Cooking It Oldskool

Did I take a flashback in time? No it's still 2007, and yes I'm really cooking on my wood stove.

We always cook on the wood stove when the power goes out, but lately I've found myself wanting to cook our regular meals on it more and more. It's probably got a lot to do with my drive to go green in as many ways as I can.

Ignore how dirty my wood stove looks in the photos. I accidentally spilled some of the water when draining it off my macaroni, and I'll clean it up when the stove cools down!

I've always had a fascination with wood stoves, and I think it began when I was a child. My mom realized it was easier to have a pot of soup cooking on the stove while she did all that was demanded of a stay at home mom. She didn't have to stop to cook lunch or dinner. She only had to stop long enough to dish out the food and feed us.

We would play in the den where the stove was to stay warmer, so I spent more time around it everyday. I loved smelling all those wonderful food smells while we played, and when my sister got a easy bake oven I started experimenting with her little mixes. I would make up a little single serving pan of brownie mix, then I would sit it on the wood stove and watch it cook.

To this day I hate cooking unless it comes to my wood stove. I like being able to have something cooking away all day while I'm getting my housework done or fixing a customer's computer. I don't have to worry about burning the food as much because it heats a lot slower. I've finally perfected my fire building skills enough to keep my stove at the temperature I want it.


Like today I'm making my mom's "Tomato Macaroni Soup". It's one of those it's all that's left in the cabinet recipes she created years ago, and it's perfect for wood stove cooking. I've kept a fire burning at about 400-600 degrees all day, so not only am I cooking dinner, but I'm heating my home at the same time without spending a dime or using any man made power.

It really does smell wonderful right now, and it seems like even Bubba is enjoying it. I'm enjoying the fact that normally my power bills drops $40 for the month of November by using my wood stove for heat, but this year it dropped almost $60 by using it for cooking, too!