Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner - Three Days of Solar Cooking

 

We had to go to L.A. unexpectedly on Monday and before hitting the road I made breakfast to go. Oatmeal for myself and, because I was feeling generous, and egg sandwich for Martin. There was plenty of time to cook both while we showered and loaded up the car. I also took a few Sun Oven muffins out of the freezer for a midmorning snack. A solar cooked breakfast is at least a million times petter than drive thru.

I guess my failed chicken and rice at the Bisbee cook-off last weekend left me with a craving because that's all I could think of making today. We were both quite tired today, the L.A. trip was all work, so a one pot meal was perfect. I took a cup of brown rice, a cup of water, chopped vegetables that I had on hand - leek, carrot, cabbage and butternut squash - put the chicken thighs seasoned with salt and pepper on top and put it in the Sun Oven for about two hours. It made a complete meal with leftovers. I only wish it had come out this good for the cook-off.

And on a final note, for anyone keeping score, I did cook something last Sunday, the day after the solar cook-off in Bisbee. Once again I was pretty tired, exhausted would be a better word for it. I spent the better part of the day on the couch and it wasn't until late afternoon that I dragged myself into the kitchen to see what I could throw together. The fridge was pretty bare and time was running out. It would have to be breakfast for dinner, bacon and eggs, one of Martin's favorites.

Blown Away by the Solar Cook Off in Bisbee

  Friday morning I made myself a cup of solar cooked oatmeal and we hit the road for the three and a half hour drive to Bisbee. Why only one cup of oatmeal? Because it's the only food I know of that Martin will not eat under any circumstances. That, paired with the fact that we don't usually don't get up at the same time means at breakfast time it's every man for himself in our household.

  Bisbee is in Southeastern Arizona and if you ever get a chance to go there you're sure to have a good time. We got in at lunch time so we headed straight to Dot's Diner for a burger and sadly no pie. We wanted to stay in one of the Airstreams at the adjacent Shady Dell but they were sold out months in advance. Fortunately there are plenty of charming choices for accommodation in the area and we found a room at The Jonquil.

In the evening we watched the Bisbee Copper Kings play the Tucson Yard Dogs at Warren Ballpark, the oldest ballpark in the U.S. 

This is the third year I've attended the solar cook off in Bisbee, but the first time I've participated. It was here, two years ago that I first saw a Sun Oven and not long after I purchased one for myself. Once again I had two ovens with me, but since this was only a half day event I planned on making fewer dishes than at last month's potluck in Tucson. One oven was to be dedicated to baking. The second oven was for chicken and rice. Things did not go according to my plan.

  I got up early. Prepared the two pans of raspberry cookies, mixed the muffins, and after much debate, decided on the smaller black pot for the chicken and rice - my first mistake. Leaving the slightly larger cast iron dutch oven back at the hotel we headed out to the farmer's market where the solar cook off is held. 

  While Martin set up the Sun Ovens, I spooned the muffin batter into the pan. Once they were in the oven I turned my attention to the chicken. Not wanting to bring a raw chicken all the way from Phoenix I'd bought one at the local grocery store. It was a lot more expensive than what I'm used to, but I just assumed that was because we were in a small town. 

  When I tried to fit the darn thing in my smaller pot I realized it was a much bigger chicken than I normally buy, that explained the higher price, but there was no way I was going to get the chicken and the rice into one pot. 

  Martin had to run back to the hotel to retrieve the dutch oven. I'd have to cook them separately and wouldn't be able to start the rice until I'd finished baking the muffins and the cookies. 

  As Martin rushed off to the hotel, I headed back to check on the muffins. Only to find Valerie, the coordinator, trying to salvage what she could, my Sun Oven had blown over. Oh, that's right, I hadn't mentioned the 45 mph wind gusts. Not your ideal outdoor cooking weather. Somehow we managed to get the batter, or at least most of it, back in the muffin cups. Now I was even more behind schedule. 

