Because of last year's dog food fiasco, the lead paint on child toys and many other outrages due to rampant corruption in China, I try to avoid Made in China altogether and absolutely refuse to cook with anything Made in China.

Have recently gotten into Dutch Ovens and cast iron (including Lodge's enamel cast iron) in a big way. In large part because of Lodge's recent innovation of pre-seasoned cast iron. It's ready to go out of the box.

Cranberry-orange bread is baking in my oven as I type this -- in a 1 quart Dutch Oven from Lodge. Am beginning to experiment with a 10" (4 quart), a 12" deep (8 quart) at home and will be taking these camping starting next month.

Teflon is history in my house.

Last week was my first use of a new cast iron wok (from Lodge) and after three decades of doing stir-fry the cast iron wok is a fantastic upgrade.

I've been amazed how affordable and in some instances, cheap, Lodge cast iron is. Especially considered it's Made in USA at their foundry in Tennessee.

Have purchased most of it at amazon.com and taken advantage of the "Free Super Saver Shipping" that is an option with every piece I've purchased there. Have bought some accessories from Cabelas.

Here's a new camp cooking web page that is already full of terrific information on Dutch Oven and other forms of camp cooking. Helps with gearing up and with many great recipes:

http://www.camp-cook.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=9&sid=a33a3b7872e71139cd64d4f8d367454c

Here's Lodge's web page.

https://secure.lodgemfg.com/storefront/products1.asp?idDept=1413&menu=logic

Dutch ovens have an interesting history, too. Some things can't be improved upon. But Paul Revere did put his stamp on Dutch Ovens when he started making them with the lid lip to keep coals and ash from falling off as well as the legs which allow coals to be placed underneath.