Ultimate Blog Party April 1-8 An Introduction to Solar Cooking

When invited by my blogging friend Tammy of Life is Not Just Paper and Glue to join the Ultimate Blog Party 2011 hosted by the twins, Susan and Janice, I couldn't resist. It doesn't hurt to bring new followers up-to-date and so I'm taking advantage of this great opportunity. I do want to thank you.  So, you'll get to see postings you might have missed and I'll get to meet new friends -- DUH, Winning! (Oh, Lordy, I can't believe I did that!)

I've been solar cooking for the last five years, using the commercially-made Global Sun Oven(R) and using mainstream recipes. While you may have thought cooking with the sun was just for campers and the Girl/Boy Scouts, I'm here to tell you that you've been losing a lot of money not taking advantage of this great energy source. FREE is always good -- and, the meals are delicious. Here are some of my favorite posts.

In celebration of Portugal Day 2010, I made this delicious Portugese Paella. It's beautiful and fills anybody's appetite.

Are Mainstream Chefs Different?  No, not at all. To see that there is little difference between the way you're cooking, now, and adding a solar oven to your arsenal of cooking appliances, I think you'll enjoy the savings and the delicious meals.

We look just like the rest of you!

When it's cold outside and you want a nice hot soup to take the chill off, why not try making Pumpkin Soup in Its Own Bowl? It saves on plates and make a wonderful presentation; don't you think?

Do you ever feel bad because unkind things have been said about your cooking? I think reading An Honest Opinion is a Matter of Taste will help you put everything in perspective.

Oooh, I can't leave without just a little more on solar cooking -- My recipes are a mixture of original, gourmet, quick fix, slow cooking, anything that you would want to prepare for your own family, to show that there are very few limitations in using a solar oven. I wrote my cookbook, "A Month of SUNdays - Solar Cooking at Home," to specifically show how easy it is to adapt your own cooking habits to solar cooking.


I hope I've piqued your interest enough that you'll take a peek at my other posts to discover all the great meals you can make with a solar oven while saving money. And, of course, I hope you'll come back, often. Thank you, for your visit. Now, I'm off to visit you!

Stuffed Chicken Thighs, Penne Pasta & Red Bell Pepper-Tomato Sauce

There were only three thighs (oh, dear, try saying that fast, five times!) and it took some thinking but I was able to make a meal that would feed four. Well, two people having seconds, anyway. First of all, these were heavier chicken thighs than normal and weighed in at just under 3/4s of a pound, bone in. Adding penne pasta and my roasted red bell pepper-tomato-onion-okra combination from last year's garden helped complete what turned out to be a seriously delicious meal. "Oh, my's," were uttered from first to last bite. Love that sound. If you want to add chicken legs, as well, do so but only use the thighs for stuffing.  So good I've shared with the folks at Prairie Story Recipe Swap Thursday.
This takes a little more effort than most recipes, but it's well worth it. Both the sauce and the stuffing can be made the day before and will keep in the refrigerator, a day or two, until you're ready to use it. On the day of actually preparing the dish, make the penne pasta about 30 minutes before chicken thighs are finished baking in solar oven.

Solar Cooking Drops Energy Bill $760 a Year!

Well, it's that time of year, for me, again, and I'm delighted with the difference solar cooking has made in my electric bill. As you can see, I'm on a budget cycle that has been $199 a month and it's now down to $135+ a month. The high blocks in the summer are from using my pool (wow, that takes a lot of energy!)

In North Carolina, we have 272 available days for solar cooking. Does that mean I cook every day? Absolutely not; but, whenever I'm in the mood and there's available sun, I do, and that has resulted in this reduction. And, during this past year, Progress Energy swapped out my meter three times because they said it wasn't registering enough usage based on some average they use for homeowners.

Solar Creamed Beef Burger Stew in No-Knead Bread Bowl

Creamed Beef Burger, Lima Bean & Green Pea Stew in No-Knead Bread Bowl

Kind of a funky few days here and these are the months of using up all of last year's garden vegetables. With my recent schedule, I hadn't the time to bake fresh bread and, yesterday, decided I simply had to make some more No-Knead Bread. But, I wanted to try something a little different from the last batch. Why not bread bowls? That way I can combine the veggies and not worry about the 'dunkin' and 'suckin' part at the end of the meal! Just cut bite-sized pieces from the bread bowl that has already absorbed all the delicious flavors -- yes, I'm on to something. This recipe has also been entered in the Fat Camp Fridays link at Mangoes & Chutney. When it's this good, you gotta share!

I'm going to put the recipe down based on my frozen, canned, and dehydrated vegetables from last year; but, you can substitute frozen and canned items that should make it taste close to the same as mine -- although, not garden fresh.

Solar-Baked Pepperoni Lasagna - Silky Smooth

Silky Smooth Pepperoni Lasagna

Sometimes you just want an entree to melt in your mouth, yet, still have a personality that keeps you coming back for more. Well, that's what happened when I created this recipe. Didn't even have to pre-cook the lasagna noodles. How's that for a lazy approach to good eating! The trick is to go the extra mile and incorporate a creamy bechamel sauce in the layers. Served with some crusty Artisan Bread and a fine bottle of your favorite red wine, you'll be singing O Sole Mio before the night's over; I promise!

