Seasoning a Cast Iron

Lately, I have had several people reach out concerning their cast iron skillets and pans, so I thought I would share some the knowledge that I have learned over the years that have worked well for me in my kitchen. Many years ago, I had a hard time keeping my iron up. It seemed like every time I had my blood drawn, they would tell me my iron was low. I ate healthy, but it just wasn't enough.One day, my doctor asked me if I had iron pans, and I said yes, I have an iron skillet. He suggested I try cooking in it more….so I did. Eventually, I added more skillets, Dutch ovens, and muffin pans until I had a complete cast iron set for most of my home cooking.

The number one way to keep your cast iron in good shape is to USE IT!!! Everyday! Cast iron is porous, so the best way to keep it "healthy and seasoned" where it doesn't stick is to get the skillet hot BEFORE you add any fat to it, let the fat get hot, and then add your products. This goes with using it on top of the stove or the oven.

For daily use, I let the cast iron cool slightly after use and wipe it out with a paper towel. If there is a spot that sticks somewhat, I add hot water to it, let it soak for just a few minutes, and use my steel wool scrubber, and it wipes right out. DO NOT EVER USE DISH SOAP ON CAST-IRON! It removes all the seasoning, and this will cause your cast iron to stick. In winter, after cleaning, I will dry it thoroughly on the wood stove and then spray it with olive oil or lard. The main thing is to dry it completely and rub fat on it. This keeps it "seasoned." And it will be ready for use in the future.

Over a period of time, cast iron can have "build up" on the sides and sometimes the bottom. The best way to clean it is to first add hot water, as hot as you can stand it, take a steel wool scrubber, and clean the inside of the cast iron. If that doesn't work, I suggest using equal parts water and white vinegar, letting it sit for a few minutes, and then use the scrubber to clean it again. Dry it, add your fat of choice with a paper towel, and let it sit.

Most of my cast iron has come from estate sales, thrift stores, or yard sales; they are covered with rust in most situations. There is a way to bring them back to life! If they are really bad, I will have Moonie build me a small fire. Once there are lots of coals (with no flame), I will put the skillet in the coals, add coals to the inside of the skillet, and walk away until it is cooled completely. Remove the skillet once cooled, take the steel wool scrubber, clean it thoroughly inside and out, and start using it. The best way to begin seasoning is with good ole BACON. Fry the bacon, leave the grease inside it, and let it set until you use it again. Repeat the process. The main thing is to keep using the skillet. It WILL season. It just takes patience and time.

Never throw cast iron away. It will eventually, with use, and proper maintenance becomes a wonderful addition to your kitchen for many generations to come!Feel free to reach out and ask any additional questions you may have concerning your cast iron, and I will be happy to help!

My friend died this week

My friend died this week…

As spring has quickly turned into summer, I have found myself moving from task to task, from what must be done today to what must be done first to what is screaming the loudest.  I am sure everyone feels that way at some point in life.  Not stopping to just enjoy the moment even though you are enjoying the journey.

When I was 15, my father moved us from East Tennessee to Middle Tennessee to minister to a congregation in Dickson County.  To say that I was not happy about this was an understatement. I was more than happy to tell anyone who would listen how unfair this move was for me and how horrible my life had become being away from the only world I had ever known.  Looking back, I would not have wanted to be in the same room with me! 

There was a lady, a single mother of two sweet little girls, and a rowdy, loveable toddler boy that came into my family's life.  She was quiet and very humble but had a way of saying something without saying something…. Do you know what I mean?  My mom kept her son while the girls were in school, and she went to nursing school.  We quickly became friends outside of church, and she would often stop by with the kids just to visit, we were so happy to have "company' because all our friends and family were back home.  Now, if you have never been around a pastor's home in ancient times, you may not fully understand the rest of this story, but stick with me here. 

In those days, the pastor would receive a "pounding" of groceries every first Sunday of the month.  It was tradition for little country churches to have this custom.  Over time, we realized that our new friend gave us such nice poundings each month when we knew she did not have the resources to do so.  She went beyond what anyone else would have considered acceptable.  She did it because she loved us, and we were extremely grateful.

Over time, I found out that she had previously been a beautician of sorts, and in those days, all the girls had perms in their hair.  Of course, my parents couldn't afford for me to keep a perm in my thin, stringy hair, but mom would give her the money to buy a box perm, and she would put it in my hair at home.  She was actually giving me a perm on the day that the Space Shuttle Challenger went down on January 28, 1986.  It had snowed, and we were all out of school.  We had the television on, but the sound was turned down.  It's funny how you remember exactly where you were and what you did during such times.

On another occasion, the youth at church had a spaghetti fundraiser after church on Sunday, and teenagers being teenagers, we somehow managed to burn the sauce, and when I say burned….it was awful.  No one complained; they just gave us the donation we were looking for, and I am sure they went home and fixed a sandwich because that spaghetti was really horrible.  We had LOTS of sauce left over…. I wonder why no one wanted seconds???? Anyway, my friend offered to take the sauce home and "fix it," and we would have it after church that night.  When she returned with the sauce, I remember tasting it and saying, "What in the world did you do to this sauce?"  I thought she had thrown it out and made a new homemade sauce.  She simply replied, "I put three mustard seeds in it and said a prayer over it."  To this day, that sauce remains one of the best-tasting sauces I have ever experienced.

Her life wasn't easy, but no one ever knew it.  One Christmas, she bought presents and wrapped them all under the tree.  While they were gone, someone came into their house and stole every single gift…no one ever knew until weeks later what had happened.  I think one of the kids finally said something, but she never did.

