December 2010 Toast to You!

Goodness! Wasn't Christmas Just a Few Weeks Ago?
A little late in my toasting, dear followers, although, I'm not apologizing. We're all busy and you've been wonderful. eReader cover sales have been great, and there's still time for those of you who haven't gotten one for yourself or a loved one.

Like you, I've been busy baking, crafting, wrapping presents, and getting ready to put up the tree. But, I don't want to miss thanking you for being there for me or forget to welcome all the newcomers!

My Toast to You!

The season brings us joyful memories, 

Through cards from family and friends.

Each produces that special moment

Of gatherings that have been.

It's a time to count our blessings,

And remember those who wait above.

A time to wish the happiest of holidays, 

To you and those you love.

It's My SITS Day! Welcome, SITStahs! Happy Holidays!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS! -- My "Decorating for Christmas on a $15 Budget," free e-book gift to you has been extended through the Holidays! Obviously, my SITS day has passed but for all of you who continue to visit, simply follow the directions at the end of this posting and you will receive your own FREE copy, either as an e-book or in the .pdf version for those of you who use gmail.com. 

Today is my SITs Day! If you haven't heard about SITS, please check out their site. It's one of those super-special support sites that dedicates itself to helping more than 6,000 female bloggers find each other. Do yourself a favor and visit them if you want to find a way to build up your site, link together, and forge new friendships that make blogging such an exciting journey!

SITStahs

Now, if you've never been here to my site, before, welcome to a whole new experience in ways to make delicious meals and reduce your energy bills. Francesca (a really cool SITStah!) asked for a how-to article for the holidays and I decided to offer you my FREE ebook on Decorating for Christmas on a $15 Budget that used to be available on an older web site.  Before we switch over to the book info, I just wanted to say that I could go on all day about the benefits of solar cooking -- to the earth and your pocketbook -- but it's probably easier to let you browse my site and let it speak for itself! I hope you'll find it intriguing enough to want to incorporate it into your own cooking arsenal to create delicious meals for your family and put money in your pocket! But, now on to your FREE holiday gift!



FREE e-Book

 Happy Holidays from Creative Handz -- the crafty side of Solar Cooking at Home for Mainstream Cooks!

Solar Winter Cooking is All in the Timing

Winter Solar Cooked Meals Need Timing
For new followers, I'm updating an older post to help with using a solar oven during the colder months. On a sunny day, the outside temperature doesn't matter; but, what time you begin to solar cook does matter. If you've prepared your meal the night before, as you would for a slow cooker, placing your meal in the solar oven before going to work, no problem; you'll have a wonderful meal waiting for you.

But, same-day preparation means you'll need to plan on using the best winter times for solar cooking -- between 10:00am and 2:00pm.  This meal was actually cooked between 1:00pm and 4:30pm, but that was with full access to the sun. A meal started after 2:00pm would probably require finishing up in the conventional oven.

This 1.5-pound package of pork loin was removed from the freezer and defrosted in the microwave. A loaf pan was lined with sliced onions, the pork loin placed over them, then spices, more onions, some raisins, and the whole thing was sealed in an oven bag. For my side dish, I used a packaged mix of scalloped potatoes and put all those ingredients in a second loaf pan. Both were placed in their own SolarWear(tm) Carriers and into the sun oven by 1:15pm.

Solar Penne Pasta, November Harvest, and Iron Foodie Follow-up

Solar Penne Pasta Casserole

Around the holidays, it's hard to get everything done and, knowing there's gonna be a never-stop-eating meal on Thanksgiving, we're catching meals on the fly, here. Had some left over roasted chicken that served as the protein in this casserole. We've been having some unusually sunny days for this time of year and I've been keeping the solar oven busy with drying herbs, roasting veggies for storage, and dinners. This little casserole, along with some toasted garlic bread, really hit the spot.

Pumpkin Soup in Its Own Bowl - Redoux - Solar Cooked

It's almost Thanksgiving and pumpkin soup is always great as a side dish -- especially when served in its own bowl! Up to my elbows with holiday crafting, I decided to repost this old blog that so many new followers haven't seen, as yet. It's a great presentation and very festive. Enjoy.

Pumpkin Soup In Its Shell Recipe in the Solar Oven

Fall weather means football, hockey, Halloween, Thanksgiving, and -- Pumpkin Soup in Its Shell.  With a God-given container, why not use it to serve your family as well as decorate your dinner table?  Solar cooking fills the bill with my Pumpkin Soup in its Shell Recipe.  Using your solar oven for slow cooking will guarantee a good solid pumpkin soup bowl and a way to keep it nice and hot until serving time. I like to use the mini-pumpkins so each diner has their own bowl.

