tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28983450408681767262024-03-19T05:44:49.950-04:00Solar Cooking for Mainstream CooksSolar cooking is easy, practical, and -- FREE! Shows immediate savings on your energy bill, cooks your favorite recipes, and is a healthy, delicious, win-win choice for reducing your fossil fuel imprint.Sharlene T.http://www.blogger.com/profile/08520928982756928527noreply@blogger.comBlogger250125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2898345040868176726.post-74664745247388192922013-06-21T00:30:00.000-04:002013-06-21T00:30:01.894-04:003-2-1 Cake, Squash, and Tea at the Market!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-mOCD6R5UO7Q/UcHI8xqd5vI/AAAAAAAAEAM/v-pkR0Lvgyw/s1600/13+-+6" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-mOCD6R5UO7Q/UcHI8xqd5vI/AAAAAAAAEAM/v-pkR0Lvgyw/s320/13+-+6" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Last Saturday was a great day for solar cooking at the </span><a href="http://www.northhillsraleigh.com/event/midtown-farmers-market-11/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Midtown Raleigh Farmers Market</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> on the Commons at North Hills Mall. Started preparing tea water and summer squash (with some garlic from my neighboring vendor, Donald and Doris Kidd of </span><a href="http://midtownraleighfarmersmarket.com/vendors/kidd-farm/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Kidd Farm</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">. They have fabulous elephant garlic, as well as other varieties, and it's a great place to stock up. This will be mostly pictures.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Started my summer squash combo of Yellow Crookneck and Pattypan squash with chopped garlic stems, salt and pepper in the Global Sun Oven<span style="font-size: xx-small;">(R)</span> and tea water in the EZ-3 at 8:15. Once the squash pans were hot, I transferred them over to the SolarCub<span style="font-size: xx-small;">(R)</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYJEaeouXkyGfickkYZFK7FTeVUdlLGG5rXtaex8VfVmrvsIdu2hWjZ_vZPD-atFpAE1cgL3_bE8fxk_le8YZZZ69CN0_Z-7q_oXJoLNnWvCL_NBCaSq4FwjQnzSKzfZxEOcB8EsICdGg/s1600/13+-+7" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="194" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYJEaeouXkyGfickkYZFK7FTeVUdlLGG5rXtaex8VfVmrvsIdu2hWjZ_vZPD-atFpAE1cgL3_bE8fxk_le8YZZZ69CN0_Z-7q_oXJoLNnWvCL_NBCaSq4FwjQnzSKzfZxEOcB8EsICdGg/s320/13+-+7" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">I knew another vendor, </span><a href="http://www.betterbeellerbe.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Better be Ellerbe</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">, would be bringing fresh peaches and bought a bag to create a peach layer under my 3-2-1 cakes. So I used two peaches per 7-inch foil baking pan and doubled the cake recipe. Since you can stack your pans in a solar oven, I had three cakes going by 8:40 a.m. Phew! Time to take a break with a soothing cup of Camomile tea.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">And was serving samples by 9:30! The top layer was done, first, and I let the others stay in the oven until needed and completely baked. I forgot my stacking dividers and made some out of heavy-duty tinfoil. Not the best for anything but light foods; but, they served the purpose.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">There was still more than enough time before the Market closed at noon to bake another cake for my gentleman caller! That gave the visitors something to watch, as well, and moved a lot of solar kits, too! This week, I'll be heading down to Hickory, North Carolina for a solar workshop and need to make some lists so I don't forget anything!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">So, we've done the 3-2-1 cake in a cup, stacked with lemon curd and, now, baked with a layer of fresh peaches. Does that give you any ideas you'd like to share? Please do.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span>SharleneThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12180247939829055069noreply@blogger.com143tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2898345040868176726.post-32037447556332475452013-06-19T12:24:00.001-04:002013-06-19T12:24:35.987-04:00Solar 3-2-1 Cake - a Great Personal Dessert!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2-YKD5ZbTfc/UbilzQTFpRI/AAAAAAAAD54/RAVpOAbFGaY/s1600/6-DSC00320-01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2-YKD5ZbTfc/UbilzQTFpRI/AAAAAAAAD54/RAVpOAbFGaY/s320/6-DSC00320-01.jpg" width="254" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">After seeing this 3-2-1 cake recipe in so many blogs, I decided to give it a try -- first per directions and, then, using the solar oven to see how well it would work at my booth and for demos. The basic recipe is one box of angel food cake mix with a box of any other favorite cake mix, thoroughly combined. You are then able to make just a cup of cake, at a time, by combining 3 tablespoons of mix with 2 tablespoons of water and bake it for 1 minute in the microwave. Voila! Instant personal serving. It's the egg whites in the Angel Food cake mix that gives it the leavening. Well, I tried it and loved the results, didn't like the texture or taste. I wanted a fuller cake experience. Sooooooo, I added some of my <a href="http://www.mainstreamsolarcooking.com/2012/07/egg-overflow-powdered-eggs-for-storage.html" target="_blank">powdered eggs</a> to the mixture. Two tablespoons to be exact, to match the 3 eggs called for in the German chocolate cake mix I was using. Oh, yes. This was the solution.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Started with a zip-lock bag of Angel Food and German Chocolate Cake mixes with the powdered eggs.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Gave them a good shaking and blending.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCvsn00IVh_oMOP7QdXRrO90pHWNOS2KTZd8V-nKV-io0_RLD0SrFcR_KHYo4dCwQSqTiMP3WFG2s5TaaAcfL7yLyBL1TkUrLJSvDtv0C_lObDykNSBjNJF2DOico-bIErUfS3N-LKog0/s1600/02-DSC00285.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="275" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCvsn00IVh_oMOP7QdXRrO90pHWNOS2KTZd8V-nKV-io0_RLD0SrFcR_KHYo4dCwQSqTiMP3WFG2s5TaaAcfL7yLyBL1TkUrLJSvDtv0C_lObDykNSBjNJF2DOico-bIErUfS3N-LKog0/s320/02-DSC00285.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Put the mixture into a canning jar and added instructions.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Did my first test run and prepared a cup.</span></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--tZY3SX2hbE/UbilsQM5NpI/AAAAAAAAD4M/2WvadFlfusk/s1600/05-DSC00288.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="180" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--tZY3SX2hbE/UbilsQM5NpI/AAAAAAAAD4M/2WvadFlfusk/s320/05-DSC00288.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">End result was a cup high cake with great taste and texture.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Time for the solar cooking test. Decided to use a shallow foil pan to see what would happen and how much I would need for samples. BUT, first, I created this wonderful oven bag 'tent' from wire hangers to make sure the bag didn't collapse during baking. (I did NOT expect this to cook in one minute using a solar oven!)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">And, here it is doing a wonderful job in the SolarCub<span style="font-size: xx-small;">(R)</span> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">In just 35 minutes, I had a lovely sample height cake from just one serving recipe. At the Market, I would double it because there was this little idea forming about fresh peaches. . . </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Meanwhile, I was just too lazy to make frosting and decided to use some lemon curd as a filling. A very good decision.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">The beauty of this recipe is that I don't have to worry about carrying eggs, oil, etc., to give demonstrations. Just the mix and some water and it's good to go. Hope you'll try it.</span></div>
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SharleneThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12180247939829055069noreply@blogger.com45tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2898345040868176726.post-65262599797867938942013-06-10T17:07:00.000-04:002013-06-10T17:07:05.876-04:00Solar Roasted Fresh Garden Veggies and Greens<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-L59Lp4qSZ_Q/UbXEzVbDUGI/AAAAAAAAD1o/xEUogao7j18/s1600/2-DSC00276.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="268" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-L59Lp4qSZ_Q/UbXEzVbDUGI/AAAAAAAAD1o/xEUogao7j18/s320/2-DSC00276.JPG" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">This year's garden is flourishing and the pattypan squash is demanding attention. Harvest time means it's also time to get started on my annual powdered vegetable mix. By the end of the growing season, I have several jars full of vitamins and nutritious flavor to enhance and thicken my gravies, sauces, and meat mixtures. I do a partial roasting of the veggies before dehydrating, powdering, and then adding each batch to the jar until it is full, when I thoroughly combine everything. By partially roasting the vegetables, they rehydrate quickly but are not overcooked in the final dish. It's an ideal way to both add vegetables and thicken your sauces and mixes, without using flour.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">It was a good time to test both my Copenhagen-type solar oven and a SolarCub<span style="font-size: xx-small;">(R)</span> without its insulated carrier. Used two five-quart Pyrex bowls that I bought at the thrift shop for only $5.99 each (you can still see the price on the bottom, there!) in the larger oven (15" sides) and a quart-sized canning jar in an oven bag in the SolarCub<span style="font-size: xx-small;">(R) </span><span style="font-size: small;">(12" sides)</span>. The 'greens' in the Copenhagen were edible pea pods and a mixture of lettuce, spinach, and chard, in the SolarCub<span style="font-size: xx-small;">(R)</span>.</span> <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Two bowls create oven chamber in Copenhagen-type oven</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">I am the first one to say that testing greens in a solar oven is a lot like frying eggs on a sidewalk -- it's going to happen. Greens break down in heat, rapidly, so there was no question in my mind that things would get done -- even though I started after two in the afternoon. The Pyrex bowls were heavy enough that I didn't need anything to hold the top one in place. I used an oven bag and a rice bag for the "floor" of the SolarCub.</span> <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Oven bag with rice bag 'floor'</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">By three-thirty p.m., the roasting was done. You can see how much the greens reduced in volume in the canning jar. They were stuffed tight to the top at the start. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">It's a little harder to see the difference with the pea pods, because I forgot to take a 'before' picture, but both are now ready for the dehydrator.</span> <br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Oh, I refurbished my garden this year and some of the radishes are really big!</span> My Dad loved radishes and this one would have pleased him, I'm sure.<br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">As summer advances, I'll have several of these ovens set up for the prep work for my veggie mix. I can be roasting from early morn until late afternoon, keeping my kitchen cool, and my energy bill low. It doesn't get any better.</span><br />
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SharleneThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12180247939829055069noreply@blogger.com29tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2898345040868176726.post-62937675710189556272013-06-02T14:51:00.000-04:002013-06-02T14:51:27.146-04:00Solar Roasted Goat-Lamb Loaf<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I need to vent! This has been a very busy spring and Blogger is giving me fits! Is anyone else running into the problem of bringing up your page (or, any page, for that matter) and then immediately being whisked to another full page of advertising? I don't even click on anything, and I'm taken away. Don't like it. Don't like it, at all. Phew! Glad that's out. Today's meal is a result of trying some ground goat meat from <a href="http://walkaheadfarms.weebly.com/" target="_blank">Walk Ahead Farms</a>, another vendor at the <a href="http://midtownraleighfarmersmarket.com/" target="_blank">Midtown Farmers</a> Market on the Commons at North Hills Mall.<br />
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My previous experience with goat meat has been that it is very lean and so I decided to add some ground lamb to juice it up, rather than butter. Even though I made a loaf, it's really much closer to compact gyro meat and lends itself to a variety of serving choices. For the Market, I served it with small strips of solar-toasted bread and a little spread made from yogurt, dill, onion and cucumber. Even folks who had never tried goat, before, loved it. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Small foil baking pan, covered for cooking</td></tr>
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Walk Ahead Farms raises <a href="http://www.boergoats.com/" target="_blank">Boer goats</a> for their meat and it's much more succulent than the goat meat I've had through the years. The lamb added some fat to it and the texture was very close to that of the gyro sandwich meat. I used smaller loaf tins that were lined with doubled paper toweling to collect the grease during cooking. Because of the short time for cooking and sharing at the Market, I've been using multiple smaller pans to be ready for serving sooner and still keep the rest hot until needed. Once loaf is cooked, remove the paper toweling before presentation and serving.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I've removed the paper toweling and cut it up in the tray for the <br />
Market visitors</td></tr>
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The herbs were garden-fresh. You may have to adjust the portions to suit your taste, if using dried herbs. I generally take a very small portion of my final mixture and zap it in the microwave to see if I need to adjust anything before baking a whole loaf.<br />
