I was wondering what effort was involved in preparing meals back in the late 1700s and early 1800’s, back when people first lived in these homes.

What I learned was … all cooking was done using a hearth. Wood was the fuel.

What’s for Dinner?: Examining the Tools of Hearth Cooking, Historic Deerfield, 13 April 2022

Few modern Americans spend time butchering hogs, plucking feathers off chickens, grinding corn, or milking cows to make a meal.
…
Preparing meals in the 18th century was a tedious, time-consuming, dirty, and physically demanding job with few shortcuts and many specialized tools.
…
Most foods in the 18th century were either cooked over open flames, in front of the fire, or above discrete piles of coals removed from the fireplace onto the hearth. Each of these styles of cooking has different implements associated with it.

The article describes a number of implements used in a hearth: spiders (long-handled three-legged skillets), tea-kettles, toasting irons, flesh forks, spits, hooks for skewers, andirons, gridirons, and on. But:

… women began housekeeping with as little as a small kettle, a spider, and a long-handled spoon. These cooking implements are silent reminders of the demanding task of meal preparation that early American women faced.

I guess there was a hearth associated with these homes, if not inside then in a detached structure (that probably doesn’t exist anymore since off-site kitchens were built rather shabbily.)

The fire in the hearth was usually going all day. The air was smoky. One had to be careful – people were frequently burned, their clothing caught fire. Raw materials had to be produced, not just purchased. Even if you could afford to take your grain to a mill, you still had to source that grain, grow it and store it or trade for it. Spices were expensive so used sparingly. Fresh fruits and some vegetables were difficult to attain –  as well as being perishable (no refrigeration) and expensive they were difficult to move from warm areas like Florida (which wasn’t part of the US yet) to a snowy and war-engaged north, in horse-drawn wagons. No electricity so low lighting – good luck with that knife.

It was hard.

P.S. I keep reading that pudding was a common food, and also that early American “pudding” was nothing like the sweet dessert of today. It was more often than not just some starch like oats, barley, potatoes, or even plain flour boiled with water. Maybe some salted meat scraps or suet. Maybe some dried fruit.