Need your brains!

[therunbunch]

Ok, we bought this house a couple months ago that we're renovating. Going to move in late next month. Right now the kitchen is just 4 walls, no appliances, no cabinets.. nothing. This is a chance, as I see it, to possibly do something good for ourselves.

Is there such a thing as cooking without an electric oven anymore? What kind of long-term, self-sustaining ideas/things can I put in this kitchen? We plan to compost. We're in "town" and not on acreage anymore (lots of tears) but we want to try to implement some "prepping" if we can.

I'd like any ideas you guys might have. I saw on some show where they were cooking with open fire.. in a hut.. lol.. not sure I can do that in a house but what about wood burning stoves and things like that? If you have an idea or perhaps something that works for you (along the lines of long-term self sustainment for living) please toss them my way. I was looking at water too.. but we have really great water and the bill isn't so high. I'm more worried about heating the house and running the kitchen for meals.

FYI.. we're currently on steam heat (radiators/furnace/oil-driven) and we spent about $400 or more PER MONTH right now on the oil... lots of factors here.. 2nd floor is gutted down to the lath and the house needs insulation.. we put a layer or "insulation blanket" covering the entire floor of the attic to help keep heat on 2nd/first floor and keep it from escaping out the top.. it has made a 50% improvement I'd say.

Sorry to be so long-winded.

[gracie88]

They still make/sell wood burning cookstoves. They aren't cheap, but with your current heating bill, one could pay for itself pretty quick. Lehmans.com has pretty (and pretty spendy) ones. Also, I've heard it isn't like cooking on other stoves, there's a knack to it.

[Callieslamb]

There are gas ranges that don't need electric and those that use electric for the timers and lights but can still be lit with a match when needed. We have one of those. It would be counter productive for us to have a wood cook stove in the summer. We both do better in cool than hot.

[meanwhile]

Wood Cook Stove = heat and cooking. In summertime, use micro wave oven or build outdoor kitchen with wood stove outside.

[Helena]

Have cooked and heated with a kitchen cook stove and have enjoyed it but they do need tending to keep the fire box burning and in the summer ?? They domake the new kitchen cook stoves that will burn wood and also have electric elements for summer cooking. We now have a Coalmaster stove but can buy also a Woodmaster stove that I have seen selling for new for around $600 at Tractor Supply stores ..You can heat wonderfully with them and cook just as well on the flat top too.You can usually by them used too. I saw in this months Mary Jane Farm magazine the ad for The Vermont Wood Burner stove..www.VermontWoodStove.com...Got info one time and think they cost around $1000 !! But you can heat with them and have a nice little oven on the bottom too. I wish you luck in your decision..

[Pelenaka]

My ideal kitchen (one story half basement home) would have the following -

cold closet with wire bins that slide out like drawers. Open a screened casement style window in the back of the closet come evening, close it come morning to trap the cold. Should replace a refrigerator for a good six mos. out of the year.

Separate deep pantry, floor to ceiling shelving on both sides with a library latter, counter along the exterior wall (window) with electrical outlets. This is wear I'd plug in crock pots, turkey roaster, bread machine, two burner hot plate for use in hot weather. Also a good place to cool bake goods as the door to the pantry will have a lock.
Shelf placed on the exterior wall so its flush with the pantry window to hold solar oven.

Trap door in the pantry with a pulley system to raise & lower wire bins that hold root veggies.

Porch/mud room located just off the kitchen with large sky light. This would be a laundry room ( no clothes dryer) & sewing room.Would also house the chest freezer.

Wood cook stove with warming ovens. Room for clothes drying rack.

Plenty of windows. Window bench.

Solar Air Heating system.

Solar lights.

No automatic dishwasher.



Wonderful opportunity good luck.

~~ pelenaka ~~

[therunbunch]

Thank you all so much!! These are the kinds of ideas I'm looking for.

[bee]

Hate to be the wet blanket here since you got so many good ideas...but. You said you are renovating in TOWN, have you checked for any restrictions for burning wood in the city limits?? I don't even know if it can be regulated but if your house is close to others and they are all older then fire is a hazard that may be legislated against??? I mean just do a "on the quiet" check of the town regs before you find you have planned/done something that will cost money/trouble.

[therunbunch]

Wet blanket welcome.. I forget sometimes that we can't just go out and do any ole thing we want. I will have to look into that. Thank you bee!

[MN Gardener]

You should check out Backwoods Home's website...there is an article about cooking on a woodstove.

[PATRICE IN IL]

I have a gas stove that has standing pilot lights and requires no electricity, no light in the oven. I love it, especially for proofing yeast dough because the oven stays warm all the time. These types of stoves can be hard to find because if you accidentally leave something combustible on the stove top it can catch on fire from the pilot lights.

[Belfrybat]

I don't know where you are in Texas, but I certainly wouldn't want to fire up a wood cookstove in the summer. Since you are in town, why not go with natural gas. Cheap and readily available in Texas. Perhaps look at that for your heating as well since oil is so expensive. By all means put in a wood heating stove with a flat top for making soups and stews in the winter, but I'd certainly think long and hard about a wood cookstove as your primary cooking source.
You might also want to look at solar ovens. They make some that are self tracking, although if you are home, it's no problem to re-position them. Mine is a very low end model and works fairly well.

As to my ideal kitchen, lots of counterspace and two pantries -- one for storage located internal to the house and one for everyday use. Can't ever have enough pantry space.

[Topaz Farm]

If you have the room, a BIG walk in pantry. You could do with less cabinets that way.

PS. I hate below the counter cabinets.

Now to go back and read all the comments.

[ArmyDoc]

I agree, natural gas or propane is more practical than a wood burning stove, and will help with resale more than wood burning stove if you ever have to sell.

Have you looked into solar heating? It's a mature solar industry that actually can pay for itself. With your existing radiant heating, I would expect you could tie it in easily too. I don't know if the tax credits were extended or not, but it used to be you could get a refund for part of the cost.