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<strong>Roasted Goat-Lamb Loaf</strong><br />
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1 pound ground goat meat<br />1 pound ground lamb meat<br />2 eggs<br />1/2 cup chopped onions<br />1 tsp salt<br />1/2 tsp pepper<br />1 T rosemary<br />1 T garlic chive<br />1/2 T dill<br />1/2 T oregano<br />1/4 T thyme<br />1 tsp basil<br />1 tsp stevia<br />1 T tomato powder<br />1 tsp tomato paste<br />1 tsp grated lemon rind<br />
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Preheat solar oven to 225F. Line baking pans with parchment paper or paper toweling.<br />
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Finely chop herbs and onion and combine with rest of ingredients; mix thoroughly. If you don't have tomato powder, use 2 T tomato paste. Divide into loaf pans and bake in solar oven until cooked through, approximately 50 minutes. <br />
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Because of the density of the cooked loaf, it was very easy to slice and fry for a tasty breakfast treat.<br />
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I hope you'll give goat meat a try, if you haven't yet had a chance to taste this delicious protein. And, as always, we'd love to hear what you think of it, too.<br />
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SharleneThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12180247939829055069noreply@blogger.com35tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2898345040868176726.post-40235087590380527472013-05-10T09:52:00.001-04:002013-05-10T09:52:18.229-04:00Solar Chicken Greens and Spicy Cheese<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Nfsp1IZ5d1o/UYzoPm8-lYI/AAAAAAAADqw/XK3LPWjamXc/s1600/4-DSC00249.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Nfsp1IZ5d1o/UYzoPm8-lYI/AAAAAAAADqw/XK3LPWjamXc/s320/4-DSC00249.JPG" width="320" /></a><span xmlns="">Did you ever see a recipe with ingredients that just grabbed you and you had to make it, right then and there? My niece shared one on Facebook that was low carb and looked absolutely delicious from <a href="https://www.facebook.com/tonya.stairs.5" target="_blank">Tonya Stairs's</a> healthy recipes, so you might want to check out Tonya's page when you're through here for the original Pepper-Jack Cheese and Spinach Stuffed Chicken recipe. Well, I had everything on hand – sort of, and ended up with a dish that was just as mouth-watering (using my imagination, here, based on Tonya's ingredients) with an end result that delivered more surprises. You can slice in any direction for equal portions, freeze it for another meal, or, cut it small enough for dainty hors d'oeuvres! Love multi-tasking foods; don't you.</span></div>
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I decided to use parchment paper to line my pan to make it easier for cutting and serving. Oops! That sounds as though I knew what the end result would be, and, I didn't. My main hope was that any extra grease would be absorbed by the paper. <br />
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By resting the, uh, ah, lasagna (?) (Are noodles required to call a dish lasagna?) for about ten minutes, cutting was very easy with little damage to the top layer. This was a totally unexpected drop-your-jaw delicious entrée. A definite repeat recipe and one, I think, I will do for next week's Midtown visitors! <br />
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Preheat your solar oven to 225°F and, for an all-round heat, use a rice bag on the bottom. <br />
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<strong>Solar Chicken Greens and Spicy Cheese Lasagna</strong><br />
<strong>Chicken Layer</strong>:<br />
1 lb ground chicken<br />
1 Tablespoon olive oil<br />
2 eggs<br />
2 Tablespoons fresh breadcrumbs<br />
Salt and pepper to taste<br />
1-1/2 Tablespoons fresh herb mixture: dill, stevia, oregano, garlic chives, basil, parsley. (When I pick my herbs from the garden, I generally pick just one end of a leafy section or what looks like it would become about 1/2 tablespoon when chopped. Rosemary is just a small sprig.)<br />
1/4 cup white wine<br />
Mix together and then spread over bottom of pan. Mixture should be thick but easy to spread without being 'saucy.'<br />
<strong>Greens</strong>:<br />
1 lb of combined fresh spinach, lettuce, and chard, end stems removed and greens softened in 1/4 cup of water over medium heat. Drain and cool before spreading over chicken layer.<br />
<strong>Cheese Layer</strong>:<br />
4 oz sour cream<br />
8 oz cream cheese<br />
4 oz mozzarella cheese (I didn't have Monterrey Pepper Jack Cheese)<br />
1 egg<br />
1 Tablespoon finely chopped hot peppers of your choice. (I used <a href="http://www.jrodsbackyardgrill.com/" target="_blank">JRods Backyard Grill Chipotle Brown Sugar BBQ Sauce</a> – a Midtown vendor who makes it fresh)<br />
1 Tablespoon of above chopped herb mixture<br />
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Blend together until there are no cheesy lumps in mixture, then spread over greens layer. Cover or use two pans; one for the food and an inverted one for the cover. <br />
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After approximately 40 minutes, check for doneness with a toothpick, continue baking, uncovered, until lightly browned and an inserted knife comes out clean. You can also check with a little jiggle of the pan to see if the center is almost firm. There are eggs in the cheese mixture, so they will continue to cook while resting. You want the layers done without being too firm.<br />
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Serve in rectangles, diamonds, circles – let your imagination soar, because it's a dish that begs you to play with it. I could see cutting out little shapes for the children, as well, to get those greens into them. Who knew that substituting almost everything could have such a happy result? Give it a try and let us see some of your presentations.<br />
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<br /> </span><br />SharleneThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12180247939829055069noreply@blogger.com114tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2898345040868176726.post-15889053861318408992013-05-02T01:30:00.000-04:002013-05-02T10:12:03.335-04:00Solar Workshops go Mobile<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-l0zUdQYRqy8/UXgn-SkSY5I/AAAAAAAADcc/QAaGtwqwKqc/s1600/DSC00243.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="199" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-l0zUdQYRqy8/UXgn-SkSY5I/AAAAAAAADcc/QAaGtwqwKqc/s320/DSC00243.JPG" width="320" /></a>There had to be a better way to carry around everything I needed for both the Midtown Farmers Market and the Solar Workshops around the State. I'd been looking at cargo trailers and wanted something sturdy but light enough that I could handle in my advanced years and settled on this lovely grey Diamond Cargo 4'x6' trailer. I would have to do my own internal fixtures, so it was to the drawing board with thoughts of multi-purpose trailer living before ending up with several designs to make everything accessible with the least amount of trouble to my knees!</div>
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It started with a blank exterior slate.</div>
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And, an interior with a whole lot of empty waiting for the 'pimping.' My main focus was to stop things from sliding around and keeping a path to the back. </div>
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With the interior height at just below 48 inches and not wanting to spend the next few years with a bent neck or on my knees, I bought a little wheeled tool holder for scooting around. Not entirely visible, you can see the tools on the hood ready for use. Let me say that it worked perfectly for moving back and forth, with plenty of head room and a nice seated height. Good choice.</div>
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Turns out, the walls are a composite that is seriously hard (good construction) and even with using an electric drill for pre-drilling holes, they were very resistant to the eyebolts. I'm nothing, if not persistent, and, many minutes later, four vertical reinforcing ribs were installed, placing screws at 4" intervals, top and bottom, with eyebolts in between. This would hold the SolarChief<span style="font-size: xx-small;">(R)</span> in place with heavy-duty bungee cords. Then, I decided I didn't need to work THAT hard and simply placed eyebolts around the rest of the trailer to bungee things as needed. Those over-the-door half-hampers on the left work great for holding my craft items and are only eleven inches deep. A super bonus was that the hooks fit over the inside trailer wall. Yay!</div>
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I have plenty of room for all my ovens and accessories, held tightly in place, with center room for moving back and forth without having to move items. </div>
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The craft holders were moved to the back, the SolarChief<span style="font-size: xx-small;">(R)</span> is in place, and there's room for all the ovens and materials for the workshops. Watch out North Carolina; here I come!<span style="font-size: small;"></span></div>
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SharleneThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12180247939829055069noreply@blogger.com130tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2898345040868176726.post-40935744117034558552013-04-27T01:30:00.000-04:002013-04-27T01:30:02.774-04:00Solar Shrimp Wontons and Fresh Spring Spinach<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6kV6WkTMQ9w/UXdgcA3VNeI/AAAAAAAADbk/IkhFGX50NQ8/s1600/DSC00240.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="238" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6kV6WkTMQ9w/UXdgcA3VNeI/AAAAAAAADbk/IkhFGX50NQ8/s320/DSC00240.JPG" width="320" /></a>See those sloppy wontons? I made them. Oh, yeah. Thought I had the smaller wrappers on hand, but turns out they were the big ones. Now, there's nothing wrong with excess wonton dough, unless, of course, you're an aficionado and demand a ravioli-type fit. I just made the filling bigger and added cooking time. I mean, they're used for egg rolls; right? For company, I would have made the trek to the store for the right size; for just us, availability and hunger won out. The spinach is fresh from my garden; but, the tomato is from the neighborhood produce market. Sold as garden-fresh, brought up from Florida, means truck tomato, to me, and they simply do not taste garden fresh. We still have a few months to go before the garden produces the ones I've planted.<br />
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But, there was fresh lettuce in my garden to line the steamer, so I was committed. </div>
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Used a fat tablespoon for the filling, slopped the edges with water, and gently brought everything together. I like to use tinfoil beneath the wrapper, when I don't have cheesecloth, because it prevents sticking during the construction phase.</div>
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I used a baking rack set on a sheet of tinfoil in my baking pan and covered it with some fresh lettuce as a base for the wontons, adding a cup of water in the bottom for steaming. <br />
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I then created a foil cover, sealing top and bottom, and put it in my 275F preheated GSO for forty-five minutes. The end result was luscious, ugly, wontons and very wilted lettuce.<br />
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The shrimp filling was interesting but I think I prefer a different protein. Will have to do it, again, to make sure. I'm not overly fond of seafood and pasta, either, so that may well color my feelings.<br />
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<strong>Shrimp Filling</strong><br />
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20-30 shelled and deveined raw shrimp<br />
1/4 cup shredded carrot<br />
1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh ginger<br />
1 small clove finely chopped garlic<br />
1 Tablespoon finely chopped sweet onion<br />
1/2 teaspoon soy sauce<br />
1/2 teaspoon Chinese spice<br />
1 teaspoon finely chopped basil<br />
8 - 10 Wonton wrappers <br />
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I used my food processor for final mincing of the shrimp and other ingredients but shred and chopped the veggies, first. Pulse until everything is blended and looks finely minced. <br />
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Place a large tablespoon of mixture on center of wonton wrapper and bring up watered sides to seal. Place on lettuce-leaf bed. Bake for approximately 40 minutes at 275F.<br />
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Serve with soy sauce or create your own favorite dipping sauce.<br />
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<br />SharleneThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12180247939829055069noreply@blogger.com28tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2898345040868176726.post-78562586992834558752013-04-22T13:04:00.000-04:002013-04-22T13:04:06.938-04:00Acorn Squash in EZ-3 Solar Oven<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2ZP6S5QVcP4/UWc297AKexI/AAAAAAAADZM/_oPtHZcl2ws/s1600/4-DSC00206.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="216" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2ZP6S5QVcP4/UWc297AKexI/AAAAAAAADZM/_oPtHZcl2ws/s320/4-DSC00206.JPG" width="320" /> </a>One of the easiest ways of solar cooking squashes, root crops, and corn, is by simply placing them whole in the solar oven and letting nature take its course. Within a few hours, you have a delicious vegetable, prepared in its own jacket, still full of all the nutrients, to serve in your favorite way. I made a much larger <a href="http://www.mainstreamsolarcooking.com/2013/03/mainstream-ez-3-solar-oven.html" target="_blank">EZ-3</a> oven for the Midtown Market booth, and decided to check out the timing with the added insulation. Got slammed with a stomach virus and have only just felt well enough to catch up on my blogging. The picture is blah, and for that I apologize, but it's the end result that counts.<br />