As life happens, Dad moved us back to East Tennessee; she moved away with her family.  She graduated from nursing school, raised her family, and had a career.  After I was married and had small children of my own, I heard that her dad had passed away, and so I went to the funeral home.  We sat in my car, and she talked about how heartbroken she was that her father had died alone and how she had held the hand of many a person so they didn't have to die alone.  I knew then at that moment that I was sitting with a jewel.  I was no longer a bratty teenager who saw someone who would endure my attitude but a real, genuine person who cared about people in general and those individuals who had no one to care for them.

Years went by, and I wasn't sure what had happened to my friend. Then, Facebook came along, and there she was.  We swapped a hello, a quick catch-up, and a "Happy Birthday," but nothing serious.

I had heard she had been sick, and last year, she came back to our area, and her kids had given her a big party for all the locals to come by and say hello.  She was as beautiful as ever and gracious beyond what I even remembered.  Even though she knew her diagnosis, she never made the party about her, she was so kind about asking everyone how they were and what they had been up to in all those missing years.

I came across her address a few weeks back and sent her a card.  She has been on my mind ever since.  My sister received a call that she wasn't doing well. My parents had wanted to go up to see her but just weren't physically able to do so…. then we received word that she had passed gently with her sweet family surrounding her.  I was so glad that she received the send-off that she had so kindly given to strangers for years. 

I know she has so many jewels in her crown for being the hands and feet of Jesus in her quite gentle way.

Thinking about so many examples, my friend left me to follow. I smiled because I was amongst a legend that had never been discovered by fame and fortune. Those are the best kind of people to be around….

Even though she wasn't in my daily life, she was dear to my heart, and I feel very privileged to call her a friend.

Dear Judy, I will see you on the other side one day!

Honey’s Coconut Cream Pie

HONEY’S COCONUT CREAM PIE

My mother always cooked from scratch when I was growing up.  Package foods were just not something she ever invested in.  She cooked supper six nights a week even when she worked a full-time job.  On Sunday mornings before church, she would get up early and fix the family breakfast and prepare Sunday Dinner so it would be ready when we came in from church to eat.  She never ran through the drive-thru on the way home.  We always had a meat and vegetables from the garden or if the garden was done for the season, vegetables that she had canned for the winter. Mama never has been a big baker, she had her “specialty desserts” that she prepared on occasions such as family reunions, holidays and church dinners.  One dessert that I always remember her making was Coconut Cream Pie.  It is always delicious and I wanted to pass it on to you so you too can share it with your family and friends.  Easter is just a few days away and this is a perfect make a day ahead pie so you aren’t rushed on Easter Sunday.

You will need:

1/4 c corn starch

2/3 c sugar

2 1/2 c whole milk

3 eggs separated

1 t vanilla

1 c coconut (plus a tablespoon to put on top of the meringue)

1 pre-baked pie shell

In a heavy sauce pan over medium heat, mix together corn starch, sugar, milk, yokes from the eggs.  Stir until mixed well.  Keep an eye on the pan because as it warms up, it will thicken quickly, usually 5-8 minutes.  Once it is thickened, add in the coconut and vanilla, and remove from heat.

Let the filling set for 10 minutes before adding to your pre-baked pie shell

To make the meringue:

Add the egg whites to a glass bowl and use a mixer on high and create stiff peaks.  After peaks are created add the following with the mixer still going

3 T powdered sugar

1/4 t salt

1 t vanilla

Mix until it is smooth and glossy. 

Add meringue to top of pie filling carefully not to let the meringue touch the shell, this will keep your shell from getting soggy. Top with remaining coconut

Place in pre-heated 350 degree oven until golden brown on top, usually 5-7 minutes.

Let cool completely before storing in refrigerator in air tight container.

Enjoy!

Our Story

Our Story...

Why Marmie and Moonie? Where did these names come from?

Marmie... when my girls were small, their favorite book was "Little Women" and we often rented the VHS (yes we are that old) from the Springfield Library. You know the one with Wynonna Ryder and we would watch it time and time again. One day we were at the local mall (yes we are that old that we went to the mall often) and there was a shoe store that was named "Marmie" and I told Elizabeth and Makayla right then and there that when I was blessed with GRANDchildren that I wanted to be called "Marmie." Fast forward to March 19, 2017 my dream came true and we were blessed with our "Delilah Grace"and I have been "Marmie" ever since. Moonie...well that was all from Delilah. I am not sure if when she started talking, she heard that word from somewhere or if she just made it up on her on but Moonie was gifted his name by Delilah and he answers to her sweet voice every time the word is uttered off those sweet lips.

Our story really isn't that unique. We both come from blue collar families. Mine from coal mining/preachers/gardeners/preservers and his logging/farming/hunting/river-men. Our families passed down homesteading traits from one generation to the next, not because it was trendy but because it was necessary if the family was going to eat through the winter. Even though our journey maybe a little different today, we still hold on to these traits and traditions and one of our goals through our little farm is to help preserve these skills and pass them on to the generations after us.

We are both Tennessee natives. I am from East Tennessee (Go Vols)and Moonie is from Middle Tennessee. We have known each other since our late teens but did not come together in life until we were in our fourth decades. I am the "middle child" of three girls and Moonie is the "baby" of three boys.

Farming together has always been our goal. We have been gardening, hunting and preserving together for many years now. We have found out what does and doesn't work for us and we look forward to sharing this journey with you in hopes that you too can make your dreams come true. One day at a time.