Today I made my second attempt at solar cooking. The stakes were higher this time because I was cooking dinner. You can live without dessert, but I didn't want my family going to bed without dinner. Happily, that wasn't necessary.
I decided to try a beef dish and a squash casserole (squash courtesy of Aunt Breta).
I had trouble getting the oven hot enough at first so I put the reflectors on, which helped considerably.
After a few hours I mashed the squash and stirred in a few ingredients (bread crumbs, eggs, spices, etc.) to make a casserole, then put it back in the oven to bake.
Toward dinnertime I took the beef dish out out (you can see it browned nicely), and put a pan of rice in with the casserole. Alas, either I didn't plan enough time, or the rice pot's clear lid made it cook slower (in solar cooking you generally use black, covered pans to retain heat). At any rate, the rice wasn't done by dinnertime, so . . .
. . . I cheated and finished it on the stove. The good news is that it was already so hot that it boiled almost immediately and was done in 5 minutes.
All in all, the dinner was a success. I would have seasoned things a little differently, but the texture was great. Next time I plan to try recipes I've made before, partly so that I know what flavor to expect, but also to see how solar cooking compares to the conventional versions.
3 comments:
Did Phillip and kids like it? ANd do you get those kits online for solar cooking?
Phillip thought it was pretty good. The kids are picky and weren't interested (though Joy ate some rice); maybe they'll try more familiar dishes in the future.
You can order a solar oven from www.solarovens.org or www.sunoven.com. I got mine from www.solarovens.org because it is a little cheaper (about $200), and it included two black pots and a cookbook. Seemed like a good starter oven.
The Sun Oven is about $300 and includes just one pot, but it cooks hotter and I think it's easier to set up.
They're both a bit pricey, but the ability to cook in an emergency seemed like a worthwhile investment. You could use them on camping trips, too. :)
Let me know if you have any questions.
oh thank you, i will let you know, we just learned all the dutch oven and over the fire cooking, so this will be our next adventure.
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