  Wind is a much bigger factor in Bisbee than here in the Phoenix area and many of the local Sun Oven users have reinforced their ovens with bungee cords and now mine has been too. 

  Miraculously the muffins came out o.k. even if they didn't look too pretty. As soon as they were ready I popped in the raspberry bar cookies. The wind still had not let up and was causing problems in more way than one. No one's oven was getting past 300º even with constant refocusing. The wind was kicking up so much dust that the sun rays could not get through in full force. 

  My cookies were baking, but they were taking longer than usual. There was little chance the rice would be ready by 1 p.m. I tried anyway. I put the dutch oven with the rice in the Sun Oven around 11:30, but between the lower temperature and the heavy cast iron pot that takes longer to heat up it was nowhere near done by mealtime. At least the chicken came out o.k.

  Even with the wind and all the mishaps I had a wonderful time. The people were great and all the food was delicious. I'm already looking forward to next year. 

Solar Chicken and Chickpeas with Green Beans

This is a simply, yet satisfying chicken dish that is perfect for solar cooking. The green beans were cooked along with it, in a parchment packet that I put on top of the dutch oven towards the end of the cooking time.

Chicken with Chickpeas

1 Tbs olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1/2 tsp turmeric
6 chicken thighs, skinned
1/2 cup water
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp fresh ground black pepper
2 Tbs fresh lemon juice
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 15 oz can chickpeas, drained

Combine oil, onion and turmeric in a large dutch oven. Add chicken, turning to coat. Add water, salt, pepper, lemon juice, and garlic. Place in Sun Oven for approx. 2 hours or until chicken is tender. Mix in chickpeas and leave in Sun Oven until heated. Serve over couscous with hot sauce.

Solar Hobo Chicken

I got this recipe from the book "Cheater BBQ: Barbecue Anytime, Anywhere, in Any Weather". It's about as simple as they come. They use a crock-pot, but pretty much anything that can be made in a crock-pot can be made better in a Sun Oven. You line your pot - I used my oval black enamel roasting pan - with a large enough piece of tin foil to wrap the chicken, put the chicken in it, rub it with the spice mixture, put a quartered onion in the cavity, pour 1/4 cup of liquid smoke on it, and wrap it in the tin foil. I'm not quite sure what the tin foil is for. The book claims that skin will brown nicely but mine came out soggy. The overall flavor and texture of the bird was good, but "Chicken with Two Lemons" is still my favorite Sun Oven chicken recipe.

One Bird - Two Solar Meals

The problem - Martin likes chicken better when it's cooked on its own, without rice, but I hate to see all the cooking juices go to waste. The solution - make "Chicken with Two Lemons", serve it with roasted potatoes, save the cooking juices to make "Rice with Vegetables" the next day. And by refrigerating the chicken broth overnight you have the added advantage of being able to easily skim the fat off the top.




Rice with Vegetables

Reserved cooking juices from "Chicken with two Lemons" (about 1 1/2 cups)
1/2 cup water
1 cup short grain brown rice
1 cup cranberry beans, soaked over night and drained
1 leek, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
1/2 small green cabbage, chopped
1 cup butternut squash, chopped
1 small turnip, peeled and chopped
1 small zucchini, chopped

1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
2 Tbls fresh basil, chopped
1 Tbls olive oil

Combine cooking juices, water, rice, and chopped vegetables in a large pot. Stir to combine. Place in Sun Oven. Just before serving stir in cheese, basil, and olive oil.

All Day Solar Cooking

Take a frozen chicken. Put it in a pot with your choice of seasonings. Focus the Sun Oven to where the sun will be at noon. Go to work. Come home to a perfectly cooked chicken. I've heard Paul Munsen of Sun Ovens International say this so many times at his presentations that I repeated it when I taught a solar cooking class a few weeks ago. Problem is I've never actually done it.

Today I came close, but I used two cornish hens instead of a chicken. That's because I couldn't find a frozen chicken anywhere. Turkey, duck, even goose, and of course cornish hens - but no chicken. I guess most people buy fresh chickens and freeze them at home. My freezer is way too full of mystery items placed there many moons ago for safe keeping.

