大象传媒

This story is by Joyce Gibson, and has been added to the site with their permission. The author fully understands the site's terms and conditions. The story was collected by Joyce Gibson, transcribed by Elizabeth Lamont and added to the site by Bruce Logan.
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TO COOK MORE CHEAPLY
Use a high-pressure or waterless cooker, in a fireless cooker, or in a three-tiered steamer, as well as an oven meal, such as a casserole of chicken, meat or rabbit, scalloped potatoes and a baked milk pudding. The waterless cooker or steamer cooks over a single oil burner, electric hot-plate or gas-ring.

If catering for a small family, use half-moon pans. This means 2 pans can be used on a single burner.

You can keep several pans simmering on one burner once brought to the boil, by standing them on the browning sheet from the oven.

TO SAVE COAL
Place all old newspapers, bags and wrapping paper in water. When pulpy, squeeze into tight balls, the size of your fist, and roll in coal dust. Use them for stoking after you鈥檝e got a good fire going.

COOKING WITHOUT FIRE
This is a slow method of cooking you can follow either with the help of dry sweet hay, or newspaper balls. Before you start making a fireless cooker, decide on the size you want. Unless living alone, I would advise you to make one that will take 2 pans of the same size.

TO MAKE A HAY-BOX
Choose an oblong box long enough to take the number of pans or deep casseroles you mean to use, and ample hay padding round them.

Line the box with 3 or 4 newspapers, that is with anything from 15 to 20 layers of newspaper. Then pack tightly over the bottom with a 5 inch layer of dry sweet hay. Now make a mattress the size of the interior of the cooker and fill it with dry sweet hay.

To prepare food for the food box the pans for the box must be as full as possible, and the food should be really boiling when the pans are covered and put into the box. Pack hay about 4 inches thick closely and tightly around the pans. Lay the hay mattress on top. Then cover with the lid of the box. If it doesn鈥檛 fasten down, weigh it down.

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