Although I believe pine would be a prefered wood, I used a seasoned poplar log that I had available. I recommend using a corded high-torque drill for this process. I set the 14″ log upright and used a 1 1/2″ blade bit to drill a 6″ deep hole down the center from the top. Then I layed the log on it’s side and drilled a second hole, intersecting the first hole at it’s bottom end. Just a note: at the point of intersection, a blade bit can give a hellacious “kick” so be careful as you approach that point. After blowing out the saw dust I set the log upright to begin preparing it for fire.

As long as I took the liberty of using an electric drill to make a natural material rocket stove, I also took the liberty of using a manufactured tinder by using bamboo skewers. Purists can figure a way to approach this project more naturally but I figured “who cares? This is fun!” I collected a bundle that was about a third of the volume of the hole and poured gasoline on it and the hole walls before inserting them down the shaft. It’s important to “wet” vs. “flood” so as not to have the fluid stream out the bottom hole. Use caution when lighting it with a match or lighter. In this case gasoline was handy but other accelerants would work as well.

Conventional rocket stoves have larger diameter holes and thus fuel can be fed from the bottom hole. When I tried this approach it seemed to choke out the airway and snuff out the existing flame, so I recommend feeding any kindling from the top during the initial process of establishing the stove’s fire.

Once the flame was established I selected three 1″ high stones that I placed around the top surface of the log which became the tripod or trivet for my pot and pan. I initially brought a pot of water to boil for coffee, then continued with a pan with which to fry bacon and eggs.

Although this rocket stove takes some “manufacturing” to make, it is a great project for a number of reasons. These can be made ahead of time and stored for power outages, camping trips and garden gatherings. Outside of a little tinder and some accelerant, they are self contained and don’t require the gathering and consumption of local natural materials. They can be controlled and extinguished by using a spray bottle of water and thus can be used multiple times. Because it is elevated, it can also be used in a wet environment. Furthermore, they last for hours and are a joy to use.

In a previous article “Bloomin’ Cattails” I described how the male portion containing pollen grows on the top of the stalk and the seed bearing portion that we often associate with “hotdogs” grows below it. Pollen is one of the numerous cattail parts that are edible so I decided to take a sample home to photograph after I shook out some pollen in order to show it’s bright yellow color and volume.

Since that previous article I’ve met folks who have told me that during this time of year you can also eat the seed portion as well, just like you would eat corn-on-the-cob so I had to try it. Sure enough, it was similar to biting off bits of baby-ear corn. It’s a bit chewy and rather bland but that makes it quite palatable to the novice wildcrafter.

I’ve also been told that the seed portion can also be prepared by frying in butter or bacon fat so I guess that will be NEXT on my edibles to-do list. Please leave a comment if you have experience in eating cattail blossoms and share any cooking techniques that you may have used.