Cast iron

July 30 2024

The heavy black cast iron frying pan was sizzling hot as the spicy sausage finished cooking. Cast iron, something lasting, something good. That was what Filly thought, as her mom had cooked many meals using the cast iron skillet.

The main thing Filly remembered was Helen’s corn pone, that Filly’s mom made for her dad. The skillet had to be piping hot and then the cornmeal that had been mixed with a small amount of baking soda and baking powder, salt, hot water and honey was dropped into hot bacon grease. The corn pone that Filly’s mom made was not cooked on both sides and the pone was spread very thin. Her dad loved these, and Filly learned that they were a favorite of Abraham Lincoln. They were heavier than cornbread and were divine with butter melted on top.

The thing about the cast iron skillet was that iron leached into all the foods cooked in it. So a person got iron as a vitamin just by using the cast iron to cook with. Filly loved her cast iron skillet and kept it seasoned with olive oil. The dish she made with the sausage, was to then add the hot sausage to cooked egg noodles and cream of mushroom soup mixed with sour cream. A delicious dish with cooked apples.

The iron naturally occurring in the skillet made Filly think of other things her mom taught her. Her mom said that she always put Vasoline on her eyelashes and they helped keep them lush and shiny. She also used it for babies butts as a thick layer each diaper change prevented diaper rash better than any other product. In the winter Filly used it on her lips and around her nose to combat winter dryness. Sometimes she put Vasoline on her arms and legs in the shower while her body was still wet because it smoothed dry skin.

Filly’s mom was also an advocate for gloves, hats and sunscreen. The sunscreen that Filly had found worked the best had a large percentage of Titanium Dioxide and Zinc oxide in a lesser amount. That sunscreen did not cause any allergic reactions and made the skin glow. Filly loved wearing hats and visors and had quite a few of them. She also liked gloves but did not wear them as much.

Growing up, Filly had to do chores. Sometimes washing the dishes, sometimes cleaning bathrooms, sometimes vacuuming the front rooms and sometimes sweeping the big front porch. She and her sisters rotated chores and her mom, who was working full time, did the cooking and the laundry. Filly learned from her mom that if a person wants their clothes to keep looking new and fresh, they should separate the darks from the light clothing and put red and pink all by itself. Chores was something good as well, because kids learned how to keep care of themselves that way.

Filly’s whole family had beautiful strong white teeth. That was because they went to the dentist every year. Filly’s mom also taught them to brush with baking soda once a week and to use dental floss and a water pic. She also rinsed with Hydrogen peroxide to keep teeth white. Taking care of teeth was a good thing too.

And the hydrogen peroxide was also good for any deep cuts and for swimmers ear. It put oxygen deep in the wound so that bacteria would not thrive.

But Filly did not remember getting hurt often, only once, when she fell out of a tree she was climbing and hit the side of her head on the trunk.

Filly’s mom made sure the five girls were always busy. They were taught to play tennis, roller skate, run, do art, swim, sew, lifeguard, pick tobacco, work at their dads shop, cook, clean, iron shirts and more. Learning a variety of skills was very useful and good Filly thought and she was grateful her mom taught her all these things.

Her mom most important of all, taught Filly and her sisters to pray. She taught them how to rely on God and made sure they went to church, dressed appropriately, and that they learned how to put into practice the things they learned at church. Filly never went to Sunday school, and always went to the main church where she had to sit and listen to long sermons, but the sermons were always stories, and she enjoyed listening.

So many things she thought were good that she could share. Her mom’s mashed potatoes, or Chicken Maria’s way. Her beautiful decorating taste. Her choices in fabrics and reading material and movies. All classic and tasteful and elegant. That was what Filly thought. But Mostly God centered. That was the really good thing she had learned. Being God centered was cast iron. That was what she had wanted to do for her own five kids. She hoped she had been successful.