"New" Cast Iron

 On our Colorado trip I did some thrift store shopping. I purchased three pieces. Get this...a square skillet and the round one below were marked $4. When I paid out...they were HALF PRICE! These are American made cast iron. The third purchase at another store was a Dutch oven for $18. I am really excited about the Dutch oven. It is THE name in old collectible cast iron - Griswold. :D Price in an antique store would have been $50 - $80 even without a lid.

Photo before cleaning and seasoning. Doris (friend in Colorado) could not believe I bought these as rusty as they were. Her husband told her, Oh yeah. They will clean up and look like new.

I did not need the skillets but look at every piece I see in junk/resale stores for American made at a good price for the kids. At our stop-off at John and Erin's on the way home I offered them one of the skillets - they picked the square skillet that did not need seasoning.

That left this skillet for Brook.

Since he is living in a camper right now, Jonathan just has a piece or two there and the rest is packed away.

A couple of weekends ago, I decided to set my oven on the cleaning cycle. GREAT time to burn off cast iron if you don't have a brush pile to burn. I grabbed the lid that fits my chicken fryer - which also fits my new Dutch oven - and tossed it in the oven too.

After burning, scouring with steel wool, greasing with lard, and baking in the oven...

I cooked with Brook's "new" skillet until her visit this weekend. It now has a new home.

My one piece of Griswold...

My first loaf of bread in my new Dutch oven...

Doris also took me to the Apple Shed. In the pottery area, I purchased a sugar shaker to replace my boring white sugar bowl.

See the dimple in the side? There's a mate on the other side for your finger and thumb to fit when you pick it up. If you look for it, you can see the hole on the upper right side of the slope...looks to be rimmed in red.

The Apple Festival was last Saturday and the shop had their seconds for sale...I told Doris if she saw anything she thought I'd like... ;)