Just Like An African Grey

There are birds that live so long that you need to include them in your will.  Well I've come across a tool in my kitchen that I'll have to put in my will - the cast iron skillet!

For years I've used either Caphalon or non-stick treated pots and pans. They served their purpose but even the Caphalon eventually went the way of the albatross.

In addition, my daughter recently bought a bird and as you may know, these critters can be made ill and even die when a pan treated with Teflon becomes overheated. Apparently, when reaching a certain temperature, the pans emit a gas dangerous to the bird's lungs. 

So now I'm in need of some new gear and don't have the bucks for Caphalon and can't use Teflon treated stuff, what's a house-dad to do? Look on Amazon for the untreated pan bargain of the week, that's what!

Armed with my Amazon Prime account and an inkling as to what I'm looking for, I come across 13" and 10.5" cast iron pans made by the US company Lodge, both under $20!  I figure, heck, I'll give it a try.  If they don't work out, I can always leave them in the garage with the old rusted Dutch Oven my Dad put to pasture.

Two days later, my little friends come to the door and I immediately put the small pan to work. I decide to cook up some eggs over-easy. This should inform me as to whether or not they'll be a suitable replacement for my old non-stick pans.

Well, things didin't turn out as well as I would have liked.  The eggs stuck a little bit and left that plasticy residue on the pan. Never the less, I followed the instructions that came with the pan and scrubbed it clean with a soft brush and hot water, dried it immediately and rubbed vegetable oil onto every surface (of the pan, that is). 

At this point I was leary of these pans and was tempted to run to the local Target and pick me up some Teflon bird-killers.  Thankfully I restrained myself and the next chance I had, I cooked me up some liquid meat (eggs) and this time they stuck less, in fact they were almost perfect!  Repeated attempts were more successful than the last and I would say that at this point these beauties work just as well if not better than their non-stick counterparts.

Not to mention, the way these bad boys retain heat due to their dense construction, food browns much better and create more of that carbon-based flavor of love than those hipster non-stick abomonations.

The only drawback I can think of is that these mofos are heavy!  My 13" pan is destined to give me Arnold Schwarzenegger forearms.  I'm talking Terminator one guns, no middle-aged bags o'flab.

In conclusion, I love my new pans made by Lodge.  As far as I can tell, I'll never need a non-stick carcino-plated parrot-polluter for the rest of my life.  And even if I live to the obnoxious age of 100, I'll still be adding that line onto my will that'll bequeath good ole 10" and 13" to my next of kin.