The virtues of cast iron cookware are several: it takes any heat, from very low to super high; it retains that heat, if necessary for the recipe; over time, it develops a nonpareil non-stick surface; and it’s fairly easy to care for, by and large eschewing soaping and scrubbing.

Pumpkin meat may be prepared for eating just as you cook other squashes: whole roasted; cut into large or small sections that are then boiled, steamed or roasted; even microwaved. Photo: Annie Spratt on unsplash

Whenever you seek to add vibrancy, color, a bit of saltiness, or the tang of acidity to a dish, see if some preserved lemon might do the trick.

Mustard is one of the more ancient of food flavorings. Photo by Marco Verch on flickr

A smidge of science helps immeasurably to get cooking with The Egg. Photo by Armando Arauz on unsplash.com