Decorate with Cast Iron

Cast Iron: From "just something I saw and wanted" to Serious Collector ...and everything in-between... Cast iron ornaments and functional shapes go back as far as 4th century BC China. In the 3rd century, BC, the Chinese made a kuan, a plowshare; it was quite a detailed design. The plow had a central ridge that ended in a point, which cut the soil. It had gently sloping wings that directed the soil off the plow and also cut down on friction. However, cast iron was not widely found in Europe until the 1380s. An interesting story about cast iron in America is that in 1778 the Board of War of the Continental Congress called in Ironmaster Peter Townsend for a chat. They wanted to know if a chain could be made long enough to cross the Hudson River at the West Point Narrows; a chain that would be strong enough to hold back enemy (English) war ships.
Townsend said it could be done, and a group of men from the Board made the arduous winter journey to Townsend's Sterling, New York. With 60 Army men furloughed to him, working round the clock, with each section of chain making its rough wagon trip to West Point as it was finished, six weeks later the task was done. Each section of the giant chain were floated out into the river, anchored in place and connected to the next section until the great undertaking was completed and the chain crossed the river as a man-made barrier to aid in the revolutionary war.

A plan for dealing with this chain, which, by the way, successfully did its job until it was removed by the new American government, was part of the overall betrayal of Benedict Arnold, the infamous traitor of the American Revolution. Cast iron, while used in building as decorative structural reinforcement, has been widely used in day to day life. Whether as the pots and pans on the stove, or the cooking and heating stoves themselves, cast iron played a big part in everyday life for many years. Children's toys and banks, even mechanical banks; decorative door stops and door knockers, planters and fence decor were prized possessions. Only the word "were" in "were prized possessions" is not true, all of these items, as antique or reproduction, are prized to this very day. Beautifully painted door stops and statues made of cast iron regale homes all across the western world. Shelves in children's rooms with cast iron toys and banks are proudly shown to visitors. The heavy pieces of art make wonderful gifts and satisfying purchases for almost everyone. The peacefulness of cast iron decor is relaxing and somehow reassuring: the brightly painted rooster that holds the kitchen door open; the colorful duck standing in the garden; the rusty squirrel on its hunches nibbling something in its praying-like paws; the small iron sparrow with its long beak reaching into the water in the iron bath that is decorated with tiny iron flowers and leaves; the faithful dog who sits forever waiting for its master; the little dog that jumps through the hoop in the orange and white clad clowns hand to toss a penny in the barrel; the old red tractor; the fire brigade rushing from the iron firehouse to the fire that never was; the soldier; the beautiful dancer; the fish doorknocker on the side door of grandpa's garage. Precious, timeless, wonderful pieces that have the ability to relax your wary mind.
Collectable Cast Iron All of our cast iron pieces have been made to collectable specs. \|Banks \| Door Stops \| Door Knockers \| Outdoor Ornaments \| Horse Head Hitching Posts \| Statues \| Toys \|\| Cast Iron \| Decor \|
Cooking with cast ion is great fun, I love it. I use the Dutch oven and skillet, second only to my 8 D, 9 1/2" round griddle pan. I love tortillas and this side-less (1/4" lipped edge) is perfect for it. The Dutch oven makes great meat dishes like small pork or beef roasts, with herbs and potatoes. My skillets make the best crispy fried potatoes. Here's a rough recipe for very crispy home fries 6 to 8 baking potatoes: 1 medium onion chopped 2 oz of canola or canola and olive oil 1 tsp salt Optional: 1/2 tsp of ground cayenne pepper or a hand full of copped sage or a tablespoon of rosemary leaves chopped Instructions: Put the oil, salt and onion in large bowl. Cut the potatoes in quarters, lengthwise and then slice into 1/4" quarter-rounds. Put the cut potatoes in the bowl stirring to coat each piece with oil mixture. Put 1/4" of oil in your 12" skillet and get it hot. With the skillet on medium-high heat, place all of the potatoes in the skillet. Cook uncovered for 7 to 10 minutes (don't let them burn, you want them extra golden brown. With a flat spatula, getting under the browned potatoes and turn them. Cook 5 minutes and check for desired brownness. Turn and mix them so that you have as many browned surfaces as you can get.. Check the salt, add more if needed. This goes great on the side of barbeque or grilled meats like steak or chops.