Baking Soda

Baking soda is the cleaning tool that I use for both of my cast iron skillets, when some food residue has gotten stuck. After the skillets are cool enough, I simply boil some water in them with some baking soda for a few minutes and them stir and scrub carefully. Because the baking soda is a natural ingredient, I tend to use more than I need. After cleaning, I rinse the skillets clean with hot water and use towels to dry them. The next step is putting the skillets on the stove with medium heat to remove extra moisture and apply a thin layer of oil to prevent rusting.
As my extra precaution, when I bake pizzas with my 12" skillet, I apply a thin layer of cooking oil outside of the skillet, including the handles. I put it into the oven while the oven heats up to the desired temperature. Then I simply bake the pizzas as usual. This method is like 2 birds with 1 stone. You do not have to spend extra time just for reseasoning or worry about spotty rusts.

Wash It or Not?!

I always wonder how to keep my cast 12" iron skillet clean after each use. Depending on each situation, I don't wash it unless food is stuck on the skillet. Before I wash it, I would boil some water in it with some baking soda. When this method does not work, I use the stiff dish brush to scrub the skillet. If necessary, I would use very little dish soap. After cleaning or washing, I dry it with a dish cloth or a paper towel, then I put it on the stove top with medium and a few drops of cooking oil for coating purpose.
I found a couple rusty spots on the 12" cast iron skillet exterior last night. The rusty spots were very minor, not a big problem. I did not fix the problem last night since I planned on baking a pizza with it today. Right before I turned the oven on for preheating, I scrubbed downed the rusty spots and applied some olive oil. I, then, threw the skillet into the oven while it reheated to 450。F. After the oven reached the temperature, I took the skillet out and applied some seasoning for baking pissa. After removing baked pizza, no food residue was stuck on the skillet. I simply removed food pieces and wiped down the skillet carefully. I coated the skillet with thin-layer of olive oil and put it into the oven for seaoning purpose, while both were still hot.
After baking that pizza, I realize that why some cast-iron-cookware users do not wash them. After the skillet is so-well used and seasoned, nothing sticks on it anymore. They simply wipe it down and apply little cooking oil after each use. The cooking surface becomes smooth and non-stick naturally. Cast iron cookwares can really last for generations, when the users take care of them. My non-stick cookwares are replaced by the cast irons because I really enjoy cooking with cast irons now. I pass them down to my future generations, which is very cost-effective. Once we have and learn how to use cast irons, we can cook healthy meals and save money at the same time. Compare to non-stick cookwares, they wear out very fast. They need to replaced consistatly.

Baking Pizza

A lot of people in the U.S. like pizzas a lot. There are people out there that bake our own pizzas, regardless on how you get them. You can buy the pizza pans or pizza baking stones. I agree that these pans are convinient. My problem is that why we buy it. Of course, we can bake without it to creat that nice crust, with a mess on the bottom of that oven to clean up afterward. The other problem is that a lot of ovens we use are electrics, which cycle thro out baking. The cycles might creat a little inconsistancy. I start wondering how I can improvise in order to solve the problem.
Aha!!! I can use my cast iron skillet. Cast iron cookwares are known for their heat consistancy. So I decide to bake with my cast iron skillet that you see in the picture. Before I put everything together for baking, the oven is preheated to 450。F. To prevent sticking, the skillet is light coated with very little vegetable oil, but you can choose your own. I throw some salt, pepper, chili pepper, and a little bacon pieces. You can choose your own seasonings. A few minutes before the oven is ready, I put the skillet into the oven to preheat, which will help baking the pizza and keep the oven at a consistant temperatrue.


Here is how the pizza turns out. The skillet is hot right out of the oven, so protect your hand properly. Be careful where you put it. You can see in the picture that I put the skillet on the top of something to prevent damaging the counter or the range. Then I use my spetula to push it around a little bit, then the pizza is off to the plate for dinner.

Cheap

I admit. I'm just saving money. Here is my idea of keep the wall clean while cooking.

12" Cast Iron Skillet

Here is my second cast iron skillet that I have been using for about 3 months now. This meets my needs, and also is made by Lodge. I enjoy cooking with because of its versatilities with high heat. Even though it was pre-seasoned, I still washed it in warm water and a little bit of soap. About a month and half into using and cooking, I got some food stuck on the bottom. Regardless how hard I tried, I just couldn't get the food residue off. A good friend of mine cooked with it. He then washed it so hard that a lot of seasoning on the bottom was gone. Yep, I was a little bit upset about it. At least the food residue was gone. And I got to rebuild the seasoning by cooking with it.
When I restarted with the seasong, I thought about using the oven to bake it, but then I would miss out a lot of fun. I decided to cook with it in order to build that seasoning. The process was slow and painstaking, but worth awhile. I did frying, searing, browning, and baking. The pictures show the result.

Wok

Since I live in Indiana, finding a suitable Chinese wok in an American kitchen can be a challenge. I had found a few American-version woks, which were coated with non-stick or cooking paint. I vissted a few of Asian stores and hoped that they would have woks. Only 1 of them had woks which were just too big. Today, I stumbled into an Asian store that I had never been to and found what I was looking for.
Unfortunately, I did not buy the wok for several good reasons. First, I already have 2 cast iron skillets and a dutch oven. Second, the wok will be rarely used. Third, getting my portable gas burner in-and-out is a hassle. Forth, I do not need extra cookwares at the moment. Having a wok is still on my to-buy list in the near future.

Watch Where You Touch

I learned this the hard way about a year ago. When you finish working raw hot chili, such as jalapanios, you should never touch your eyes or skin. Or you would be crying. You can wear a pair of surgical gloves while working with them and/or wash your hands with soap afterward.

My Traning Wheel

This is my first cast iron skillet, which is 11 inch and made by Lodge. I bought this about 5 months ago as my training wheel. I was getting tired of using non-stick pans and pots. Alton Brown's "Good Eats" gave me the idea of using the cast iron skillets. So I decided to try it out. This skillet is still in the working order, but can only withstand 400。F. When I started using it, I did a little frying and stir fries, but always got some food stuck on the bottom. Boiling some water with baking soda definitely helped.
Even though this skillet still works, but it just could not meet my needs. I needed a skillet which could take high heat for baking and cooking. Most of all, I wanted somethat that could last for years and be seasoned as I use it. My quest for the next skillet and dutch oven started.