Welcome back from the weekend and Happy Foodie Freebie Monday to you! Notice anything different? Yep… Joelen’s Culinary Adventures got a facelift and was in need of some updating. I was getting tired of the “cutesy” look (it was slightly annoying to have so many pictures/widgets on the site) and opted for a more sleeker, modern, polished look. So look around, check out the info I’ve put on my left sidebar, and I hope you enjoy the culinary adventures I continue to have and share! I’d love to hear what you think and if you have any suggestions to improve it further.
So what’s my foodie freebie for the week? Well, it’s definitely a piece of cookware I think everyone should have… a Cast Iron Skillet! When cared for, cast iron skillets can stand the test of time and provide some wonderful meals for your family and perhaps even your generations to come. Here’s a chance for a lucky reader to receive cast iron skillet which I hope will be something that will be passed on to future foodies in your family.
A company that I look to for my cast iron needs is Lodge. Not quite a Chicago based company, but I love them nonetheless. They’ve been around for over a century (yes… a century!) and their products only get better. If you have a cast iron skillet or have family that do, I wouldn’t be surprised if it was made by Lodge! Some are even lucky enough to have a cast iron skillet passed down to them.
Nestled alongside the Cumberland Plateau of the Appalachian Mountains is the town of South Pittsburg, Tennessee (population 3,300). Yet out of this tiny community comes the finest cast iron cookware in the world. Lodge Cast Iron began making cookware during the first presidential term of William McKinley. Amazingly, some of the first cast iron skillets, gridlles and dutch ovens made over 100 years ago are still being put to good use.
Today, Lodge Cast Iron remains a family owned, family operated business producing the most extensive selection of quality cast iron goods on the market. Lodge now offers an expanded line of cast iron cookware for America’s kitchens—Dutch ovens, the largest selection of cast iron skillets on the market, deep fryers, country kettles and more. When cooking outdoors, Lodge Cast Iron goes too, with camp Dutch ovens, grilled, combo cookers and grills of unparalleled quality.
For more than 112 years Lodge has been making cast iron cookware. And, much of the cookware made generations ago is still in the kitchens of fourth generation cooks. That’s why we say that when you choose Lodge Cast Iron Cookware, you’ve made a friend that will last more than a lifetime. – Lodge
– Giveaway is only for those who live in the United States – my apologies to my international readers!
– You must have a valid email address (within your comment or blog link) so that you can be contacted if you win.
To enter the giveaway, leave a comment answering:
– Do you have something special that was passed down to you? Or do you have something special you plan on passing down to someone? (It doesn’t have to be cooking/baking/food related!)
Deadline: Thursday, August 13, 2009 at 12 midnight CST.
ONE WINNER will be randomly chosen by Random. Org’s Interger Generator based on the number of your comment and will be announced on Friday, August 14, 2009. Good luck!
Ooo, I do! My mother in law wanted to get us an "heirloom" for a wedding gift, so instead of a piece of furniture, we went with a stock pot. I would have loved to make matzo balls in the same pot that my great-grandmother did, so hopefully my great-grandkids will get to!
I received a gold coin from my MIL at our wedding. It was given to her by her MIL.
I also just got a dining set from her. It's 30 yrs old, but in great condition…a great piece of antique furniture.
Great giveaway!
Unfortunately I really don't have anything that was given to me that has been passed down in our family. Maybe someday.
Recently, I received my great grandmothers cake transporter. It's stainless steel with a picture of a black cake on it with the label "cake". It really is super cute and I can't wait to use it.
I haven't had anything special passed down to me, but one day I'll pass my Le Creuset to one of my kids/grandkids, I hope!
My mom has an old Lane "hope" chest that is eventually going to be mine someday. I absolutely love it and have many fond memories from childhood playing "house" with it.
I have 2 things that have been passed down to me, my great grandmother's cast iron Iron, and my grandmothers cast iron Iron. Although, I don't use them I am happy to have them.
I received a receipe box from my great grandmother that has been passed down through the years. Everyone that has had the receipe box has added to the receipes so it is a truly special gift. melissbrown@yahoo.com
I wish I had something cooking related that has been passed down to me…but I do have a beautiful old/unique cross that was my great-grandmother's, as well, I have her middle name 🙂 I will definitely pass on my kitchen /cooking things to my children.
I just received a really nice chair from my grandmother's house.
I hope to pass along many things to my daughter–jewlery,etc..
Oh, and I collect Polish pottery so hopefully, some pieces will be passed along to her someday.
