Three Unconventional Ways to Cook a Delicious Meal

Living in an RV and traveling from show to show, I did most of my cooking on a propane stove. However, this could get a bit expensive when cash was short. I could usually find free camping spots. Designing ways to cook took a bit of experimenting and adapting what I already knew. The first design shows the basics of what I build on site from materials at hand. I am using purchased bricks here, but I have done the same thing with field rocks, flag stone that someone left behind, and big logs. This field oven works beautifully for baking potatoes, smoking chicken, simple baking, and "stove top cooking". The rocket stove and the can cooker are adaptations of ideas I have seen elsewhere. Try these out and experiment a little. Be smart. Be safe. Just remember that you are playing with fire.

I purchased 20 paving bricks from Lowes at about $1.70 per brick. Three construction bricks were salvaged from the property. 30 fire bricks would have been better for these projects, but cost was a factor. Free bricks are available if you are patient. Dry stacking the bricks let me build these projects quickly and use the same bricks for multiple designs. All three were done in about 4 hours from beginning to end. Honestly, it took longer to get the fires going than to build the projects, mostly because I was working with damp wood.

camp stove

Based on my experience, this is the easier design to work with if your wood is less than ideal. It will take a little more wood than a rocket stove and works with larger pieces of wood. 2" to 3" wood is ideal for developing a bed of coals for cooking. The idea here is to develop a bed of coals and keep the heat concentrated in a smallish box. This design also helps protect your body from the heat while you are cooking. So the basics:

1) Clear the space of anything flammable and level the space.

2) If you have enough bricks, lay out the first course of bricks in a box.

3) For the second course, create a U on top of the first row with 6 bricks. Place the grate on this.

4) Stack at least 2 more courses on this to create an oven at least 4 layers high.

5) I used a ceramic toilet tank cover for a lid to this oven.

Build your fire and cook.

For more complete instructions with pictures, click the button below.

rocket stove

This is a beautiful design that cooks quickly and without smoke when it is working well. It will not work well with damp wood. The wood that I was using this day was a little damp and the design of this stove does not dry out the wood that is being fed into it. That said, I love this design. It is quick, discrete, and efficient. There are a large number of designs for rocket stoves on the internet. Doing a quick search brings up tons of information. I used 23 bricks for this without cutting bricks. So the basics:

1) Clear your space of anything flammable.

2) Lay down the first course of 5 bricks. I used an extra brick in front to get the spacing right.

3) Place the grate on the first course of bricks. Lay the second course in a U on top of the grate.

4) Lay out the rest of the bricks to create a chimney of 4 bricks each. The chimney should be at least 3 bricks high and 4 or 5 bricks high would be better.

5) Build a fire on top of the grate and feed it into the box.

6) Put a burner grate on top of the chimney and cook from the heat of the chimney.

For complete instructions with pictures, poke the button below.

can cooker

This takes a metal coffee can, sand candles, and a burner grate.

The can cooker is the design that I like the least, but it is the only design that can be safely used inside. It is slow and best used for warming food to eating temperature. Still, it is nice to have around and it is easy and free to make.

1) Buy your next batch of coffee in a metal can and wash it out.

2) Punch or drill holes around the side of the can at about 2" from the bottom of the can.

3) Fill the bottom of the can with about 1" of sand.4) Stabilize the candles in the sand. Light the candles and place the burner grate over the can.

One candle raised the temperature in the kettle by 40*f in about a half hour. I would use 3 candles in this or a pillar candle with 3 wicks. When I put the kettle directly on the can, the candle went out. Use a spacer on the top to allow the air to circulate.

On Dinosaurs, Bison, and Rockets.

I looked in the mirror a few days ago and I saw a dinosaur looking back at me. What! you say. What is this crazy BLEEP talking about? But hear me out. It wasn't just the silver glitter in my hair, or the worry lines in my forehead. It was more than the crows feet at the corners of the eyes. It is the understanding that every one of the 11 elements that make up most of my body, and yours, have been here since the beginning of life on this planet. Everything that I eat, drink, breath, and do, is going to be on this planet long after my body stops going snap, crackle, pop. It cycled through the dinosaurs for over 100 million years and will cycle through the web of life long after this body is dust.That alone makes it important to understand the impact that I have on this world. The teachings of White Buffalo Calf Woman and Tobacco are those of harmony, reverence, and respect for the earth and her web of life. By viewing Earth as Mother and Goddess, I know that I live as a part of her web of life. Therefore, I strive to find ways to better live in that harmony.My two greatest uses of resources are transportation and heat. Heat for comfort, water, and cooking. My experiments and projects for this newsletter were one stab at addressing these needs for myself. Using biomass (i.e. wood) keeps me within the current carbon cycle. Burning wood has some issues of pollution and deforestation. Both of these are primarily resolved by first designing new spaces to directly use passive solar heating. The rocket stove addresses the back up heating needs efficiently and without most of the problems of conventional wood heat. I am going to continue to experiment with rocket stoves and eventually transition from outdoor cooking to space heating. The following is the basic reason.

The rocket stove is a relatively new innovation in wood burning invented by Dr. Larry Weniarski. It is designed as a high oxygen mix stove that burns at a high heat for nearly complete combustion of the wood. It not only burns the wood, but also burns the volatile gasses and creosote, leaving mostly carbon dioxide and water exhausting from the chimney. Properly designed, it burns with 90% efficiency and is nearly pollution free. By most accounts, a rocket stove burns 1/4 of the wood for the same amount of heat as compared to conventional wood stoves. Instead of cutting trees, it is powered by downed branches, and pruned wood. This makes it a viable option for space heating, camp cooking, and emergency cooking. Here are some more sources for information:

permacultureprinciples.com

permies.com

lowimpact.org

midwestpermacurlture.com

A Brief History of The Goddess

This all started in the mists of time before she was aware. Before there was time. Perhaps it was bored. Perhaps it was curious. Perhaps it just wanted to create New. Spiraling out of consciousness came New potential. The New spiraled, it changed, it coalesced, it evolved. Within the spiraling New, she became aware. She was turning, flowing, and evolving in her own right. Sometimes the dark prevailed. Sometimes the light sparked. But she and the New were always beginning, moving, and evolving....

And for a little bit more

Events

March 26 - Make up your own Holiday Day

April 1 - April Fool's Day, Dream Catcher Class at the Ashtabula OH Art Center

April 5 - Passover, Fortuna

April 6 - Full Moon

April 9 - Easter

April 20 - New Moon

April 22 - Earth Day

Tobacco

In Native American spiritual practice, tobacco is considered to be the sacred herb of the east. It is one of the four sacred herbs of the Native Americans. Tobacco is one of the plants that is widely misused and abused to the detriment of all. When it is used respectfully and with reverence to its ancient use, it is an herb of spiritual connection. It is used in prayer, as offerings of gratitude, and as gifts of honor.

White Buffalo Calf Woman

The White Buffalo Calf Woman is a Native American legend that is most closely associated with the Lakota of the North American plains. She came to the people during a time of struggle and famine to bring teachings balance, harmony, prayer, and ritual. To Native Americans, she is a spiritual guide. As a symbol, she represents the sacredness of life and the cycle of life. She is a symbol of prayer, ceremony, and ritual. She is a messenger of hope, healing, and abundance. There is more here:

And I'm Not The Only One

Here are a couple of places to find more information.

permacultureprinciples.com

lowimpact.org

midwestpermaculture.com