Cast Iron Excellence

Scott and I are in love with our cast iron skillet. It keeps getting better and better with age and use, and I can't imagine breakfast without it. For me, cleaning it is akin to bathing a baby. It's our special time together. There may even be some bonding.

Because I've heard some horrible things people have done to their own skillets, I've created a little tutorial on how to properly love your skillet. Rule number one: NO FREAKIN' SOAP. A cast iron skillet will absorb the flavors of whatever goes in it, so unless you like your bacon with a side of Ivory, don't use soap and water.

Here is my skillet after a delicious breakfast of bacon and eggs this morning:

The first step is to gather the following:

Kosher salt, oil (I like olive), a dishrag (or several paper towels, if you hate the planet), and maybe a stainless steel scrubby thing or steel wool.

Step 1. Use the (dry!) rag to wipe out any food in the skillet. Don't go nuts, just get the big stuff out. Shake off the rag into the sink or garbage, refold so the icky side is on the inside, and set aside.

Step 2. Add a tablespoon or two each of salt and oil.

Step 3. Spread around the salt and oil, and use this to scrub the skillet clean. If there is any food really baked on, use the steel scrubby and elbow grease.

Step 4. Wipe out as much of the salt as you can with your hands (this makes the next step easier).

Step 5. Using the (still dry!) rag, wipe out the rest of the salt and oil.

And that's it! Yay! Clean happy skillet!

To ensure your skillet remains happy, coat in oil (inside and out) and bake it in the oven every once in a while to keep it from rusting. If you find a rust spot (check early and often) scrub it off with steel wool, coat with oil, and bake. We bake it at 300 degrees for about an hour. Watch as your skillet develops a patina over time... it's a thing of beauty. And remember: Soap tastes terrible, and water causes rust. Those two things shouldn't go on your skillet.

A Day Without Rain

I’ve been feeling a little out of sorts the past few days. Nothing major, just a general ickyness. Today, I thought of some possible causes of my malaise:

1. It’s the flu I would have gotten had I not received a flu shot. My fatigue is due to my immune system working overtime to suppress said flu.
2. Mono. It explains why I feel so wiped out, but I've already had Mono, so probably not.
3. Spring Fever. Perhaps this is a real condition: a combination of Cabin Fever and/or Seasonal Affective Disorder and allergies, further complicated by rampant rain-induced mold spores.

Or I just need to eat better and exercise more. Le sigh.

In other news... It was a beautiful day today, and my boss let me out of work a little early. First I bought a pair of Spicolis.

I really love slip on Vans, even more than Chuck Taylors.

Then I went to the eye doctor to get some contacts (it turns out that glasses are rather difficult to fit inside a motorcycle helmet). And now I'm about to go for a walk since it's so nice out. Hooray for short work days!

By the way, I have a Twitter now. It's over there on the right sidebar thingy. >>>

Finally, A House Update

The Spring air has been making us feel antsy to get stuff done around the house. Well, that coupled with the four family members we'll be housing next month. Scott and I really want to get a bunch of stuff scratched off our To Do List before they get here, so it was off to Lowes this morning to do just that. We've got three major-ish projects in mind that can be reasonably done with our time and financial constraints. Today's project: Replace the ceiling lights in the living/dining room.

The lights that came with the house are builder-grade, brass nightmares that have vexed us since the day we moved in.

We've been eyeballing replacements for a while. We don't want anything too matchy-matchy, but they shouldn't look ridiculous together either since they're all in the same area. We found three we liked, opting to replace the hideous "chandelier" with a ceiling fan. Then we spent the afternoon installing them. Or more accurately, Scott installed them while I handed him things, and held stuff.

So much better...

And I can finally get rid of that fucking chandelier. Did I mention it's held together with Scotch tape? Gross.

A List of Things I Like

This list will likely be added to over time:

1. Epic thunderstorms, tornado watch/warning a plus

2. Cool, cloudy weather- I love an overcast (but not rainy) day with highs hovering in the upper 50s

3. Creepy, old trees- bonus points if it's been visibly hit by lightning and/or contains a vulture

4. Popcorn

5. Keurig coffee makers


6. Ivy growing on buildings, especially if it covers the windows (there is no substitute for the way ivy filters sunlight)

7. Apples. I eat at least one a day.

8. Papermate Flair (felt tip) pens

9. Old radio shows, especially mysteries

10. Puzzles: nonograms (hanji), logic puzzles, cryptograms, etc.

11. Movies about the supernatural

12. Robots

13. Growing three plants in one pot

14. The smell of motor oil

15. My Blackberry

16. Dumptrucks

17. Having hair long enough for a ponytail again

18. VitaBrownies

19. Braindonors (hilarious!)


20. Pizza Rolls

Freako McWeirdypants

I think I just learned where I got my freaky streak from. It's gotta be from Mom. I just went through my box of childhood keepsakes for the first time in many years, and the amount of hair my mother saved borders on creepy. I counted six envelopes, from between the ages of one and twelve (they're dated). I can't help but wonder what my mom was thinking... I mean, I get saving a lock from a first haircut, but six? Over more than a decade?

And the weirdest part: the last haircut took place when I was nearly 900 miles away, visiting relatives. My cousin was in beauty school, and needed to cut more than six inches off someone. My hair was super long, so she cut it about shoulder length. It doesn't surprise me that my aunt would have called my mom to make sure it would be okay to chop all that hair off, but it does sort of surprise me that Mom requested a chunk.

Also in the keepsake box: a tin full of baby teeth. I plan on adding my wisdom teeth if they ever come out.

Now I know where to point when people ask me why I saved the skin tags I had removed several years ago. They're swimming in a little specimen cup. I plan on utilizing them one day in my plan to get back at my sister for leaving her teeth on my bed when I was 5. It scared the shit out of me, and I'm still plotting revenge over 20 years later.

I swear, my family isn't as demented as I just made them seem (although I may be the exception).

April 10th Edit: After chatting about this with Scott, apparently it's not that weird to save a bunch of your kid's hair. He suggested that it might be to see how it changes over time, which is sort of reasonable, I guess. But it still seems odd to me.