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Because I was using was is basically and cardboard and tinfoil solar oven, I knew that the cooking times would be at least two-and-a-half times conventional timing, but still faster than a slow cooker. In addition to the insulation used, I had a rice bag preheating for a bottom base, and used craft plastic (available in sewing departments) for the glazing and covered the entire EZ-3 oven. You can also use a large oven bag opened to a single layer, or use two to reduce condensation. </div>
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As I've often mentioned, I have no problems 'helping' my solar cooking by preparing foods so that they will cook evenly and faster, the same as one would do for a crock pot meal. Knowing that it would definitely take longer to cook the acorn squash, I peeled and sliced it, first, positioned it in a metal baking pan and added 1/2 cup seasoned juice. Covered it with foil and placed it in an oven bag. </div>
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Within two hours, squash is ready and simply mashed in the delicious gravy. Unfortunately, I forgot what the mixture was, exactly, but know there was chicken stock, 3 star anise, salt and pepper, a pinch of cinnamon, and -- then, my mind goes blank. So sorry. But, it was cooked through and very easily mashed with a fork, after removing the star anise and seeds. </div>
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It was delicious and proved that the EZ-3 does a great job. </div>
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<br />SharleneThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12180247939829055069noreply@blogger.com172tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2898345040868176726.post-58011281808645011522013-04-07T13:06:00.000-04:002013-04-07T13:15:43.398-04:00SolarCub Solar Oven in Jacket Carrier<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">SolarCub<span style="font-size: xx-small;">(R)</span> in Insulated Jacket Carrier</td></tr>
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We solar cookers keep trying to find just the right portable oven to bring this exciting money-saving method of cooking meals to the general public. I focus on the mainstream and try to make it as appealing, as possible. In that regard, I offer different levels of start-up ovens, beginning with my mini-oven kit that will bake single-serving dishes, up to my SolarCub<span style="font-size: xx-small;">(R)</span>. In my workshops, depending on their length, participants are shown how to make a variety of ovens from cardboard and foil; such as, the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/sclausson1" target="_blank">Copenhagen</a>, <a href="http://solarcooking.wikia.com/wiki/Sharon_Cousins" target="_blank">E-Z3</a>, and my own adaptation of the Cook-It. For those people who simply want to buy an oven without having to build it, themselves, the SolarCub<span style="font-size: xx-small;">(R)</span> is a ready-made kit, ready to assemble in a snap! The insulated jacket combining protection against the wind, retention of heat, and a carry handle for easy transport, is sold separately. <br />
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As I mentioned, assembly is a snap.</div>
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There is no bottom because I use rice/bean bags as a base and vessel holder. The empty bag is included in the kit, with instructions on how to fill and close it for use. In addition, there is a piece of unhemmed 100% cotton knit black material to use as a heat-drawing cover.</div>
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To prevent movement, spills, and offer some insulation, I suggest that my customers use either a large blanket or box as a nest. But, you know me, if I can sew something, I'll do it, and the SolarCub<span style="font-size: xx-small;">(R)</span> Carrier Jacket was born. It snaps to the SolarCub<span style="font-size: xx-small;">(R)</span> and remains stable in winds between 5-20 mph, while helping to retain heat. Alligator clips for attaching the jacket to the oven, rather than snaps, can also be used.</div>
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I think you can see the rice bag on the bottom, stabilizing the canning jar in SolarWear<span style="font-size: xx-small;">(R)</span> and set in a double-folded oven bag, <br />
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Because the jacket is soft, it is easily raised to a true vertical position in the winter months. I've used a 2"x4" piece of wood here; but, you can use whatever you want.<br />
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When the meal is done, remove the cooking pot and begin cooking something else (if it's early enough in the day), or simply snap the handles together and bring it all inside! I love the food pattern on the Jacket Carrier; don't you?</div>
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My booth at the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=tn_tnmn#!/MidtownFarmersMarketRaleigh?fref=ts" target="_blank">Farmers Market</a> on the Commons at North Hills, Raleigh, opens on May 4th. Hope to see you there. For those wanting a SolarCub<span style="font-size: xx-small;">(R)</span> Jacket Carrier that does not snap to the SolarCub<span style="font-size: xx-small;">(R)</span>, you can place an order anytime and it will be available for pick-up two weeks from date of purchase or shipment. If you want a Jacket Carrier that snaps to your solar oven, both items will be available two weeks from date of purchase. Now, to make a matching hat and apron! Not!</div>
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SharleneThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12180247939829055069noreply@blogger.com76tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2898345040868176726.post-59297665838861644032013-04-02T01:30:00.000-04:002013-04-02T01:30:00.288-04:00A Forbidden! Solar Black Rice Sirloin Tip Meal<span xmlns=""></span><br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Jfuz1_5SR2A/UVmrkVd9SkI/AAAAAAAADR4/Ty8Y0xqz17U/s1600/3-DSC00147.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="215" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Jfuz1_5SR2A/UVmrkVd9SkI/AAAAAAAADR4/Ty8Y0xqz17U/s320/3-DSC00147.JPG" width="320" /></a>I am now on a par with the Chinese Emperors. Oh, yes; shocking but true! Me. Who knew? It all began with my quarterly refurbishing of grains and rices from <a href="http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/whole-fools-market?utm_referrer=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2Furl%3Fsa%3Dt%26rct%3Dj%26q%3D%26esrc%3Ds%26frm%3D1%26source%3Dweb%26cd%3D1%26ved%3D0CDMQFjAA%26url%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.wholefoodsmarket.com%252F%26ei%3DWLRZUcaUCIfs9ATxuIC4Bg%26usg%3DAFQjCNHtt_BX2_E-GmCruNMc6sFixSXldQ%26bvm%3Dbv.44442042%2Cd.eWU" target="_blank">Whole Foods</a>. Blithely filling the bags with bulk this-and-that, I saw what I first thought were black beans, only to discover they were tiny grains of rice – by name, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_rice" target="_blank">Forbidden Rice</a>! Now, this may not be news to all of you, but it was quite the surprise to me, I can assure you. See, in the photo, how tiny they are, after being cooked? They are but a hair larger than their dehydrated size. But, the taste -- Oi-vey! such a delightful, nutty, flavor with just the right amount of al dente texture. It will definitely be a part of my final meal, if I do get a word. I can see why only the Emperors were allowed this fantastic grain. <br />
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It's obvious that I'm going to have to work on more appealing photos, but time will take care of that and, meanwhile, you'll be coming up with your own. I used both a metal loaf pan and a round baking pan for the solar dinner, and used aluminum foil for the cover. Rinsed and then pre-soaked the rice for about 20 minutes to begin rehydration and then poured it into the loaf pan, adding water brought to the boil in the microwave. The veggies and sirloin tips were sauté, placed in their own baking pan, and mixed with the sauce. <br />
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The solar oven had reached 250°F and I stacked the baking pan over the loaf pan. Days are getting longer and the meal was started at 12:45 p.m. In just under 1.5 hours, this very dark but delicious dinner was ready and we were very happy to tuck in.</span><strong></strong><br />
<strong>F</strong><strong>orbidden Black Rice</strong><br />
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1 cup Forbidden Black rice<br />
1-7/8 cups water, brought to boil<br />
1 tsp salt<br />
1 tsp sesame oil<br />
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Rinse and pre-soak rice for approximately 20 minutes. Pour into casserole, add water, cover with foil and place in solar oven for approximately 1.5 hours. Let rest for 10 minutes, fluff with fork and combine with oil, salt and pepper to taste.<br />
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<strong>Sirloin Tip Mix</strong><br />
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1/2 pound sirloin tips, cubed<br />
1 T tallow/oil<br />
1 green bell pepper, sliced vertically then cut in half<br />
1 medium sweet onion, sliced vertically<br />
1 T fresh ginger, cut into pieces, then removed before serving<br />
1 T soy sauce<br />
1 T Chinese orange sauce<br />
1 T grapeseed oil<br />
1 tsp toasted sesame seeds<br />
1 tsp Chinese spice mix<br />
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Preheat solar oven to at least 225F. Use separate covered casseroles. Dry sirloin tips with paper towel and brown in tallow/oil; remove to casserole pan. Saute peppers, onion, and ginger, until soft; add to sirloin tips. Combine rest of ingredients with sirloin tip mixture. Cover with foil, bake in solar oven for approximately 1.5 hours. Stir, then serve. <br />
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I kept the rice and stew separate and added a touch of the sauce to the rice so you could see the sesame seed size against the cooked black rice grains. Normally, I would place the stew over the rice but it just didn't look right -- not that this does. I need a red ribbon, or something. But, don't be fooled, there's a powerful amount of taste in every bite. I hope you'll give Forbidden Rice a try. It's expensive, but don't you deserve it? You bet your sweet bippy you do. Don't forget to share your recipe!<br />
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SharleneThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12180247939829055069noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2898345040868176726.post-26263040563304502452013-03-29T22:40:00.000-04:002013-03-29T22:40:07.543-04:00Spring Container Garden 2013<span xmlns=""></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Last year's garden </td></tr>
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The biggest benefit to having a waist-high garden is how early the soil heats up for planting. Unfortunately, that still doesn't solve the problem of having super-short springs and a rapid plunge into hot, sweltering, weather. Here in North Carolina, it has taken me some time to figure out the gardening limitations and enjoying both a spring and summer garden is out. The summer garden must be started no later than April for healthy crops. Gone are the spring-summer-fall gardens of my Virginia life. Of course, the timing couldn't be better. I am, after all, in my later years and it's enough to enjoy what I can do and simply reminisce years gone by. <br />
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In its seventh year, the garden needed to be revitalized and so I did the <a href="http://tinyurl.com/ykyand5">Lasagna Garden</a> thing and added a top layering mid-February. Look at how beautiful the soil is almost nine inches down!<br />
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<br />These are this year's <a href="http://www.mainstreamsolarcooking.com/2010/01/seed-catalogs-january-must-be-time-to.html" target="_blank">'birthing sheets'</a> waiting for placement. I've combined fertilizer with the flour paste to hold the sheets together. Decided to use the 'broadcast' (rather than precise) method because the thinnings will be used in salads, leaving the proper spacing for the rest to grow into vegetables. <br />
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<br />Here they are in place, dampened down to prevent the wind from moving them around while waiting for the soil cover.<br />
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Now, you see them; now, you don't!<br />
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Seeds and plants are in place.<br />
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<br />Think I'll just sit here in the shade, with knife and fork in hand, waiting . . . Why don't you pull up a chair and join me?<br />
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</span>SharleneThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12180247939829055069noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2898345040868176726.post-8464563597429906262013-03-21T13:58:00.001-04:002013-03-21T13:58:42.801-04:00Mainstream EZ-3 Solar Oven<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2RwTKsvQy34/UUswaraFWiI/AAAAAAAADEg/ogvrj4s8LPw/s1600/1-DSC00133.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="304" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2RwTKsvQy34/UUswaraFWiI/AAAAAAAADEg/ogvrj4s8LPw/s320/1-DSC00133.JPG" width="320" /></a><span xmlns="">As you know, I've been cooking meals with the Global Sun Oven® for the better part of the past seven years and have been able to do anything in it that I do in my conventional oven. And, for those of you who prefer to have a larger more stationary oven that can stay outside, I feel I've done this with the SolarChief®. What's most important to me, though, is that you actually give solar cooking a try. The good news is that it's as easy as pie to have your own solar oven, today, in under an hour. </span></div>
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If you search online, you will find any number of solar ovens designed by solar cooking enthusiasts and, sooner or later, you'll find one you want to try for yourself. I said I would be showing a variety of solar ovens that I will be using at this year's <a href="https://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=tn_tnmn#!/MidtownFarmersMarketRaleigh?fref=ts" target="_blank">Midtown Market</a> on the Commons at North Hills Mall, and this is one of my favorites because it does the job. <br />
