Slow Solar Roasted Lamb and Potatoes

I don't plan weekly menus. I admire those who are able to do so, but have never had much success with them. The few times I've tried I'd spend hours putting together a detailed shopping list and head out to the store, only to find that some key ingredient was out of stock. I'd find myself in a panic, trying to improvise substitutions. It took all the fun out of grocery shopping. I gave up after a couple of attempts and have learned to accept the fact that winging it works better for me.

I do have one trick that helps me avoid wasting food. When I spot something new I'd like to try I don't buy it until I've found a recipe. When I saw this boneless lamb shoulder roast at my local Fresh and Easy the other day I resisted the temptation to throw it in my cart until I could do some research. I found a recipe on epicurious.com that was easily adapted for the Sun Oven. The recipe was for a 4 pound piece of meat, that was slow cooked, at 300ºF for 5 hours; the ideal temperature for cooking in the Sun Oven. My cut was much smaller, under a pound, and it was ready in two hours. The meat was seasoned with a paste made of chopped pancetta, rosemary, and garlic. The meat was not browned before putting in the roasting pan, but you wouldn't know when you saw it on the serving platter. I think the pancetta was superfluous. I'd make it with only rosemary and garlic next time. There was enough room in the Sun Oven to bake some potatoes to go with it. It was really good and I'll definitely make it again.

If you would like to read the recipe click here.

Solar Baked Potatoes to the Rescue!

 For a brief moment I thought I was going to get a day off from solar cooking; a Facebook friend's status update this morning said something about clouds - and yes, I checked Facebook before looking out the window - but turns out he was in Seattle for the weekend, so no such luck. Uncharacteristically for me, I had no idea what I wanted for dinner and found no inspiration among the contents of my fridge and pantry. I spent most of the morning lying on the couch consulting cookbooks, but the spark just wasn't there. When 1 o'clock rolled in it was time to resort to the Solar Oven Chef's solar cooking project of last resort - baked potatoes, the one thing you can always build a meal around later.

Solar Cooking on a Mostly Cloudy Day

We get real excited about the rain in Arizona. We drop whatever it is we're doing and run to the windows to watch it. A week of rain, like this past one, is almost unheard of. It turns out it's also unwelcome. After a few days of intermittent showers and a massive storm on Thursday we had had enough. By Friday, another gray, cold, and wet day, we wanted our sun back. Today that wish was half granted. The sky was pretty much 50/50 between clouds and clear. I didn't want to risk wasting any food so I scrubbed a few russet potatoes, popped them in the Sun Oven, and called it a day.

Partly Sunny Day Good Enough for Baked Potatoes

Another day of cleaning and partly sunny weather. The morning was completely overcast and I didn't think there would be any solar cooking happening at all. The clouds broke around noon, but I was pretty sure there would be intermittent sunshine for the rest of the afternoon at best. I needed something to go with yesterday's uneaten meatloaf muffins so I tossed some potatoes in the Sun Oven. My weather forecast was correct, the sun continued to come and go throughout the afternoon, but it was enough to make some mighty tasty baked potatoes.