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Farm Kitchen:  Wood cook stove info needed  |
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happymama58
True Blue Farmgirl
1210 Posts
Patti
Missouri
USA
1210 Posts |
 Posted - Mar 30 2006 : 6:22:10 PM
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I posted this in the wood stove thread, but I think it got lost, so I'll try again. Those of you who have wood cook stoves now or have had them in the past, what do you do when someone wants one of something, for example a grilled cheese sandwich or a fried egg sandwich? Do you just not eat except at regular meals, or do you build a fire for one thing? Also, since the stoves I've been looking at say they can heat an entire modest-sized home, how do you cook on it in the summer when you don't want to heat the house?
All answers are really appreciated. I'm seriously considering a wood cook stove when I can afford it and am trying to do research. I trust you ladies more than anyone else! I did order the Emery book from Amazon and am looking forward to receiving it.
Some people search for happiness; others create it.
http://happymama58.typepad.com/my_weblog/ |
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Amie C.
True Blue Farmgirl
2099 Posts
Finger Lakes Region
NY
2099 Posts |
Posted - Mar 31 2006 : 06:53:21 AM
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I don't have a woodstove myself, but I know that in the old days southern houses usually had a summer kitchen. It was a little separate building, maybe connected by a breezeway, where the stove would be moved during the summer months.
Is there a better solution today? Does anyone have a summer kitchen? If you have the land space, you probably could.
On the other hand, I remember reading in a biography of Guy and/or Laura Waterman (they were well known homesteaders and outdoors authors) that it was annoying when guests who weren't used to woodstove cooking would ask for a cup of coffee or something in the morning, because it meant firing up the stove just for that. So apparently they didn't have a good solution to your problem after 20 odd years of using a wood cookstove.
Hope this helps, even though it's not first hand experience. |
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happymama58
True Blue Farmgirl
1210 Posts
Patti
Missouri
USA
1210 Posts |
Posted - Mar 31 2006 : 11:34:25 AM
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Thanks for sharing what you know and for the author/book information. I'm going to see if I can find their book(s) -- I'm building a library of resources for our new way of life and having a great time finding books!
Some people search for happiness; others create it.
http://happymama58.typepad.com/my_weblog/ |
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Amie C.
True Blue Farmgirl
2099 Posts
Finger Lakes Region
NY
2099 Posts |
Posted - Mar 31 2006 : 12:12:41 PM
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I don't think the Watermans wrote any detailed books about their homesteading life. They mostly wrote about hiking and climbing routes in the White Mountains (NH). They were both rock/ice climbers. The two books I read were 'Good Morning Midnight', which is about Guy Waterman (he died a few years ago, in a particularly tragic way) and 'Losing the Garden', a memoir by Laura Waterman about their marriage and their life together. The books mention some details, but not in an instructional way. They are interesting, but of course rather sad. The Watermans were inspired to start homesteading by another couple, Helen and Scott Nearing, who did write instructional type books about their experience. You might want to look them up, too. I just got one of their books out of the library today.
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happymama58
True Blue Farmgirl
1210 Posts
Patti
Missouri
USA
1210 Posts |
Posted - Mar 31 2006 : 3:13:17 PM
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I read "Losing the Garden" a few months ago and found it extremely disturbing. Thanks for the suggestion about the books by Nearing. I'll check on them.
Some people search for happiness; others create it.
http://happymama58.typepad.com/my_weblog/ |
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sleepless reader
True Blue Farmgirl
1022 Posts
CA
USA
1022 Posts |
Posted - Apr 01 2006 : 6:46:17 PM
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Patti, I don't cook on a wood stove, but know of a woman who did for years. In the summer they did all their cooking out on the back porch on a camp stove. Are you totally reliant on the wood cook stove, or do you have other options like a toaster oven, electric frying pan or microwave? Maybe you'll just have to say no to some things if the fire's gone out...
Sharon
Life is messy. Wear your apron! |
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happymama58
True Blue Farmgirl
1210 Posts
Patti
Missouri
USA
1210 Posts |
Posted - Apr 01 2006 : 7:12:54 PM
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Right now I have an electric stove. I'm in the information-gathering stage for our new house. DH really wants me to get an electric stove, so I don't know what we'll end up doing.
Some people search for happiness; others create it.
http://happymama58.typepad.com/my_weblog/ |
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Christine in Clark Fork
Farmgirl in Training
34 Posts
Christine
Clark Fork
Idaho
USA
34 Posts |
Posted - Apr 01 2006 : 9:38:17 PM
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| I just got a "Baker's Choice" Amish cookstove this fall. I love it. I bake, cook and heat our house with it (24'x36'). My propane oven stopped working this summer and I didn't have my woodstove yet. So, I baked on my gas grill outside. I put a cookie sheet on the bottom rack and baked on the upper rack. I baked pizza, cookies, zucchini bread, etc. It worked really well. I will probably do that again this summer if I don't get my stove fixed. Does anyone know of someone who repairs or sells old (1920-1950's) propane stoves? |
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Alaska farm girl
True Blue Farmgirl
123 Posts
dorothy
skagway
Alaska
USA
123 Posts |
Posted - Apr 03 2006 : 4:26:20 PM
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| Hi, I used a wood cook stove for about 4 years,cooked the best turkey in it. but we also had a propane 4 burner too for summers and that morning cup of coffee. If I had the money and room thats how I'd do it again.I also used the oven door to set a box of baby chicks on or the sick duckling in need of extra warmth. I see Lehmans has a small woodcook stove and also propane stoves.I also had good luck making fruit leather in the oven when the fire was low and going out. |
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Northerngal
Farmgirl in Training
33 Posts
Gale
Iowa
USA
33 Posts |
Posted - Apr 20 2006 : 9:30:23 PM
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| When I was growing up, we heated the entire house with two wood stoves. One of them was a combination wood stove / electric range that my Mom used for cooking. Baking, just using the wood stove for heat was a bit tricky. Mom had to get the fire going really well and then keep checking on whatever she was making every so often. Today I am amazed at all the things she was able to make with that stove. In the wintertime, she always kept a tea kettle of water on top of the stove, that way there was always hot water for tea or coffee. By moving it to the edge of the stove, where the fire was cooler, it wouldn't boil, just stay warm. Her stove was a Monarch. I know you could still buy new ones in the late 70's, but I don't know if they even make them anymore. |
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Farm Kitchen: Wood cook stove info needed |
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Wood cook stove info needed