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Today's oven is one designed by <a href="https://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=tn_tnmn#!/sharon.cousins.73" target="_blank">Sharon Cousins</a> and is called the <a href="http://solarcooking.wikia.com/wiki/EZ-3_Solar_Cooker" target="_blank">EZ-3 Solar Oven</a>. It's very easy to make and only requires a box with dimensions of at least 15"x15"x15", which is what I used for last year's exhibit. This year's larger decorated model was made from a Puppy Pad delivery box 15.5"x15.5"x19" and can hold this 2-quart teapot quite comfortably. The larger size creates higher heat. The only difference is that I clipped off the very top of the back triangle because I really haven't found that it's needed and it keeps the glazing cover from crowding the pots. <br />
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Because I'm missing a smart gene, somewhere, it took me until the last two months of market days to realize I could actually be using that oven, in addition to the GSO to, at least, keep me in hot coffee/tea/soup/? while sitting in the cold. Duh! <br />
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The EZ-3 you see on the far left was made from a smaller box and could hold a mug or quart-sized canning jar and I wanted to try the larger one so that there would be hot water available throughout the morning. <br />
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Found this wonderful GREEN teapot at the Thrift Shop for only $3 and decided to use that size for my next EZ-3. As soon as my puppy pad delivery arrived, I set to work. By placing the box on its side and cutting from corner to corner, I was able to get the height I wanted. What that meant was I would have to glue the inside flaps, which created a little bump but nothing to create a problem. Then I glued heavy-duty tinfoil across the bottom, the sides, and the extra front reflective piece. It looked like a cardboard and tinfoil oven – a perfectly serviceable oven! <br />
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But, I wanted to make it prettier. So, I found some extra cotton material and glued it to the outside. With the larger dimensions, the opening was way too big for the opened extra-large oven bag, so I decided to use some sewing plastic for the glazing. It works beautifully! The table was made for me by a very dear friend and the top rotates easily for following the sun. I adore it! By the way, I'm not concerned about any toxic emanations because I'm using covered pots and it's pretty much gone by the third or fourth cooking session. <br />
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The temperature was 46°F and the winds at 9mph. Within 45 minutes, I had water hot enough to steep a teabag. I was hoping you could see the steam coming up from the cup but there was just too much shine all around. The handle was VERY hot and I'll remember to use a pot holder, next time! My plan is to keep water going all morning, so this was an outstanding exercise. That funny little thing you see over the spout is a 'cork' I crocheted with 100% cotton to keep steam and moisture from covering the inside of the plastic cover. <br />
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I have nothing against getting my from any of the surrounding restaurants, but that can eat into your profits faster than a teenager discovering you have an extra $20 bill! This is a powerful little portable oven and I hope you'll give it a try. If you don't have large boxes, why not make individual smaller ones and let everyone in on the fun? <br />
</span><br />SharleneThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12180247939829055069noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2898345040868176726.post-91341908563403055912013-03-15T16:09:00.001-04:002013-03-15T16:15:09.079-04:00Solar-Baked Cake Doughnuts<span xmlns=""></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzteuzP5ckXQyjfL2OE2dKJ3k3Q1A4jPyt4d-oinliBqlZG5MdJrY9kLiiSZYGxvSKNkptqp-6SAKhHZ6fdmB4e_4Nf0Pr1gOtkRHFmhNNPizr15HImclrTD94rzt8CRKQ4xj5qBZsORk/s1600/3-DSC00124.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="208" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzteuzP5ckXQyjfL2OE2dKJ3k3Q1A4jPyt4d-oinliBqlZG5MdJrY9kLiiSZYGxvSKNkptqp-6SAKhHZ6fdmB4e_4Nf0Pr1gOtkRHFmhNNPizr15HImclrTD94rzt8CRKQ4xj5qBZsORk/s320/3-DSC00124.JPG" width="320" /></a>I love shopping for bargains after the Holidays. This year, I was able to pick up two (count them, T-W-O!) special baking pans for just $1.50 each. One was a big Valentine heart-shaped cookie pan and the other was a Wilton six-cavity doughnut pan. I decided to use the recipe on the back and probably won't do it, again. Buttermilk in my doughnuts is not a favorite flavor of mine and it wasn't improved by the sun. That is, in my opinion!<br />
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However, so far as the solar baking was concerned, it worked great! The original recipe suggests a conventional oven temperature of 425°F but my doughnuts cooked fine at 300°F.<br />
I'm up to my elbows in workshops, this spring, and so – lucky you! – this post is short and to the point!.<br />
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><strong>Solar-Baked Cake Doughnuts</strong></span><br />
2 cups cake flour, sifted<br />
3/4 cup granulated sugar<br />
2 teaspoons baking powder<br />
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg<br />
1 teaspoon salt<br />
3/4 cup buttermilk<br />
2 eggs, lightly beaten<br />
2 tablespoons butter, melted<br />
Preheat solar over to 300°F Spray pan with non-stick cooking spray. Mix dry ingredients together in a large mixing bowl. Add liquids and beat until just combined. Fill each cavity 2/3 full. <br />
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Bake until tops of doughnuts spring back when touched, approx. 25 minutes. Let cool in pan 4-5 minutes before removing. Finish doughnuts with your favorite topping. Makes 12 <br />
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Okay. Back to getting ready for next workshop – pysanki, this time! </span><br />
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SharleneThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12180247939829055069noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2898345040868176726.post-26761341929977117002013-03-02T14:44:00.000-05:002013-03-02T14:44:30.084-05:00Solarcooking Presentation In Fancy Dress<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chicken and Chickpea Solar Soup</td></tr>
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<span xmlns="">With my first solar presentation for 2013 coming up this week, I wanted to do something a little different to show that you don't have to wait until you can afford a commercially-built solar oven to enjoy the benefits of FREE energy and savings. I try to have several examples of items that can be used for solar cooking so folks can see just how far we've come from our Scouting days of wrapping a hamburger in a piece of tin foil. I've been using a commercially-built <a href="http://bit.ly/Poezda" target="_blank">Global<span style="font-size: xx-small;">(R)</span> Sun Oven</a> but, today, I want to talk about a quick-and-easy one you can build yourself, that will last you quite a while with a little care.</span><br />
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I'm not going to show every oven that I've made in this post, but will probably show them in the next few weeks. Instead, I'm going to focus on my own 22-inch model of <a href="https://www.facebook.com/sclausson1" target="_blank">Sharon Clausson's Copenhagen</a> oven design and my newest favorite way of creating an oven "chamber." I don't think everyone will go to all this trouble -- well, maybe, the home crafters who want to make theirs more personalized will give it a whirl -- but, it solved my problem. <br />
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I needed a way to duplicate Sharon's dual-glass bowl oven chamber -- one that would take a lot of hard use and not break. Voila! Here are two stainless steel 2-quart mixing bowls that I was able to buy for just under $8.00 each at Wal-Mart. They caught my eye because of the quarter-inch lip that is perfect for binder clips. And, it turned out that the height of the inside chamber was within an eighth of an inch of the half-gallon sized canning jar, meaning that I could cook in larger portions.<br />
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The shape of the bowls made it almost impossible to get a grip and keep them vertical when placing them down into the deep solar oven, so I decided to do something about it. Using a size K crochet hook and some black Peaches & Cream 100% crochet cotton, I made a carrier specifically designed for the bowls, extending the upper edge portion two inches to allow room for a drawcord to tighten it around the top's inverted smaller dimension. The end result, as you see, holds the top in position and makes it almost immovable. This way, based on contents, binder clips are not always necessary. (For the Chicken and Chickpea Soup cooked directly in the bowl, I used the clips.)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-tnrpEjutUGiJU6TFQYNECmy_HbEInVXxAlJ1TxCoRQdYI0ohlmx0Bo4FigY9ODsQEEahevPBBHyP34YY91eBjAdsV0N74WxO8TaDHnW_F9AMucWYujeB50XPje45oU7ja4YNkXwV7Wk/s1600/06-DSC00114.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-tnrpEjutUGiJU6TFQYNECmy_HbEInVXxAlJ1TxCoRQdYI0ohlmx0Bo4FigY9ODsQEEahevPBBHyP34YY91eBjAdsV0N74WxO8TaDHnW_F9AMucWYujeB50XPje45oU7ja4YNkXwV7Wk/s320/06-DSC00114.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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I still hadn't solved the problem of raising and lowering the bowls into the oven. Crocheting two cords to crisscross over the top was the solution to keeping the bowls balanced and lifting easier. I made sure that there was enough give to raise the handles about two inches to prevent the hot metal from touching my skin at the end of the cooking time.<br />
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Stainless steel is a very reflective surface and, since we don't want those solar rays reflected away from the cooking chamber, this large draping crocheted square was the answer.<br />
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As you can see, it's still pretty far down into this large-sized Copenhagen.<br />
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You can take the time to fit the draping cover beneath the crossed cords, but I found it was just more work than I was willing to do and just as easy to lift it off at the end of cooking and use the handles. The cover makes a nice "potholder" during removal.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlP3wy9py42XQkwUJaHKHnf7xUEE10gvBChbPn4ovqUxPNe1frh7f6ZkVXbUVFblE8cpYTjoL0q5VbLaOl5HEgaOwsLI4PliAORO1hbdSqtBrk5CUje10cQ68e46SPAFSpFNZmbZNkZhQ/s1600/10-DSC00118.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlP3wy9py42XQkwUJaHKHnf7xUEE10gvBChbPn4ovqUxPNe1frh7f6ZkVXbUVFblE8cpYTjoL0q5VbLaOl5HEgaOwsLI4PliAORO1hbdSqtBrk5CUje10cQ68e46SPAFSpFNZmbZNkZhQ/s320/10-DSC00118.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br /> Soup went into the solar oven at 10:45am and removed at 2:00pm, hot and delicious. All in all, I think I've created a very portable unbreakable accessory; don't you?</span><br />SharleneThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12180247939829055069noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2898345040868176726.post-67807515932964543612013-02-19T01:30:00.000-05:002013-02-19T14:57:31.404-05:00Solar Etouffée (a Variation thereof)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oOnvEtN1uyc/USMPkw8oIMI/AAAAAAAAC98/2zYM5NNBxF8/s1600/2-DSC00109.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oOnvEtN1uyc/USMPkw8oIMI/AAAAAAAAC98/2zYM5NNBxF8/s320/2-DSC00109.JPG" width="320" /></a><span xmlns=""><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">February is Mardi Gras month and I had been thinking about those delicious New Orleans foods a lot, lately. Nothing fancy, just something to celebrate the season and etouffée came to mind. Alas, my cupboard was just a little shy of every ingredient – yeah, like that's going to stop me! – and I had to improvise. The results were absolutely yummy (a direct quote from my sister!) and I, most humbly, had to agree. Nothing wrong with getting a little creative in the kitchen -- that's how new recipes start -- right?</span></span></div>
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<span xmlns=""><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">We're still going through a cold spell and the outside temperature was in the 40s with not a cloud in sight. My dish was a two-step process and the food would be hot going into the 250°F solar oven, so I wasn't afraid to start cooking at 1:30pm. All was done by 2:45, just as the sun disappeared over the roof of my house. Even though we're starting to get longer days with the sun higher in the sky, ten a.m. until two p.m. is still the ideal solar cooking time for the next few months.<br />
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</span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><strong>Solar Etouffée (a variation)<br /> </strong><br />
1.5 chicken breast, skinned and cut into small strips/cubes<br />
2 Tablespoons JRod's Backyard Grill Chipotle Brown Sugar Rub (a Midtown Market Vendor product!)<br />
1/2 cup chopped yellow bell pepper (no red pepper on hand)<br />
1/2 cup thinly sliced cabbage (no celery on hand)<br />
1 small bag of pearl onions (microwaved and outer skin removed)<br />
1 stick salted butter<br />
1.5 cups chicken stock<br />
8 oz. clam juice (no clams on hand)<br />
1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce<br />
2 Tablespoons tomato paste<br />
1/2 teaspoon fresh Stevia<br />
3 Tablespoons AP flour<br />
Cooked rice/noodles<br />
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</span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><strong>Directions:<br /> </strong><br />
Preheat solar oven to 225°F 3-quart covered baking pan<br />
