Apparently there is great deal of interest locally in cooking with tractors. Now of course it will be difficult to give recipes suitable for all makes, but certainly these broad principles will work with the major brands like John Deere, Massey Ferguson and Fordson. You will need:

1. some swarfega, the big tub with the pump, as cooking can be greasy.
2. a big roll of heavy duty foil. 
3. some light pliable wire
4. a ring mold & a tractor

The principle is straightforward. Decide how long you will be running the tractor and over what sort of ground. With a long bout of good hot work on hilly terrain you could easily poach a salmon with dill in butter sauce. If you were just topping a small field, then perhaps just beef burgers ‘n onions is possible.

Then examine your tractor. What you want to do is to design a one pot dinner that can gently steam while you are harrowing.

For example a Belgian carbonnade of beouf in beer. Some good small chunks of Blissford beef, fresh herbs and spices, some pots, carrots, a good glug of beer, some onions and a little of whatever else you fancy and you are ready!

Take two sheets of foil at least a metre by a metre and place them in a big bowl or on a tray so no liquids will leak out. Place all your ingredients in the dimple and then carefully wrap the parcel with a good french roll, then roll the sides. Do the same with the second piece of foil so your gourmet dinner is securely wrapped twice. Secure it with the wire leaving long ends so you can fasten this succulent package to the hottest part of the tractor you can find and you are away. With a little adjustment and experimentation you find it easy to insure that after a long dusty day with the disc harrow, dinner is ready!

What about the ring mold I hear you cry? Use your tin snips to take out the middle and use it to warm buns (it sits on older models) over and around the chimney!

Get to know your tractor. Look for the niche that will hold some of those big foil wrapped King Edwards. The wires from the distributor might hold a nice tureen of fresh mushroom soup and so on. Avoid moving parts!

With experience you^ll be able to comfortably defrost joints, gently fibrillate a deep rich wine gravy or produce a stomach soothing emince de veau a la creme to astonish friends at the Big Straight Furrow competition.

The tractor is just the Aga of the Fields!

Enjoy!

next week: Oysters Tracta Rockafella(see photo)