Because of its bowl-like shape, many mini-pumpkins can hold up to four cups of liquid. That's a lot of pumpkin soup for anyone! Fill them to just a tad above the widest part of the pumpkin waist and let your guests decide if they want more. For this recipe, I used fairly large mini-pumpkins -- at least 10 inches round -- but there are plenty of smaller ones available that would be just perfect for an 8-ounce serving.  And, remember, anything you can do in a conventional oven, you can do with a solar oven.

Solar-Baked Tuna Cakes with Lemon Sauce

Solar-Baked Tuna Cakes, Brown Rice and Corn

Tuna Cakes With Lemon Sauce

Years ago, I fell in love with chunk light tuna canned in water, not oil. This economical recipe works, either way, and it's simply a personal preference. While I adore fresh tuna steaks, canned tuna works better, for me, if it isn't quite so, well, canned, in taste. These turned out delish, with a nice crispy top and bottom and lots of good-eating, in between. Served with brown rice and corn, this was a meal that was easy to prepare and easy on the pocketbook!



Large-Sized Muffin Tin Makes Light Work of Tuna Cakes
It's not the easiest thing in the world to crisp up canned meat or fish cakes, without cooking them through, because you're basically working with a "pre-cooked" item. I try to avoid frying in oils, whenever possible,

Check Out Hotpants's Eight Answers on Rockin' Reflections!

In trying to keep this blog separate from general blogging, I've put The Mom Chef's Pay It Forward Tagging post and my eight questions on Rockin' Reflections. Even though I have picked seven of my favorite bloggers to answer, I didn't put any pressure on them for instant responses.

Isn't she beautiful!

So, my first blogger to check in was Hotpants(tm) from Handbags and Handguns, and she's done a great job! The answers are wonderful.  Please check it out, then visit her fantastic site, come back and let us know what you like the most about her blog. Don't forget the comment love!

November Toast - A Time for Cheer

November Toast - A Time for Cheer

The year has flown by and so many new friends have become a part of my life. It's so exciting to visit their sites for new postings and then have them visit mine. It's hard to imagine how much the Internet has changed the way we seniors face our less active years. We have found friends from all over the world who share our interests, halve our sorrows, and double our joys, because we are able to touch each other even beyond the ways of the old kaffeklatch.

Blogging opens our hearts even more than the spoken word. Is it because the quiet tapping of the keys makes us feel as though we are sharing secrets? Does saying some things out loud make the reality too harsh? I don't know the answer but I do know that we have created a supportive world that was unknown just 20 years ago and is commonplace among the young. So, to you, my new-found friends:

Though miles prevent a warm embrace;
And avatars may hide your face.
You're not alone; how can you be?
The Internet has set you free.
And, 'though we've met in a world so new; 
Joy and Love, my friends, to all of you! 

Iron Foodie Contest! from Foodie Blogroll and Marx Foods

An Iron Foodie Contest from Foodie Blogroll and Marx Foods

25 Challengers - 25 Recipes - 3 Secret Ingredients - 1 Grand Prize Winner

Some of you may remember my winning original recipe using three random ingredients of champagne, mushrooms, and oranges here chosen by the previous winner of the The Royal Foodie Joust. There have been other contests, since then, but I've been busy and they've been revamping their site. Well, this Iron Foodie Contest is too irresistible, for me, because the winner gets a $200 certificate to spend at Marx Foods, which is just too good a prize to not participate. If you haven't visited the Marx Foods site, be prepared to drool! It's filled with wonderful gourmet foods from all over the world and they will be supplying eight mystery ingredients for contestants to use in original recipes. Three must be used in the recipe and the other five are gifts for entering the contest. There will only be 25 contestants chosen from entries based on

The Mom Chef's Pay It Forward Tagging Assignment Done!

The Mom Chef's Pay It Forward Tagging Did Me In

It all started with Chrisiane, The Mom Chef, when she got tagged with a list of eight questions and she decided to turn around and torture we innocent followers! Well, I did my assignment but posted on my other blog because I'm trying to limit this one to solar cooking, primarily.  Imagine my surprise to discover no one knows about my other blog -- at all!

Well, that's because I'm a dumb bunny! My other blog just won't show up on this one (even in my profile) because it's under a different, older, email address. So, I've given it a widget over there on the right and here in this post because I just know you'll want to find out if you've been selected as the next torturee.

Head on over to Rockin' Chair Reflections to get a glimpse. There are almost no pictures over there, just a bunch of this and that.  Enjoy.