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Sweat bell pepper and cabbage in butter over medium heat in heavy skillet. Cover chicken strips with JRod's Rub by shaking in a bag; add to skillet and brown sides. Remove chicken, bell pepper, and cabbage from skillet with slotted spoon and place in baking pan; add pearl onions. Add flour to skillet and cook for approximately 3 or 4 minutes to brown. Combine chicken stock, clam juice, Worcestershire sauce, tomato paste, and Stevia and slowly add to flour mixture, stirring as it thickens and becomes smooth. Pour over ingredients in baking pan and mix thoroughly. Cover and bake in solar oven for approximately 1.5 to 2 hours. Serve over cooked rice or noodles, adding a bit of parsley for garni.<br />
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Feel free to accept compliments.</span></span></span><br />
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</span><span style="font-size: large;">I hope you'll give this variation a try and let us know your results.</span> </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><br /> </span> </span><br />SharleneThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12180247939829055069noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2898345040868176726.post-4706816996415718612013-02-05T01:30:00.000-05:002013-02-05T01:30:02.520-05:00Solar Tuna Crepes in White Wine Sauce<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span xmlns="">You know how you can have a song stuck in your head and it just won't leave you alone? Well, this is going to sound crazy, but, there I was, minding my own business, and 'crepes' would not leave me alone. Just when I thought it was gone – CREPES! – would echo throughout my head (Yes, mine can echo because it's empty – or so some people have suggested, over the years). Fine; I can take a hint and went into the kitchen to make a stack of crepes so they would have a few hours to cool. This would also give me time to figure out a filling.<br />
In just a few minutes and a basic mix of flour, eggs, and water, salt, pepper, and some of Bojangles French Fry Seasoning, the savory crepes were in the hot skillet and stacked on paper toweling to remove any moisture.<br />
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The crepes were re-stacked and into the fridge for a couple of hours of resting, while I threw together the, uh, filling. Oh, yeah, that's the best part of using crepes -- you can choose a sweet filling or savory, fruit dressing or sauce, it's up to you – they're a super easy method of dressing up a very basic meal. And, because much of the pre-cooking is done stovetop, the final baking in the winter sun is easy, too.<br />
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I decided on canned tuna for my filler to show my sister that it doesn't have to taste bad, just because it was in a can. Some leftover cabbage thinly sliced, a medium onion thinly sliced, and chopped mushrooms, would be the basics, softened in 1 Tablespoon of tallow, salt, pepper, mace, parsley; then, returned to the bowl they were mixed in so that I could use the skillet for the sauce.<br />
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Crepes were ready to be filled, rolled, and placed side by side in the baking dish. You can see where some were cooked longer than others and browned evenly – but, all were fully-cooked.<br />
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In 2 Tablespoons of tallow, I browned 2 Tablespoons of flour, added salt and pepper, one can of creamed celery soup, 1 cup of milk and 1/4 cup of white wine, whisking it smooth throughout the cooking process and then poured over the crepes. The final touch was shredding 4 ounces of smoked cheddar cheese and a light sprinkling of parsley over all before going into the 275F solar oven.<br />
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After forty minutes, the cheese was melted and lightly browned, the crepes piping hot, and we were ready to be served, forks in hand. Isn't it wonderful what can be done with crepes and a little of this and that! Let us know how yours turned out.<br />
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</span><br />SharleneThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12180247939829055069noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2898345040868176726.post-12036464938208408112013-01-31T01:30:00.000-05:002013-01-31T12:22:00.412-05:00Veggie Tart with Solar Crust – a Mainstream Energy Mix <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-3AwEvWU3BF4/UQqIhFvLFEI/AAAAAAAAC3U/RQPlert2SUw/s1600/6-DSC00070.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="228" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-3AwEvWU3BF4/UQqIhFvLFEI/AAAAAAAAC3U/RQPlert2SUw/s320/6-DSC00070.JPG" width="320" /></a><span xmlns="">Like the rest of the country, we've been dealing with unseasonal mid-winter high-temp days. We know it's temporary and some of you have already felt the high winds, storms, and sudden drop. We expect some serious weather tonight but, for now, the midday sun is shining and that's all that's needed to take advantage of free solar energy. However, this is definitely a time when I fully expect to finish cooking in my conventional oven. What I do when that happens is use the same temperature at the highest the solar oven reached so that the timing isn't off.</span><br />
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<span xmlns="">I was late in pruning my trees, this year. Yes, I know that's wrong but the weather is confusing things. There were BUDS on the fruit trees and that's just wrong… in my opinion. So, pruning accomplished, I checked the yard for loose items that might become missiles in the high winds to come. How serendipitous! There were foods that simply won't stop producing -- onions, purslane, Swiss chard, rosemary, thyme, and mint. Not a lot, mind you, but enough to add to something else to make a complete meal. Something like a tart. Oh, yeah.</span><br />
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Purslane is very high in omega fats and good for you, but the tiny leaves and stems don't make for the best eating experience, if you're used to larger leaves like spinach, kale, etc. It's all good for you and I don't strip the leaves from the succulent stems – I chop the whole mess and add them to other greens or recipes. This was going to be a real winter meal, using foods I've found with foods I've put by from the garden.<br />
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First step was to make basic pie dough, using lard because I like my crusts very flaky, and prebake the shell for the tart. The solar oven had reached 275F and the shell was done in under an hour. By the time it cooled, some veggies had been chopped, others rehydrated, and sautéed items cooled, ready for baking. I saved the bigger (and NOT by much) chard leaves for layering, chopping the rest to add to the purslane.<br />
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You just want it softened and still very green. You can't turn your back when doing this or they'll brown in a second.<br />
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I like my tarts layered, whenever possible. Grated cheese on the bottom, followed by sautéed mushrooms, carmelized onions, softened purslane and chard, kernel corn, chard leaves. The chard leaves were softened in the microwave by placed them in a wet paper towel sandwich and zapped for a minute.<br />
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The egg mixture was poured over all and topped with a sprinkling of parsley before going into the 275F conventional oven. By now, the clouds had made their entrance and, at 2:30pm, it was dark outside. So, I let the sun rest…<br />
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An hour and a half later, the tart was done. You can almost see the knife line where I checked for doneness.<br />
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<strong>Tart filling</strong>: green onions, purslane, Swiss chard, rehydrated Portobello button mushrooms, rehydrated kernel corn, 4 rehydrated eggs, half and half cream, shredded smoked cheddar cheese, fresh rosemary, fresh thyme, fresh mint, mace, turmeric, salt and pepper. Unfortunately, I have no measurements because I was in a hurry and just threw it together.<br />
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Folks, it's really hard to mess up a tart so let your creative side loose and it will be done when the eggs are set and the knife comes out clean!<br />
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I almost put some leftover chicken in the tart but, at the last minute, decided to just use the veggies and it was not only delicious but very filling. Hope you give it a try and let us know what you think. <br />
<br /> </span><br />SharleneThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12180247939829055069noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2898345040868176726.post-52167166366839787392013-01-20T01:30:00.000-05:002013-01-20T14:38:47.018-05:00Winter Chicken Casserole and Wonder Box<span xmlns=""><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAConPdtwn8gKd8H4nplTljI-Kd33MAq8D1i844IMupCfeO0Gy74B8gdRWBRXef_iLu1PlO7XhdMapIRjOxPZhL7syzjyMVTblDpq6X4HkAsCbByoX0bphQOu1rkbMU2sTQcO4Q1uXceo/s1600/2-DSC00034.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="242" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAConPdtwn8gKd8H4nplTljI-Kd33MAq8D1i844IMupCfeO0Gy74B8gdRWBRXef_iLu1PlO7XhdMapIRjOxPZhL7syzjyMVTblDpq6X4HkAsCbByoX0bphQOu1rkbMU2sTQcO4Q1uXceo/s320/2-DSC00034.JPG" width="320" /></a>Solar cooking in the winter requires planning. With the lower trajectory of the sun, your peak cooking time is<a href="http://www.mainstreamsolarcooking.com/2010/01/my-first-recipe-contest-with-champagne.html" target="_blank"> from ten a.m. through two p.m.</a> That doesn't mean you can't cook a little earlier or later. What it does mean is that you might have to combine your energy-saving methods when you lose track of time and decide to start solar cooking at two-thirty in a winter afternoon! I'm not going to mention who did this but I'm sure that even without psychic powers you can figure it out. I used a two-quart Dutch oven filled almost to the top for the casserole, as you can see from the photo.</div>
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There was nothing extra special about the ingredients, just a combination of chicken, carrots, onions, celery, and red pepper, with rice. The sushi rice was pre-soaked for fifteen minutes before cooking and was ready to be added to the other ingredients when it was time. While the rice was cooking, I sautéed the onions, pepper, carrots and celery in a tablespoon each of lard and butter, in a heavy skillet; then, added the chicken and let the mixture cook for another two to three minutes. The rice was just underdone but ready to be added to the skillet. For extra liquid, I had blended one egg with 3/4 cup of chicken broth, 1/4 cup heavy cream, 1/4 cup white wine (optional), 1/8 tsp fresh rosemary, 1 tsp fresh oregano, 1 tsp fresh thyme, 1/4 tsp dried stevia, 3/4 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp black pepper, and 1/4 tsp mace, and then poured it over the chicken mixture in the saucepan.<br />
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Now, I could have sautéed my ingredients in the bottom of the Dutch oven, but a two-quart pot was just too small and I was afraid the high sides would have steamed the veggies rather than sautéing them. I did, however, preheat it with hot water before transferring all the ingredients from the skillet.<br />
The casserole was placed in the 225F solar oven and baked from two-thirty until three-fifteen, when the sun disappeared over my roof and I had to finish it up in the <a href="http://www.mainstreamsolarcooking.com/2012/05/midtown-solar-pate-and-kielbasa.html" target="_blank">Wonder Box</a>. Of course, I could have used my conventional oven but I prefer to save energy whenever I can and that's what the Wonder Box is for; right?<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuo2nGHq2Q5e-RyeYjT3x0JWTrSI1qBLPssUm1EZUBk-t73dcVtYXSCpJjgRwRpYyPkYJyZQvPB0fJMt15gmeF9IDmVDuVKC2Le531HBOfVsxh-8D_ZhELYhlpRGtcQ8mXePDACwpoiHA/s1600/1-DSC00019.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuo2nGHq2Q5e-RyeYjT3x0JWTrSI1qBLPssUm1EZUBk-t73dcVtYXSCpJjgRwRpYyPkYJyZQvPB0fJMt15gmeF9IDmVDuVKC2Le531HBOfVsxh-8D_ZhELYhlpRGtcQ8mXePDACwpoiHA/s320/1-DSC00019.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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What I should have done was use a more shallow casserole pan for a winter casserole and started baking around ten a.m., but I like testing the limits and, of course, I knew I had both the Wonder Box and my conventional oven to finish baking, if necessary.<br />
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It's been a very busy January getting stock ready for the opening of the Market in April, but some things can't be put off when you're the only one doing the work. Will be adding one or two new items and having plenty of my SolarCubs<span style="font-size: xx-small;">(tm)</span> to help introduce solar cooking to everyone. I hope you'll give this recipe a try and let me know what ingredients you changed, if any.<br />
</span><br />SharleneThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12180247939829055069noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2898345040868176726.post-62758922178692995372013-01-10T23:00:00.000-05:002013-01-10T23:00:17.391-05:00Solar Salmon Pie <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7gWr8j8xKXk/UO9l3PIV6iI/AAAAAAAACaw/S0bzyGmEyu8/s1600/08-DSC00054.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7gWr8j8xKXk/UO9l3PIV6iI/AAAAAAAACaw/S0bzyGmEyu8/s320/08-DSC00054.JPG" width="320" /></a><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7gWr8j8xKXk/UO9l3PIV6iI/AAAAAAAACaw/S0bzyGmEyu8/s1600/08-DSC00054.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a>Thought I'd check out the grounds before cooking. <span xmlns="">Isn't this a great winter harvest scavenged from the gardens and yard? Some fresh chard, purslane, green onions, garlic chive, rosemary, thyme, and oregano, decided to check out our unusually warm winter days and, now, it's just a matter or putting it all to good use. Let me go on record to say that the temperatures do NOT make me very happy. I have fruit trees that need their wintering and I will thank Mother Nature to stop interfering in the process. I do understand that my pastry fish isn't shaped like salmon; but, then, I'd have to carve out the river and the bear, too, and that just seemed a bit much...
