OVENS LIKE CAST IRON TOO

Cast iron, the stand-by cookware of years ago, is being re-discovered by many cooks, and not just for frying taters either. Baking with cast iron lends some delectable results. Just like it puts a good sear on steaks, it does the same with baked goods. Those brownies come out with crispy edges and nice, gooey insides.

The main reason cast iron works so well in the oven is that it gets hotter than traditional baking sheets and has higher sides. It also retains heat better than other baking materials. On the flip side, its greatest downfall is that it does have hot spots and does not heat evenly. But, with a little cast iron savvy, it can become your oven’s best friend.

When using cast, it is critical to remember two basics; to preheat and to season. Cast is thicker and heavier than most other cookware so, naturally, it takes longer to heat but retains heat longer. If you add cold food to a cold pan, you will have food sticking. Thus, cast always needs pre-heated, whether you are using it on the stove top or in the oven. It will take a little practice, but once you get your timing right, cast will yield amazing results.

Seasoning is the biggest factor when using cast iron. It is probably the thing that also scares folks away from using it. This makes no difference if your cast iron is new or vintage. On this note, the consensus is that old is better. If you are fortunate, you have your grandparents’ skillets or if you are a fan of flea markets or yard sales, you can usually find vintage cast iron there.

The gold standard of cast is Griswold brand, that was manufactured in Erie, Pennsylvania from 1865 to 1957. Today, they are collector’s items. Lodge, the family-owned company that has been making cast iron in Tennessee for 123 years, is the only remaining company that makes the cookware today. Although their pieces come pre-seasoned, it is still best to do it yourself. Through the years, their formula has changed slightly, so if you find vintage, that is still the way to go.

To season initially, scrub the skillet well and dry thoroughly. Drying is the key because rust is the biggest enemy of cast. After drying, spread a thin layer of shortening or vegetable oil over the skillet, inside and out. Then, place it upside down on the center rack of the oven and heat to 375* for an hour. Be sure and place foil on the lower rack to catch drips. Let the pan cool in the oven.

That’s all there is to it. After using the cast iron, a shortened version of this process can be done on the stove top. After scrubbing and drying a skillet, place on a hot burner and add a thin layer of oil when hot.

Seasoning is essentially applying a layer of fat to the surface. The oil will be polymerized to the surface until it wears off. This layer protects the cast iron from rust and helps food to release, making cast iron cookware non-stick. The polymerized layer is more like a plastic than a fat.

Although any oil can be used, it is best to use healthy ones like canola since some of the oil will end up in whatever you are cooking. This brings us to the question of whether cast iron cooking is healthy for you. Some argue that iron from it will leach into the food which, for most people, is a good thing as it will supplement their iron intake. You also tend to use less oil when cooking with cast iron. There is a misconception that you cannot cook acidic food in it, but as long as it is seasoned well, tomato-based foods are fine.

Cooking and baking with cast is easy. It is very forgiving, if you mess up, just re-season and start over. The main thing to remember is to always have it seasoned well, to preheat and to not over heat. Here are a couple recipes to get your oven acquainted with your cast iron:

GIANT BUCKEYE BROWNIE

1 pkg chocolate cake mix

2 large eggs, room temperature

½ cup canola oil

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1 cup creamy peanut butter

½ cup confectioners’ sugar

Optional, hot fudge ice cream topping, vanilla ice cream, whipped cream and melted creamy peanut butter

Preheat oven to 350*

Combine cake, eggs and oil, then stir in chocolate chips

Press half into a greased 10-inch cast iron skillet

Combine peanut butter and confectioners’ sugar, spread over dough in skillet

Press remaining dough between sheets of parchment paper into a 10-inch circle and place over filling

Bake until toothpick comes out just moist, about 25 minutes

Server warm with optional ingredients

SHOOFLY CHOCOLATE PIE

Pastry for single crust pie

½ cup semisweet chocolate chips

1 ½ cups flour

½ cup packed brown sugar

3 T butter

1 tsp baking soda

1 ½ cups water

1 large egg, lightly beaten

1 cup molasses

Line a 9-inch cast iron skillet with crust, flute edges and sprinkle chocolate chips in crust, set aside

Combine flour and brown sugar, cut in shortening until crumbly

Set aside 1 cup for topping, add baking soda, water, egg and molasses to remaining crumb mixture, mix well. Pour over chips, sprinkle with reserved crumb mixture.

Bake 350* 40 to 45 minutes or until knife inserted comes out clean, serve warm

GARDEN ROTATION-MY WAY

The seed catalogs have been piling in and, as they do every year, their colorful pages entice me. They do their job well, the pages burst with pictures of vegetables and fruits that look so succulent that I want to plant them all, even knowing fully well that mine won’t look or grow anything like theirs.

