tasty

It's been over 4 years since I went to our local stores and registered for our wedding gifts. I found this to be a frustrating and tedious process, simply because I had NO CLUE what to choose. I knew I needed a blender, but which model should I choose? Which knives? Which pans?

We were armed with a 2 year old version of Consumer Reports purchasing guide, but I couldn't consult that for every decision! We registered at 3 stores in one day, and it was overwhelming! I remember sitting down in the aisle of WalMart, almost in tears, looking up at my fiance of 4 days, and saying "I don't know what to pick" as if the world would end if I picked the wrong paring knives. He sat down next to me, gave me a hug, and said it would be ok to stop if I needed to. Not only that, he still married me. Boy am I glad about that!

I made a very foolish choice when it came to cookware. I picked an inexpensive set of non-stick, waffle bottomed pans. A set of 5. And I was thrilled when I opened the box, thinking how beautiful my cookware looked all shiny and new.

Also very foolishly, I stored the new pans stacked inside each other with no protection between the layers. I cooked with metal utensils. And, you guessed it, the nonstick coating started to flake off, no doubt leeching toxic materials into our food.

And so I've been replacing my pans one at a time, this time choosing stainless steel, and purchasing them when I found a great deal.

For Christmas, I put "nonstick skillets" on my list, and (to shorten this long story) got some money toward that purchase. Tuesday, I finally bought my first one. A red enameled 10" Calphalon non stick covered saute pan. I have to say, the foolishness of my pre-experience choice has never been so clear. This pan cooks like a DREAM, and I finally know what "non stick" really means. I cooked an egg using nothing but the egg and the pan and the seasoning, and didn't have a horrid mess to clean up.

Praise the Lord for His blessings! Today, I see Him delighting to bless my kitchen with a pretty red pan, and freedom from the ingestion of Teflon.