Just another reason I love my wood stove

There is nothing warmer then wood heat, at least not in my opinion. It is very drying, so I keep a pot of water simmering thus giving me a handy bottle warmer for the goat kids.

Cooking on a wood heating stove can be a challenge, but given my frugal nature I want to make use of every opportunity I have to save money. Since I am already dealing with a big old ugly wood heater in my dining room then damn it, I am going to use that heat to cook! To start, I put a grate across the top to give me a flat surface to work with.

Obvious candidates are soups and stews which like a nice long simmer, but I've done roasts, prime rib and even a whole turkey using a large roasting pan I picked up at auction.

I own a number of the 'Turbo Cooker' pans and really like the way they work. Yup, the ones from the info-mercial, but I have found them on ebay, at garage sales and even had one sent to me for free after I mentioned how much I liked the on the Homesteading Today forum. They are really just a big, deep skillet with a dome lid and steaming rack and have a pretty good non stick coating. And yes, I actually do use them to 'bake' cakes and they come out great! I also like cast iron, though it does take longer to heat.

While it does take some time, my absolute favorite way to cook bacon is on the wood stove. The fat drains away and the bacon gets nice and crispy without burning or splatter.

I place a rack on a large baking sheet and lay out the bacon in a single layer, placing the cookie sheet on the hottest part of the stove top. I turn the pans as necessary and how long the whole process takes depends on stove temperature and thickness of the bacon.

I also use a camping box oven for some baking, however I am still looking forward to installing my vintage wood cook stove so I can do some real wood stove baking. I only have a small camp oven, which limits what baking I can do. I've been kicking myself all winter for passing on a large vintage wood cook box oven last summer because I didn't want to pay their asking price.

The next project that I am really looking forward to is building a solar oven.
If anyone has built or used a solar oven I would love any insight as far as design and tips and recipes for cooking.

Apple Vinegar, Knitting and Matters of Life and Death

Have we had great weather lately! It has been frosty in the morning, but 70's and even 80's in the afternoon. Both lower gardens are pretty much finished for the year and I collect squash and pumpkins every day. The front garden has only been lightly touched by frost and I'm still getting some tomatoes, peppers and eggplants. I even picked two small watermelons this morning!

I stocked a few more hand knit wool hats and a funky eyelash yarn skinny scarf at my Hyena Cart shop, EUC. I've done a few custom hats for friends as well, so if anyone would like something special for themselves or to give as a gift, please let me know.
This is Boogies new hat, knit from some funky vintage wool.And now for something completely different!

Did you know you can make Apple Vinegar from the cores and peels? I've been making a lot of cinnamon apple sauce and pie filling, which produced a lot of peelings!Place the peels and cores in a large, clean jar and cover with water.

Cheese cloth helps keep the fruit flies away.

After about 10 days in a cool and dark place. The peels have all risen to the top and the liquid is a nice pink color. After straining away the peels, you are left with a very tasty vinegar. It smells wonderful! This also works well with peach peelings.Put your vinegar in a clean jar and store it in the refrigerator, or can it in quarts. I like this stuff for cooking and salad dressings, it should not be used for pickling or canning as the acidity is not consistent and may not be strong enough.So now I have to make a BIG decision. I have way too many cockerels and have not been able to give them away. It had gotten to the point that they were beginning to injure the hens so I removed all but two of them from the hen house and penned them up. What do you do with unwanted cockerels? I may have to make the decision to send them off to freezer camp :'(
It is so hard to be the direct cause of a creatures death. No way I can do it myself, Rob has no problem butchering them, but I am still the one who makes the final decision.

Boogie and I will be off tomorrow to meet with my best friend from Grade School, whom I have not seen in over 30 years. (Gotta love Facebook!)
In the mean time, if anybody wants any cockerels...........

Time to make the pesto!

The basil is doing VERY well so far this year, it is loving the wet and warm weather. I took me years to realize this, but I cannot stress enough, PICK AND USE YOUR BASIL! You will be rewarded with more and more and more basil. I used to hate the idea of cutting off my pretty plants, but once they show signs of flowering, give them a good trim and and you will be amazed at how quickly they rebound. On the other hand, if you don't harvest the plants flower and become leggy and woody with reduced production.

So I picked this HUGE colander full of leaves from my many plants.

I removed the leaves from the stems and put them in the blender with a good amount of extra virgin olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper and a splash of balsamic vinegar. Pine nuts are a traditional ingredient, but I'm not fond of them so I leave them out. Then I puree, adding more EVOO until I get a nice thick milkshake consistency. I like to freeze mine in old fashioned pyrex glass containers with plastic lids or half pint mason jars. Delicious on pasta, warm or cold, and I use it as a 'rub' on pork roasts. Very versatile and tasty stuff!

Made a chiffonade with the rest of the leaves and added them to fresh pasta sauce for dinner. You can also dry bunches then store the dried leaves in an airtight container away from direct light and heat where they keep their potency about six months.