Baking a cake can be a tremendously rewarding experience. Creating a delicious desert gives you a special sense of accomplishment, and you’ll also bask in the glow of compliments friends and family are sure to offer. But before you start taking victory laps, you’ll need to make sure that you select the proper baking pan for a given recipe. Remember the general rule that a “pan” refers to a metal receptacle and a “dish” is typically made of glass.

It’s also crucial that your baking pan is the right size for the recipe. Otherwise you might end up with an overflowing desert. If your dish is too small to accommodate a recipe, don’t despair. You can pare down the ingredients and the cooking time, ending up with fewer servings but just as fulfilling of an experience. Some recipes will call for greasing your pan, but this might not be necessary if you have cast iron baking pans.

Here is a delicious recipe for excellent banana nut muffins-enjoy:

~2 eggs
~2 ripe bananas (mashed)
~1 cup of buttermilk
~1 stick of butter (softened)
~2 cups of flour
~½ cup of chopped pecans
~1 cup of granulated sugar
~1 teaspoon of vanilla
~1 teaspoon of salt
~1 teaspoon of baking powder
~½ teaspoon of baking soda

Preheat the oven to 400 F and prepare one of your cast iron muffin pans.

Beat together butter and sugar, then add eggs and beat thoroughly, then beat in bananas until the mixture is smooth.

Mix together flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda, and then stir the flour mixture and buttermilk into the egg mixture.

Stir in the chopped pecans and vanilla.

Spoon batter into the muffin pan, filling each tin about 2/3 full.

Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown.

The word “fritter” can mean many things to many people. For a New Englander, a delectable apple fritter might spring to mind. In Southeast Asia, on the other hand, a scrumptious yam prepared in a wok might be more typical. In any case, fritter is a blanket term for a food that’s dipped in batter and then deep-fat fried. It goes without saying that almost any foodstuff can be made delicious via this method, although it should be used in moderation. Try the following recipe for crab fritters - it should appeal to Pacific Northwest diners as well as those with a Southern sensibility.

Ingredients:
6 ounces crab meat
1 egg, whipped with water
2 Tsp. extra virgin olive oil
2 Tsp. margarine
1 clove garlic, minced
½ cup flour
½ cup skim milk
1 tsp. sherry
1 tsp. paprika
¼ tsp. cayenne pepper
flour (additional)
bread crumbs

Directions:
1. Cook green pepper and garlic in margarine and EVOO in saucepan until tender. Add milk, stirring until thick.
2. Shred crab, adding sherry, cayenne pepper, and meat to pan. Allow 2 hours for chilling.
3. Form crab into small balls with a 1-Tsp. scoop. Roll them in flour and dip in mixture of egg and water. Roll in crumbs and refrigerate until ready to serve.
4. Fry 3 or 4 balls at a time in one of your cast iron deep fry pans until they are browned to satisfaction, and enjoy.

The best part of camping is when everyone gathers around the fire and eats whatever is served. Meals are usually made up of canned goods eaten straight from the can; not exactly a meal to look forward to. When my family goes into the wilderness for a few days, we always bring some cookware—especially some cast iron skillets—to prepare some quality meals.

With camping cookware, campers can enjoy a delicious meal outdoors. The cookware is made especially for the outdoors and is convenient and light enough to carry in a backpack. Camping cookware can make a meal cooked over a campfire taste like it was home made.

With all the latest innovations in cooking gadgets that are out in the market today, it is amazing that the cast iron skillet has surpassed the test of time. Nothing seems to last as long in the kitchen as that old iron skillet. Cast iron cookware is a heat conductor, which means it heats consistently and evenly. Hence, it is the old fashioned way to cook fat-free food. In addition, investing in a complete set of cast iron cookware will not affect your budget because it is quite affordable and will last a lifetime.

A cast iron skillet can go from stove to oven, and you don’t need any special utensils to cook with it, compared to Teflon type cooking pans. They are easy to clean and don’t warp. No wonder most our grandmothers had cast iron skillets. They were usually passed down to the next generation. There are many dependable brands out there, but I prefer Old Mountain cookware.

There are few items that are essential for every American home, and a set of cookware is one of them. Everyone from college students living on their own for the first time to 100-year-old great grandparents have some form of cookware in their home. Because cookware is such a staple in every household, you should put some thought into your purchasing decision.

Since you know that you are going to be using the pots and pans for years on a daily basis, be sure to opt for durable cookware. It is worth the extra money if you don’t have to be constantly replacing items out of the set. With so many sizes of sets available, think about your particular needs before you go buy a 24-piece deluxe set for just you and your spouse.

1 cup canned or fresh pureed pumpkin
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup canola or veg oil
2 Teaspoons ground flax seeds
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup whole wheat flour
2/3 cup whole wheat pastry flour OR unbleached white flour
1 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon each: baking soda, cinnamon, salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/3 cup chopped pecans or walnut – optional
3 teaspoons raw sugar - optional

Heat oven 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Blend Pumpkin, Water, Oil, Flax Seeds and Vanilla until well blended. Set aside.

Mix together flours, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, salt and nutmeg; in a large bowl, add pumpkin mixture stir until well blended (add a little water if mixture seems too dry). Fold in Chocolate Chips and Nuts , if you are using them.

Spoon into cast iron muffin pans and top with raw sugar if using it.
Bake approx 30 min
Yield: 12 muffins

There are plenty of benefits for being a vegetarian, but one of the downsides is to have a carefully planned diet so as not to miss any of the nutrients that meat and animal products would provide otherwise.

One of the biggest issues is having to take vitamins in order to compensate for the loss of iron that one would gain from eating beef.  If you cook with cast iron cookware, however, then you’re luckier than most.

Studies have shown that the minerals from cast iron cookware attach themselves to food that is being prepared, thus putting an amount of iron that would not be present in vegetarian food.  By purchasing cast iron skillets, you could have some of the same health benefits as a non-vegetarian, as well as having really great, long-lasting pots and pans.

Every chef that’s passionate about creating the best food possible knows that an essential part of every recipe is the dishes used to cook and prepare the food. Certain dishes can actually help (or hinder) the quality of the food, because some cookware materials are ideal for bringing out the natural flavors of food. For that purpose, one of the most highly regarded cooking materials is cast iron. Baking pans made with this material are noted for being durable and delivering food that is cooked evenly.

This even cooking is particularly important for any kind of bread recipe. Whether you’re trying to make the perfect muffins or the best cornbread, many chefs turn to cast iron to create a golden brown result. The only downside to these pans is that they require a bit more maintenance than stainless steel or aluminum. They must be properly seasoned, or they could rust, but many food fanatics feel this extra step is worth the results they get from these pots and pans.

Ingredients
~ 1 ¾ cups flour
~ ½ tsp. salt
~ 2 tsp. baking powder
~ 1 tsp. sugar
~ ½ tsp. baking soda
~ ¼ cup shortening or 5 tablespoons butter
~ ¾ cup buttermilk

Directions
1.) Mix dry ingredients in large bowl.
2.) Cut in shortening or batter.
3.) Add in and lightly mix buttermilk.
4.) Knead dough on a floured surface for 30 seconds
5.) Pat dough into 1/4” thickness
6.) Cut into rounds
7.) Cook the biscuits on a lightly greased cast iron cookware skillet about one inch apart.
8.) Brown biscuits 3 to 4 minutes on each side