Hello from Uganda

[Janine M. LeGrand]

Re: Hello from Uganda

Hi everyone!
Sorry for being offline so long. Thanks for all the wonderful comments!!! You folks are so encouraging. I have not been able to be on the computer much due to power problems--power here is a big challenge. We have been having power for a few hours at a time, off for up to several days, then on for only a few minutes etc. When we do have power it is very weak--I haven't been able to run my fridge for over 3 weeks...all my cheese has gone bad so cheeseless pizza for now. Good news is the oven is working great. Yesterday I baked 6 loaves of french baguettes plus a large pan of cornmeal muffins (sorry no pictures--will try to take some of future meals.) I did accidentally burn up my wooden door (I didn't soak it in water first) so I'll have to make a new one. I am working on putting up a simple roof (iron sheets) over the oven.

I have had a pizza party for some of the ex-pats here (American and English) and will do more parties. The locals are very curious about the oven and have been enjoying trying the new food. One person enjoyed a pizza but picked off all the black olives; olives are not a local food; I have to bring black olives up from Kampala. He thought they were burned onion pieces) Nobody here has seen any thing like this oven--the closest is a woodburning STOVE which is a mud, low-firewood stove we teach through the church to help people reduce cooking costs.) EVERYONE asks what it is when they see the oven. Lots of people are stopping by to see it working or taste food if their timing is good. I have had a number of people come by and tell me they will be coming to use the oven. It sure has created a lot of attention. Still, not everyone knows what it is yet--one person gave directions describing my place as "the house with the dog and the anthill." (Yes, it does look like an anthill except for the brick base.)
A restaurant in this town run by an English woman is seriously looking at a WFO for pizzas--the owner was at my pizza party and looking for where to place the oven and has brought her builder and chef to see the oven--the chef will come back for a pizza cooking lesson. I have been asked to help her as a consultant--I am willing to help (no charge) but I told her she should get online as you folks are the real experts. I tried to tell her I don't really know what I'm doing, but she loved the oven and was super impressed by the pizza cooking in under two minutes.... I'll help her as a friend but maybe she'll take my advice and check out this forum.
As you can see, the oven is creating quite a stir around here!

Oh, for those who asked, yes I am a missionary and I hope to stay here for a long time, though funding is a challenge. You can read more about the work at SAMS-USA (click on missionaries and on Janine LeGrand). My goal is to help improve the health of people here--I teach on clean water, sanitation, nutrition (including cooking lessons--you want to make things practical not just theory for people here). And yes, I am already getting requests for groups to come for cooking lessons using the new oven--I think the first group will be some pastors' wives. The cooking lessons include some basic nutrition, of course
I'll try to take some pictures soon and will check back in again soon, power permitting.

Thanks for all the help and kind words!
Janine

[Janine M. LeGrand]

Re: Hello from Uganda

Hi again,
I realized I still have some of those 6 baguettes I cooked yesterday, so here is a picture of what remains.

I cooked them using a live fire pushed to the side. Most of my playing around with the oven has been with live fire--still learning the oven. I can't cook closed right now, as mentioned, because I burned my door. After the big pizza party when the fire had died down I closed up the oven--still some embers inside. During the middle of the night the door fell out, top half burned away, since I forgot to soak it, plus probably should have taken the embers out. So the loaves were cooked with fire in the oven. I started them on a cut piece of "iron sheet" the wavy roofing material commonly used here. I don't have a pizza peel yet so I put 3 loaves each on a piece of the metal. I cooked them for the first bit on the sheet then used a stick to push them off onto the oven floor once the bread was a bit set. I use a wood stick with a big nail in it to move around pans and loaves in the oven. The browning was bit uneven with some loaves more brown than others but all are tasty--I gave away the prettiest of the loaves but even the remainder pictured aren't too bad. I don't have any pictures of the cornmeal muffins I made at the same time. I was showing a Ugandan woman how to make the cornmeal muffins and she wanted to take some home to her kids, plus I gave some to an American priest working here so I don't have any left. They were tasty, and cornmeal is a staple food here so I'm sure there will be more--even from my small garden I got about 600 ears of flint (aka dent) corn
--Janine

