How to season a cast iron pan

Dear fellow foodies!

Today I would like to share with you a trick that I learned about how to season a cast iron pan. Some of you might have read my older blog post about a Chantal cast iron pot review which has been very popular so I have decided to open up my cast iron horizon for you even more and share this beautiful tip how to create a non stick cast iron pan. 

So what is the reason you might want to season a cast iron pan? Quite simply, this process creates a stick-resistant coating using oil. Imagine a layer of vegetable oil or animal fat is cooked onto the cast iron pan. Once this layer is there, it protects your wonderful cast iron pan from rusting. More importantly for me, it gives my pan a non-stick surface and gives me a piece of mind that the iron of the pan will not react with the food I make.  Some of the best chefs recommend this process and they like to repeat it once a year.

When you buy a cast iron pan that is not already pre-seasoned or if you use your pan and forget to season it or dry it well, you need to season it up. And here I am going to show you how to season a cast iron pan step by step. If your iron skillet has any rust, it is really important to scrub it well. What do I scrub it with you might ask? Well a great solution would be to use hot soapy water! Here are the precise steps how to do this.

1.       Dry your cast iron pan with a cloth both inside and out

2.       Heat up your oven to 250 degrees Fahrenheit

3.        Pout a little bit of canola oil on the surface of the cast iron pan and smear it all over (it is good practise to do the handle of the pan as well as the bottom).

4.       Put the cast iron pan into your pre-heated oven for a couple of hours (250 degrees) but make sure you place it on a cooking sheet and turn it upside down on the over rack (this ensures that if there is any oil that concentrates in the middle of the pan, it will drip off).

The heat in the oven opens up the pores of the cast iron pan; the oil seeps in the pores and when you pull it out of the oven, the pores close and create a magnificent non stick surface

5.       Pull the skillet out of the oven (be very careful as it is very hot)

6.       After you bring the cast iron out of the oven, wipe it out again with a paper towel or a cloth (this gets rid of some of the excess oil) and voila!

More tips:

- When you cook with a cast iron pan, it is very important not to use any harsh detergents to clean it as this process would take the seasoning off and you would have to repeat the process all over again. 

- After you wash the skillet (in a mild soap), dry it, put it back on the stove, turn the stove on warm temperature(and again what this does it opens up the pores), make sure the surface is dry and now it is ready to go and it will never rust!

And now I am ready to cook, what shall I do? You will find out in my next post! :)

Long live Cast Iron! : Chantal Cast Iron Review

How many of us dream of our perfect kitchen?

If we were all sitting in a room together right now I bet I'd see a whole lot of hands in the air! I had been living in temporary conditions and saving to move for so long I kept putting off buying the kitchen items I so badly wanted. How many of you are nodding your head right now? "I know how that feels", you're thinking.
I would spend hours browsing around alluring kitchen shops, always tempted to buy buy buy. Every item in the shop speaking to me. All the beautiful stainless steels, pastel colours and shimmering copper. I'm in a dream world in these stores. It's like Kitchen Disneyland for me. But I could not hop on the rides.

Well now that we've finished our move and live in a city where we plan to hopefully stay for a very long time, I will now begin slowly collecting these kitchen items I have been dreaming of for so long.

First on my list has always been the cast iron dutch oven. You know, the ever famous Le Creuset beauty. I won't lie to you, the pot in the image is not Le Creuset. I admit I was stuck on the idea of the trustworthy brand from French cuisine, but who am I kidding, I can't afford such luxury right now. I've purchased the Talavera Cast Iron Dutch oven from Chantal. Chantal vs Le Creuset cast iron pot is purchased at about 1/3 of the price! So why not right?

I've read many reviews on Le Creuset vs Chantal. I have to say that most are in favour of Le Creuset claiming Chantal's enamel begins to chip away after a while. In the same breath, however, I have noticed some of these people talking about their pot being in the oven at 450 degrees. The instructions on my Chantal tag says max 400 degrees..... hhhmmmm....
You can also check out this review from the Boston times - Pot vs Pot.

So far, my Chantal Dutch oven works brilliantly! I've used it about 4 times in the past week and no problems yet. I am very pleased so far. I want to cook everything in this thing. It's so addictive! Long live cast iron! The journey to my perfect kitchen begins. Kitchen Disneyland here I come! One piece at a time though. That's fine by me :)

Note: You may find that Chantal website does not advertise their Talavera Cast Iron Collection. I am also boggled by this. Seems Chantal do not normally produce cast iron so this is a special edition line sold only in certain stores ?? I found mine at HomeSense.

Oh and if you have bought a cast iron pan and would like to season it, please read my post about how to season a cast iron pan.

Chocolate and Love

Woohoo!! I'm so excited to be back!! I've been away for a little while and I apologize. As some of you may know from following my previous posts I was planning a big move. Well, after much painstaking, and what seemed like never ending packing, it's now all complete. I'm officially living back in Vancouver Canada. Of course this does not mean I will not continue blogging with the UK. I would be very happy to share with Canadians and Brits alike.

To welcome myself back I though it would be a great idea to start with one of the world's most loved foods....CHOCOLATE! But not just any chocolate, my new found favourite chocolate called CHOCOLATE & LOVE

I am lucky enough to have been asked by Chocolate and Love to try their chocolate, come up with a verdict and tell you lovely folks all about it. I couldn't taste and write this verdict without my chocolate adoring other half, and here's what we have to say about it (and just so you know I'm still nibbling on the chocolate as I'm writing for you now).....

The flavours represent every chocolate lover’s dream, one that might be richer than sweeter (just how 'real deal' chocolate should be) but the kind that you hope will never end.  It has a very smooth taste that overwhelms your mouth and its wild smell always encourages another bite.  Make no mistake; this brand belongs on the same shelf right next to the best known chocolate brands. The only thing that sparks a difference is the packaging which is not as fancy as of some of its counterparts, but instead it offers simplicity that makes it stand out. 

The earthy look gives it a feel of sincerity which you will believe in once you try it. And if you don't tear apart the packing too quickly to get your mouth wrapped around this decadence you'll find that the inside, so creatively, has some interesting and reassuring information about the sourcing of the cocao. Oh and as you probably guessed... it is organic.

We've tasted 2 flavours of the many to be selected from Chocolate and Love's website. 71% "Filthy Rich" (which you certainly don't need to be to buy this brand of chocolate) was the first, followed by 55% "The Coffee Affair". Both following to the 'T' the description above. I am a huge coffee flavour fan so I will no doubt place this one as my favourite. The coffee flavour beings strong enough for that extra kick, but subtle enough to allow the cocoa the melt on your mouth with ease and seduction.

This is great gift for those loved ones, for your own sneaky nibbling, and of course for many of your up and coming Christmas baking!

I will be hosting a dinner party next week which I most certainly plan to use this chocolate for whipping up a heavenly dessert. Stay tuned!

Don't hesitate, visit their website and order your own CHOCOLATE & LOVE today!