Cast iron farm bells have been around for many years.
Schools in the old days used them to call children to school.
Farms use them to call the hands in from the fields for dinner.
Even today they are used for the same reasons. There are many uses
for them, but I’ll bet I have the best. We have 2 horses and we let the
out in the pasture for grazing during the day. When I want them to
come in for the night, all I have to do is ring the bell. They come running
in at the sound because they know they will get their favorite apple treats.
This saves me a lot of time walking around trying to find them and
our friends think its a blast.

It’s the holiday season with Thanksgiving over and Christmas just around the corner. It’s also the season when people start getting sick. As you are around more people than usual your chances of catching something is greater. Tea is good for you and makes you feel good when you don’t. I give up my coffee when I am feeling bad and get out my cast iron tea pots  and cook up my favorite tea. There are so many great teas to choose from these days you will have a hard time choosing. There are also many specialty tea shops where you can try the tea before you buy it. Get some tea now so you have it when you need it, or just when you want a great cup of tea.

When you go out shopping  for you new cookware, it is important
to get something that will last a life time. I personally enjoy
pre seasoned cast iron cookware. The pre seasoned cookware will
add additional flavor to your meals and just gets better with time.
It is also a piece that you can take straight from the kitchen to
the campfire and right back to the kitchen. It’s also great for
using on you barbecue grill.

Don’t get one of those shiny brass door knockers for you home that
everyone has. They can be bought at any store. Try to find something
more unique. If you live in the city or the country a rustic door knocker
adds a bit of country charm to you home. It will make you entry way look
more inviting and people will remember it. Most are priced about the same
as the plain ones you can buy at any box store. Have fun with you home.
you don’t need to spend a lot to add  that special touch.

We all just got done with our Thanksgiving dinner and now we have leftovers to
eat as well. One thing we really like to do is to take the leftover mashed potatoes
and make potato cakes for breakfast. Since the potatoes were in the fridge, it
will be easy to make them into a cake. In our bowl, we add cheese and finely diced
green onions to the potato mixture. Then we heat oil on our cast iron flat grill to a
medium temperature. Put on the potato cakes and cook each side until golden
brown. If you like you can add a dollop of sour cream on the top. These go
great with eggs over easy.

We just had some friends over for a late fall party. The air was brisk and we had a great
bonfire going outdoors. It was fun spending the day outside playing horseshoes as we
all knew that this was one of the last great days of fall. Everybody brought a homemade dish
to share and the food was great. Because the air was brisk we all wanted something warm
to drink so Barb made some warm apple cider. What was unique is that she served it in
our cast iron tea pots. It was a really nice touch and after everyone was served, we put it next
to the fire to stay warm. You can use your tea pots for more than tea. Give it a whirl and see
what you can come up with.

If your looking for something different to hang inside or outside your home, try cast
iron wall bells. The bells come in a variety of shapes with dogs, roosters birds and other animals.
You don’t have to ring them to justify them, they just look good on the wall. They are old looking, but
in a modern way. A cast iron wall bell reminds me a of a simpler time, when life seemed easier.
The color of most bells goes with almost any decor whether it is modern or contemporary.

It’s almost time for Thanksgiving Dinner. Time to buy all the food and prepare it. If you are like a lot of people you will have a few or more people over. You probably like  me have only 1 oven. So how do you keep everything hot until you serve dinner. This is what I do. I cook most dishes in my cast iron cooking pots. When they are done and I need the oven of something else, I transfer the cast iron pots to my barbecue grill which I keep at 275 degrees with the lid down. This keeps all the dishes nice and hot and frees up the oven of other stuff. Just make sure your guest know the pots are very hot so they don’t burn themselves.

Buying your skillets or frying pans in sets not only gives you
a variety of sizes to choose from for cooking, it will also save
you money. When buying your cast iron cookware sets you
will need to determine what type of cooking you will be doing.
For example, if you are cooking breakfast you may need 3
skillets, 1 for eggs, 1 for hash browns and one for bacon.
One things for sure, if you love cooking you can never have
to much.

We love tea and it’s good for you to drink. One big advantage
of a cast iron tea kettle is that the tea stays warmer longer
than conventional tea kettles. It also gives you a great look on the
stove. If you have a stainless steel stove it really adds a rich look.
We like to put ours on top of our wood burning stove. It adds much needed
humidity to the air. Just be sure you keep adding water to it.  A good
tea kettle will have a handle that does not get hot.