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<span xmlns="">The purslane will be a nice addition to the chard and I won't have to go into my dehydrated chard cache. I want to try something a little different in the solar oven, today, and glad that old Mr. Sun is shining while I can still remember the thought! I'm going to use two round 9" pans to bake the pie and remove the top in the last half hour for browning. If it doesn't work, I have no problem browning inside with my kitchen torch.<br />
<br />
<strong>Salmon Pie</strong><br /> <br />
1 14-3/4 oz can salmon<br />
1 15 oz can diced potatoes, rinsed (or, two med potatoes, pre-cooked, peeled and diced)<br />
1 egg<br />
2 large green onion bulbs and a small amount of green stems<br />
8 or 9 medium chard leaves, chopped and lower stem removed<br />
1/4 red bell pepper, chopped<br />
6 or 7 garlic chive stems, chopped fine<br />
1 T lard<br />
1 T unsweetened butter<br />
1-1/2 T flour<br />
1-1/2 cups water or vegetable broth<br />
1/2 tsp mace<br />
1/2 tsp fennel seeds, crushed<br />
1/2 tsp salt<br />
1/8/ tsp black pepper<br />
1 tsp fresh oregano, chopped<br />
1/2 tsp fresh thyme, chopped<br />
1/8 tsp fresh rosemary, chopped</span></div>
<span xmlns="">1/4 cup white wine, optional<br />
pie crust for one topping<br />
paprika<br />
<br />
Over med-high heat in heavy skillet, saute spices until you can start to smell them, add onions and bell pepper and cook until soft; add flour and let cook until it begins to brown and then slowly add water and keep stirring to prevent lumps. A quarter cup white wine will pop it up a notch!<br />
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<span xmlns=""><br />
In large bowl, mix salmon, potatoes, and egg, together. Add herbs and greens to mixture in skillet, stir to combine, and then add salmon mixture. Remove from heat and mix thoroughly but gently. Pour into baking pan. <br />
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<span xmlns="">
Cover with pie dough and cut to fit inside baking pan. Make slits in top to allow steam to escape. Add optional decorative dough piece and make slits through design. Cover with second inverted baking pan and secure with two or three binder clips. </span></div>
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<span xmlns="">Place in SolarWear(<span style="font-size: xx-small;">tm)</span> and bake in solar oven at 275F for 1-1/2 to 2 hours. Remove top baking pan and return to oven to brown top of crust, or use kitchen torch. </span>Share with loved ones. A touch of citrus is a delicious counter to the pie; don't you think?</div>
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SharleneThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12180247939829055069noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2898345040868176726.post-29395427709529828422012-12-27T13:55:00.000-05:002012-12-27T13:55:55.194-05:00Solar-Baked Holiday Beef Pork Turkey Rolls<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-iIcc2bD6bXA/UNsmgNobhLI/AAAAAAAACX0/d2OkBSXIfc8/s1600/15-DSC00028.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="217" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-iIcc2bD6bXA/UNsmgNobhLI/AAAAAAAACX0/d2OkBSXIfc8/s320/15-DSC00028.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 1pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><w:sdtpr></w:sdtpr><w:sdt docpart="0473FDCCE0C440A49E43750BCCA1B46F" id="89512082" storeitemid="X_0B39EA89-8C2A-453B-A4A3-7C507AD524EC" text="t" title="Post Title" xpath="/ns0:BlogPostInfo/ns0:PostTitle"></w:sdt></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">
</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">I
hope you all have had a Merry Christmas because I certainly did. Made it easy
on myself, this year,</span> </span>and did a lot of early
preparation for the holiday meals. Having recipes on hand that will be just as
tasty, after frozen, as they would be prepared the same day never hurts; don’t
you think? For the Christmas Eve celebration, I wanted to bring something that
would be easy to add to buffet plates, leaving plenty of room for the other
goodies.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">
</span><o:p><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></o:p><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">
</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">My original recipe, of course, was so involved; I’d need
Post-Its® on my utensils. (This has been a lifelong pattern. First pair of knit
socks was Argyll!) By the time of execution, it had been reduced to the most
expedient method -- combining my proteins and using wonton wrappers, rather than
making a pasties dough (but, for those of you who want a traditional method, I’ve
included the recipe, below). I think I’m going to need the Spice Police in my
kitchen because nobody stopped me and I ended up with a serious list of
ingredients that just happened to turn out absolutely fabulous. Hope it doesn’t
daunt you from giving it a try.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">
</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">With a pound each of the ground beef, pork, and turkey, you
can make up to 3 dozen rolls. Both the rolls and mixture freeze well and it’s
worth making a big batch so that you have plenty on hand. Let the cooked rolls
cool completely and freeze in individual wrappers to prevent them sticking
together. They’ll also be ready for some quick lunches, too. You can always put
them in a larger container to keep them together in your freezer.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Presoak the rice for at least 30 minutes to rehydrate and
you won’t have to cook the rice before adding it to the meat mixture. If you
use regular long-grain rice, presoaking isn’t necessary.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Gently combine ground meats in a large mixing bowl or
plastic bag. Using your food processor, finely chop the mushrooms, garlic,
onion, and anchovies; add to meat mixture, along with the rest of the herbs and
spice, and mix thoroughly.</span></div>
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<o:p><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></o:p><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Brown the meat mixture over medium-high heat in a large skillet.
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">When meat is browned, add the rice and mix thoroughly.
Remove skillet from heat and allow mixture to cool.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">While mixture is cooling, soften cabbage leaves by placing
over meat mixture and cover. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">When softened, slice enough strips of cabbage and bell
pepper to have at least two of each per wonton wrapper. </span></div>
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</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Place strips almost to center of wrapper.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Add about two tablespoons of meat mixture and create roll by
bringing up corner nearest you and folding over top of meat mixture then
folding over each side. Use fingertip to add water to the wonton wrapper before
rolling it up toward the opposite point. (I use a mini-spray bottle and it
works like a charm!) Place rolls close together on baking sheet, seam side down.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Bake in solar oven until just beginning to brown, if you’re
going to freeze ahead of time. If cooking to serve, turn each roll over, return
to oven and continue to bake until browned.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">
</span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Holiday Beef Pork
Turkey Rolls<o:p></o:p></span></b><br />
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</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">1 lb.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>ground beef</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">1 lb. ground pork</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">1 lb. ground turkey</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">1 7oz can sliced mushrooms</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">2 medium bulbs garlic</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">1/2 medium onion, chopped</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">1 cans anchovies</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Juice of 1 lemon</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">1/2 tsp anise</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">2 Tablespoons fresh basil</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">1/4 tsp Black pepper</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">1/2 tsp ground cardamom</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">1/2 tsp ground cloves</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">1/4 tsp ground coriander</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">1/4 tsp ground cumin</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">1/4 tsp ground mace</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">2 Tablespoons fresh oregano</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">2 Tablespoons fresh parsley</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">1 tsp fresh rosemary</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">1 Tablespoon fresh sage</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">2 Tablespoons fresh thyme</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">1 tsp salt</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">1 cup sushi/basmati rice, uncooked and rehydrated (will be
almost 2 cups)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">5-6 Cabbage leaves, softened and cut in strips</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">1 bell pepper, sliced in strips</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">1 package large Wonton wrappers (or, pasties pastry, see
below)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Olive oil</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">
</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">DIP:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></b>2 Tablespoons Raspberry Mustard, 1/4 cup
Honey, 2 Tablespoons Balsamic Vinegar.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Pasties Roll Pastry:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></b>3 cups flour and 1 stick cold butter,
mixed together until resembles small peas; add egg yolk and mix thoroughly. Add
3-4 tablespoons cold water, as needed to make light dough that won’t stick to
fingers. Let rest in refrigerator for about an hour. Remove and roll into
6-inch circles/squares. Prepare as above and bake.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<h2>
HOLIDAY BONUS!!</h2>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Salami Rolls</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEginC9tYqxaF3bhADzsCR8qp0YdNp6VgDAPoKNSAypw-djS962bADEEt7lJqX5umBAcqf-sHcfC-urBl6CTYJZrGPsYL542JEgXls7Atw1J63Vl-7YmNuoF9Z-0z9QXsoZaebQ_AFzJkS8/s1600/12-DSC00025.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="258" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEginC9tYqxaF3bhADzsCR8qp0YdNp6VgDAPoKNSAypw-djS962bADEEt7lJqX5umBAcqf-sHcfC-urBl6CTYJZrGPsYL542JEgXls7Atw1J63Vl-7YmNuoF9Z-0z9QXsoZaebQ_AFzJkS8/s320/12-DSC00025.JPG" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">These were super-dooper easy to make and everybody loved
them. Thinly slice your favorite salami and score the backs so that they will
bend easily. Add two tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce to four ounces of
cream cheese and blend thoroughly. Using your favorite bread dough or pizza
dough, divide into smaller balls no larger than an inch. Finger-press ball into
a 1/8” thick circle. Place a dollop of the cream cheese mixture in the center
and top with a slice of the salami. Slowly ease up and pull over the dough to
seal completely and finger-press the seams. Place the roll seam side down on
your baking tray or in one of those mini cupcake pans. Bake until lightly
browned, freeze and/or serve. I served these rolls with some whole-grain
mustard and it really makes them pop.</span><o:p><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></o:p></div>
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</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Why not try these for that New Year’s get-together. They’re
great fillers that help absorb those holiday drinks! </span></div>
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<o:p><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></o:p></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">
</span>SharleneThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12180247939829055069noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2898345040868176726.post-55226266202944318912012-12-13T01:30:00.000-05:002012-12-13T01:30:04.440-05:00Solar Cooking is Slow Cooking – on SPEED!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-GR7j81ClsDE/UMDuD-eMQMI/AAAAAAAACPM/8X9mev_fVMk/s1600/1-P1010058.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><br /></div>
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-GR7j81ClsDE/UMDuD-eMQMI/AAAAAAAACPM/8X9mev_fVMk/s1600/1-P1010058.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="317" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-GR7j81ClsDE/UMDuD-eMQMI/AAAAAAAACPM/8X9mev_fVMk/s320/1-P1010058.jpg" width="320" /></a><span xmlns="">One of the benefits of having a booth at Midtown Farmers' Market on a weekly basis is discovering how to help visitors understand the limitless possibilities of using the sun's energy to prepare delicious meals -- for FREE. If they have any questions, they know where to find me. Addressing the most common question of "What's the highest temperature a solar oven can reach?" has been the hardest -- not that the cooking temperature, itself, is my problem but discovering that a number on a dial is so important to this generation. </span><span xmlns="">I started out on my grandmother's wood stove, similar to the one at the left that I found on Photobucket. (In fact, all my pix today were from Photobucket and then attached to my Blogger account so they wouldn't disappear.) My grandmother's stove was solid black but looked exactly like this reproduction. It was in the kitchen, never without a burning fire or coals, and helped her cook the most delicious meals and delicate desserts -- and, kept the house all cozy and warm! There were no dials or knobs on her stove, so I'm guessing the knobs you see 'opened' under the burners to expose the underside to more heat. As in real estate, cooking on old wood stoves had more to do with location and moving pans around. Folding the old longjohns over the door in the mornings provided a nice warm layer under your winter clothes, too.</span><br />
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So, coming from a time when most cooking was done with dial choices of "Low," "Medium," and, "High," and having worked on my grandmother's wood stove learning where the "Slow," "Moderate," and "Hot" parts were, it's hard to understand a dependence on numbers that may or may not reflect an actual temperature.
