....the case for cast iron.

....remember those old frying pans your grandma cooked on. Well, I tend to use nothing else. Cast iron is easy to cook on, heats evenly, is easy to clean, is durable, and for me, a bit nostalgic. I use several cast iron implements and over the years have stopped using anything else. Here is my cast iron collection...

6 qt Dutch Oven
10" fry pan
8" fry pan
reversible grill/griddle
12 qt. dutch oven

I also have a dutch oven tool (pot grabber).

Cleaning cast iron is as easy as scraping out any food with a metal scrubber, using a plastic scrubber and hot water, and rinsing. I always finish with a super light coating of veggie oil. Every once in awhile I will clean the pots with hot soapy water and re-season them in an oven (which I am doing as I write this). The pots are almost completely non-stick when properly seasoned an I never have to worry about teflon non-stick chipping of my pans.

There are a lot of cheap sources for cast iron but I tend to hunt at thrift stores for good brands such as Wagner, Griswold, and Lodge. My two dutch ovens are Lodge as is my griddle. My fry pans are Griswold and Wagner. The dutchies are great for soups and stews and can be set right in the fire. You can also bake bread and cakes in them as well as biscuits. Dee-Lic-Ous!