SU - Top 5 Reasons Why Cast Iron Is The Greenest Choice For Non-Stick Cooking | Greenopolis

 

SU - Top 5 Reasons Why Cast Iron Is The Greenest Choice For Non-Stick Cooking | Greenopolis

Dependable, that’s what cast iron is. It will last for centuries if properly cared for, and it has a natural non-stick surface that’s eco-friendly.
When I was a bride, my Granny gave me two of her cast iron skillets. A tiny, 6 inch one for making cornbread for two; and a 12 inch skillet for everything else. She told me all I’d ever need to be a good cook was those two skillets, a sauce pan, a stock pot and a casserole dish. And in a pinch, she said, I didn’t really even need the casserole.

Cast iron has been around for hundreds of years. Before fancy teflon cookware was even a notion, cast iron was the standard for good cooks everywhere. Dependable, that’s what cast iron is. It will last for centuries if properly cared for, and it has a natural non-stick surface that’s eco-friendly. You can bake a pan of cornbread, scramble some eggs, make your favorite vegetarian black bean chili or sear a perfect steak. Cast iron cookware is the definition of all-purpose.
If you don’t already have a cast iron skillet, here are a few reasons to go to your nearest resale shop or garage sale and begin looking for one. You won’t regret it.
Top 5 Reasons Why Cast Iron Cookware Is So Green...

Cast iron is naturally non-stick. Properly seasoned (see below) nothing will stick to it. Cast iron eliminates the need for the costly, toxic chemicals used to create the non-stick surfaces in modern cookware.
Eco-easy clean up. All cast iron cookware requires for clean up is hot water and a stiff brush, so you avoid any harmful chemicals in detergent or solvents.

Cast iron can take the heat. It can withstand much hotter temperatures and will distribute the heat more evenly than traditional cookware. And since it holds heat well, you can use less energy to cook. Plus it’s perfect for outdoor cooking. Just remember that cast iron gets hot. so use an oven mitt when handling a hot pan.

It’s a great upcycling opportunity. Don’t ever worry about buying a cast iron skillet or other cast iron cooking vessel—like a dutch oven—from a resale shop or garage sale. Even if it looks rusty and dirty, it can be cleaned and re-seasoned and continue on cooking, forever.
It’s good for you. Cast iron cookware leaches small amounts of iron into food, so you get a little extra iron each time you use it.  Almost anyone, especially women in their child bearing years, will benefit from this.
How To Properly Season Cast Iron Cookware
First, wash your cast iron cookware. This is the only time you will need soap to clean it, but you want to be sure you remove any dust or dirt. If you have a brand new cast iron piece, you will need to do this to remove the wax coating that is on it to keep it from rusting until it’s seasoned. 

Coat your piece in some type of oil. Cast iron has a porous surface. The seasoning process will fill and smooth the surface to make it non-stick. Some type of oil is used to facilitate this process. I use Crisco vegetable shortening. Traditionalists would use lard. You can use plain old cooking oil, too, but you will get better results with Crisco. You want to coat the entire cooking surface with the shortening.  Don’t glob it on, but every nook and cranny should have a nice, medium layer of shortening. Use about as much as you would use to coat a cake pan for baking.

Bake it in the oven. Next, you just pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees and put your cast iron pan in for an hour or so.  After heating, turn off the oven and let it cool completely while still in the oven. Then it’s ready to go!
Heating the cookware creates the oxidation that prevents rust and makes the surface non-stick. Some cast iron users advocate heating the pan slightly before applying the Crisco to ensure that the pan is completely dry and to open the pores of the pan before seasoning. Not a bad idea, but remember cast iron gets HOT.  Use oven mitts. 
Newly seasoned cast iron will take on a dark brown coating. After long use, it will become glossy black. The non-stick properties of the pan will increase with time and use, so use your cast iron often. Remember, seasoning is a process. Even though cast iron can be used immediately after the first seasoning, your cookware will get better and better over time.
How do I re-season a used cast iron piece? If you buy a cast iron piece second hand, the process is still basically the same to re-season it, with one exception. First wash it in hot soapy water, as above. Then I put it in my oven on the highest setting (or on the self-cleaning setting if you have one) and let it bake for a few hours without any oil or shortening. This will remove any rust and the old seasoning. Let it cool, then follow the steps above to re-season.
Caring For Your Cast Iron Cookware
After each use, clean your piece with very hot water and scrub with a stiff brush to remove any particles left behind.  Don’t use soap, it will remove the seasoning.  After you scrub the pan, give it a light coating with some Crisco or vegetable oil and store it in the oven.  Why?  Because the oven will have less moisture, this will help keep your cast iron from ever rusting.  Plus, each time you use your oven is an opportunity to further season your pan.  Even if you take your cast iron pan out while using your oven, give it a light coating of shortening before putting it back in the warm oven.  Especially if it’s a new piece, this will help develop the seasoning further.
I have treasured those skillets Granny gave me, and I’ve added to my collection over the years.  A dutch oven in 1989 and a griddle just last year.  At a garage sale in Los Angeles about 15 years ago, I bought a giant, deep skillet that turned out to be called a Texas skillet.  (An omen, I guess since I live in Texas now. )  I love my cast iron cookware.  I’m guessing you will, too.

