Monday, January 17, 2011

Cleaning Cast Iron & Ollie Moves


I was asked if I had any tips on cleaning cast iron skillets. I can only tell you how I clean mine. I have read you are not to wash them with soapy water after you cure them. I never understood how they would be clean if you do not wash them in hot soapy water. I watched my Gram cook in these as I grew up. I have cooked in them for 29 years now. I clean mine just the same way Gram did. I do wash them after each use in hot soapy water with a copper scrubbing pad. I dry them inside & out with a paper towel & place them in the oven where I store them. I always heat the oven to 350 until they are warm. At least twice a month I rub the insides of each skillets with a paper towel that has a little vegetable oil on it. Once the skillets is covered with a very light layer they go back into the over. They are then heated to 350 for a short time. They have always been very smooth & we have enjoyed many fine meals cooked in them. I can not say this is a good tip but it works for me.

Left over chili made in a cast iron skillet put in the little jars to be frozen for a warm snack in the cold days to come.

I guess when a suitor comes calling the word gets out & others come calling. With such a fine kitty like Ollie in the garden. He is a pretty fellow to.

This pretty fellow has continued to wonder around the garden making his way to the fish pond. He started coming around days ago. I believe he continues to come calling on Ollie who he can not find. After his first visit Ollie was moved indoors.

Ollie has moved from her little cedar house to the comforts of the basement due to all her new suitors who have been calling on her.

This beautiful red cardinal came for lunch the other day. The first I have seen this winter. I sure guess that could that be because of Ollie & her suitors?

I am on my way to having my dream potting shed. Maybe not from the floor up but from windows all around. For now these seven windows I got for free over the weekend are being stored in the outhouse garden tool shed. Remember I missed out on the railroad ties months ago for the garden boxes. Oh I did not miss out on the windows thankfully. Little by little I hope to gather all I need to make my dream garden & potting shed. Spring is coming soon so I really need to acquire the material I need fast. I decided I will pray that more comes my way fast. I have received a few seed & plant catalogs that I have been browsing through. Sam & I would like to add some raspberrie vines on the outside edge of the new veggie garden. So many wonderful raspberrie vines to pick from. A rainbow of colors. A few of these & a few of those is what we would like to plant.

I decided I want to paint the basket on the fireplace. I have two colors in mind. A putty color or brown. I felt it was just to much black. It has been nice to share some time with you all. I wish you all a good - nite.

Blessings Til Next Time!

12 comments:

  1. I clean cast iron skillets the same way ... scrubbed out with hot soapy water, dried and oiled. I don't like that idea of not washing them and just wiping them out ~ that's just not clean enough in my book either.

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  2. Hey Lara, I love seeing photos of the kittys..is Ollie fixed? they are all beautiful including the long haired fella..we replaced our railroad ties some years back as they were rotting and replace them with the cinder block brick..we primed it and painted it red and put flat stone on top..so you can walk or sit at the garden..if you would like photos of our garden let me know and I will send them to you..our deck is now rotting from the railroad ties..so we will replace it with the brick sometime as well.;)

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  3. That second cat has the looongest hair that I think I have ever seen. He is so cool looking!

    Best wishes in finding the supplies for your potting shed. It puts me in mind of Beatrix Potter's "Peter Rabbit" stories. There is such tranquility and renewed spirit in gardening. :)

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  4. Such precious cats! :-) Thanks for sharing your tips on cleaning cast iron, I too have heard not to use soap and water. Hope you have a great evening!
    Blessings,
    Jill

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  5. I definitely scour my cast iron but always dry and put in a warm oven to completely dry. I also store my cast iron in the oven, along with my Pampered Chef pizza stone. They don't really need to be seasoned again after the first time unless someone is very careless with them but I do rub mine occasionally. I don't understand people who don't use cast iron. How do they make pineapple upside down cake or cornbread?
    ★Linda★

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  6. Uh oh, calling suitors...lol. Those are handsome suitors too and would make beautiful kitties.
    Yours sounds like a good tip to me. I'd like to get some cast iron skillets too someday and it's good to know how to keep them up.
    I see you'll have a nice project for the Summer with your potting shed:) That will be nice and help with providing good foods.
    Oh and thanks sweety for putting my link here. You're a doll:)
    Hugs~Carol

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  7. Cast Iron skillet cooking I must say is the best, nothing tastes better!I love spaghetti made in them!

    Such pretty cats, poor Ollie, she is a wanted woman!

    I can't wait to see more on the potting shed!

    Always a pleasure visiting your blog!
    enjoy your day
    Teresa

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  8. Thank you for these tips. I am with you--always wondered about not washing them with warm soapy water and how to get them clean. I always do the oil on a paper towel too but not heating them up. Didn’t know that part. I’m going to do it as I just love my iron skillets.
    Amy at Verde Farm

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  9. thanks for the cast-iron tips! perhaps i'll pull out my cast iron skillets now!!! i hate those teflon-coated ones! scary!

    now... how about that chili recipe? haha!

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  10. i just now saw that Buzzy Bee Bear on your side bar... SO CUTE!! love it!

    anyway... just wanted to mention, if you make those homemade raviolis... make sure you get them sealed as well as you can. some of mine didn't seal all of the way and when i boiled them, they got water in them, which made the inside kind of watery! i had to press the water out of some of them so that i didn't have a plate of soggy raviolis!! :) have a great day!!!

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  11. Oh, thank goodness I'm not the only one squicked out by not using soap on cast iron. I hate teflon so I took the plunge and decided to start using cast iron a few months ago. Alas, I stopped using my skillet because I would run from the kitchen whenever I saw it in need of soapy water. I had to put it away in storage, it grossed me out so much. I think now I'll get it out and thumb my nose at those who say "no soap allowed!" (neener neener)!

    Thank you for posting about this and thanks for those who commented they use soapy water as well.

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  12. Beautiful cardinal! I love seeing them against a winter background. You are well on your way to a potting shed. Good idea to collect pieces for it as you come across them at such great prices... free!

    Lara, thanks for entering my giveaway. I have your name written down for it. Have a fantastic week~

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