lazy Sunday...

Since I had to stay home from church today with dog problems, I decided to do some cooking and kitchen tool maintenance.  We use mostly cast iron for stove top (and some baking) and I know that many people I've talked to are put off by the unknown in regards to cast iron.  How do you clean it?  How do you maintain the seasoning?  I've found that it is really simple as long as you know the do's and don't of cast iron.  If you own any Pampered Chef stoneware, you can easily make the step to cast iron, as the care is very similar.

The do's:

DO use oil to help maintain the non-stick-iness of the surface.  This is a big help at clean up time.  Flour can also be used to help with food sticking to the surface.  Cast iron will become easier to cook with as far as sticking is concerned the more you use it (the more seasoning the better!).

DO rinse you cast iron with hot water, but as mentioned before do not soak it! Wipe it dry with a cloth or paper towel after you have rinsed it.

DO season your cast iron.  Especially if you have picked up a new pan or one from a flea market or thrift store.  Bare metal is much more prone to rust, and seasoning coats and protects the metal.  To season your pan, simple wipe cooking oil all over the inside and outside of the item with a lint free cloth or paper towel and bake for 45 minutes at 350 degrees.  (*do NOT use this method of seasoning for items with wood handles)

DO use your cast iron on the stove top and in the oven.

DON'T use metal utensils to cook with your cast iron.  They will strip away the seasoning and the resulting bare metal will be vulnerable to rust.  Wood is the best choice when cooking with cast iron.

DON'T use soap on your cast iron.

DON'T ever put your cast iron in the dishwasher.  You should always wash it by hand.

DON'T ever soak cast iron in water.  It will rust.  But if you do, there are ways to salvage it, so...

DON'T throw it away!  A natural and less damaging way to do so is to use cooking oil (vegetable, olive, ect.) and salt.  This is also a good method for regular maintenance of the pan.  These should be items you have around the house already, so it also saves you the hassle of getting special cleaning supplies.

My salt and oil are always right next to the stove/oven.

Drizzle some oil in the pan, then shake out some salt to cover the bottom of the pan, about a teaspoon.

scrub with a cloth or paper towel and...

Voila!  You have a gleaming seasoned pot to cook with!

I am wishing I was able to go to church rather than stay home with doggie dilemmas, so to all who got to go lucky you!  Hope everyone had a blessed Sunday.  Anything stand out for you at church today?

First real summer weekend....

mileage: 6/25 4.1 miles; 6/27 8.2 miles

total June mileage: 67.2

I'm proud to say that I finally had my first real summer weekend (yeah I know it's already practically July but whatever), where Steve and I went out together to explore Alaska and have fun.

Friday I just rode to and from REI for an interview that went really well. I should hear back from them before Wednesday, so for now it's just a waiting game. If I got the job I would be working in the cycling dept in the summer and the nordic/downhill ski and snowboard dept in the winter which would be perfect. Obviously I'm really excited and am hopeful that I'll get the job. I'll be sure to include some news in a post when I know more.

Saturday Steve and I headed to Seward to meet up with his brother and sister in law.

We stopped on the side of the road like tourists to take this picture of a cow and her twin calves, but it was a sight we don't even often see - and it seemed so perfect and tranquil. We got there about 45 minutes ahead of them, so we ate and then headed down in the beach to let the dogs out and enjoy the typical rainy Seward weather.
(It was beautiful. I am always taken aback by how breathtaking the green hills surrounding Seward are, every time I come here. I think the rainy/misty weather is my favorite.)

We headed down to the beach in the light rain and let Pepper run around a bit. She needed it after being stuck in the Jeep for so long. After Ben and Mercedes got there, we kept walking on the beach for 40 minutes or so.
It was good to see the brothers together enjoying a chance to just talk and not work on a project together, ect. Whenever we get together Mercedes and I usually branch off and go our seperate way while the " boys" (they aren't really boys I guess but we always call them that when they are together). Mercedes and I drove out to Millers Landing and parked at the Lowell Point trail head. We hiked about 5-6 miles and it felt great.
(About a mile into the hike, we came to spot where a spring flood had inundated the trail with huge boulders, branches, and other debris. It was amazing to see the aftermath of what had obviously been a raging summer flood.)

We spent about two hours talking about everything and anything that came to mind and it was thereputic. Mercedes is 30 weeks pregnant and I don't get to see her often enough. It's funny because when I actually lived in Homer, she and I weren't actually friends. We were "family" and therefore saw each other pretty often but nothing ever really went beyond the "fam" label. Over the last four years, we've actually become close friends and I think of her now interchangeably as family and great friend. I am so excited for their baby to come, and wish that we lived closer.
The trail was great, wide and rocky with the feeling of a leafy "ceiling" caused by the overhanging trees. I think we gained only 600 of the 900ft of elevation before we turned back, but two hours of steady uphill is a lot of ask of a pregnant lady! :) We then met up with the boys for a delicious din din at Rays. Steve and I actually ordered too much food, so we brought half of my burger on the drive home with us.
(the glacial lakes and rivers visible on the drive home are always so awe-inspiring. They looked even better to me in the subdued light of a rainy day.)

We got back to reality around 10pm, and the whole trip already felt like a distant memory. That's the worst part about summer activities, you always have to get back to reality at some point, whether at the the end of the day or week.

We woke up Sunday to the cozy sound of the pouring rain outside our window. We went to church in the morning. After a pretty eventful hour in the nursery (lots of vomit and subsequent cleaning while trying to watch four other mobile boys under 2) we rented a bunch of movies and headed home for lunch.

I felt sluggish and completely unmotivated to do much of anything. After sitting on my bed for 20 minutes staring at the wall, I finally decided to go for a bike ride. I could barely muster the energy to pull on my biking clothes let alone climb on my bike, but my attitude perked up considerably as I flew down the hill past the lagoon and realized that the weather had kept the usual Coastal Trail crowd home. I didn't go for too long (Ride time: 30 minutes. Actual time in the saddle: about 25 minutes) but I rode as hard as I could the whole time. I figured as lazy as I had been feeling I couldn't pass up the opportunity to enjoy the empty trail.

(I stopped at the ridge just above Pt. Woronzoff, where I always seem to stop. The rain had started to come down a little harder at this point, and there was no distant horizon to be found.)
I managed to hover around 20 mph the entire ride and it felt amazing. I returned home covered in mud and with burning muscles/lungs and a huge smile on my face. I actually felt energized enough to lift weights for a bit and then settled in to watch an old western with Steve. Pretty good Sunday if you ask me...