Here lies the problem; I always do try to have it all. I think that is the case with most gardeners, especially here in the north where we have such a short growing season. We dream during the long winter days, especially when the seed catalogs show up, place our orders for a wide variety of produce and hope we can make it work when planting season actually gets here.

We even try to be creative by doing two or three different plantings of vegetables and ordering varieties with different maturity dates so everything is not ripe at the same time. I also think that the garden gods laugh at this method every year because, invariably, everything seems to ripen at the very same time, year after year.

Here lies the frustration. I am tired of trying to can, freeze and dry all vegetables and herbs all within a two or three-week span each year. So much of it goes to waste before I can get it all preserved no matter how hard I work.

Well, this year I have a new solution to the problem…I hope. I am going to try a garden rotation plan, and I don’t mean for the soil. This one is for me to make better use of the produce and my time.

It follows the same philosophy as being good stewards of the soil. Because certain crops deplete the soil of some nutrients, it is always a good idea to rotate crops each year. When I grow tomatoes on the north side of the garden one year, then the next year they move to the south side. I do this with most vegetables, taking care to plant companion style since some crops like to be planted by certain other ones.

So, last year I concentrated on growing tomatoes, lots of tomatoes. I canned tomato juice, stewed tomatoes, spaghetti sauce, pizza sauce, salsa and everything tomato-based. I knew when I was canning, that I would have more than I needed for one year. I also preserved an abundance of peppers, onions and dried herbs like rosemary, oregano and others that compliment tomatoes in dishes like spaghetti, lasagna, pizza, etc.

As it nears planting season this year, my pantry still has ample jars of tomatoes and tomato products. Looking at these leftovers is what inspired me to try this new gardening plan, a plan of rotating family of crops from year to year.

I will start the rotation this year by having a few tomato plants to eat fresh and not concentrate so much on canning them. Instead, I will dedicate more garden space to a few different varieties of green beans, lima beans, etc. and plan on canning more than one year’s worth of them.

Next year the rotation will go to various varieties of cucumbers and canning dill pickles, bread and butter and a couple other varieties.

My theory is to concentrate on preserving a different family of vegetables each year. Of course, Mother Nature will have something to say about this. Just like the Chinese New Year recognizes a different animal each year, I truly believe crops have their “glory” years too. You can fertilize, water and do everything the same and yet some years tomatoes (or any other crop) will be better and more prolific than others.

 I always notice this phenomenon particularly in flowers. There is usually always one variety that steals the show whether it be zinnias, marigolds, hydrangeas, or a number of different ones. Vegetables are no different. So, in some ways, this method will be a gamble that will, hopefully, pay off in the end.

This plan of specialized planting each year should yield some advantages such as:

*NATURAL CROP ROTATION.

If half the garden space is planted with different variety of beans, it will give the soil a break from tomatoes and the nutrients that they pull from the soil. The next year the garden can rest from what it takes to grow beans while something else is produced.

*EASE OF FERTILIZATION.

Each vegetable has its own nutrient needs. Sometimes it is like a puzzle trying to get the right combination of nutrients to each species of plant. This method would simplify the process.

*EASE OF PRESERVATION.

 Although different varieties of each crop would probably still be ripening at the same time, the same equipment and processes would be used instead of trying to wrestle all crops in the kitchen at the same time.

*EXTRA RESERVES.

 With this method, you would actually be canning or freezing at least twice as much as the usual amount for one year. Since canned goods are shelf-stable for more than one year, you would be guaranteed enough for the following year in case of crop failure or other circumstances prevented that produce being put up the following year. It would take at least two or three years of using this strategy to ensure that the pantry was stocked with enough of all of the food groups for more than one year’s consumption. After that, it would be easy to stay on a rotational basis. This method would benefit everyone with a special emphasis on homesteaders.

 

*COMPENSATING FOR BAD YEARS.

Even if there were a bad year where one crop did not produce at all (the year the squash bugs devoured my entire squash crop), you would just plan on doubling that crop the following year, thus still only losing that crop for one year.

This is the trial year to see if this method works as well functionally as it does on paper. I just remember previous years with tubs, boxes and baskets of tomatoes, green beans, cucumbers and a host of other vegetables all waiting to be processed at once. Now, when I do one species, the cleaning and processing will all start the same making initial preparation more streamlined. Adding different spices and herbs will dictate the final product.

