It’s been almost a year since my husband and I moved into a new house with its custom-designed kitchen, which promised a little extra room for acquiring more utensils, appliances and other cooking supplies. But one area has proved barely adequate: the deep drawers opposite the range intended for pots and pans.

With both of us bringing a whole set of cookware to the marriage, plus other assorted skillets, there simply isn’t room for one more piece. Sounds like I should simply reorganize, thanking my lucky stars that Will and I both had established kitchens long before we met, right? I suppose I would if the pots and pans weren’t starting to seem a little undesirable.

Don’t get me wrong, my stainless steel saucepans work just fine and likely will for some time. It’s the nonstick stuff that has my ire up amid more and more reports of unhealthy substances used in its manufacture. I haven’t considered purchasing any more nonstick pans, although ours are scratched and threatening to shed their toxic skin into our food.

Our set of anodized aluminum ware, a Costco knock-off of Calphalon, is deeply scored and begs to be replaced, as well. Needless to say, I wouldn’t buy the same set again. But with the real thing’s hefty price tag, I’m loathe to consider it when aluminum hasn’t gotten such great press either. Just as the hype around Teflon has built over the past decade, one can only guess at a similar fate for anodized aluminum pans.

So when in doubt, go with a proven — and, in this case, cheap — technology. Since trace amounts of iron imparted to food has long been touted as a health benefit, I bought two hefty Lodge Logic cast-iron skillets last month at Costco. I could hardly resist the price: $26 for both. But I still hemmed and hawed with my mom looking on.

I hadn’t seen the greatest performance out of my cast-iron grill pan but recognized my own stubborn ways as a culprit. I knew that soap was a no-no. But succumbing to my desire for grease-free pots and pans, I had been soaking my grill pan in a sink of hot water. I know, ouch!

A properly seasoned cast-iron skillet, my mom, promised, will not stick. Rinse, don’t soak, it in hot water, removing bits of food with a hard, plastic pot scraper or wire brush, she said. Then put it in a warm oven to dry.

Although they claimed to come seasoned, we spent about 30 minutes the next day scrubbing, oiling and baking those pans. Cooking fish seemed like the ultimate test. My husband Will cut mahi mahi fillets into several strips for fish tacos, melted a little butter and oil together in the smaller skillet and crossed his fingers. The fish cooked — and released — beautifully.

I’m trying eggs this weekend. And if I can pull off an omelette, my cookware drawer may get a drastic makeover.