Cleaning my cast iron

Many years ago I decided I wanted a cast iron skillet, so my grandma got one for me for Christmas. It took me awhile to use it, as I wasn't sure the preseasoned skillet was actually seasoned enough for use. (In fact, I didn't even understand what the seasoning was for - I've since learned that the seasoning is to help keep foods from sticking.) It just became one of those things I wanted and had but never used. I finally got brave enough to use it once or twice. A couple summers ago, Biju used it for something on the grill. It then got left outside. Over the whole winter. Ouch! We discovered it last spring covered in rust.




We didn't know what to do with it. Sad to say, we almost threw it away thinking it wasn't salvageable. Instead of chucking it out, though, we just left it in the garage. Fast forward a year to the beginning of this Spring. I had done some research and was ready to try my hand at getting the rust off. I got the skillet a bit wet, sprinkled it with some salt and got out my Norwex spirinett. I used an old wash cloth to hold on to the spirinett and keep my hand from getting all yucky. I scrubbed for a few minutes and now look at it!




I'm thrilled with the results, however I'm still a bit embarrassed to say I haven't used it since cleaning it. I need to season it. I need to season it well so nothing sticks. If I can get the use of this smaller skillet down, then I'd like to find some bigger cast iron pots and pans to use so we can get rid of our (poison riddled) Teflon coated pans.

Edited to note: I just noticed the dates on the pictures are off. The batteries died while I was taking pics, and I must've input the wrong date when I put in fresh batteries. I think the date was off for our Easter pics, too. Too bad I don't know how to look at a calendar!