[ThisOldGarageNJ]

Re: Hello from Uganda

Hi Janine,
Your bread looks really good,,, Im sure the locals are enjoying it as are you... You are opening uo a whole new world now learning to cook in the oven, Building it may have been the easy part,,, You could make a few more of your bricks, and use that for a door, a pain to open and shut but it will work. Enjoy and continued good luck on your mission,, Im guesing you could use a few solar panels with the electric situation,,,
Mark

[Janine M. LeGrand]

Re: Hello from Uganda

Hi Cecelia,
I have been in Uganda now for about 1 1/2 years; I came in April of 2008. Lots of challenges, but I love it here. Tremendous opportunities to help people, beautiful environment which is green and quiet, lots of wonderful people. How long since I've enjoyed pizza? A year and a half There is bread available here, but the quality is really depressing--that was a main factor in driving me to get the oven made. Yes, it will be used in nutrition teaching, etc. but I really missed good bread and other oven cooked foods!
Sorry about the termites in your house. I know the problem--when I first moved into the house here there was a sizable termite mound in the bedroom. I had to have someone dig it out, pour in poison, and recement part of the wall and part of the foundation. UGH!
Don't feel bad about fretting over your build--you have lots of choices to make and any way you look at it this is a big project. In my case, necessity is the mother of invention; I had to find ways get things done so I tried things. Living here, everything always needs repairs and you learn to do lots of different things, so I'm willing to try something and try again or fix it if needed rather than sweat the small details. But, I am not working with expensive materials or high labor costs, so that may not work where you are. The way I figure it, I have'nt failed until I've given up on something so I just try.
--Janine

[Janine M. LeGrand]

Re: Hello from Uganda

A brick door would be pretty heavy--though it sure wouldn't burn. I might try the adobe mud alone, renforced with sticks or reeds, a bit thinner than the bricks would be. I have been trained on making burner covers for a mud stove using mud and sticks so a door would be the same sort of thing just a little larger. I have to say though making the wood door was really quite easy just some pieces of leftover board nailed together then cut to the curved shape so I could just do that also. But I will need to find a large basin or bucket to soak the door in if I go with wood again. I have a little shaping I want to do on the oven entrance to neaten things up before I make the next door. However, I am having a really hard time finding free time that I'm not cooking; I don't want to stop using the oven, and I can't work on a hot oven!

And yes, solar would be nice but I am on a really tight budget so they are currently out of my price range. I did break down and recently buy a 2 hp generator for emergencies, enough to run my computer, modem, plus a small light and fan. Now for my work if I need to get something out I can--I was going a little crazy trying to do things which need a computer when there is no power or it comes on for 10 minutes then off for hours or days.

Thanks for the nice words about my bread,
Janine

[Janine M. LeGrand]

Re: Hello from Uganda

Archena,
On your chimney, building the oven body and the arch entryway is basically what I did. If I had known better, it would have been fairly easy to place the chimney then. Once you brace the archway and close off the door you can drop in wet sand into that odd-shaped space. You could then build your chimney on top of that. I'm not familiar with squirrel tail chimneys but could you make a burnable form--maybe paper mache over cotton wool or such?

Good luck!
Janine

[Archena]

Re: Hello from Uganda

Hi!

I had thought of using paper or some such but the interior would likely not be smooth and would probably adversely effect the draw. I may just make it in small sections and clear the old just before adding the new.

First I have to have a place to build said oven... Sigh...

Oh well, there's enough to do today. I'll get there, Lord willing. In the meantime, I have a dog pen to build...

[ThisOldGarageNJ]

Re: Hello from Uganda

Janine,
Im sure you could build a squirrel tail chimney(one on each side and one or two across the top like a tunnel) out of your bricks and just plaster over them.. The chimney still gets hot, but not as hot as the oven

[ideaswoman]

Re: Hello from Uganda

I am truly moved by this post and thank you to ThisOldGarageNJ for pointing me in this direction. My daughter in backpacking in Europe and is wanting to spend some time in Africa; She hopes to do some volunteer work in a new school starting up in Tanzania. I will get her to read about you and maybe she can meet up with you next year.

