Time to Grow Up

I became a woman today.

I now own my very own, extremely grown up $140 (for serious!) Le Creuset skillet.

Why spend $140 on a skillet? I have been researching pots and pans for years, literally. (What's the best long-term investment? Most even cooking? Does Teflon really leach into your food and poison you? Do you become fatter by not cooking with nonstick pans?) And Le Creuset gets the most consistent high marks.

I also recently read this book called The Conscious Kitchen, which is about how to shop to both avoid chemicals and minimize your environmental impact. I hoped it would help me prioritize which things to buy organic/locally sourced/renewable and where it might be not such a big deal, because buying all organic/locally sourced/renewable/plastic-free, etc. gets crazy expensive.

Alas, the book basically instructs you to buy everything organic and purge your life of plastic or you will be poisoned by chemicals. That is not happening under my recessionista budget.

Instead, I wrote a Post-it note listing five must do's I learned from this book:

1. Use iodized salt (Duh, except I had become a big fan of Kosher salt, which isn't iodized, so back to basics I guess.)
2. Do not use Teflon pans. Use cast iron or enamel-clad pans. (Enter Le Creuset.)
3. Try to use glass containers for storing food if possible, and maybe slowly transition out plastics. (Gave myself a raincheck on this one until we are rich.)
4. Compost! (We are going to buy one of those composting kits you can use even if you don't have a yard.)
5. Use a water filter. Tap water sucks, apparently, and I have been drinking it forever. I suppose I must put to rest my one-(wo)man campaign against the hegemonic rule of the Brita filter.
   

Back to Le Creuset. I have now learned that it is not only the absolute best for consistent, even cooking, it has an added bonus of not slowly poisoning you. I'm hoping to acquire a full set, one by one, and think you should too. Since the skillet is the one thing I use almost daily, I figure it's okay that my other stuff is still Teflon.