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Yf_Ry3HpNRU/UMDuDKVVTkI/AAAAAAAACPE/IcpuNKlFN9o/s1600/4-WP_002320.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Yf_Ry3HpNRU/UMDuDKVVTkI/AAAAAAAACPE/IcpuNKlFN9o/s320/4-WP_002320.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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Although older electric stove models were available, this was my first apartment stove before becoming a homeowner in the 60s. Apparently, the landlord firmly believed in the, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it," philosophy. Nothing like my mother's GE stove. Definitely a step up from the wood stove but a learning curve, nonetheless. You could move a pan from its position on a wood stove and stop the cooking. The electric stove retained heat long enough to oftentimes overcook delicate sauces and baked goods. But, we all adjusted.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIi7tlYItTDl2BJ2q-hRNLQRFD_hfHwOLeApYhITcFZGZ6xNveLdizkqmlGcZ_QTR1_IdvEfB87NTLZ3hxrvzXjiSHN5zveAeVhbht4vyp_9kDzZV8jaKe01leKTT8RRYDLzWd6JAWUKY/s1600/3-DSC_0214.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIi7tlYItTDl2BJ2q-hRNLQRFD_hfHwOLeApYhITcFZGZ6xNveLdizkqmlGcZ_QTR1_IdvEfB87NTLZ3hxrvzXjiSHN5zveAeVhbht4vyp_9kDzZV8jaKe01leKTT8RRYDLzWd6JAWUKY/s320/3-DSC_0214.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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My first stove from hubby had all these wonderful buttons -- still, WM to HI but, now, they had added numbers 2 and 3 for medium choices. As in the old days, trusting my eyes, nose, touch, and toothpick, told me when the cooking was done. Probe thermometers were added to my accessories, as cook books began to line my shelves. Even though recipes in print and on boxes might tell me what temperature to use, there were many times when either the recipes needed additional time or my oven's uniqueness required pan rotations to get things done. Here is a wonderful <a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/life/food/2012/08/bake_at_350_degrees_oven_temperature_is_uncontrollable_and_we_should_stop_trying_to_micromanage_it_.html">article</a> on how recipe temperatures came to be and, as it turns out, it was a post-WWII marketing need. <br />
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So, I entered solar cooking with little or no more expectation than having my meals cooked using a different energy source.<br />
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Today, we find hundreds of Crockpot® and slow cooker recipe books available because of the convenience and discovery of just how delicious food can be when cooked at lower temperatures. This has made my job so much easier. Now, I'm able to help my visitors understand that solar cooking is best described by imagining a Crockpot® -- on "speed!" Folks from the 60s and 70s enjoy the comparison and, if you don't get it, you might have to hit the history books for a refresher. <br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Rl20s7J6GRA/UMDuB5rIjmI/AAAAAAAACO0/MZpXpsjENtY/s1600/2-DSC05858.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Rl20s7J6GRA/UMDuB5rIjmI/AAAAAAAACO0/MZpXpsjENtY/s320/2-DSC05858.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Once my visitors know that most solar ovens (even the cardboard and tinfoil types) have a low temperature of around 200°F to 225°F and those temperatures are still higher than the national standard High of 190°F+ of a slow cooker, they become more open to the idea of solar cooking. </div>
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As an example, most slow cooker recipes give timings between 3 to 4 hours on the High setting and 8 to 12+ hours on the Low setting. If you were to prepare your foods in the same way but use a solar oven, your average recipe would be cooked in just over 1-1/2 to 3 hours at 225°F and 4 to 7 hours for denser recipes. <br />
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The majority of homemade solar oven users say that the highest temperatures reached on a regular basis are between 225°F and 275°F. Sharon Clausson, inventor of the <a href="http://solarcooking.wikia.com/wiki/Copenhagen_Solar_Cooker_Light" target="_blank">Copenhagen Solar Cooker</a>, has shown with oven thermometers that her oven often reaches temperatures of 350°F to 375°F. (And, I believe, in one instance when it was almost 475°F!) More often than not, she uses a combination of a cooking vessel inside a "ball" of glass bowls clipped together, creating an insulated oven chamber. Other cardboard and tinfoil ovens will reach varying degrees from 200°F to, in some instances, 300°F, depending upon the size and height of the oven and its reflectors. Sharon Cousins, inventor of the <a href="http://solarcooking.wikia.com/wiki/EZ-3_Solar_Cooker" target="_blank">EZ-3 Solar Cooker</a> , can alter her oven temperatures by the size of the box corner used. In all cases, however, these temperatures can only be achieved by either placing the cooking vessel inside an oven bag or enclosing the open side of the solar oven in double (for best results) oven bag layers to create the baking chamber environment.<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-TC5Sw4wAm2Y/T7ELu9PT_eI/AAAAAAAABfg/vQhELb78N0I/s1600/2012-05-12%2525252008.37.06.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-TC5Sw4wAm2Y/T7ELu9PT_eI/AAAAAAAABfg/vQhELb78N0I/s320/2012-05-12%2525252008.37.06.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Commercially-built solar ovens available today are insulated and reach very high temperatures. The Global Sun Oven® boasts a potential high of 400°F; but, as with conventional ovens, once the cooking vessel has been placed inside, the temperature drops almost 15 to 25 degrees, not returning to the higher temperature until both the food and vessel have equalized in the cooking chamber. Foods placed in a Crockpot® are heated to the full height of the food from the outside in and it isn't until the center has reached the same temperature that cooking begins. Foods in a solar oven cook from the top down but that environment is easily changed by either placing the vessel on a heated base or preheating the foods through recipe construction, hot liquids, and/or the microwave to get the process started. If you're cooking away from home, you are restricted by the environment and should expect longer cooking times. Regardless of time of year, the best solar cooking time is between ten a.m. and two p.m.<br />
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The most obvious difference between a commercially-built solar oven and a slow cooker is that solar cooking is FREE, every time. And, you know how I love that! Solar cooking is a moist environment with little, if any, evaporation. Even though you can leave food unattended in a slow cooker, most do not stop cooking until they are manually turned off or unplugged. The food can be overcooked, dry, and even burnt, as the liquid evaporates. It is very difficult to overcook or burn recipes that are solar-cooked. When the food is cooked, the temperature will drop to a warming temperature from 180°F down to 150°F until you retrieve it. I believe it's condensation that forms on the underside of the oven door when the food has been cooked that causes enough filtering of the solar rays to turn the oven into a retained heat chamber.
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This is why I don't worry about the cooking temperature in my solar oven because I know the food will be cooked at a temperature much higher than the average slow cooker. Unfortunately, it's very hard for today's conventional cook to accept that, until they've personally experienced a solar-cooked meal. In my opinion, every family should have some form of solar oven available for nourishing hot meals during long-term power outages to feed their families, to pasteurize their drinking water, and, if necessary, to sterilize utensils.
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In trying to bring solar cooking to the mainstream, my sincerest wish is for the home cook to make it an accessory appliance as opposed to an adversarial product that has to keep proving itself. Every new appliance has its own learning curve and comes with a booklet not only describing its use but includes recipes to help the consumer discover the potential. That's all I'm asking, is that you give a solar oven the same opportunity. There will be days when using the sun to cook your meals will not be feasible and my suggestion would be to use those appliances that draw 110 volts, if possible. It's all about saving money, reducing fossil fuel usage, and feeding your family healthy and nutritious meals. And, you know what? It's still the best kept secret from the mainstream cook.
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SharleneThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12180247939829055069noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2898345040868176726.post-6379526027275565032012-12-08T01:30:00.000-05:002012-12-09T10:41:58.393-05:00Tallow 2012 – Too Late Smart!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tWs0-6AwLJ8/UMCrc597KfI/AAAAAAAACOg/DhLv-iGrykA/s1600/2-DSC00029.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><br /></div>
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tWs0-6AwLJ8/UMCrc597KfI/AAAAAAAACOg/DhLv-iGrykA/s1600/2-DSC00029.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="194" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tWs0-6AwLJ8/UMCrc597KfI/AAAAAAAACOg/DhLv-iGrykA/s320/2-DSC00029.JPG" width="320" /></a><span xmlns="">An expression I've heard all my life is "too soon, old; too late, smart." Applying that to my own life has been as normal as breathing and I'm always tickled when it's SO obvious – after the fact. A perfect example is this winter's tallow rendering. Oh, yeah, 'too late, smart,' rang loud and clear in my kitchen and has only taken about 40 years (something, I never thought I'd live long enough to be able to say!). To save you the same fate, I will now share my discovery with you, although, I'm sure many others have already figured this out and only have to look forward to, 'too soon, old.'<br />
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It was time to render suet into <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tallow" target="_blank">tallow</a>. In gathering the needed equipment, I was hit with a fantastic idea – why not use oven bags to keep everything neat and tidy! "Eureka," (an old-fashioned "duh!") I said, giving my forehead a palm slap. Working with large amounts of fats can be messy and, when heated into a hot oil, very dangerous. I decided to give it a try.<br />
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Here is an example of suet from the butcher. It is taken from around the organs of venison, cattle, or sheep, and not from around the muscles. It has a creamy texture, is a soft white, and will break apart, unlike muscle fat that looks bubbly and comes off in strips. Pork suet renders into lard and poultry suet into schmaltz. You can find out more in this posting in my <a href="http://www.mainstreamsolarcooking.com/2010/03/tallow-lard-and-schmaltz-oh-my.html">primal post</a>! <br />
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If you don't have direct access to suet, most meat managers are more than happy to save/order it for you. A word of warning: make sure you find out how many pounds the manager has to order for a basic order from the supplier so you don't end up having to buy forty pounds more than you need. In the cool months, you may find that your local market has it on hand because so many people like to mix wild bird seed in suet. It not only prevents the seed from spreading all over the yard, suet is the only fat birds can digest. They come in one-pound sealed packages and cost under a dollar. Even though you may be able to cook with fresh suet, if not rendered, it will spoil and get quite nasty. Rendering and straining out the connective tissue and small bits of meat leaves you with clear tallow that will harden and last for a very long time at room temperature. Freeze or keep it in the refrigerator in an airtight container and it can last for a couple of years.<br /><br />
The most important thing to remember is that you want to reduce suet to liquid, you do not want to cook it. You need to maintain a low temperature. If your oven won't let you bake lower than 190°F, try a temperature of 200°F and keep the door opened a crack. If you don't have a solar oven, go with the slow cooker. Depending on how much suet you are working with, rendering can take anywhere from 8 to 10 hours, which is way too much energy usage, for me, and is the perfect job for the solar oven. I had 15 pounds of suet and used three pots – one in the Global Sun Oven® and two in the SolarChief® and had them in the ovens by 9:15. This amount will be enough for the next two years, as I do very little deep frying and only use tallow for sautéing. One pound should render enough tallow to last you for a month, or two.<br />
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You'll want enough cheesecloth to completely enclose the suet. If you don't have access to high grade cheesecloth, use at least three layers of the kind you can get at a craft store or the market. Lay the cheesecloth over the pot and add the suet a piece at a time so that it will take the shape of the pan. Secure by knotting or using rubber bands/string so that it doesn't come apart in the pot. <br />
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<strong>SECRET REVEALED!!!</strong><br />
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Lift the cheesecloth bag out of the pot and gently place it down so that it doesn't lose its shape. Position an opened <span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>oven bag</strong></span> (DUH!) in the pot and then place the suet bag inside, being careful not to change its shape. Twist and tie the oven bag closed. As I wasn't the least bit worried about the bag exploding at such a low temperature, I did not add flour to coat the inside. Now, go read a book or clean out the attic!<br />
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When the suet is liquid and just starting to bubble around the edges, it's time to remove it from the oven and strain your tallow into its final container. This is when the 'too late, smart' comes into play. I used tin foil to line and raise the edges of standard-sized loaf pans. The next step requires total concentration to prevent oil from squirting all over your kitchen. Using pot holders or a kitchen towel around the tied section of the oven bag, raise the oven bag just enough to allow you to pierce the BOTTOM with a sharp knife or ice pick to let the oil flow into the same pot while automatically straining through the cheesecloth. Keep the holes as close to the bottom as possible. Hot arcing oil is not fun! This will take a while and you will need to make sure those little pointy side bag edges don't sneak out of the pot. When most of the oil is in the pot, begin rotating the oven bag as much as you can to squeeze out the rest without popping the bag. Don't worry. There'll be plenty of oil for you to use. <br />