Gayle

[Janine M. LeGrand]

Re: Hello from Uganda

Welcome Gail and hi everyone!
Gail, it sounds like you have an interesting daughter--obviously adventurous and desiring to help people since she is backpacking Europe and wants to volunteer in Tanzania. I would love to meet her. Have her contact me if she is interested in coming here.

For those who would like to read more about life here and my ministry, I have recently started blogging--see Health for Masindi: Blog of Janine LeGrand. I just posted a blog about the oven there. I also mentioned this forno bravo forum, and what great people are here. Also, anyone who would like to make a financial donation to this ministry of health for the people of Uganda can do so through a safely though link to my mission agency from the blog page. Most of my supporters are individuals who make small donations and I am working on a limited budget so every bit helps this work.

I am continuing to cook in the oven. I recently made loaves of pumpkin bread for my nutrition class to encourage vitamin A consumption.

I roasted the leftover pumpkin for me..
I also have made an unusual use of the oven base and door. My door burned up accidentally (when I didn't soak it and put in on a hot oven). When I needed a place to put a live chicken in quarantine, have been using the oven base with the door, as a chicken coop. When we fire the oven, the chicken moves to a wire cage outside though so he doesn't get heat stressed. He was just supposed to be for dinner, but he is so friendly and brave he has grown on me--even though his name is "Lunch" he is safe from moving up into the hot part of the oven and will move to my breeding pen eventually.

Life is fun here, and you continually need to be creative. Still lots more to do on the oven, especially the roof, so the saga continues. May God bless all of you,
Janine

[ThisOldGarageNJ]

Re: Hello from Uganda

Hi Janine,, THanks for keeping us posted,, I Enjoyed your blog and looking forward to reading your future adventures...
Cheers
Mark

[Archena]

Re: Hello from Uganda

Awww, Lunch is so cute!!!!!

[Janine M. LeGrand]

Re: Hello from Uganda

Awww, Lunch is so cute!!!!!

Now that's a comment I bet people never expected on a Wood Fired Oven Forum! But, yes he is. (For those just joining, look back and see pictures of the chicken named "Lunch." ) He is still doing well and growing. Big cooking day last Saturday--8 french baguettes, one olive loaf, 3 pizzas, and a bunch of cornmeal muffins. Sorry no pics again, but I'm living well on all this bread. Still no time to do any repairs/improvements to the oven. I am getting some cracking and ideally should do a little patching on the oven floor as there are some pits now. Some of the excessive mortar that sneaked in to the inside of the oven has also flaked off--not a problem though as bricks are still well set. Still need more adobe on the outside. Vertical poles are up for the roof, but that's all so far. Minor oven damage to the hearth as after I carried a piece of firewood to the oven, a small but poisonous snake came out of the piece of wood and was coming towards me out of the oven. Damage occured as my guard vigourously attacked the snake with another piece of wood. Nobody injured (except the snake). Life is sure an adventure here in Uganda!
--Janine

[ThisOldGarageNJ]

Re: Hello from Uganda

Janine,,
you didnt cook the snake did you ??

Mark

[Janine M. LeGrand]

Re: Hello from Uganda

Janine,,
you didnt cook the snake did you ??

Mark

Nah, too small. Actually, I didn't think of that. I should have at least used him for chicken food. My main concern at the time was making sure he was dead. Here you hear stories of snakes "coming back to life" so I think sometimes they are just knocked out. Small doesn't mean harmless; in fact I recall reading that bites of smaller poisonous snakes had a higher mortality rate than the larger ones of that type. I think the theory was that larger snakes learn to regulate the amount of poison injected--but maybe the venom is just more concentrated in the little ones. I have never eaten snake, though I hear the rattlesnake can be quite tasty. I have eaten, and enjoyed, eel though never filleted it myself. I think you would need a fair size snake to get a good meal; while they do get big here this time it was only a little one! Any recipies for next time?