Seasoned

One night I was taking my stoneware out of the oven to be used as my vehicle to consume chocolate chip cookies within the next 15 minutes. I love my stoneware. With each use, it becomes a deeper golden brown allowing me to always bake without my batter sticking. No need for non-stick sprays, parchment paper or extra butter. It does the non-stick magic itself.

The concept of stoneware is to become more seasoned with each time in the oven. Upon your first use, you are told to bake something extra fattening. Croissants are recommended because they create the most butter/oil on the pan while baking. Basically, the more you bake on it, the better the stoneware becomes. It is strong. It is durable. It does it's job to bake more evenly and eliminate a sticky mess. Exactly what I need in a pan.

As I spooned my cookie dough onto this deep and rich colored surface, I reflected on that fact.

The more heat it takes, the better it becomes.

I thought how I am exactly like that.

I thought how I have had some serious high heat in my life. Havn't we all? Tragedies, illness, life choices gone array. There have been lower temperatures of heat as well; becoming a wife and mother has seasoned me as each day passes. But remember.. I am strong and durable, too.

There was a time when I forgot that my stoneware remained inside when I put the oven on self-clean. I awoke in horror the next morning to see that my glorious golden pan had become chalky white once again. I had to start all over by baking those croissants. I had to re-season it with more baked goods over and over again. However, I despaired not because time, along with my children's desires to bake cookies weekly, is all it needed to return to it's former self and improve even more.

We are like that stoneware.

We become more seasoned

when the heat is on.

What's not to love about that?