Winter food - hearth or home

This is a very easy throw-together meal which can be cooked on a hearth fire or a conventional oven. I threw it together one day at my workplace, an 18th century colonial working farm. The woman scheduled to cook was unable to come and I was their last minute substitute. Totally unprepared, I had to use what was on hand at the farmhouse. I'm happy to report that three farm hands and three Revolutionary War militia men were happy with the results. I was graced with the title "Iron Chef", since at the farmhouse we use iron pots. Here's the recipe:

- 1/2 lb. bacon or sausage
- 6 apples
- 2 large onions
- 6 potatoes, parboiled
- 2 butternut squash

In a dutch oven, brown bacon or sausage. Rough chop peeled apples, onions, and squash (actually I don't peel the apples). Add to pot. Parboil potatoes for a few minutes. Drain and add to pot. Salt and pepper to taste. Place lid on dutch oven. Hang over a hearth fire or bake in conventional oven at 350 degrees F for about 45 minutes. If cooking over fire, time can vary - check and stir.

You can make this dish without meat as well. Just use a knob of butter instead.
Either way, it's a hearty dish and goes great with some crusty bread.

Speaking of which, I know a lot of bloggers have already talked about this book - that's how I found it. It's so easy to use. You make up one batch of dough, store it in the frig, and take dough as you need it - it will keep for ten days. The only catch is you will need a baking stone and a bread peel. But I have to tell you it's so worth it. I think that they will pay for themselves after the first two or three batches.

A snippet of one of the many delicious recipes.

Here's the finished product. The bread really does come out looking this good.