Learning to cook on a wood stove
This week's guest cook, Becky Boone, and her husband Tommy moved from Hendersonville to their dream home in Saluda two and a half years ago. While we haven't attempted to do an exhaustive survey, we think it's possible that Becky is the youngest person in Polk County who learned to cook on a wood-burning stove as a small child. Her family encouraged her to use this method of cooking for all types of food, including baking cakes. Since many of us have trouble baking cakes in a conventional oven, trying to accomplish that task on the top of a wood- burning stove sounds like a major challenge. Perhaps that has contributed to Becky's passion for baking.
Tommy's garden inspires many of the dishes cooked at the Boone's house, including this recipe for a wonderful jalapeno pepper appetizer. Becky has found that jalapenos freeze well, so she now offers this appetizer year-round. In addition to a variety of peppers, Tommy (with encouragement from his gardening mentor and coach, Larry Stepp of Stepp's Plants in Hendersonville) grows broccoli, cabbage, okra, squash, lettuce and other greens, cucumbers, heirloom tomatoes, and much more. We hope you will enjoy these recipes from their kitchen.
