Things have settled down a bit and Bill and I are concentrating on getting back into some sort of routine. We got off to a good start yesterday morning by going to the gym, something we hadn’t done for about three weeks. Packing up, traveling home, unpacking, Bill’s Chicago trip, a new baby. Lots of excuses.  But, we are once again determined to make exercise part of our routine. Gotta. My legs are scolding me this morning.

I’m also determined to get back into the habit of cooking. We have been so busy that it’s actually quite embarrassing to think of how seldom I have cooked as of late. That, too, is going to change.

That is why I reached under my stove yesterday morning to retrieve a skillet in which to cook some eggs and sausage. I pulled out my small red sauté pan and was horrified – HORRIFIED I TELL YOU – to see that the outside was covered in black burned-on stains. You seriously could barely tell it was red. It was not as I left it five months ago. That’s all I’ll say about that.

At the same time, I noticed my tiny little skillet with the copper bottom that I use infrequently, but strategically, was also stained – this stain being inside the pan.

I got out my scrub brush and began working on both of these pans to no avail. I brought out Bill’s hearty citrusy Gojo cleaner – that stuff will clean anything. It was a no-go. Not even the tiniest dent on the stain. Oh nooooooo.

Here’s what I did, based on an internet search:

I sprinkled the powdered form of Barkeeper’s Friend on the outside of the red pan. I crumpled a piece of aluminum foil and began scrubbing. My friends, it was magical. Unfortunately, I neglected to take a “before” shot of my pan because frankly, I didn’t think it had a chance of working. It did. Here’s what my pan looks like now…

But, would it work on the copper-bottomed pan with the serious internal stain that looked like this?

Here’s what it looks like now….

Now I don’t want to fool you. It took a bit of elbow grease. But not more elbow grease than my 60-year-old arthritic hands could provide. I was amazed.

The good news is that aluminum is softer than steel, so this process doesn’t do as much damage as stainless steel would. However, you would probably want to be a bit careful about what you scrub. No non-stick surfaces, for example.  If you have questions, scrub a small part of the pan first to see if it gets damaged.

One more quick trick with simple household items….

I have a glass-top stove that I find tiresome to keep clean. Here is a quick and easy solution to keeping your glass-top stove shiny. I do this once every couple of weeks.

Sprinkle baking soda liberally onto the stove top.

In the meantime, fill a bowl or your sink with HOT water mixed with some dishwashing soap. Soak some clean rags in the water, then wring out about halfway so that the rags are still pretty damp. Lay the damp rags on top of the glass top and let it sit for 15 minutes or so. Once the time is up, swirl the rags around in circles, using the baking soda as a scrub. Rinse and dry, and shine it with a clean cloth. You will be amazed.

Not too bad for a 20-year stovetop.

By the way, the temperature this morning was 30 degrees. Brrrr. Come back Springtime!