Hopefully, Mother Nature will give us a good gardening year to either prove or disprove my theory…to be continued.

A WEDDING AND A FUNERAL

I don’t believe that there is any such thing as coincidences. Things don’t just happen. We and everything we do and experience has a very definite place in the whole scheme of things. Events happen for a reason and at the precise time they are supposed to.

Sixty-three years ago this year a baby boy was born to a farming family in Pennsylvania. He would grow up to be a loving, kind family man who loved sports and excelled to the best of his ability in whatever he chose to do. He was also a very giving man, who would give the shirt off his back to help someone, who would travel 500 miles to see a sick friend, who was probably one of the richest men I have ever known…not in dollars but rather in family and friends who adored him for the kind of person he was.

He would also know tragedy in his life. He lost his younger sister way too young to cancer, his Mom to a heart attack and his Dad to diabetes, years after suffering a stroke. He would succumb this past week to pancreatic cancer himself after bravely fighting it for 17 months, leaving one brother and one sister remaining out of a family of six.

Twenty-six years ago this year a baby girl was born in Michigan. She would grow up to be a loving, kind beautiful young lady who knew her own heart and would speak her mind for whatever she believed in, notwithstanding if her opinion brought favor from her family and friends or not. She also grew up to have a passion for animals and, not only could she never stand to see one suffer, she has always wanted  to make life better for them in whatever way she could. She has found her passion as a vet tech.

This past week she took the next step in her life journey and married the love of her life after getting to know him for the last six years. She had to be sure.

Two different lives, born in different decades in two different states who lived in two different worlds. How could their lives have possibly ever crossed? Well, they never knew each other but both were dear people in my life. I first met Roger and his family 34 years ago when I made my first trip back to Jim’s hometown in Pennsylvania. Since then, Roger and his whole family have become intertwined with my family.

I first met Rachel over 20 years ago when she was just a little girl running around on the farm with her sister. She and her family have also become intertwined with mine and I have had the privilege of watching her grow from a little girl to a fine young woman. I have seen her follow her passion for horses that took her away from home way too soon and her love of family that brought her back. I have seen her tears stemming from first loves that weren’t meant to be and I’ve seen her steadfastness in sticking to her guns even when it wasn’t the popular thing to do. I had the honor of taking her senior pictures.

Because this young woman and this man were such special parts of my life, yesterday was perhaps the most bittersweet day in my life. Yesterday was her wedding and his funeral. Who would have thought?

I never thought that I could feel such extreme happiness and sadness at the same time. At the very same moment in time I saw the joy in Rachel’s eyes as she and the love of her life were joined to share everything from now through eternity and I also felt the gut-wrenching sorrow that Roger’s wife was losing her forever love. This is life.

How can one feel joy, anger, hurt, sadness, hope, despair and ecstasy all at the same time? Last night when it was all over, I was exhausted and also happy, sad, mad and glad. I knew, through the past few weeks that were leading up to these two events, that there was a purpose, a lesson here. There always is.

Roger cared about the future but he lived for today. Some people plan for when they get older, for when they retire, always for tomorrow and they forget to enjoy the present. Still others live with all the gusto they can for today and make no plans for tomorrow. Either way is neither wrong nor right, you need a little of both.

I have always believed that the world is balanced by opposites. When there is black, there is also white; joy and sorrow; failure and success; love and hate. These always go hand in hand although the boundaries between them sometimes get a little murky.

These past couple weeks I have forgotten this truth. Roger’s illness and passing paralleled Jim’s all too closely and I was reminded of the pain and the feeling of helplessness of losing someone you love and couldn’t do anything about. These past few weeks I lost my happy and didn’t know how to get it back.

Then today, after the wedding and after the funeral, I did what I needed to do. I stepped back and processed it all and looked at it from a whole instead of bits and pieces. In the sorrow, I had forgotten that Roger did live, maybe more in his short 63 years than many folks do in a longer lifetime.

I had also forgotten that we are all, every single one of us, in the very same spot Rachel and Nate were yesterday at 4:10 P.M. They began a whole new life together and from that moment on they have the choice to make that life whatever they want it to be. They can choose mediocre or they can make it amazing.

So can every one of us. From this moment on, each of us has a personal choice to make his/her life whatever we want it to be. Roger chose happy and love. I do too again. Thank you, Rachel and Nate, for reminding me and all of us that we all will always have that choice too. No, there are no coincidences, your marriage was destined a long time ago for this very day and at this very moment. I was destined to be there so I could see how to get my happy back.

Thank you for the reminder that we do have a hand in our destiny and how we look at circumstances. Thank you for my happy, I am truly rich.