

Do you cook with cast iron??

I don’t, never have, but I want to.   I need your help!!!!  For some reason, I am really compelled….couldn’t be all the cooking shows I watch….The Pioneer Woman…..no couldn’t be.  I don’t know, everything that I see cooked in cast iron just looks over-the-top delicious.  Maybe it’s the char…the carmelization that occurs on EVERYTHING…Yum!!

It was inevitable….I bought my first cast iron skillet!  But here’s the thing….I’m totally afraid of it!!  I mean, it’s a beautiful skillet…its is already seasoned, and ready to go.  I’m so afraid that I’m going to mess it up when I wash it.  I can already see this metallic piece of art rusting, having to be cleaned, seasoned again, and hope it doesn’t continue rusting.  ARRRGGHH!!  Seriously….why did I buy this skillet???  Determined to face my fears, I decided today was the day.  I had bacon….I had eggs (I always have eggs…LOL)….I thawed a sourdough loaf….I was jumping in!!!

As you can see, the first few pieces (on the right) of bacon got a little darker than I usually like, but once I allowed the skillet to come to an even temperature, the rest came out pretty nice.  Then I opened a can of pinto beans, because who doesn’t always need an opened can of pinto beans…..poured the beans in a strainer and used the can for the bacon grease (no unique revelations there.)

Two eggs went into the skillet with the remnant of oils from the bacon coating the skillet….then I realized that I wouldn’t really be able to flip the eggs for a good over-easy fried egg.  It worked well to just kind of roll the egg over.

The eggs were covered in charred, bacon-y goodness!!  And you know, there was something strangely satisfying in cooking with metal against iron…the scraping of the metal spatula against the iron skillet was a really, oddly comforting sound, and feel.  Just so much more of a happy sound than silicon against teflon.

Afterward, the livers and hearts from two roosters recently culled were grilled up for our Great Dane, Penni ‘s, dinner tonight.

So now it was the part I feared the most….washing.  Uugghh!!  I’m still hoping it all will be okay.  Some people say to never use soap, others say use soap….both say no abrasive scrubbers, but a soft brush is good.  I first washed with soap (I’m not ready to not use soap yet…still a cast iron rookie here) and a sponge…there was a blackened film that I could scrape off with my nail still on the pan.  Oh shoot….I needed a soft brush…so I got a new toothbrush out of the drawer and scrubbed with the toothbrush….it got most of the char off, but a bit remained…different though than at first.  I decided it had to be something like a wok wherein you don’t scrub until you get a shiny surface…you keep it seasoned.

Is that correct???  I patted it dry with paper towels and lightly oiled it with vegetable oil (same as a wok.)  Time will tell…keep your fingers crossed…no rust!!

Two of our own farm raised roosters cooling before the freezer.

Thank you for visiting my kitchen today.  As we learn about homesteading the outside of our home…I’m also learning about cooking and getting back to basics of food preparation inside my home.  Since moving to Oregon, we eat-in so much more than eating-out…it’s probably been three weeks or more since I had a meal in a restaurant….so different than life back home.  It’s a good thing…a very good thing….unless I’m tired and don’t feel like cooking….LOL!!

Please have a wonderful, restful Sunday!!  Your friend from Oregon,

Tami