Cooking in the wood

On Saturday we were up in the wood to finish logging and splitting some birch, and took the opportunity to try out our new cooking device. Ever since seeing a "Mongolian hotpot" cooker at the Wood Fair last year (see a picture half way down this page), we've been looking for one. Well, we didn't find one, but what we did find was a fondue cooker at a boot fair for £2, and after a bit of persuasion with a hammer I managed to knock the heat spreader plate out of the middle of it to give a clear chimney up the centre. Here it is in use:
It works a bit like the Kelly Kettle we have, with the fire going up a central conical chimney, around which the food sits in a toroidal section for cooking:
We just used it to reheat chilli this time, but I think it would work for frying stuff too, as long as you stirred it frequently. We cooked the rice on the cast iron BBQ with a wood fire inside it:
After lunch Tracy sharpened her chainsaw (which she blames me for blunting!)
and I measured and cut up some four and five foot logs for a customer to use for making several raised beds to grow their veg in:
Tracy also took a wander round the cant we cut last winter to photograph the greenness that is spreading over the woodland floor:
Mike