The two hens were seasoned with rosemary, garlic, and lemon. They went into the Sun Oven this morning at 8:00 and were indeed perfectly cooked when I got home for dinner as were the potatoes I cooked along with them. All I had to do was steam some broccoli and dinner was served.

Solar Dinner with a Side of Sadness

Just before I left for San Diego our foster kitties came down with the sniffles. Upper respiratory infections are all too common in shelter cats. Adult cats recover quickly with a round of antibiotics, but for a ten day old kitten it's a serious matter. While I was away the kitten stopped nursing. Martin had to feed him with an eye dropper. I took over when I got back on Sunday evening, getting up every two hours to feed the little guy.

Needless to say I was exhausted on Monday. It was a less than ideal day for solar cooking. The sky was overcast but enough sun was getting through to cast a good shadow. I didn't have the energy to go to the market. I had a butternut squash in the fridge. I cut it in half, drizzled it with some olive oil, and put it in a covered roasting pan with a little water. I figured I'd mash it up and serve it with whatever I decided to make for dinner. In the meantime I continued feeding the ailing kitten every two hours. Come dinnertime I had no desire to prepare anything to go with the squash. Martin went to Trader Joe's to pick up a couple of frozen pizzas.

This morning, after another night of getting up every two hours to care for the kitten, it was obvious that he was not doing well. We brought him to the Humane Society clinic where our fears were confirmed. It was time to let him go.

Somehow I managed to muster up the energy to get a chicken going in the Sun Oven. On days like these getting any solar cooking done is daunting enough, coming up with a new recipe is pretty much out of the question. Thankfully I can turn to the tried and true "Chicken with Two Lemons". Combined with a risotto made with yesterday's butternut squash it made a decent meal. A perfect meal would have required some kind of green vegetable and a glass of wine, but it would have been close to impossible to enjoy a perfect meal today.

R.I.P. sweet kitten

Sun Oven Chicken, Rice, and Turnip

Yesterday's corned beef was a big success. It was noticeably moister than the non solar cooked one my cousin made. I'm almost sorry there weren't any leftovers for Reuben Sandwiches.

Today's solar cooking project couldn't have been easier. I made chicken thighs on a bed of brown rice and turnips. Martin prefers chicken cooked on its own, but he wasn't home for dinner tonight and I like the convenience of a one pot meal. I didn't even make anything green to go with it.

Here's the recipe.

1 cup brown rice
1 cup water
1 turnip, peeled and cut into cubes
6 chicken thighs
Salt
Pepper

Put rice, water, and turnip into the pot. Trim excess fat from the chicken thighs and place on top of rice. Season with salt and pepper. Cover and place pot in the preheated Sun Oven. Cooking time will vary depending on the quality of the sun, how often you refocus the Sun Oven, and the type of pot used. Mine was ready in just under two hours.

More Solar Chicken

I chose a good time to send the computer to the shop. It's been cloudy and rainy since Saturday. The sun was back today but who knew how long it would last? That's one reason I chose chicken thighs; they cook up pretty fast.

I was bored with all my usual chicken recipes so it was off the epicurious.com where I found this little gem, Sweet and Sour Chicken Thighs with Carrots. I cut the recipe in half but only made one modification, no water. That just may be rule number one of solar cooking - use less liquid. Well, maybe not rule one, but it's definitely in the top ten. Oh, and I lied about the one modification. I didn't use any parsley or cilantro either. I don't like cilantro and forgot the parsley.

It was ready by 1:00 p.m. so we had it for lunch. All of it. I was hoping there'd be some left over for my dinner - it's Martin's night out - but no such luck.

Solar Cooked Chicken

It was an uneventful yet successful solar cooking day. Got up, had breakfast, put a chicken in the Sun Oven, went to work, came home, took perfectly cooked chicken out of the Sun Oven, made some potatoes and greens to go with it, had dinner. If only everything was this easy.