Solar Ground Beef Cup with Green Peas and Shitake Mushroom Gravy

Ground Beef Cup with Peas and Shitake Mushroom Gravy

I've finally had a chance to try out my new reversible baking pan -- you know, the one that will either bake cupcakes or create a cup for filling? (see below) Well, I'm here to tell you that it worked, just as promised, and I love the way it sent my head in 800 different directions for future entrees! (Now, that's an image for nightmares; right?)  In addition to creating some beautiful table eye-candy, these cups double as a great method of portion control. If you want more, you have to take another big cup -- and that would slow down all but the most intrepid diner.

To forewarn you, I' ve generally never trusted the protein value of ground beef, alone, and feel compelled to enhance it, whenever possible. This savory mix includes chopped pecans, blueberries, quinoa -- well, you get the idea. The finished cup results in exactly a one-half cup portion (I used my 1/4 cup ice cream scoop to dish it out) and the inside cup will hold just under 1/2 cup of veggies. Because my meat mixture is chock full of seasonings and the side dish of Creamed Sauerkraut works equally well as a counterpoint, I wanted to use peas as a calming taste (you can use your own favorite), cooled off by the raw carrot curls. Basically, I wanted to brighten up another beige landscape.

Solar Baked Pork in Curried Fruit Barbecue Sauce

Solar Baked Pork in Curried Fruit Barbecue Sauce

This is a recipe I created using the tomatoes, apples, and figs that I dehydrated last year. As I planned on using all three in my sauce, it only made sense to rehydrate them in the same dish to thoroughly combine their flavors in the rehydrating liquid. 

Baked Pork in Curried Fruit Barbecue Sauce

   12 ounces rehydrated tomatoes

     10 ounces rehydrated apples

4 ounces rehydrated figs

1/4 cup liquid from rehydrated fruit above

one medium onion, minced

1 teaspoon mild Curry powder

1/2 teaspoons instant coffee

1/2 teaspoon ground fennel

2 teaspoons yellow mustard

1 tablespoon raw sugar

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/4 teaspoon each: ground marjoram, ground oregano, and ground thyme

   (or, 1 tsp each: marjoram leaves, oregano leaves, thyme leaves, finely chopped)

1 pound pork, fat removed and cut in bite-sized pieces

optional, but oh, so, good: thinly sliced apple rings, at least three per plate

Preheat solar oven to 225°F       2-quart baking dish with cover/tin foil

Here you can see the tomatoes on the left, apples in the center, and figs on the right. Apples can take up to 45 minutes to rehydrate, tomatoes around 30, and the fig roll less than ten, so you would want to plan accordingly

Solar Baked Grapples - An Easy, Attractive, Delicious Dessert!

My sister discovered Grapples last year and jumped at the chance to bring more home, again, this year.  An interesting fruit combination that fills the kitchen with its aroma. Don't know exactly what the infusion of grape flavor does to the apple texture but, for me, the snap of the Gala or Fuji apple didn't pop as much as the originals I know and love. On the up side, they are tasty and I wanted to see what happens in the baking process. I used an apple corer and loved the spiral effect. Simply cut them down the center for serving.

Braised Lima Bean-Barley Pork (Seitan) Patties

Been taking post-op care of a dear friend for the past week and just returned. We've been promised a few more days of sunny weather before the last throes of winter weather return.  Time for home cooking!

Braised Lima Bean-Barley Pork (seitan) Patties
Seitan is nothing more than gluten separated from wheat by making a dough and rinsing it until the water runs clear, dividing the steps between kneading, rinsing, and resting in the refrigerator several hours. The end result is a stringy mass of wonderfully adaptable gluten that can be shaped into whatever mock meat you want it to be. I like the long method because I can count on the firmness and consistency of the gluten and it works very well in my processor, thank you.  But, for those of you who prefer the quick method to food preparation, I found this site, recently, that describes a faster basic recipe method, including several recipes showing how you can slice, cube, grind, however you want your mock meat shape -- in other words, it's very versatile.  And, if you want another option, I've never tried this process and would love to know your results, check out this site here.

VLOG - FAQ 1 - What Do You Do If There's No Sun?

FAQ 1:  Well, I've finally started the vlog series based on questions about solar cooking that I've received from mainstream cooks. After lots of stumbles, here's No. 1, warts and all. This better be the LAST new high-tech thingy invented before my estate matures or I'm in real trouble! Please bear in mind that my answers aren't the final word but what I've found works the best for me and what I feel would be the most helpful for you. Consider them as suggestions to get you started before your own wonderful creativity takes over!

So, without further ado, FAQ1: What do you do if there's no sun?
I'm going to send you to the YouTube video because it's just too jerky here in the blog and I would prefer a continuous video. Will have to work on that. Have a great day!