It occurred to me at some point that we have one of those rare kitchens that does not have a microwave. I’m curious how many of you out there are also microwave-less? I’m not anti-microwave, and I’ve been known to use the one at work to zap up my lunch from time to time. It’s just that we prefer other ways to cook and heat stuff. I suppose if we had one we’d have popcorn more often, but that’s about it.

I have one cast iron pan which I’ve had for many many years. I found it in my dad’s garage. He had used it for camping and left it in there to rust. I cleaned it up and slowly seasoned it over time. These days I use it quite a lot. In fact, it might be my favourite kitchen tool. Tonight I added a splash of olive oil, and while that heated up, I chopped an onion and some garlic. I added some smoked paprika, salt, pepper and a pinch of scotch bonnet chiles that I dry myself. I let the onions, garlic and spices cook for a while, and tossed in a chopped up red pepper and a chicken breast cut into a few chunks. All this is best done while drinking half, OK, two-thirds of a beer. The rest of the beer goes into the pan along with a splash of Indonesian soy sauce. Oh, there’s some mushrooms. Better add them too. I cooked the whole business until the liquid became a sauce and then enjoyed a quick, easy and tasty supper, with enough left over for lunch tomorrow.

I think my second favourite kitchen tool is the Dutch oven. We have a couple of these…an oval shaped yellow one and a round orange one (much like the one my mom had when I was growing up). I use these for braising and for soups and fish stew and for when my cast iron pan just isn’t quite big enough. I love the way braised food makes the whole house smell fantastic.