I am so lame. I call myself a southerner, but don't own a cast iron skillet! I need to win this!
My mom & grandma are huge yard-sale people, so… needless to say nothing has been passed down to me. 🙁 But maybe they're just holding off on the good stuff.
Grandma's Iron Skillet-
Grandma's 80 yr. old seasoned iron skillet. Generations have cooked on it. Once you've had the pleasure of using this particular skillet you truly learn to appreciate what all the hype is about iron skillets.
GIRL FRIEND!!! Absolutely LOVE the new look of your site. I will pass on my Stand Mixer to my Daughter. Thank you!
I have a cast iron skillet that belonged to my grandmother. When she passed away, my mom gave it to me. Its one of my most prized possessions.
A love of food from our heritage has been passed down to my husband (Polish) and myself (Hungarian). I am learning to make authentic Polish dishes & soups so that I can teach our children one day.
I always end up with the heirlooms, worthless or not. My family knows just how much I appreciate them and that I will definitely pass them on no matter what! Last thing I received were some pieces of jewelry from my mother in law who just passed last month.
It kind of happened by accident, but I have a lot of my great-grandmother's dishes & baking supplies. I also was recently given my dad's class ring (he died before I was born), so that's pretty special
I think the new blog design is perfect for your new blogging direction!
Actually, quite a bit of my cooking items are passed down to me. I think everyone knew I wasn't very savvy in the kitchen so they gave me the pieces they didn't like/wanted to upgrade! Hey I don't mind… they've helped me learn to cook more 🙂
Sorry to add another comment…how could I forget…the diamonds in my wedding band were in my grandmother's wedding band!
My great aunt didn't have any kids so every time we'd go to her house she'd tell you to look around and if you liked something, pick it up and see if someone had already claimed it (names were placed on the bottom). A little weird, but I'm sure it made things easier when she died. Since my favorite color is yellow, I always wanted this yellow vase she had. I think of her everytime I put flowers in it!
I have a roasting pan and a 9×13 cake pan that were my grandmothers. I use them all the time and I think of her everytime 🙂
Oh, LOVE and DREAM of a cast iron skillet! I've heard the Lodge brand is great for cast iron, and so can only dream of how excited my hubs will be as he loves any food with the word "skillet" in it!
I have had my great-great grandmothers cookie cutters, along with my grandmothers cookie cutters passed down to me. I've started to collect my own, and now have quite a collection of anything from boats to bunnies! I think it's really neat and I'd like to artfully arrange to hang them in my dream kitchen someday…they've baked/will bake alot of cookies! (generations in fact!)
my great grandmother passed down her spatzle press! i love it, though i don't make spazle too often, it's a great tool to have!
I have my grandfather's hand mixer. I love it! I use it and think of him all the time!
Great give-away! I've always wanted an iron skillet to add to my collection of pots & pans, so I hope I win this one! 🙂
I collect pink depression glassware & a few years ago when my husband's grandparents moved to a smaller place, she gave me most of the pink glass that she had — with the promise that I'll receive the rest of it someday. I love each & every piece & treasure it! Also, some day, I will inherit the piano that my grandfather played & my mother & i both practiced on when we were growing up. I'm really looking forward to my children practicing on that same piano some day!
As a wedding gift, my mom gave me my grandmothers (who passed away the year before) cookbook – it has all of her notes and scribbles in the margin. I plan to keep it in my family for generations to come!
Never had anything passed down to me, but I think my Grandmother may when she dies…but I don't want to talk about that.
I have a Dwight Schrute doll that my office-mate passed down to me when she left last spring. I'm going to pass it down to another when I leave!
abigail.shupe@gmail.com
I don't have a cast iron skillet yet, so this would be perfect! My parents are planning on passing down their stamp collections to me one day. They've got some really cool ones from Asia! We don't have any food-related things to pass along…
evitawylie at hotmail dot com
My grandmas meatball and macaroni salad recipes. They are amazing.
I have a brooch that was passed down to me from my great grandmother. It is a for-real cameo etched in shell. Family lore is that she brought it with from Russia.
I have been promised (not that I'm rushing it or anything)a collection of spices from my Aunt. The containers are all these little Victorian houses.
I don't have anything really that's physical that was passed down to me. However, I do have a love of cooking that developed from cooking with my mom and grandma growing up.
I've been blessed to have several things passed down to me. Some of my favorites are a set of dinnerware my dear friend gave me just before she passed away from cancer, a ring my mother gave me on my 16th birthday (that her mother had given to her on her 16th), and my grandmother's wedding ring.
