The Cookware Blog

Temperature and Oil

Stainless steel makes for great gas tubing in any barbecue but also makes an excellent grill. The trick with a stainless steel grill is to coat lightly with oil and never heat too quickly.

I’ve used everything from the rotisserie to roasting pans but when you can slow roast directly on the grill and not lose any food to sticking… well it just makes life easier.

Poultry Slow Roasted

By lowering the temperature and trying to avoid direct heat you can extend the cooking time without drying out poultry. Simply heat the grill and slide the bird back and forth to allow the natural fats to coat the grill.

You’ll rarely lose more than piece of skin off the back and more often than not leave the grill almost completely clean when you’re done.

If you own a tenderizer (or you’re really good with a fork) try seasoning the skin beforehand. I’ve had just as much luck keeping things juicy with this method as with using a marinade injector.

Seasoning Is The Spice They Like

Cast iron cookware that has been properly seasoned is the original non stick cookware.

We don’t use a range of typical oils because of health concerns although I don’t think ‘Seasoning’ your pan will adversely affect your health as cooking with the wrong oils can.

1. Coat the cookware with a thin layer of oil (we use Rice Bran or Coconut).
2. Place in the oven for 30 to 60 minutes at 300 – 500 degrees upside down with something underneath to catch the dripping oil.
3. Repeat several times initially and periodically depending upon the amount of use.

Recycled Cookware

If you find old cast iron skillets and pots at yard sales or stuffed away in attacks inspect them for cracks and chips. The best place to recycle older cast iron cookware is in your kitchen.

While buying new cast iron cookware isn’t expensive age doesn’t diminish their value. If the cookware is intact just go through the seasoning steps and it’ll work like new.

No More Paper

Why I discovered the use of stainless steel coffee strainers at the end of a long journey to find the, “Perfect Cup of Joe” I’m not sure.

Even before switching from paper strainers we made the conscious decision to use organic coffee.

My wife drinks decaf so we went with the coffee that comes from the only natural water treatment plant up in Vancouver to ensure the beans were free of unnecessary chemicals.

Hidden In The Cupboard

I had actually begun pricing the systems that wake up before me, grind the beans and make the coffee (still sounds nice) when I came across an old espresso maker my wife had given me as a gift years ago.

While it only makes a single cup, it’s stainless steel throughout. Not even the reservoir container is made of plastic.

Now my morning cup comes from the finest organic beans, purified water, a dash of cinnamon and raw milk from grass fed cows. I’ve even made cappuccino on rare occasions.

For the finest coffee available anywhere we shop at CoffeeBeanDirect.com

No More Cheap Stuff

There are a few rules that shouldn’t be compromised:

• Don’t leave sharp objects where small children can reach them-
• Don’t keep foods past their expiration dates-
• Never cook with dangerous non stick cookware-

PFOA & PTFE

It seems like yesterday it was BPA in plastic water bottles. Now that’s old news.

Why put BPA in any plastics?

When you get somebody to answer that ask them why companies use ‘high fructose corn syrup’ and ‘hydrogenated oils’ because most of us don’t need help getting sick.

Why is it so hard to get new products approved and so easy to find dangerous products on the market?

Just like the manufacturing sector was buzzing with ‘BPA Free’ water bottles, they now have two different marketing angles to work with ‘PFOA and PTFE’ free non stick cookware. People who are going ‘Green’ and people who don’t want to get sick by making eggs for breakfast.

Recommendations?

You bet! Stay away from cookware that’s dangerous!

There are a lot of new products to choose from and some companies that need to be asked a hard question:

‘Were you selling dangerous non stick cookware before you started making these fancy PFOA and PTFE free sets?’

Then ask the follow up question if you still own their old cookware, ‘Are you buying back this @&%# that you sold before making the change?’ (sorry for my typo)

They continue to define the country kitchen because rooster kitchen decor reminds us of a sights, sounds and smells that are only found in wide open spaces. Bring back that country feeling with some new decor that’s worth crowing about.

While the bright colors can accent almost any floral pattern, the country rooster also comes in the two tone variety. When the bright colors are too much for us, the familiar pattern still brings back memories of life on the farm.

Waking up to the aroma of fresh coffee and biscuits on a table top dressed with our favorite rooster just makes our kitchen feel warm and cozy.

I don’t like accidents and I don’t like blood which means choosing cooking utensils requires safety consciousness. Knives should be sharp and the handles secure to avoid needless injury. Selecting the proper knife for the job will also help keep the cooking process uninterrupted.

When it comes to chopping and slicing most cooks have a specific choice. Mine has a curved blade so that it rocks gently across the food. If I have several different tasks to perform while preparing a meal that special knife gets washed and dried often.

Sometimes even before I plan a meal, I’ll know how much will be leftover, and the type of  kitchen storage container that will save it all. Getting the leftovers eaten before they spoil is another issue, but it helps to know what and how I’m going to save the extra food. If we have a lot of variety, I’ll either put together individual meals, or keep everything separate so that everyone can pick and choose.

Saving leftovers is only one use for kitchen storage containers. We stopped using cereal and cracker boxes long ago. Storage containers stack and store more neatly; plus we never seem to have stale crackers any more. Pasta, beans, coffee and dry bread for homemade bread crumbs all store more efficiently in a proper kitchen storage container.

Winter time for us always includes homemade soup. While many vegetables are out of season, those we’ve frozen, dried or canned work well in soup. Fresh game may be the only remaining ingredient that we don’t have on hand, but the local butcher may have something in the freezer from hunting season.

Our soups are always created start to finish in stainless steel stock pots. Regardless of the type of soup or variation of the recipe we know it’ll always taste like we intend. Even hiding inside from the cold doesn’t diminish our love for a simmering pot of soup on the back burner. A loaf of homemade bread or rolls and we’re ready for a hot wintry meal.

When I consider how valuable a kitchen tool is to me, the first question I’ll ask  is how difficult would the job be without it. If the meal simply cannot be accomplished without a specific tool, then it is invaluable. Some cooks will tell you that the tool becomes invaluable when their creations aren’t exquisite.

To be honest, without the stainless steel cookware set, we’re eating pizza for thanksgiving. On top of the variety of vegetables, sweet potatoes, regular potatoes and cranberry sauce, we always have mushroom gravy.

We take the mushroom sauce recipe, which is whisked in a large frying pan, and add the drippings from the turkey. I’m sure there are other reasons the stainless steel cookware can’t be replaced this holiday, and I’d write them down, but I’ll be watching football.

Fresh cranberry sauce is a favorite holiday tradition in many homes and anyone can have success even if they’ve never made it before. Most recipes simply call for sugar, water and cranberries.

Select a medium saucepan  and dissolve 1/2 cup sugar into 1/2 cup water over medium heat. Stir in 2 cups cranberries for 7 to 10 minutes until the sauce thickens. Always avoid overcooking to prevent the sauce from becoming bitter.

Magazines and recipe blogs are filling up with many exotic creations based on traditional cranberry sauce. Since the base sauce blends well with other fruits, almost any combination works well. If you want to taste the orange zest, or the apple and cinnamon, as well as the cranberry, be sure to use stainless steel cookware to protect the flavor.