For Sebrina's favorite Cast Iron Skillet Thanksgiving recipes - including her cornbread - CLICK HERE NOW!

How To Make a Gift Box Using a Greeting Card | Greenopolis

 

 

 

Instructions on How To Make a Gift Box Using a Greeting Card:

• Cut the card in half across the crease.

• Choose the side that you want to be the bottom half and cut about 1/8 inch from one long side and one short side.

• On the inside part of both cards, measure about 1 inch from the edge length and width wise. If you want a deeper box, cut 2 inches from the edge.

• Lightly draw a grid that you can fold over and cut.

• Fold the cards towards the inside along the lines drawn.

• Hold the card lengthwise and cut along the vertical lines to where the lines intersect.

• Put a piece of double sided tape on the flaps.

• Fold the box up along the lines and fold in the flaps.

• Fold up the end flap so that it sticks to the tape.

• Do the same for the other side and the other box. • Place the larger box on top of the smaller.

Frugality and the Environment

 Reposted With Thanks To: www.myspace.com/208282786

Frugality and the Environment
 
It’s no coincidence that most frugal people are environmentally​ conscious, and vice versa. Frugal lifestyle choices tend to be environmentally​ friendly choices. It’s almost impossible to be concerned about the environment without taking actions that lessen your own environmental impact. Similarly, it’s difficult to be frugal and still have a large negative effect on the environment. The two lifestyles are connected in such a way that dedicating yourself to one or the other almost guarantees commitment to the other, whether you fully realize it or not.
True frugality is not just about saving money, although that’s often the most noticeable benefit and the reason people initially “turn frugal.” True frugality is about using fewer resources, getting more use out of existing goods, and throwing away less over a lifetime.
Sound familiar? Those ideas are also at the heart of environmental consciousness. Understanding the connection between the two movements and making some lifestyle changes that reflect that understanding will result in a healthier financial picture for you and a healthier future for the earth.
So how easy is it to improve the environment and your bottom line simultaneously?​
Here are ten frugal changes you can make that also benefit the environment.

1. Use homemade cleansers rather than commercial preparations
 
Commercial cleansers are overpriced, over packaged, and full of harsh chemicals. There are very few cleaning projects that baking soda, vinegar, and water cannot handle. These ingredients are inexpensive and easy on the environment. Recipes are widely available online and in books about frugality.

2. Switch to cloth whenever possible
 
Reusable cloth napkins, diapers, and cleaning rags are all kinder to the environment than disposable. Cloth creates less waste and requires fewer resources to manufacture than disposable or paper products. Cloth items are also less expensive over the life of the item than their disposable counterparts. Take reusable cloth bags to the store. You’ll prevent plastic bags from entering the landfills and, if your store offers rebates for using cloth and/or charges for plastic as many are beginning to do, you’ll save money.

3. Buy used whenever possible
 
Buying used from yard sales, thrift shops, and consignment stores means that no additional resources went into making your item, and you’ve prevented the used item from ending up in a landfill prematurely. Used items are generally much less expensive than new, saving you money. Want to take this one step further? Borrow or rent items rather than buying when possible. Organize a neighborhood tool or craft supply swap, visit your local library and borrow books, or rent movies and games rather than buying. You’re helping the environment by using existing items, and you’re saving yourself even more money by not buying.

4. Use Mother Nature’s free utilities
 
If you’re allowed to have a clothesline, get one and use it. Let the sun dry your clothes for free. Even if you can’t have a clothesline, indoor drying racks work just as well. Use nature to your advantage in other ways. Open your windows for air rather than cranking up the AC. In the winter, open your blinds to get some free heat. Collect rainwater and use it for watering your garden and flowers. You’ll be using fewer resources and lowering your utility bills in the process.


