Add these droolworthy cast iron cookware pieces to your kitchen.

Once regulated to campfire cooking or something passed down to you from your great-grandmother, it seems like cast iron cookware is once again gaining in popularity. From cooking shows and online how-to videos to cooking magazine, cast iron is everywhere.

Why Cast Iron Cookware?

Whether cooking your morning eggs to roasting a chicken in the evening, cast iron cookware is the workhorse of the kitchen. There are a variety of benefits of cooking with cast iron cookware making it a no-brainer. Cast iron cookware is healthier for you and the environment. There are a variety of chemicals utilized in the manufacture of those ubiquitous nonstick coatings found on many types of cookware. These chemicals raise concerns about exposure (both for the people making the pans in the factory and when they are used in cooking). That’s also not to mention the durability of cast iron cookware. It is cookware that will last you (and your children) a lifetime making it a more sustainable choice. But most importantly to those who take their cooking seriously is cooking with cast iron produces amazing results!

Beyond the basics of a cast iron skillet and a cast iron enamel dutch oven, what are some unique cast iron cookware pieces to add to your kitchen?

Cast Iron Cookware Must Haves

1. Le Creuset Cast Iron Heart Cocotte

This sweet, heart-shaped casserole dish is the perfect vessel to make a special dinner or dessert in. It’s also perfect to show off the next time you are invited to a covered dish supper.

2. Lodge Panini Press

Pair the Lodge Square Grill Pan and this Panini Press to make the most awesome grilled sandwiches ever. Both are available in red or blue enameled cast iron.

3. Cast Iron Tortilla Press

If you have never made homemade tortillas, you are missing out. While a tortilla press isn’t required, it sure does make the job a whole lot easier. Of course, if you plan on buying a tortilla press, you do want it to be made from durable cast iron.

4. Staub Cast Iron Covered Fish Pan

Never wrap another piece of fish in aluminum foil again with this cast iron pan. Not only does it brown fish perfectly, but it will also help to keep your delicious fish from drying out.

5. Utopia Kitchen Cast Iron Wok

Believe it or not, but one does not make the best stir-fry with a nonstick wok. For a tasty treat, cook your next stir-fry in a cast iron wok and discover a trick that serious chefs have known for years. Plus, a cast iron wok can even be used on grills or campfires.

*Disclaimer: Help support EcoSalon! Our site is dedicated to helping people live a conscious lifestyle. We’ve provided some affiliate links above in case you wish to purchase any of these products.

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Looking for kitchen ideas to make the center of your home the best it can be?

When it comes to the kitchen, it’s not just the food you choose to buy that counts; the kitchen itself can carry a heavy carbon footprint, from the appliances you use to the materials of which the kitchen is made. Check out these simple kitchen ideas that can revamp your kitchen with low-impact style and sensibility.

1. Non-Toxic Cookware

Non-stick cookware poses potential health risks, so be sure to replace any Teflon-coated cookware with ceramic-coated cookware. Ceramic coating prevents food from sticking to the plans and can stay stable at high temperatures, which means it will not smoke or fume to transfer toxins to your food.

Cuisinart’s Green Gourmet Cookware uses ceramic-based non-stick technology and is designed to conduct heat better. It is also made from 70 percent recycled materials and is backed by a lifetime warranty. Other worthy brands are Bialetti Aeternum, whose cookware is made of titanium and micro-particles of suspended silicate (main ingredient in glass); Original GreenPan, which features Thermolon non-stick technology that can withstand temperatures as high as 850 degrees Fahrenheit without emitting toxic fumes; Ozeri Green Earth Smooth Ceramic Cookware, made of German-engineered Greblon ceramic that is free of PTFE and PFOA; and ScanPan Professional Pans, which features a Green Tek non-stick surface and ceramic titanium coating that’s free of PFOA and PFOS.

2. Bamboo or Acacia Utensils

Bamboo or acacia kitchen utensils are becoming increasingly more popular in the kitchen. Wooden utensils are overall economical and lasting. They are delicate and less abrasive than plastic or metal utensils and offer a more home-like feel to the kitchen environment. Bamboo and acacia are highly-renewable. They grow and regenerate themselves quickly and can be harvested every 3-7 years as opposed to soft-woods, which take up to 20 years. They are also far more durable than other woods. Check out bamboo and acacia kitchen utensils and make the switch.

3. Countertops

There are a variety of options for eco-friendly kitchen countertops – it all depends on your taste. IceStone is the most popular recycled kitchen surface and is made of three core ingredients: 100 percent recycled glass, Portland cement, and pigment. It is safe and durable as well as comes in a variety of colors. Eco by Cosentino is 75 percent postindustrial or post-consumer materials. It has a nonporous surface and requires no sealant. Caesarstone offers a lifetime warranty to its residential customers. It is a nonporous surface and has a Greenguard certification. Teragren produces bamboo surfaces, which is a highly-renewable option and something that will stand the test of time. PaperStone Products makes a 100 percent post-consumer paper surface that is fused with petroleum-free resin extracted from cashew liquids. Coverings Etc. offers a 100 percent recycled glass surface material. Each shade signifies a single waste stream. What started as a graduate school project on sustainable design led to  Tiger Mountain Innovations and its Squak Mountain Stone, hand-cast slabs made from recycled paper and glass bound with low-carbon element.

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Photo Credit: nosha

The post 3 Kitchen Ideas to Make it More Gorgeous, Efficient and Eco-Friendly appeared first on EcoSalon.

Are you here to enter to win the giveaway? Just leave a comment on this post, below.

Not quite on a Le Crueset budget but just so over combing the aisles of TJ Maxx for cheap cookware that inevitably flakes and burns? It’s time to break up with Teflon.

Make like Julia Child and get yourself a cast of (enameled iron) characters sure to make your culinary adventures more successful for years to come. Allow me to introduce a very chic – and 100% green – chef-worthy cooking set, complete with the cutest darn Dutch Oven I’ve ever seen. The whole set is affordably priced – especially if you’re looking for lifetime cookware you don’t have to replace every third crepe attempt – but what I love most is that juicy little apple Dutch Oven. That red is red.

Julie knew what she was talking about: nothing cooks, grills, bakes, braises, sweats and sears like enamel cast iron. And you know how wonderful it feels in hand: substantial, forever, legit. It’s not going anywhere no matter how many times you scrape, scrub or scratch it.

The apple, however, is: we’re giving one away this week to one of you lucky commenters, so tell us what dish you’d whip up, and you may just win.

Can’t wait? I have been loving this piece so much, and think you will too, so I asked our pals at VivaTerra to offer a special, serious discount just for you. We’re not talking some puny 5% off promotion, either. Nope, just cold, hard cash! This versatile oven goes for $129 but if you click to buy and use the promo code APPLE, you’ll get $25 off, instantly. You’ll notice the promotion on the site for the next week, and if you think it’s a cool deal, let us know!

As for me, you can find me spoon-deep in the garlicky buttered mashed potatoes, curried sweet potatoes, roasted rosemary stuffing, minted couscous salad, claypot ginger chicken, wait…where was I?

Leave a comment here to win. One comment per person, and this giveaway ends next week (Wednesday, August 25th, 2010) at midnight. Good luck!

(Official obligatory rule part: you can check out our sponsored giveaway, contest, legalese FTC compliance stuff here.)

The post A Giveaway and a Steal of a Deal: So Long Teflon, Hello Cute appeared first on EcoSalon.