Sun Roasted Butternut Squash

Roasted butternut squash is one of my favorite side dishes. We had some leftover lentil stew from Monday - when it was to cloudy to cook outside - and a squash in the fridge that needed cooking. Put the two together and you get a nice meal. To roast the squash just cut it in half, remove the seeds, slice, spread out in a glass baking dish, add a drizzle of olive oil, a little kosher salt, place in the Sun Oven, and enjoy.

Solar Vegetarian Delights

O.k., delights might be a little bit of an exaggeration but with very little work and a nice sunny day I was able to put together a pretty good vegetarian dinner. I was craving roasted vegetables, especially butternut squash and rutabagas. Luckily I had both in the fridge so I peeled them, sliced them up, seasoned them with olive oil and kosher salt, and spread them out on two baking trays that I could fit in the Sun Oven by stacking one on the other. On a whim I tossed a leek in too. After about an hour in the Sun Oven the veggies were looking pretty good. It was still early in the day, about two to be exact, and there was plenty of remaining hours of sunshine. I got to thinking that as tasty as the roasted vegetable looked, I'd probably be hungry for a little more than that come dinnertime. So I got out my two, trusty, red pots for some brown rice and lentils. After the lentils had softened I flavored them with some leftover tomato pasta sauce I had in the fridge. It was a simple meal, but satisfying nonetheless.

Solar Roasted Butternut Squash

It's hard to be a creative solar cook when the weather is so unpredictable. This morning it was overcast and the radio said there was a sixty percent chance of rain. I really didn't think there would be any solar cooking happening at all. That left me unprepared when the clouds disappeared just before I had to go to work in the afternoon. I barely had enough time to slice up some butternut squash and toss it in the Sun Oven. It went very well with the split pea soup left over from Sunday. Hopefully the weather will go back to normal soon - normal in Arizona means sun, sun, and more sun - and I'll be able to create some fun, new, solar dishes.