La Greixonera

This is my favourite cooking vessel.  It's an earthenware casserole or cazuela which I bought many years ago in Mallorca, where it's called a greixonera.  (Pronounce it more or less as GRAY-shon-ERA.)  It has given rise to a dessert by the same name from the neighbouring island of Ibiza where it is made in such an earthenware casserole.

The dessert consists of ensaimadas which are a day or two old mixed together with egg, sugar, cinnamon and milk to make a sort of firm pudding which is sliced and served on a plate.  I use mine for making stewed dishes, meatballs and slow cooked meals which can sit on the back of my gas stove on a low flame until the contents are tender and flavourful.  It was customary in the Balearic Islands to use a cabbage or lettuce leaf to act as a lid for whatever was cooking inside.

Here are some more items from my collection of earthenware cooking vessels.  It amazes me that these cooking utensils cost so little - most of them under ten Euros, and they can be found in most supermarkets and hardware stores.  Although they will break when dropped or banged on a hard surface, my greixonera is over 25 years old and if I'm lucky it will still last for years.  I don't use a ceramic cooktop, and I don't believe these earthenware dishes could be used on them.  But they will go in the oven for baking and only need a little careful soaking in warm water for a few minutes before the first use.

I swear that anything cooked in them tastes superior than it would if it were cooked in a casserole made from another material.

Here is yet another of my cazuelas de barro or earthenware casserole dishes, together with another useful item...my wooden mortar and pestle which I use for grinding dry spices.  Both can be found in supermarkets here and are inexpensive.

And how I love my little olive oil can,  I keep it beside the stove and use it every day for a fine drizzle when cooking. This one holds half a liter but I recently found another one which holds one liter of oil.

Here is another supermarket find.  I was so pleased when I saw these individual earthenware soup bowls that I bought a couple and although we've had soup in them, I also tried them out for baking individual chicken pot pies in my toaster oven.

They turned out perfectly!

This morning we had beautiful sunshine and warm temperatures.  When I saw the sun lighting up my Phormium I had to run out and take a photo.  I brought this one with me from Canada one year and enjoy looking at it through my computer room window as the colours seem to glow in morning sunlight.

Thanks for dropping by.  Have a good week and hasta la vista!