I know I haven’t posted much lately, but I have been working on it. I am learning some new tools to help me be a better blogger and to make my writing more interesting. I have plenty of posts coming up in the near future as there is a lot going on here right now. I hope you enjoy!
After almost two years of cold sandwiches, eggs, and hot dogs, we have finally started real cooking on the wood stove! While rushing around and working all day, simple “meals” like peanut butter and jelly were acceptable because we were just too busy and too dirty to prepare a grand meal. Since we aren’t rushing madly to get a roof over head or hauling firewood so that we don’t freeze, we can actually start to eat like real people. We are learning to prepare healthy, hearty meals on the wood stove in the dutch oven. It is pretty much too late for this, since it’s spring and we are using the wood stove less and less, but we will be all set for next year.
Today’s meal was chicken vegetable soup, nothing too fantastic, but it’s not a hot dog. I prefer one pot meals where I can chop everything, toss it in the dutch oven, and wait for the fantastic aroma to fill my tiny house. The method we used can be applied to any combination of ingredients your taste buds are begging for.
I chopped all the vegetables, potatoes, and mushrooms and piled them into the dutch oven. I decided that it would be best if the carrots and potatoes that take the longest to cook went in the bottom of the pan where it would heat up the fastest. Who knows if it makes a difference or not. The chicken breast went in whole, piled on top of some vegetables. I don’t like cutting up raw meat if I can help it, without running water it is a challenge to clean up the slimy mess afterwards. We added water to cover everything and keep it moist and tender. The spices thrown in were garlic, basil, salt and rosemary; an excellent aroma to fill the house.
Put the lid on the dutch oven and bring the water to a boil. Once at a boil, we let it cook for about an hour. I’m not positive on the time frame, I was more interested in when the chicken was cooked and tender enough to break apart with a spoon. I also taste tested a carrot to be sure it was soft enough. Then we scooped the soup out of the dutch oven and filled our bowls right to the top. We were surprised at how long the soup stayed hot after we poured it into bowls. Don’t burn your mouth!
Next winter, we will really get good at cooking on the wood stove and in the dutch oven. I plan to post recipes that are so amazing your mouth will water just reading about them. Breads and desserts will also be added to the recipe list. For now, I think we are going to have to start working on our grilling recipes. We end up opening every window in the house some nights to keep it cool enough just to cook a meal. A perfect reason to get going on building the outdoor kitchen. Here it is so far:
Here are some links to other cooking projects I have posted on:
If you would like some more information on dutch oven cooking:
Wood Stove Cooking: Mother Earth News
I find you can sometimes achieve a similar effect with pressure cookers, which contain heat partly steam your dish.
I hope to start using my pressure cooker soon.