First, let me tell you, my love affair with woodcook stoves started when I was a little girl.  My great grandmother had one in her kitchen, and from that time on, I knew I too would cook on a woodcook stove just like my great grandmother.             

       When I was first married, my husband and I had extra money, and we ordered a very fancy woodcook stove from Lehmans.  We moved that beautiful stove to Idaho with us and planned on using it when we had our own home.

       We had some unexpected hospitial bills, and we sold it.  I had never even cooked on it!  It was my dream woodcook stove.

   Well, here we are years later homesteading, and still wanting a woodcook stove. One of the main reasons now was to save money and not be dependent soley on propane.

       I still had it in my mind that we would have to save up thousands of dollars to get a really nice woodcook stove.  When our propane stove went, my husband and I really wanted to switch over.  Unfortunately, we didn’t have the money for a fancy new woodcook stove.

       Guess what?  You don’t need a fancy brand new woodcook stove!  (I know some of you are saying, ‘duh’.)  It’s OK, I can take it.

       The stove my husband fixed up for me is more than a dream.  I love it!  It’s old, but it works, and it has charm.  I know other people used it and loved it, too.

         I  felt a little nervous the first day I was to cook on the woodcook stove.  We had hauled our old propane stove out to the shed, and  even though the oven died, the burners still worked.

         As I saw it leave, I thought to myself, can I even cook on a woodcook stove?  I didn’t even have back up any more.  Would I die of heat during spring/summer days?  Would I burn my bread and cookies?  My husband assumed that I would do great.

         I got up early, started the fire, and got the teakettle singing.  Boy, was I proud.  My first cup of tea! 

         I sat down at the table with a couple of books that had info on woodcook stoves.  They both said different things, but I gleaned what I could, and remembered what a few friends had told me along the way.

         I played with the dampers and oxygen and learned how to get it hot.

         I cook most things on the bottom and it works out great.  I only slightly burnt the top of my first loaf of bread.  I soon found out that bread should be baked at the bottom of the oven.  After that, no more burnt tops.

         Bread does seem to cook faster in my woodcook stove, than in my propane, and cookies seem to take a few minutes extra.  You kind of keep your eyes on things, but you learn the groove pretty easily.

         I want to tell you all out there it’s not hard!  You do have to plan ahead a little.

         If I want my kettle of tea I must start the fire and wait 30 – 45 minutes for the fire to heat up in the morning.  I damper it down, and keep coals in it, and start it up when I want to bake or cook.  When I start making dinner,  I need to go stoke it, and so on.  It starts to become a natural rhythm in your daily life.

         I will probably use propane burners outside for canning on really hot days, but we do live in North Idaho, and even in the summer it cools down at night.  So we shall see!

         I was thinking of doing a step by step tutorial on woodstove cooking in a couple of weeks.  What do you all think?  Would love some feedback.

                             -Abby Jo

We have just entered into the world of woodstove cooking. Well …..Not I, but my wonderful wife. This little story starts, when a dear friend heard that two weeks ago our propane oven had burned through it’s thermal couple, and rendered the oven unusable. My wife has only been able to use the cook top, preparing meals for the seven of us. Our friends called us and asked if we wanted a woodcook stove they had up at their cabin. Bless their hearts.

With help from a borrowed grinder, I was able to remove all the surface rust. I also rebuilt the bottom of the stove by riveting heavy gauge metal to it. I than repainted the base that it sits on, and also the handles.

There was a lot of excitement as to who was going to light the first fire in the firebox. Mother, was given honors and in no time at all snaps and pops could be heard coming from deep within. The stove had come alive! Our home was filled with wide smiles and big eyes all that day. My head was set to waging over the simplicity and effectiveness of the design. Finally, it is true that all food tastes better on a woodcook stove.