The Kitchen Of Yesteryear

How can you think about such a subject without thinking of old wood stoves and all of the hand utensils the women used back then? It goes without saying that the women worked and worked hard just to get a simple meal on the table. I have never used a wood stove for cooking but I have a friend of mine that does on occasion. It certainly would take some time to get used to.

Think of the bread that was made everyday with the stove no matter what the temperature was outside. I can't even imagine having to have the wood stove going in the summer, can you? Yet these women did it over and over again each day to  feed their families. It was certainly a simpler time  and for that I have to admit, I kinda wish things were somewhat that way now. The men did their thing, the women did theirs and there was always church on Sundays with the day of rest. It was a day for worship and for family.

The women also did huge gardens and canned the goods making pickles and jams etc to live off in the winters, which depending where you were could be REALLY long. Canning is somewhat becoming the thing to do now, with the economy the way it is and people trying to be more self sufficient it certainly is the way to go, at least in my thoughts.

When I go into antique stores or garage sales, I can't help but check to see if they have old kitchen utensils or crockery or mason jars. If only those things could talk. I remember my parents having two crocks so when we butchered our pigs my mother would pickle the hams in them. Nothing tasted as good as that ham did.

I have to wonder what the women from back then would think of the modern conveniences of today, for example the microwave or the bread machine. I hear a lot of people complaining about how they don't like cooking or that it takes a long time to prepare a meal but think about how long it took for the women back then to do that very same meal you are complaining about. I think you would be thinking differently for sure.

I admire those women because not only did they have to think about all the meals that took forever to make, they still had to do the laundry using a wash board and a wash tub....So for someone that says they have it hard with things in today's world, well I just have to laugh.