TASTY TIPS FOR COOKING ON YOUR WOODBURNING STOVE

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There is no way to gauge the heat of the fire, so you cannot time the cooking process. Use a two-pronged fork to check the tenderness of the vegetables (we like ours with just a little crunch left).

BAKING. There are various woodstove baking ovens on the market for cooking small baked goods, but an inverted cast iron pot has worked well for us. I place the cover of the pot upside down on the stove, put a bread pan or small muffin pan on top of that, and then top the cover and pan with inverted cooking pot.

Granted, this is a crude contraption and it does seem to take forever sometimes for the baked goods to be done, but it works—it just takes longer than a conventional oven.

COOKWARE. Traditional cast-iron cookware is by far the most effective utensil for woodstove use. Cast iron provides even heat and needs little care. Each piece should be treated to stave off rust and to prevent foods from sticking. To accomplish this, coat the pan with vegetable oil and heat for two hours in a 300° F oven. Check periodically to see if the oil has been absorbed and add more if necessary. Let cool and wipe off any excess. After you've finished cooking, clean the pot with paper towels and scour stubborn spots with salt (avoid cleaning with soap or detergents).

Cooking techniques vary little whether the fuel is wood or coal: The difference is in the heat.

Cooking techniques vary little whether the fuel is wood or coal: The difference is in the higher intensity of heat from the burning of coal. With either fuel, the heat is often not evenly distributed on the stove's surface.

The real trick is to move the pots around, depending upon your needs. If a pot is bubbling too hard, either move it to a cooler area on the woodstove or set it on a metal trivet. If more heat is required, set the pan directly over the area where the coals are burning hottest, which is usually in the center of the stovetop.

As confidence in your ability to cook on a woodstove grows, so will your assurance that almost anything cooked on a conventional range can be cooked on a woodstove. Your imagination is your greatest tool, and your cooking methods are uniquely your own.

Bean Soup

There are several complementary vegetable/protein combinations that are the nutritional equivalent of meat. The familiar macaroni and cheese is one, as well as the less familiar bean-and-pasta combination found in this soup.

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