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<span style="color: red;"><strong>IMPORTANT!</strong></span> <span style="color: red;">Discard the drained oven bag and any drippings into the trash, NOT YOUR SINK DRAIN. Tallow gets hard at room temperature and will stop up your drains so, please, don't think 'just a little bit' won't matter</span>.<br />
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Slowly pour the tallow into the loaf pan and let it do its thing.<br />
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Before long, your tallow is ready for use and/or storage. There will be some oil that escaped and hardened between the foil and the pan. Have another large piece of foil ready and transfer the tallow loaf. Seal the first foil cover and then seal the second around the first. It's ready for your shelf! <br />
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The third pan of tallow was transferred into a standard fat pot (available in any housewares department) and fit perfectly. The top is not smooth because of the scrapings from the other pans. But, because even the smallest amount of tallow can make your recipes pop, I like to save every bit. Tallow will remain safe and hard at room temperature, but I prefer to keep mine in the refrigerator. <br />
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I can't believe how easy this job became by using the oven bag. (Another palm slap to the forehead!) You may wonder why it wasn't done directly in the loaf pans or fat pot. It can be, if you're rendering a pound at a time and you cut down the oven bag. You want to make sure that there is enough room above the actual suet that, when you lift your bag, the leftover suet is still below the top side edges. Why not pierce the bottom holes in the oven bag, to start? Because the oil will run up the sides and possibly overflow because of the bulk during rendering and make it very unwieldy to strain. <br />
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BUT, using the cheesecloth inside an oven bag has made tallow-making a snap! If you've checked out my first <a href="http://www.mainstreamsolarcooking.com/2010/03/tallow-lard-and-schmaltz-oh-my.html">posting</a> on rendering fats, you can see how many steps have been removed from the process. I hope you'll give it a try and share your results with us. <br />
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<br /> </span><br />SharleneThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12180247939829055069noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2898345040868176726.post-71539993937084992042012-12-03T17:08:00.000-05:002012-12-03T17:49:16.188-05:00Turkey Gizzards End Round One of Holiday Cooking<span xmlns=""></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtpAr0jCDatquK1PPeqVRXlVBbMUerWHCxDnMkNI676J-jFc3FWgOw-4g8lsXPwEnGH8KZcB_BgUWi6HhW_d81aREvl_jfTwW5GDpSjS3uU-eU7demS6f2PiR6f7iv4ZKN_-GGlXxag7Y/s1600/3-DSC00014.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtpAr0jCDatquK1PPeqVRXlVBbMUerWHCxDnMkNI676J-jFc3FWgOw-4g8lsXPwEnGH8KZcB_BgUWi6HhW_d81aREvl_jfTwW5GDpSjS3uU-eU7demS6f2PiR6f7iv4ZKN_-GGlXxag7Y/s320/3-DSC00014.JPG" width="320" /></a>Phew! This has been such a busy period and I've been terrible at posting. I apologize and hope you haven't given up on me. To make up for it, I do have a confession about something I have done these many years, though. You see, at Holiday time, I keep the turkey heart, half the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gizzard" target="_blank">gizzard</a>, and the juicy tenderloin, all to myself! Oh, yeah. I consider that one of the perks of being the cook and do not feel the least bit guilty. Just finally confessin'. Of course, when making gravy, I will add the precooked liver, other gizzard half, and some turkey neck meat to make up for the "missing" protein. Tee hee hee.<br />
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You can find any number of ways to prepare turkey gizzards online and you should try them all. But, one of my favorite ways of introducing them to folks who have been denied this tasty treat is to slice, Southern fry, and braise them. As with most tough proteins, the slower the cooking, the more tender the meat, making it the perfect candidate for the solar oven. One turkey barely gives you enough to make giblet gravy (and, feed the cook in the kitchen!), so keep your eyes open for packaged gizzards at the market. They are very economical and you should be able to pick up a pound for under three dollars. <br />
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As you know, I'm a firm believer in washing my packaged meats, regardless of how much I'm told that it's no longer necessary. Not every recipe requires slicing the gizzards but it will definitely create a tenderer treat for first-timers. Personally, I love the natural texture and braising does the job for me. Regardless of choice, whole or sliced, you will have to remove the tough membranes before dropping the gizzards into your breading mixture. I used flour, salt, pepper, basil, parsley, and garlic salt. Gizzards are not perfectly round but can still be a challenge on the cutting board, so please be very careful. One trick I use is to pierce the gizzard with a dinner fork so that my slices are even and my hands are nowhere near the knife. <br />
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<br /> Sauté in olive oil/tallow over high heat in a heavy skillet and then transfer the gizzards to your casserole dish. Add the wine, water, and butter to the skillet; bring to a high simmer while scraping the little bits and pieces into the gravy. Pour over the gizzards; cover and bake in the solar oven for one and a half hours or until all liquid is absorbed. Serve with your favorite sides. I used Basmati rice and corn because the breading mixture was very spicy and I didn't want to overwhelm my poor little taste buds.<br />
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Okay, it's official. I HATE green plates. Thought I'd take advantage of a sale and am really sorry. Just sucks the life out of a meal; don't you think?<br /><br />
I hope you'll give turkey gizzards a try because I just know you're going to like them. And, by all means, feel free to let us know what you did and give us a link to your recipe!<br />
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</span><br />SharleneThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12180247939829055069noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2898345040868176726.post-8042722425552037132012-11-19T01:30:00.000-05:002012-11-19T16:42:47.301-05:00Solar Baked Crab Chowder<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span xmlns="">Alas, the Midtown Farmers Market is closed for the winter break, but it has been a fantastic season. For our final two Saturdays, we were blessed with beautiful sunny mornings and bright blue skies as we said our goodbyes to our regular visitors. My canine friends made sure to drop by for their farewell organic doggie treat and promised to see me again in the Spring.</span><br />
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Even though the last two Saturdays were bright and sunny, I had to stop cooking because sunrise had moved to almost behind my booth. (There's nothing like solar cooking to become familiar with just how fast that old sun does move across the sky!) But, winter weather is on its way, make no mistake. As we were closing this past Saturday, the predicted cloud cover moved in over the sun and we ended up with a cloudy, rainy, weekend, as predicted. More importantly, both the Market and the 66th Annual Raleigh Christmas Parade was blessed with gorgeous weather, and the holiday season was properly launched.<br />
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Lower temperatures have begun to creep into NC and it was so cold two weeks ago that I couldn't wait to get home to make a thick hot solar-baked chowder. I knew there would only be a few hours of sun left and I probably wouldn't get anything into the solar oven until at least two o'clock but it wasn't the outside temperature that worried me. I just knew the sun would disappear over my rooftop by four o'clock, so I had to hustle and also give my oven some help. That meant making sure both my liquids and dense vegetables were zapped in the microwave to get everything up to the heat of the solar oven so there would be very little drop in temperature. <br />
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A favorite winter pot is my oval four-quart covered roaster. By spreading the contents and lowering their depth, the sun doesn't have to work as hard and the cooking time generally stays below two hours. When it was time to put the chowder in the solar oven, the temperature was 275° F. The chowder recipe is one I've been using for more than 40 years, changing ingredients on a whim, and I really can't recall the original source. But I did try to pay attention to what I was doing, this time, and the following recipe is what I used.<br />
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<strong>Solar Baked Crab Chowder</strong><br />
8 ounces chopped crab meat (canned or imitation)<br />
3/4 cup white fish, cubed, (firm not flaky -- cod, flounder, tilapia, etc.)<br />
3 ounces chopped clams (optional), reserve juice<br />
1 1/2 cups cubed white potatoes (red potatoes won't dissolve)<br />
1/2 cup kernel corn<br />
1/2 cup chopped cabbage (the firm white part, not the leaves)<br />
1 medium chopped onion<br />
2 cloves garlic, chopped (optional)<br />
1/2 cup of white wine<br />
3 tablespoons butter<br />
1 teaspoon salt<br />
1/2 teaspoon black pepper<br />
1/4 teaspoon anise<br />
1/2 teaspoon dill seeds<br />
1 teaspoon chopped parsley<br />
1 1/2 cups fish stock or water (use juices from any canned items)<br />
3/4 cup evaporated milk (whole milk or cream)<br />
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Combine all ingredients in stockpot, reserving milk until near end of cooking time. Cover and place in solar oven for approximately one and a half to two hours; remove from oven and stir in milk that has been zapped in the microwave; return to solar oven for additional heating, if necessary. Serve in bowls or mugs with a garni of parsley and/or paprika or a pat of butter and your favorite bread or crackers. This is a thick chowder. If you prefer a thinner broth, simply add more liquid. <br />
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Most of you know that I adore cabbage and always look for ways to use it in my cooking; but, if you don't feel the same, you can use celery, chard stems, bok choy, whatever, for a 'crunchy' green vegetable. It's fun to try different things and I hope you'll try my recipe. Just be as creative as you want and you can enjoy original baked chowder every week!<br />
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</span>SharleneThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12180247939829055069noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2898345040868176726.post-54541360076345943692012-11-06T01:30:00.000-05:002012-11-06T19:26:11.180-05:00Roasted Chicken Thighs and Corn on the Cob<span xmlns=""></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_SlRA_bVGnDA6hdtl_JXHa-Q6MIqZb4ZPAfGD5JSG7v7JGouLrRvZgua1ztlq7RUMXLQqyfsdqoYo-aW413MJwAkarX0POd86l2GBf44eZF3F8SOKfxm0cAPjpncNCa_0OeFgBm2usLA/s1600/1-DSC00003.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="255" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_SlRA_bVGnDA6hdtl_JXHa-Q6MIqZb4ZPAfGD5JSG7v7JGouLrRvZgua1ztlq7RUMXLQqyfsdqoYo-aW413MJwAkarX0POd86l2GBf44eZF3F8SOKfxm0cAPjpncNCa_0OeFgBm2usLA/s320/1-DSC00003.JPG" width="320" /></a>Well, we've officially entered Fall and the days are getting shorter. But, with just a little planning, there is still enough sun to bake a delicious meal. Knowing what I was going to cook the night before, the food was placed in the solar oven by 11:30 a.m. I had errands to run and came home to a cooked meal around four p.m., So, I'm not exactly sure when the actual cooking was done.</div>
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It was the middle of the week and comfort food was my goal, to help take the bite out of the air. Oh? Did I not mention that the temperature had dropped considerably, as well? It was enough to make me put my jacket in the car, let me tell you.<br />
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<strong>Roasted Chicken Thighs</strong><br />
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6 deboned chicken thighs<br />2 T olive oil<br />1 tsp salt<br />1/2 tsp black pepper<br />1 cup chicken stock<br />
1/8 tsp anise<br />1/8 tsp mace<br />1 tsp basil<br />1/8 tsp cream tartar<br />2 T flour<br />
2 cup chicken stock<br />
1/4 cup heavy cream<br />
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Preheat solar oven to 225F Use covered pan<br />
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Place olive oil, salt and pepper, in casserole rotate chicken thighs until covered. Add chicken stock, anise, mace, basil, and cream of tartar; stir to blend, cover, and place in solar oven.<br />
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When chicken is cooked through, prepare a roux with 1/2 cup chicken stock, 2 T flour, and 1/4 cup heavy cream and heat thoroughly in microwave or over med-high heat in a saucepan. Add broth from cooked chicken to finish gravy. When flour is cooked, add chicken thighs to gravy and serve.<br />
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<strong>Solar Roasted Cob Corn</strong> <br />
<br />6 ears sweet corn<br />
1/4 tsp olive oil<br />salt<br />pepper<br />
6 sheets tin foil<br />
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Place foil shiny side up on flat surface. Spread olive oil over center, add salt and pepper, roll ear in mixture, and create a sealed packet with foil. Place in a single layer on tray and bake in solar oven until done. <br /><br />
Everything turned out moist and delicious, and cooked to perfection. I can't even begin to describe the corn without becoming disgustingly rapturous. The kernels were permeated with flavor and full, tender, coming off the cob at the slightest bite. I attribute it to the slow, gentle, solar cooking, and will definitely do it, again.<br />
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Playing with the herbs and spices resulted in a new and delicious flavor . The gravy was just thick enough to serve over rice or noodles without being runny. I hope you'll give it a try.<br />
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</span><br />SharleneThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12180247939829055069noreply@blogger.com9