Aluminum, you’re dead to me (PLUS my nontoxic cookware recommendations)
Last week, I went to a local kitchen store to buy a cake pan. I’m not one for baking or cakes, so until last week, I had never owned a cake pan. However, recently I was inspired to make a lemon-zested almond cake with Madagascar vanilla bean frosting—I think this recipe is worth the price of a cake pan in and of itself.
Don’t worry—I will post that recipe as soon as I nail it down. I am close, and it is well worth the wait, especially if you are someone like me who pines for savory gluten-free desserts piled high with cream-based frosting. No guilt, all pleasure. That’s my new motto.
The cake pan endeavor was a bust, at first…
The store was chock-full of pans of various shapes and sizes, square cake pans and round cake pans, cake molds, and cupcake tins but the damn things were all made of aluminum. Honestly, they don’t make cookware like they used to.
At that moment, I felt defeated—as I was standing in the baking aisle glaring at the cake pans with dissatisfaction and skepticism, a thousand thoughts went through my brain on how to make peace with aluminum cookware.
But I didn’t want to give in to aluminum. I freaking hate aluminum. I don’t own any aluminum cookware—my baking sheet is cast iron, and my pots and pans are an assortment of natural materials from stainless steel to cast iron to iron.
Even when I smoke meat, I avoid wrapping the meat in aluminum foil. Halfway through the smoking process, you smother the meat in butter, and if you’ve let go of dietary dogma (I’m getting there), you sprinkle it with organic brown sugar and then wrap it. The modern way to wrap smoked meat is to use aluminum foil. I freaking refuse.
Aluminum foil literally takes 500 years to decompose.
My moon in Virgo, obsessed with composting, real recycling, and preserving the earth, cannot make amends with aluminum or aluminum foil. When I wrap a smoked pork shoulder, St Louis-style ribs, or brisket, I swaddle the carnage like a tiny baby using butcher paper. Then, when the meat is done, I burn that butcher paper in my wood stove. Zero freaking waste. And total satisfaction and regulation of my Virgo moon needs.
I cannot explain the relief I felt when my wife walked up to me, breaking my inner aluminum rant and stupefaction, and holding a cast-iron cake pan. My God, I love that woman.
Of course, I walked out of the kitchen store with more than I bargained for. The original goal of the cake pan turned into a cake pan plus Pyrex measuring cups, a magnetic knife holder, spatulas (can you ever have enough spatulas?!?!), stainless steel mixing bowls, and butane for my crème brûlée torch (everyone needs a crème brûlée torch, right?!?).
My Top 3 Nontoxic Cookware Recommendations
USA Cast Iron
AUS Iron
Corning Cookware
A note on cast iron cookware…
Lodge is a USA-based cast iron company. I buy all of my cast iron cookware from them. When shopping for cast iron cookware, be leery of the company, Bayou. While Bayou offers cast iron cookware at a cheaper price, it’s made in China and is much lower quality than Lodge. Your Lodge cast iron pots and pans will come pre-seasoned. However, I always re-season newly purchased cast iron using lard. I will teach you more about cast iron and how to care for it in the future.
For those of you chomping at the bit for more of my nontoxic cooking tips and to learn how to cook nourishing foods, registration is now open for my cooking course, Get Nourished. This course will teach you how to make 30 nourishing foods in 30 days. It also includes several bonus videos (such as how to care for your cast iron cookware) and access to my Nourishing Foods Resource List. You can preregister for the course and save 15% by signing up today.
Click here to preregister and to learn more about the Get Nourished course.
WARNING: once you learn how to cook nourishing foods, people will flock to your kitchen!