I don't really have anything passed on to me. When I was a child though, my mom bought me a beautiful hope chest, so I am planning to someday pass that on to my daughter.
Yes! In fact my son will be wearing it this weekend for his baptism. It is a baptism gown that was made for my great-grandmother. My son will be the 5th generation to wear it and I hope his children will be able to wear it someday as well.
A few years ago my grandmother had to be placed in a home but she made sure that I got her sterling silver tea set. As kids, we used to use this beautiful set for tea parties with my grandmother and I have very fond memories of it. It came with the condition that it must be passed down! I had to make sure my niece counted since my fiance and I don't plan on having children!
We don't really have any family heirlooms that have been passed down. The best I can think of is my parents gave me their cake knife and server set from their wedding to use for mine. We are going to have their names and wedding date engraved, along with ours. When my brother gets married, we'll pass it on to him as well.
I have an old ceramic baking dish that was my grandma's. Everythign I cook it comes out amazing!
I've recently inherited my grandma's sewing machine. I don't sew too often but I'd like to get into it more now that I have a machine.
I have some of my grandmother's crystal and china. I proudly display them in my china cabinet.
My favorite thing that has been passed down from my mom to me has to be the cookie press. It's so much fun to make spritz cookies around the holidays. The fun shapes make them that much more fun to eat. I think I said "fun" too many times…
My mother in law is all about passing things down and I have a set of silverware, and a sewing machine that she has handed down to me that I in return will pass down.
I inherited my great-grandfather's pocket watch. It is silverish colored and neat, but it is somewhat impractical since I use my cellphone to tell time.
I inherited my great grandmother's recipes, and I really treasure them!
My mom has given me a tea set that was passed down from her mother. It's very pretty – celadon green with a tiny rose design inside. It's something that I bring out on special occassions – it brings instant class to dessert time.
Not cooking-related, but my great-grandmother passed down her old Steinway piano. It's currently in my parents' house, but I can't wait to take it off their hands!
Oh, I need a cast iron pan soooo bad!
The only thing I have that's been passed down to me is a wonderful carved Swedish couple from Geneva, IL that my Grandpa received from his parents.
By the way – you should do a Swedish segment sometime and go to Geneva, IL! I have a (much-older) friend who is from Sweden and goes to Geneva every year to prepare for her Christmas cooking!! I would love to see some Swedish cooking… and I think you're fairly close to Geneva! 🙂
I have a corn stick cast iron pan that was passed down to me. Love the corn sticks made in it.
I inherited my Kitchen Aid Mixer from my great grandmother! She used it to make sausage all the time, so I have that attachment as well, but I haven't used it yet.
Just recently my grandmother gave me the family photo album that's over 2oo+ years old. It was brought over from England by my great great grandmother and is filled with treasured photo's and momento's that tell many stories from the days gone by. I will add to it and one day pass it down.
We were fortunate enough to be given my husband's grandparents china…a beautiful Lenox collection to be passed down.
Aaah… I would love to win these!! More than your other food freebies… I only have one, and would love to add to my collection.
My grandmothers passed down her sarongs (which I dare not touch, or use), table clothes, some of her old drinking glasses, a punch bowl set and some of her old cookie cutters made from wood. I put those in my carry-on and flew 24 hrs back to Michigan. ~ Yudith
i can start a tradition and pass this along to my future daughter..
this is something that i have been waiting for…. hope i get to win this time!!!
My grandmother gave me a quilt she made over 60 years ago. I absolutely love it and handle it with care so I can pass it down.
Grandma's silver service that grampa gave her in 1928! I'm afraid to use it though! I do take it out and look through it, and I did use it last Thanksgiving. I feel so connected to her when I look at it.
My great grandfather gave my mother a gold chumsa (jewish good luck charm) which she passed down to me. I love this necklace 100X more then my other "nicer" jewlery.
My mom passed down this small saucepan she used to heat my bottles in when I was a baby. It's more sentimental than useful.
Awesome giveaway! I don't have anything that has been passed down to me. I would love to have my grandmother's sugar cookie cutouts though. There are some really neat ones. Even though I can't make sugar cookies to save my life!
I've been wanting a cast iron skillet for years. I've heard Lodge is a great brand.
I got two things passed down through my family. One is a pearl bracelet that was passed down from my great grandmother to my grandmother then to me. The other is my grandmother's recipe box. She was a great cook and I strive to cook just like her.
