Weekend Cooking: Changes in My Kitchen

When I sat down to write this post, I wasn't at all sure what I was going to say. After the last six weeks of holiday cooking, I had no new cookbooks or recipes I wanted to try. Once we finished up the leftovers from our New Year's Eve party, we spent the rest of the week eating light, light, light.

Then while I was cleaning up the kitchen one night I started thinking about some of the changes we made during the last 18 months or so and what we hope to do this year, starting with my plans for spending one of my kitchen-shop gift cards.

I should at least mention the electric pressure cooker, which was new to me last year. You'll read all about my experiences with it and how it compares to my old friend the stovetop model in a future post. In the meantime, here's what's happening in my kitchen.

Cast Iron

Many years ago I bought eight cast iron skillets at an estate sale. Once I cleaned and reseasoned them, we used them intermittently with our copper-bottomed stainless-steel pans. Then came the no-stick pan decade. Yeah, clean-up is easy, but after a while, no matter how careful we were, we noticed the plastic started to wear off and, one by one, the pans had to be replaced.

Early last year we stopped buying new ones and have turned back to our trusty cast-iron and safe stainless-steel. We use our cast-iron for everything, from roasting chicken and veggies to frying eggs. And you know what? Our well-seasoned pans are virtually no-stick and clean-up is a breeze: wipe them out, add a little oil, and place them in the oven for 10 minutes. I can't figure out why we fell for the no-stick hype.

Ditching the Plastic

Sometime in 2015 I was dealing with the stack of cheap plastic containers that seemed to fill an entire cabinet. Many of them were discolored, some were missing lids, and I had already developed a healthy skepticism about using them in the microwave. In a fit of "what the heck are we doing?" we tossed all the containers in a bin and hauled it down to the basement. I resurrected our glass and porcelain refrigerator dishes, and we bought some additional pieces as needed.

Even though glass is heavy and breakable, we haven't once regretted making the switch, even when one of us has to pack a lunch. I love cutting down on plastics, though we still use plastic bags and plastic wrap.

Replacing My Egg Cooker

In the #$%^ years since I rented my first apartment, I've always had an egg cooker. Sorry, you can't convince me that I don't need it. The first two were made by Sunbeam and each lasted many more years than most small appliances do. My second one bit the dust last month and I set out to replace it. Not an easy thing, as it turns out. I bought and returned two units before I tried the Cuisinart.

Right from the start this little machine made perfect hard-boiled and poached eggs. I even tried the small omelet pan that comes with it. Okay, so not quite the omelet you'd make in your *cast-iron* pan, but kind of nice to let the machine do the cooking for me. And easy-peasy clean-up too.

In the Future

As I mentioned, I have a gift card burning a hole in my pocket. Although I'm mostly a coffee drinker, I like hot tea in the afternoon during the cooler half of the year. I usually drink some kind of breakfast tea (Irish, English, estate), but occasionally I go for green tea or chai. I'm still boiling my water the old-fashioned way, using a whistling tea kettle I got as a Christmas present a long time ago. At least part of my gift card money is going to a stainless-steel kettle with different temperature settings. As for spending the rest of the card? Hummmm, I'll have to see what catches my eye.

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Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book reviews (novel, nonfiction), cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, quotations, photographs, restaurant reviews, travel information, or fun food facts. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend. You do not have to post on the weekend. Please link to your specific post, not your blog's home page.

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