Make Ahead Solar Beef Stew

Beef stew is always better on the second day. We weren't eating at home tonight so I took advantage of the sun to make a batch for tomorrow's dinner. Tomorrow I'll steam some carrots to mix into it along with some frozen peas. I use a recipe from epicurious.com - Hearty Beef Stew with Green Peas and Carrots - I just adjust the quantities according to how much meat I'm using.

I browned the meat and sauteed the onions on the stove before putting the cast iron pot in the Sun Oven. When I use a heavy cast iron pot for solar cooking I like to start on the stove so it's already hot when you put it in the Sun Oven. If you start with a cold pot your cooking time will be longer by about twenty minutes.

I had a busy day today. I put the stew in the Sun Oven before going out around ten. Martin was home to do the refocusing. When I got home around three the meat was tender and smelled delicious. I'm looking forward to dinner tomorrow.