Cast Iron
14K Rose Gold and Lavender Sapphire Bands
Available at: Gabrielle Jewelry
Photography: Jillian Clark
Location: Guest House Raleigh
Words & Recipe by:
Charman Driver
My most prized possession is my grandmother’s cast-iron skillet. “Mama Helen” cooked with it well into her 80’s and bequeathed it to me about fifteen years ago (she died in 2016 at 101 years old). Needless to say, it’s a well-seasoned pan that has cooked a lifetime of meals, alongside my grandmother’s deft and loving hands. Mama Helen’s eight children, fifteen grandchildren and twelve lucky great-grandchildren experienced her nourishing food from the very pan I still use to cook for my own family.
Cast-iron’s long-life span and near indestructibility make it economical and able to be passed down for generations. There are real health benefits to cooking with it, too. While there was plenty oil-laden chicken fried in that pan, because of cast-iron’s ability to retain heat, Mama Helen also used it to braise cabbage and poach eggs on the stovetop or bake cornbread and broil peppers in the oven—all requiring very little oil. Unlike most non-stick cookware, a well-seasoned cast-iron pan is naturally non-stick and chemical-free. Lastly, cast-iron cooking adds trace amounts of iron to the food cooked in it, which can be beneficial to people prone to iron deficiency or anemia, like women, kids and vegetarians.
Try the versatile cast-iron cookware and see for yourself. I predict it will become a favorite pan in your kitchen too.
Mama Helen-inspired Skillet Cornbread:
Ingredients:
2 Cups Organic Yellow Corneal Meal
3 Tablespoons Grapeseed Oil (Mama Helen used lard)
1 Teaspoon Baking Powder
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
1 Large Egg, Beaten
1-1/2 Cups Nonfat Buttermilk (or sub Almond milk)
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 450
2. Place oil in a 9-inch cast-iron skillet and put the pan in the oven for 3 minutes.
3. Mix cornmeal, baking soda and salt in a bowl. Add egg and milk; stir until just combined.
4. Carefully remove the hot skillet from the oven and swirl the oil around and up the sides.
5. Pour the excess oil into the batter and stir to combine.
6. Pour the batter into the hot skillet.
7. Bake for 20 minutes or until bread is firm in the middle and lightly golden.
8. Cool for 5 minutes before slicing.
9. Serve warm—and preferably with collard greens—like Mama Helen did.