Nthing special passed on to me, but there are many things I hope to pass on to children someday, my wedding veil being one of them!
I love love love the new look. And you headshot is beautiful!
Great giveaway!
For my wedding shower, my mom's mom gave me a silver sugar/creamer set. It had been given to her by my dad's mom on their 50th wedding anniversary, so it's like it was from both of my grandmothers!
I have a pot used by my great aunt and grandmother to make their famous pierogies in and now I use it to help make mine.
My mother passed down some of her recipes to me and my sisters. I've been passing down some of the same recipes, as well as some of my own, to my daughters & son. I want to put together a cookbook for them someday. That would be great to pass down to them!
I've had plenty of things passed down to me! But one that is incredibly special to me. My parents divorced when I was little, and my mother had the diamond from her e-ring reset into a necklace for me as a teenage. I wear it all the time.
My husband and I have also been told that there is a rocking chair waiting for us when we have kids.
I have my Grandmothers old black cookbook and a metal file of of typed recipies. I love having them.
My grandmothers cheesecake pan is something I'll give to my daughters. It goes along with her recipe and I can not find the spring form pan with a flat bottom and hollowed out shaft in the middle. I have tried other spring form pans but they are never the same. I would never part with my special cheesecake pan!
I will pass on the rolling pin that was handmade for me as a wedding gift!
I was lucky enough to get my grandparents' fine china which I love! But probably my most special thing is a dress that my grandma hand knit out of ribbon and I wore for dress-up when I was little, but now it fits me!
My dad is passing on this cast iron griddle, which was his mother's, to me. It is so seasoned, pancakes are a snap!
I have a beautiful chest of drawers that was originally my grandmother's– it's still sitting in my parents' house because there's no room for it in my tiny studio apartment, but someday I'm looking forward to having it with me!
My Mom made us a cook book of all our favorite family meals and gave them out at Christmas 5 years ago. It is one of my most treasured things as she has stories about us growing up and pictures with the meals. I use it on weekly base and can't wait till my daughter starts cooking with it.
I have my grandmother and mother's class rings. Unfortunately, I never got a class ring, though. So I'm not sure what I'll pass down . .
My family isn't one for passing down things or saving things – we're quite dysfunctional. I have lists of things that I want to go to my son – or to be saved until he is older in the case of my early dismissal (I was trying to find a gentle way of saying that).
jenhartin @ optonline. net
I have a collection of recipes from my grandmother.
My grandmother gave me her china set. She used it every Sunday for Sunday dinner and I have a lot of great memories of those meals. After I got married I decided we should start doing Sunday dinner so the china wasn't only being used for special occasions. I think My gran would be glad ot know it's being used.
I actually have my grandmother's old cast iron, which she got from her mother. And yes, it's Lodge! I think of them every time I make her cornbread in it.
I have my grandmother's original cookie press and Betty Crocker Cooky Book from 1963. Even though it's hard work, I find that the old press does a better job than the new electric presses. The book is falling apart but I use it whenever I make cookies.
I have a small bookcase that my dad made in shop class in high school. It's been in my room ever since I can remember.
My great grandmother's recipes have been passed down to me, I think they are really special.
I'd like to pass something on, but I'm not sure what. Maybe this!
I have a pearl ring that my mom gave me to wear as my "something old" at my wedding that was originally my great-grandmother's.
I do! My husband, being an only child, will obviously inherit many things later in life, but for right now, his mom gave us a very special wedding present! We were given my husband's maternal grandmother's wedding china! It is so precious to me, mainly because I've never had anything like that, but also because my mom's family is so large, I know that I'm not likely to get something so precious again! I love it!
When my grandmother passed away, my mom went through a recipe box and found some handwritten recipes for a few of our favorite things–popcorn balls, fudge and duckies (beignets, basically…my family hails from Louisiana)–along with some helpful hints.
-Popcorn balls are only to be made when it's raining
-Duckies can be made with kids around, or just for you
-And when making fudge, invite Mom-mom over so she can see how your batch turned out
My mom passed down to me her Prize Winning flan recipe. She also gave me her super antique coffee grinder which I love!
We must not be a "pass things down" kind of family, because I can't think of anything that's been passed down to me. It would be nice if my All-Clad cookware lasted long enough to give it to someone eventually, but I should probably take better care of it…
Love my Cast Iron skillet, got it in the camping section of the local Walmart.
I use almost exclusively, except for times I need the nonstick (Omelets ect…)
I've been passed down my Grandmother-in-Law's special chocolate cake and ganache topping.
Yum!
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