Removing Cooked-on Grease

In a comment on our Cleaning Day post, Jess asked,

So how do I get cooked on grease off of my toaster oven baking pan? Can I use vinegar for that? I've been wondering what to do about this for a while.

Glad you asked, Jess. This is a place for the Tide and hot water. Place your baking pan in the hottest water you have available and put in a good amount of Tide. When the water is cool enough to put your hands in comfortably you should be able to wash off the grease. You might have to use some S.O.S. for some really tough spots. This is the way I clean my oven racks.

I don't have to worry about small children so I may have my water hotter than some of you girls. If your water is not really hot just add some boiling water.
Hope this does the trick for you
mama

Jerri says: Hey Jess, while we're talking about hot water, be sure to check the hot water heater in that new house of yours. Set the temperature at about 120 degrees. If the dial doesn't show degrees, put the indicator on the low side of center. Keeping your water hotter than 120 degrees wastes energy and poses a danger to children and older people, whose skin is thin.

Keep Your Parsley and Green Onions Fresh

(Mama here)

Today's tip is how to store fresh parsley and green onions. (You are using fresh parsley in your cooking, aren't you? Oh, I knew you were. It's so much nicer than dried, don't you think?)

As soon as you get home from the store, wash the parsley and green onions and dry them with a paper towel. Trim the tops of the green onions, but leave their roots.

Set them upright in Mason jars and put on the lids.


We put this parsley into the frig about two weeks ago. Still fresh and pretty!

Seasoning Cast Iron Pans

(Mama here) We missed you all yesterday. It's Jerri's fault. She's got us running in circles with Katie's quilt and her cookbook and all that stuff.

Plus, we spent Sunday afternoon buying area rugs for my living room and dining room. My grandson put in hardwood floors for us last winter when we were traveling. We love the hardwood, but our little doggie misses the carpet. We compromised by adding area rugs. Now everyone's happy.

Last week Prema asked how to season a cast iron skillet. Lots of people will tell you lots of things about how to season cast iron, but this is the way I do it. My skillets stay nice, so I guess it works fine.

First, wash the pan (and the lid, if it has one) in hot soapy water. This is one of the things I do that some people warn against. The soap, I mean. Lots of people say you should never use soap in cast iron. I say you should never eat out of dirty pans. So...I use soap.


Rinse the pan thoroughly with hot water. Make sure you get all the soap out of the inside and off the outside.


Next, you need to dry the pan. It needs to be very dry, so I put it on the stove and turn on the burner and watch. You can see when the pan gets dry because the color gets kind of dull. Let it cool slightly, but only enough to handle. It's best if the pan is still warm. Use a paper towel to oil it with a dab of Crisco. First the inside.


Then the outside.


Set the pan upside down on a broiler pan


and put the whole thing in the oven at 350° for about an hour. When the hour is up, turn off the oven and let it sit until cool.


One of the most important things you can do to keep your cast iron from rusting is to make sure it's dry after you use it. I wash my pans, again with the soapy water, and put a light coat of Crisco on them when they're dry. I also store them with one crumpled paper towel inside and another beneath the lid, just to let some air in.

And don't forget that if you do get some rust, you can clean it up with vinegar and water. (Check out my vinegar tips here.) If you go to garage sales or flea markets, keep an eye out for great deals on cast iron. Rusty old pans sell for next to nothing sometimes. You can clean them easily with vinegar and save yourself a whole bunch of money.

There you go. That's how I do it. If any of you have other ideas or suggestions, we'd all like to hear about it. Leave us a comment. As a matter of fact, leave us a comment even if you don't have ideas. We love to hear from you.