Each person and each family created their own sort of memories and things they did to get through 2020 and my husband and I did something I never thought we’d do. We started watching several new shows throughout the course of the year to get lost in a story, or in another world and those particular characters and shows meant a lot and have a special place in our hearts.

Around the same time as getting lost in a really cool medieval show about the establishment of the England we know today, I was also really into trying new recipes and wanted to get a nice cast iron pan to make all sorts of things--at the top of the list was attempting to try my hand at making a wicked deep dish pizza. The thing that has always held me back about using a cast iron pan is cleaning it properly after I’m done using it and not ruining the pan. I know they have to be cleaned just right, with the right cleaners, scrub brushes, etc. I had to do this right and do it right from the get go. 

Side note: Did you know that if you name your houseplants, it is proven that you actually take better care of them? This is why we named our big indoor Bird of Paradise plant Bob. Every day that we can remember, both morning and night at 8:08 we celebrate “Bob time” (since 8:08 looks like it spells “Bob”)  and everybody yells “We love you, Bob!!” and my little kids give him a big hug around his cream colored pot and we send all our love and good vibes to Bob. We feed and water and sing to Bob and he seems to be loving his new home so I believe this naming thing to be true.

I knew I had to take this lesson learned and name my new cast iron pan. When doing lots of research about cleaning cast iron pans, I kept reading people mention over and over how you need this little cleaner, which is actually a little rectangle of chainmail to scrub your pan. It is gentle enough on the cast iron, yet gets everything off without any fuss. I had to see if this was really as great as everyone said it was and I ordered both of them at the same time. 

As I mentioned, we were watching that Medieval show where two of our favorite characters were named Uhtred, son of Uhtred (you really have to say that whole thing to give it the full effect ;) ) and Father Beocca (pronounced Bay-oh-cuh). Uhtred was a really tough warrior, who was also very witty and charming. Father Beoca was a priest, and is actually played by the same actor who played Professor Quirrell from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, for any of you Harry Potter fans out there like me. It was fun to see him acting in something else so naturally I loved this character even more.

Needless to say, Uhtred, son of Uhtred is as tough and hardy as the fierce warrior on the show. I think the real Uhtred would be proud of all the yummy things we have and will continue to make in the cast iron pan. And as for the chainmail/cleaner Beocca--I LOVE it! I use this silly thing all the time for all my pots and pans and I cannot recommend it enough.

You know how hard it is to clean things like stuck-on eggs or baked on cheese? With a quick soak and simply swishing this little piece of chainmail around, it gets everything off so easily! It saves you so much time scrubbing at the sinks. I can’t believe it. And you simply rinse it off with water and let it hang to dry and it is good to go for next time.

I got the original brand who created it, because they have the highest quality stainless steel that will never rust--nothing but the best for Father Beocca/Professor Quirrell! If you look on Amazon it is the brand “The Ringer” and is called “the original stainless steel cast iron cleaner”. It is $21.99 but there are many knock-off versions that are less than $10 that also have good reviews, so you can look into that and see if you are interested in a little pan scrubber that will change your life.

Have you ever used chainmail for anything other than dressing up for a Medieval Fair or Comicon type event? Do you have any tips or tricks for cleaning out cast iron pans? Do you name any houseplants, kitchen pans or appliances? So many questions I have for you today! :) Please share your thoughts on any of the above in the comments below. And as Uhtred, son of Uhtred would say, “Destiny…..is all!”