Ever cook open hearth? I get the joy and pleasure of cooking open hearth a couple times a year where I work seasonly, at Abram’s Delight Museum. Winchester’s oldest home.

Our cabin, circa 1780, is a fine example of early American cabin homes here in our area. They were put up quickly for basic shelter, as crops and orchard planting came next, followed then by adding onto or building the permanent house.

My boss, and Executive Director of the Frederick County/Winchester Historical Society is an expert open hearth cook. I am the able-bodied assistant. One might call me the sous-chef. It is a job I immensely enjoy.

We have cooked in the hot, hot, HOT summer, and in this cold December. We could see our breath in the cabin this December! A hearth fire is cozy in winter but brutal in summer.

Preparing our food and cast iron pots quickly warmed us up whether it be summer or winter. Little relief can be found in the hot summer. As for winter, a step into the other room quickly cooled us down.

We are able to cook every way a modern stove can cook today. That is, we boil, deep fry, turn on a spit, bake, simmer and broil. It is just a matter of know how, and placing the right cast iron pots in their proper places plus keeping good coals on the fire. Truly it sounds easier here than in doing.

I have thought often of how these women managed in these tough times, as we know them. But, these woman did not know any different. They knew what they knew, just as we do now. Not too many years from now folks may wonder how we did what we have done. Who knows? Only God knows. He knows far more than we think we know.

Just the same, folks enjoy visiting the cabin, most especially when we are cooking. Regardless of the season, the food smells good! That is simply because it is good.