5. Take up gardening, but don’t use commercial pesticides
 
Growing some of your own food will save you money and result in healthier, less processed food. You’ll save even more money by composting for fertilizer and using natural pest control techniques, such as introducing repelling insects and plants into your garden. These methods are both frugal (almost free, even) and environmentally​ friendly.

6. Consume fewer resources
 
There are many ways to conserve electricity, water, natural gas, and gasoline. Simply turning off unused lights and checking for leaky faucets are good places to start with electricity and water. Driving the speed limit and maintaining your car are simple ways to save fuel. Check online, in books about frugality, and with your utility for more conservation ideas. Each idea you implement not only conserves more resources, but saves you more money as well.

7. Learn to cook from scratch
 
You’ll eat healthier without all the preservatives, and homemade foods are much less expensive than processed foods. And think of all the packaging you’ll keep out of the landfills if you cut down your use of over packaged, individually wrapped foods.
These last three ideas derive from a slogan used to motivate the home front during World War II: “Use it up, Wear it Out, Make it do.” It was sound advice then and remains so today.

8. “Use it up”
 
Use everything you buy and waste nothing. Don’t buy more food than you can eat before it goes bad and don’t throw away leftovers. Get every bit you can out of bottles and tubes of shampoo, moisturizer, etc. Find second lives for products and packaging such as using jars or cans for storage, using magazines for craft projects, reusing boxes for gift wrapping or storage, using bread bags for carrying lunches to work, or using old clothes for rags or craft material. Get creative and come up with your own ideas. Using things up not only ensures that you get every penny from your purchases, it also limits the amount of waste entering the trash stream.

9. “Wear it out”
 
Drive your car until it dies. Wear your clothes and shoes until they wear out. Use your lawnmower until it begs to be taken to the landfill. Avoid upgrading your electronics and computers until they either break or become so obsolete that they no longer perform the functions you need (need, not want). Wearing it out means that you don’t throw things away just for the sake of wanting something newer, flashier, or “cooler.” You only replace when an item is truly worn out beyond repair, becomes unsafe, or prevents you from getting the job done.

10. “Make it do”
 
Tons of stuff ends up in landfills that only needs minor repair work to be serviceable again. Take the time to mend your clothes, refinish your furniture, or repair your lawnmower. Learning basic home, car, and appliance maintenance/​repair techniques will keep you from having to shell out big bucks every time something breaks, and your knowledge will keep salvageable items out of landfills.



You don’t have to give up all your conveniences and go back to frontier-style living to make a big difference to both your wallet and the environment. The more willing you are to learn and experiment, the greater your potential savings and environmental conservation.
There are plenty of places to find ideas, but one of my favorites for those new to frugality is The Tightwad Gazette by Amy Dacyczyn. Just remember that even small changes will make a difference. After a while, you just might find yourself eager to do more as you acquire more skills (and start seeing those savings accumulate in your account).
~ By Jennifer Derrick, originally entitled
"10 Frugal Moves That Improve the Environment"

Posted by Lexi with Love

Talking Dog

A guy is driving around the back woods of Montana and he sees a sign in front of a broken down shanty-style house: 'Talking Dog For Sale. '

He rings the bell and the owner appears and tells him the dog is in the backyard.


The guy goes into the backyard and sees a nice looking Labrador retriever sitting there.
'You talk?' he asks.
'Yep,' the Lab replies.


After the guy recovers from the shock of hearing a dog talk, he says 'So, what's your story?'


The Lab looks up and says, 'Well, I discovered that I could talk when I was pretty young. I wanted to help the government, so I told the CIA. In no time at all they had me jetting from country to country, sitting in rooms with spies and world leaders, because no one figured a dog would be eavesdropping.'


'I was one of their most valuable spies for eight years running. But the jetting around really tired me out, and I knew I wasn't getting any younger so I decided to settle down. I signed up for a job at the airport to do some undercover security, wandering near suspicious characters and listening in. I uncovered some incredible dealings and was awarded a batch of medals.'

'I got married, had a mess of puppies, and now I'm just retired.'


The guy is amazed. He goes back in and asks the owner what he wants for the dog.
'Ten dollars,' the guy says.
'Ten dollars? This dog is amazing! Why on earth are you selling him so cheap?'
'Because he's a liar. He never did any of that crap.