Before I was married I acquired a 1930's era wood burning oven from a dead Polish woman who still used it up to her dying day. A small cast iron unit with white and blue enamel finish still in great shape. After more than twenty years of storing it I decided to haul that bitch up the stairs put it on my deck and cook an evening meal of roasted chicken, baked potatoes, steamed green beans and gravy.


I first had to get some hardwood logs to burn, soft wood burns too fast and makes a lot of creosote. I discovered that the wood that is sold in my area is all softwood. One hour wasted. So I asked a neighbour if I could borrow a few logs. He seemed very reluctant to give some up, but eventually did. Of course, the logs were too big, so I had to get out my trusty chainsaw that has never failed me. I pulled on that starter chord until I received and busted a blister between my fingers and beyond that to a bloody knuckle. I took it apart, tried but failed to find why it wouldn't start. Another hour gone.


I placed a log on my chop saw and proceed to cut. The blade got stuck and flung the log at the back of my car making a dent. So I spent half an hour cutting with a hand saw. And where the fuck is my hatchet when I need it?


I started this brilliant idea around 3:00 pm by 9:00 pm the oven was about 200 degrees Fahrenheit, but climbing about ten degrees every hour, so it looked like chicken for breakfast! Screw that, I put the whole works in my conventional oven and dinner was cooked by 11:00 pm. 


I figured the wood oven didn't  work efficiently because I still haven't installed the smoke pipe so a proper draft did not occur around the oven, but It did boil water to cook my green beans and gravy.


This morning I got up and I smell like a camp site and I can't remember eating the chicken because this experience required lots of wine to keep the home fires burning. The well picked at chicken carcass is in the fridge and I did eat it for breakfast too. I'm going to fry up the potatoes for lunch on my regular stove. 



The oven looks something like this:
 
I'm going to build a stone shelter around it to make a proper stack so it actually works correctly. On top of that I am going to make a genuine wood oven for cooking pizza and bread.
Something like this but with my oven underneath. I'm a stubborn man, so I'll make it work.