Coming full circle…

I seriously think I am coming full circle, things from the past interest me more than ever, things that were important just a few years ago no longer matter.  The changes are subtle with the aging process, but it’s happening.

I won’t go into the Ball jar sealing obsession today, but I will tell you that I’m thinking of using pint jars as drinking glasses for iced tea this summer.  I’m once again fascinated with the idea of preserving jams and jellies, and most of all, I’m fascinated by cast iron.

I’ve had so many pieces of cast iron cookware over the years, and it’s long gone now, except for a big skillet that I use constantly, and I wish I had it back.  Especially my mother’s covered dutch oven, but it’s gone and now I’m going to replace it, not with new, but with old.  Hubby will find me one at an auction, he found me a cast iron cornbread pan a couple of weeks ago, you know the kind that makes the corn sticks.

And you’re probably going ewwwwww, that’s nasty, and you’re right it was, but I have the magic bullet, my self cleaning oven.  I wish I would have taken a picture, it was pretty bad, greasy, crusty, rusty, I thought it was hopeless and I had no desire to clean it, that would involve a ton of elbow grease.  But I read online to just sit it in the bottom of your oven and turn it on the cleaning cycle.  My oven needed to be cleaned anyway, so I did it, and it came out perfectly clean, everything was gone, no grease, no crud, just light surface rust.  We went to visit the kids so I didn’t have time to finish the process, but a quick scour with steel wool, then vegetable oil, reseason in a 250 degree oven and it will be good to go.  I’ll post a picture when it’s finished.

I got a catalog from Lodge in the mail, and I’ve decided that I now need a wedge pan for cornbread and scones.

Then I found this drop biscuit pan and decided that I need it as well.

 

My mother would smile if she could see my interest in all of these things.  I was thinking last night as I put pudding in dishes that I need to find the stemmed dessert dishes that she used to have.  She gave me a set, once again they’re long gone.  I never ever thought I would want these things, but now I do.  I’m fortunate that LC likes going to auctions and tag sales, he seems to always come up with the things I’m looking for.

I’ve also been straining my plain, unflavored yogurt lately to make my own greek yogurt, and now I’m going to buy a 2 quart yogurt maker.  I’ve researched them and I like the ones from YoGourmet and Euro Cuisine.  And yep, you guessed it, I used to have one and it’s long gone.  But it was individual cups, and these are two quarts. I like the idea of using a half gallon of milk and making a big batch, because when you strain away the whey to make greek yogurt it reduces by half.  I even made Granola a few weeks ago.  What is going on with me??? 

I’ve been eating really healthy this winter, no fast food, except for the occasional Egg McMuffin, hardly any processed foods, just daily salad-in-a-jar, beans, nuts, lots of veggies and a little lean meat, a lot of yogurt, brown rice, whole grain pasta and bread.  I feel wonderful when I eat this way, and no I’m not losing weight, but I’m not gaining either.  Will it last, or is this another one of my flash-in-the-pan whims?  Time will tell, but for now I’m enjoying what I’m doing.

And about that yogurt, my favorite way to eat it is to sweeten it with the one processed food I do eat, Splenda, well except for Diet Coke, which I adore and will never give up.  A girl has to have a few vices.  I add vanilla or almond flavoring to my thick yogurt, nuts (almonds, walnuts or pecans) occasionally chopped apples and it’s amazing.  Of course it’s even better with honey or maple syrup, but I’m not eating sugar right now, so I stick with the nuts and different fruits.  I like it so much more than flavored yogurt from the grocery store that’s filled with preservatives.  And homemade yogurt is so good, it’s amazing how much better it is than the kind you get in the store, so I’m looking forward to making my own.  When I used to make it the taste was delicious, much less sour than the yogurt you get at the store, but I thought it was a little watery, but now that I know how to strain it, I’m anxious to see the results, I bet it is wonderful!

I just don’t get my sudden intense interest in “making” all of these foods.  I’m even thinking about dusting off the dehydrator and drying some fruit.  I think it goes back to childhood when we made practically everything we ate, well except for my beloved Blue Bell Bologna.

So I’ll just go with the flow, and see what happens with all of this. You notice that it all involves food, no surprise there, I’ve always been a foodie and a kitchen gadget lover.

Hope you all have a good weekend, I can’t wait til Saturday, 9am so that I can once again be mesmerized by Pioneer Woman on FoodTV.  Jeezy Pete, I’m hopeless…