While looking for an idea for this article, I opened one of my old cookbooks: Every Woman's Cook Book by Mrs. Chas. F. Moritz. It is a gem from the thirties. I love this line on the title page: Civilized man cannot live without cooks. (See below) So, after a stroll through several chapters, I came upon page 636 - and a pair of words jumped off the paper: Fireless Cooking. I wanted to know what this was all about.

I read on:

I am not sure what she means about the servant, but 'the greatest labor-saving device yet invented' had me wanting to know more. I Googled 'fireless cooker' and found out a lot. First, this is a very old method of cookery, and it was popular from before 1900 to the late thirties. The fireless cookery system required that a long-cooking soup, stew, or porridge be set to cook very early in the day. When it was roughly half-cooked it was placed- pot, food, cover and all-into a tightly closed container, which was then nestled into an insulated container, to be carried along for a later meal. During this time, the food continued to cook using its own residual heat, and could be expected to be ready a few hours later. We will recognize it as an early step toward our handy Crock-Pot. It was especially helpful to rural farmers, as it allowed farmers to stay in their fields longer by having the lunch cook right there in the field while they worked. They did not have to go all the way back home, cook lunch then travel back to the fields - they would just stop working long enough to eat and get right back to haying while the weather held.

Unfortunately, most of the recipes Mrs. Moritz provides are pretty basic: soups, oatmeal, roast beef, lamb or chicken and vegetables. Since this is more or less a slow-cooker like a Crock-Pot, I thought I would share a recipe for use in a Crock-Pot. I am going to pretend I am cooking it in a fireless cooker; you can too.

Peel & cut potatoes into bite-sized pieces. Put all ingredients except evaporated milk in Crock-Pot. Cover and cook on low for 9 to 11 hours or on high 4 to 6 hours. If using evaporated milk, gently stir in during last hour. For a thicker gravy, make a mixture of about 2 tablespoons of flour and 2 tablespoons cold water and stir in during the last 20 minutes of cook time.