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Via: WKOWTV.COM

It’s Your Money: Cooking on a budget

MADISON (WKOW)–You don’t have to spend money on fancy kitchen equipment to cook healthy meals for you and your family.

“Grilling and steaming are great ways to cook healthy because you can cook fish, vegetables or meat without adding any extra fat, and you don’t need to buy any special equipment to do them,” says Paul Hope, kitchen appliances tester at the Good Housekeeping Institute.

(…)

If you want to grill healthy indoors, good housekeeping says: get a heavy cast iron skillet.

“Preheat the cast-iron skillet on medium-high heat for about three to five minutes and then add up to a teaspoon of oil. And make sure to only flip the steak once during the cooking process and remove it once its browned evenly on each side.”

And while a ridged pan provides outdoor-grill marks, in the Good Housekeeping tests, it didn’t reduce the amount of fat any more than a flat-bottomed pan.

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Via: ajc.com

By Meridith Ford Goldman

There are two things in my kitchen that I simply cannot live without: my silicone baking mats and my iron skillet. An odd pairing, I admit, but central to the core of how I cook.

(…)

At the other end of the kitchen, I doubt I would continue cooking without a cast-iron skillet. Sure, I’d love to line my shelves with copper —- it’s a better conductor of heat, and let’s face it, looks tres gorgeous, but it’s also uber pricey.

Besides, cast iron conducts heat evenly and can withstand high temperatures; I threw away my wok when I got my 12-inch skillet. Nothing is better for pan-frying. Chicken and chicken fried steak are hoppin’ good, and my smaller skillet is perfect for baking corn bread.

It takes a little work in the beginning, because the pans have to be scrubbed then seasoned with oil (or fat), but it’s worth it: Ever had pancakes made on a cast-iron skillet? French toast? Both will have wonderful soft centers and crisp edges. Looking for the perfect sunny side up egg? Cast iron is the way to get one. Plus, iron actually leaches from the pan if you’re looking for a boost to your daily dose. (If your food is sticking, the pan is not seasoned properly. Don’t blame the pan.)

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Via: GREEN SPACE

This is not the first Green Space recommending that its readers go back to basics — like using baking soda for cleaning and cloth bags for grocery shopping — and it won’t be the last.

This time, we’re taking on the mighty Teflon. When discovered in the 1940′s, it was touted as a non-stick alternative to old cooking standbys. But after all these years, people are turning a 180 and heading right back to cast iron.

It’s been around forever and there’s good reason for that. It heats evenly, can add a healthy dosage of iron to food, it’s cheap and, subjectively, it makes things taste good.

On the environmental tip it is good as well: it is completely recyclable and, even better, it lasts so long you’ll probably never need to. Heirloom cookware anybody?

Also, if you’re one to (rightfully) fret about carcinogens in everyday items, the Environmental Working Group has studies that show that PTFE (polytetrafluoroethene), the chemical that makes Teflon coating, can begin to release carcinogens when heated. Kind of a problem for something that will literally be sitting on a hotplate for many of its hours.

Some teflon tips: After an initial cleaning, don’t use soap on a cast iron pan. Hot water and a plastic scrub brush will do the job. Season the pan after you buy it with a thin layer of oil, then bake it in. You’re now good to go for a long, long time.

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