Ever short of kindling for your multi-fuel stove? Put your junk mail to good use this winter!

I guess one of the most daunting things when you first get your multi-fuel or woodburning stove is how to light it!   

Then when you've got the hang of lighting it, what can you light it with! 

9 times out of 10 when I go to light our stove there's never any paper, kindling or wood in the log basket!  

So before you get adventurous with cooking on your stove you need to be prepared.

I thought i'd give you some ideas on how start the way you mean to go on - do as little as possible and let the stove do all the work! After all, cooking on a wood stove is supposed to be a relaxing, enjoyable experience - chuck everything in the pot, stick your feet up with a cup of tea (or a glass of wine) whilst the smells permeate around you - what bliss! Two hours later, its ready! Cooking the way I like to cook!

Lighting your fire:

Use scrunched up paper (to let the air through - flat paper just doesn't work neither does coated paper from magazines) newspaper works best - so when you're on the bus, Metro or Tube, grab yourself a few free newspapers and you'll have a good stock ready for winter! 

The other key thing is kindling - having dry, thin wood is a must.  But, if you're house is like ours, there's never any kindling when you need it, especially when there's not a handy man with an axe around.   (Many a freezing cold day I've spent on my hands and knees chip chopping with an axe getting nothing but splinters in my fingers! Well no more!)

It struck me one day; whilst our dog was on his hind legs trying to pull the empty toilet roll off the toilet roll holder, that I could find a much better use for it!  (Monty is his name and he loves anything made with cardboard! More about Monty here!)

Take your junk mail, envelopes, used printer paper etc - roll them up and put them inside your empty toilet roll tubes to make your own recycled kindling. 

Voila! Brilliant kindling. Works a treat! 

What also helps is to add one medium small sized log to the top of your pyre before you light it, then add larger logs once it's taken hold. Leaving the door slightly ajar makes the air draw through.

If you've got any tips for making your relaxing stove cooking experience even more relaxing, I'd love to hear from you!

Well off to do some work. 

Bye for now!

Tracy

Cooking on Wood!

For me, there's only one thing more magical than spending a cosy night in front of a wood burning stove, and that's being able to cook on it!

Cooking on your multi-fuel / wood stove

The kettle's never off in our house, so whenever our stove's on, so is our kettle! 

Last winter I bought a cast iron casserole dish and I've cooked all sorts of things on our stove; chille con carne, spaghetti bolognese, braising steak, even a whole chicken!  Cooking for 2 or 3 hours at a time, we've saved a fortune using the stove instead of the our electric oven and encourage you to do the same.

Here is one of my creations - stove-top red pepper chilli:

Stove-top red pepper chilli

What you need to cook on your stove

I'd recommend using a Stove Thermometer Temperature Gauge. It helps you keep your stove burning at the right temperature - if it's burning too hot food can stick to the bottom of the pan.

Heat resistant gloves are a must for lifting your kettle and heavy hot pot off your stove.

Just a final word of caution! Cooking on a stove can be dangerous if there are children and pets around, and when you've got to be really careful when lifting your casserole pot off the stove as cast iron pots are particularly heavy when full. 

When you're choosing a cooking pot for your stove, I'd suggest looking for one with large handles to make it safer for carrying.  If your stove is in the lounge, please make sure children and pets are kept safely out of the way when you're using the stove and carrying kettles etc around.

Happy cooking!