Rick
03-25-2008, 07:57 PM
This is an old trick that used to be used when cooking space on the wood stove was a premium. Homesteaders take note. This might be a solution for you. Take a solid-sided wooden box, fill it with hay and scoop a hole just big enough to take a casserole or firmly-lidded pot. Having brought your soup or stew to the boil in an oven, put it inside the hay box, cover the top with hay and reseal the box with a close-fitting lid. Your food will go on slowly cooking. The hay will insulate the pot and retain the heat for hours.
You can make a more modern version and its even more efficient. Use a block of expanded polystyrene. Hollow out a hole for your pot in the center, leaving at least a 4 inch (10 cm) thickness all round, including the lid. Or use a polystyrene cooler chest and fill it up with polystyrene granules for a hot picnic box.
You can make a more modern version and its even more efficient. Use a block of expanded polystyrene. Hollow out a hole for your pot in the center, leaving at least a 4 inch (10 cm) thickness all round, including the lid. Or use a polystyrene cooler chest and fill it up with polystyrene granules for a hot picnic box.