...cooking and heating
In each Feather Down Farm tent there is a wood-burning stove, so that you can all cook just like you would have done in the old days. It takes longer and you must keep an eye on the fire, but it's very cosy when everybody is gathered round the middle of the living room. Of course you will not find gas, electricity or central heating in the Feather Down farm tent kitchen.
No, everything happens more or less as it used to; cooking and heating was done with wood and coal, which is why there is a cooking stove in the tent. The stove is fitted onto a metal plinth, in order to catch burning wood embers which can shoot out of the stove when the stove door is open. From the edge of the stove hang two hooks; a thin one with a hook at the end for opening the scalding hot stove door, or topping up the wood and emptying the ash pan. The other hook is for removing the round plate on top of the stove; it is also possible to top up the wood through this hole.
How do I get the stove to work?
In the wood box there is a bag containing firelighters. Light two or three of these blocks and half-fill the stove with wood. Then nip outside and take a look at how beautiful the smoke looks coming out of the chimney.
The stove and the pipe can get very hot... so be careful. Do not hang clothing or cloths over the rail of the stove! Immediately after lighting, it is already possible to start cooking but to really cook well you have to wait a little while. If the fire does not catch then you should slide open the grey air-grill at the bottom of the stove, just a little bit. During cooking, the stove must be topped up regularly. There is no way to adjust the temperature on the stove. The cooking temperature can be regulated through the location of the pan on the cooking ring. The middle of the cooking ring is piping hot and at the sides you get a ‘simmer temperature’. If something does not need to cook too rapidly, you don't turn up knobs but simply slide the pan a little more to one side.
Stove & cooking tips:
When you start cooking, place the large water kettle on the side-plate so that the water can be heating up nicely for the dishes (just like in the old days, there is no immersion heater or boiler in the Feather Down tent).
As soon as the daily allowance wood supply is finished, it is possible to buy more from the farmer. Gathering wood is a fun activity, but you cannot burn it in the stove. It is still too wet (wood only becomes really dry after a minimum of one year) and that ensures that the spark arrester in the stove pipe definitely shuts.
Experience shows us that even though we say this to all our guests all the time, gathering wood is such a fun activity for some...
...it is just as well, because it remains a source of pleasure (especially for the farmer and the other guests of course!). A "hunter-gatherer" father (women are not usually bothered by this) who, with a satisfied smile, brings back his ‘gathered wood haul’ to the tent (by now the other guests and the farmer can already start lining up the chairs for some first-class entertainment)... and yes, after ten minutes the first wisps of smoke start to filter through the tent-seams. Followed by that very same father, blanketed in thick clouds of smoke, in panic, rolling up the sides of the tent. After the stove-pipe has cooled down, the spark-catcher can be shaken out and from now on only the farmers' dry wood goes into this stove!
When the weather is warm you can roll up the sides of the Feather Down farm tent to turn it into a veranda and you will not be bothered by the heat which the stove gives off during the cooking process.
When it is cold it is best to keep the tent closed during the heating, so that a cosy warm atmosphere is created.
Making coffee.
There is a coffee grinder in the tent. In some tents the coffee grinder is attached to the wall, in others there is a loose one, which you can put in your lap when you grind the coffee. Coffee beans are for sale in the farm shop.
Heating.
Of course the stove is also important for heating. During the nights, especially in spring and late season, it can cool down quite severely. It is nice when you can heat the stove to your requirements. A big pile of wood in the stove and the canvas rolled down means that it warms up nicely. Before going to bed put some briquettes on the fire and the stove will heat the tent during the night. And just to be sure that you are warm and cosy in bed, you can wear your bed socks, pyamas and, if you have one, your nightcap (a hat made of a soft cloth and worn in bed).
The Feather Down farm cool chest.
No fridge or coolbag, no electricity and nevertheless trying to keep the meat and the butter cool. For that reason in every Feather Down farm tent there is a cool chest. A frozen water-bottle, free of charge from the farm, must be placed in the cool chest, this will keep the food cold.
In the old days, people had no fridge, everything was kept cool in the cellar. The vegetables and the fruit were cooked first and then put into storage jars. It did not always work well. Sometimes something was put in storage jars which then started to ferment. Lids started to bulge and then popped off of the bottles. 
Then people might have had to eat jars of apple sauce or beans in a matter of days.
That won't be necessary in the Feather Down farm tent. Nothing will explode; everything simply chills in the cool chest. However, from time to time you must of course put a new frozen water-bottle in the cool chest. You can obtain these in the farm shop.
More good kitchen news:
You will find all of these items in the Feather Down tent kitchen, so there's no need to bring any of these: glasses, cups, mugs, plates, cutlery, kitchen knives that really cut, chopping boards, scissors, coffee grinder, pans, cooking and baking material and serving spoons. You can buy your food from the farm shop; after all we do not know what you like and how much you will want to eat during your stay.
Feather Down farm Menu tips.
On the farm you can get all kinds of ideas for recipes for cooking on the stove in the Feather Down tent and you can buy the necessary ingredients in the farm shop. If you already want to practice at home we have a couple of menu tips for you here.
Menu tip from a Somerset Farm.
‘Feather Down farm beetroot with meatballs’
The red beetroot, is a short thick root, similar to kohlrabi, with a nice red colour on the inside. There are also white and yellow beets, but these are not as tasty as the red. In the temple of Apollo in Delphi is an image of a silver root, so this vegetable has been eaten since time immemorial.
- Take the necessary amount of potatoes, red beetroot and minced meat.
- Twist off the green of the tuber and wash it. Cook the beetroot, cleaned but unpeeled, for about 30-45 mins. Then drain them and rinse under the cold tap. Strip the beetroot (this works best under running water) and cut into small cubes.
- In the old days after this, sugar and clove was sprinkled over it and a knob of butter added.
- In the meantime continue to top up the stove and in the meantime, put the potatoes on the stove.
- Prepare the meat to taste, roll it into large balls and fry them.
- You can also mash the beetroot through the potatoes and serve it as a bubble and squeak.
Menu tip from a farmer who would like to remain anonymous
(because often gloves are forgotten when picking the nettles)
Nettle soup
For this you need: 2 small pans full of nettles or just a big heap.
If you can only find old nettles nearby, you must only use the tops of the plant. When picking put on some gloves, because if not, you might have a delicious soup later, but terribly painful fingers. What else you need: 1 cup of milk, 50 grams of cheese and a little flour. Make a stock from a nice pieceof bone or meat, or use vegetarian stock cubes.
- Boil the water in a pan. Plunge the nettles in the hot water for a moment and fish them out of the water again with a fork.
- Remove the stems and finely chop the leaves. Put a pan with a dab of butter on the stove.
- Braise the nettles in the butter, sprinkle some flour on the stew and add the stock while stirring.
- Continue to boil and add the milk. Sprinkle with finely grated cheese.
- Add a piece of home-baked white/brown bread with butter, and yum yum!
Delicious as a starter or mid-afternoon snack when everybody is hungry after being out in the fresh air.