Perhaps I have not told you how we happen to have an oven, when there
is only the big fireplace in which to cook our food. Mistress White and
Mistress Tilley each brought from Leyden, in Holland, what some people
call "roasting kitchens," and you can think of nothing more convenient.
The oven or kitchen is made of thin iron like unto a box, the front of
which is open, and the back rounded as is a log. It is near to a yard
long, and stands so high as to take all the heat from the fire which
would otherwise be thrown out into the room.
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In this oven we put our bread, pumpkins, or meat and set it in front of,
and close against, a roaring fire. The back, or rounded part is then
heaped high with hot ashes or live embers, and that which is inside
must of a necessity be cooked. At the very top of the oven is a small
door, which can be opened for the cook to look inside, and one may see
just how the food is getting on, without disturbing the embers that
have been heaped against the outer portion.
We often borrow of Mistress Tilley her oven, and father has promised to
send by the first ship that comes to this harbor, for one that shall be
our very own. When it arrives, I am certain mother will be very glad,
for there is no kitchen article which can save so much labor for the
housewife.