Kitchen Tools to Use, part one.

Hello, my name is Dea Warskow and I am a kitchen gadget addict. I love kitchen tools, utensils, and cookware. I admit it, I can't get enough. I love walking through Sur La Table, Williams Sonoma, and flipping through the Pampered Chef Catalog. It inspires me, fuels my curiosity, and gets those creative juices flowing. I am always coming home with a ton of ideas.
People ask me all the time, "What do you use in your kitchen?" Well I am going to share some of "secrets".
For cooking:My mother used these pans all the time, and now I use it all the time, my cast iron. I have quite the collection. Several dutch ovens, a griddle, and several frying pans. I just recently purchased the corn stick pan. So why do I love my cast iron? Here are the reasons:
1. It is the first non-stick pan. With proper seasoning** and care cast iron out performs nonstick any day. **Seasoning: the proper application of oils and heat. It gives the iron its black color.
2. Heat conductibility. Heat transfers easily through cast iron. This provides even cooking temperatures.
3. Iron. When my oldest son was younger, he was anemic. It was at that time that my family physician suggested that I prepared all his meals using cast iron. Iron will leech into the foods you prepare, giving you that added mineral supplement. To me that sounds a lot better than the other chemicals you can get from non-stick cook wear.
So where do I purchase my cast iron? Most department stores have a few pieces in their cookware section, however not many varieties and sizes. Outdoor supply stores, such as Cabela's (www.cabelas.com) or Bass Pro Shops (www.bassproshops.com) are me favorite places. I can always find the larger sizes of pans, and unique cast iron items. They are affordable as well. Just word of advice, if you are ever at an estate sale, flea market, yard sale and you see cast iron cookware, BUY IT. Unfortunately, too many people do not understand cast iron.
If you want to research cast iron I highly suggest visiting the Lodge (www.lodgemfg.com) website.

This is my trusty 14 in skillet, with my Sweet Tomato Sauce simmering away. Ahh I love it!

For Baking: I cannot stress this enough, STONEWARE. This is another natural product that I rave about. I first heard about using stoneware at my bridal shower, of all places. My mother and my sister hosted a Pampered Chef (www.pamperedchef.com) show. I fell in love with stoneware. I purchased a pizza stone, and loaf pan. That began my adventure. I now own several pieces of shapes and sizes.
So why stone?
1. It seasons like cast iron. New pieces of stoneware come coarse and pale. After repeated uses oils absorb into the stone, darkening and smoothing the surface. It too becomes a nonstick surface.
2. Stoneware retains moisture during the baking process.
3. Baked items on stoneware does not burn.
4. Clean up is very easy, however DO NOT use soap. Stoneware is porous and will absorb the soap.

Whole Wheat Sourdough Pizza on a well-seasoned pizza stone. Yummy!

The best pieces of stoneware I own all have come from The Pampered Chef, (www.pamperedchef.com). They have an excellent warranty, five years full replacement. I have broken only one piece in the 16 years and they replaced it very easily.
As I continue to unveil my kitchen supplies I hope you fall in love with kitchen gadgets as much as I am. We may have to create a support group, but I guess that wouldn't be that bad.