It's my go-to recipe,  Chicken with Two Lemons. This time I also put a few fresh sage leaves under the skin for additional flavor. I didn't really notice a difference.

Golden Brown Chicken from the Sun Oven

Today turned out to be a beautiful clear and sunny day, perfect for solar cooking, despite the forecast for partly cloudy skies. Because of that forecast I wanted to make something that could easily be transfered inside. Chicken with Two Lemons fit the bill perfectly. Today I made it without rice. I wanted to serve it with roast potatoes tonight and a risotto tomorrow. I don't think there's enough leftover for another dinner for two so I'll have to come up with a different plan. Tonight's dinner was delicious.

The days are already starting to get noticeably longer. I left the chicken in the Sun Oven until 5 p.m. It was still warm when dinner was ready. Tomorrow's forecast calls for a full day of sunshine. I may make another attempt at solar baked pane all'olio.

Another Favorite Chicken Dish from the Sun Oven

This recipe is a favorite of ours. I adapted it from Cooking Light. Ferakh bel Hummus (Chicken with Chickpeas). It's perfect for solar cooking. I don't add any water, use only chicken thighs, and, of course, after sauteing the onions move it all to the Sun Oven to simmer. I also skip shredding the chicken for easier portion control. It's great served over couscous. The unappetizing looking spots are hot sauce. I mistakenly thought they'd enhance the picture.

The Stormy Weather is over. Clear Skies Again. Solar Dinner is Served.

After three days of clouds I was ready for a good solar cooked meal. I made chicken thighs with garlic and rosemary, and root vegetables.  Our guests don't eat beef or pork so my choices are limited. I served it with a turnip risotto made with the pan juices, and some steamed kale. To think, yesterday we had a dust storm, rain, and hail and today there was hardly a cloud in the sky.

Chicken for Dinner

Chicken is probably the best way to make a good first impression with solar cooking. I made my tried and true chicken with two lemons over brown rice for our guests tonight. As usual the meat was fall off the bone tender and the rice was creamy and full of flavor. They said it was the best chicken they'd ever eaten.

Root Vegetables, Chicken Thighs, and Rice. All in One Sun Oven

 It was supposed to be cloudy and rainy again today, but when I heard the wind storm last night I knew it would blow the clouds away. Sure enough, I woke up to a clear blue sky. A perfect day for solar cooking.

 To make the most of the Sun Oven I stacked a pyrex baking dish with a mixture of root vegetables on top of a enamel roasting pan with chicken thighs and brown rice. Since I could use the lid, I covered the roasting pan with aluminum foil and parchment paper. For some reason I took everything out around 2:30 even though the oven chamber was still hot and it was no where near dinner time.

 The chicken thighs were done, but it wouldn't have hurt to leave everything else in a little longer. I always forget the more stuff you put in the Sun Oven the longer the cooking times will be. The vegetables and the rice weren't inedible, just a little under cooked. In any case, paired with some greens, it was a perfectly acceptable dinner.

Crispy BBQ Chicken Drumsticks

Almost everyone agrees that the Sun Oven makes a mean chicken. One of my favorite solar cooked meals is chicken with rice, but sometimes I miss the crispy skin of grilled chicken. I have been trying to come up with a way to keep the meat out of its own cooking juices with the hope of obtaining a nice crunch.

I decided an uncovered pan and a dry spice rub would be the best way to go. I choose drumsticks because they would cook faster, averting any risk of the skin burning before the meat was ready.  After rubbing the drumsticks with the spice mix I placed them in a dark roasting pan with a broiler insert. I put them in the Sun Oven just before 10:00 a.m. and left for my dentist appointment.

I'd like to be able to tell you the I got the desired result, crispy skin and moist meat, but the dentist put me on a liquid diet for twenty four hours and when I got home I was in too much pain to even think about ignoring his instructions. The skin felt crispy to touch, and a few hours and a couple of pain pills later I tried one. It was cold by then and the skin had lost any crispiness it might have had, but the meat was moist and delicious.

I'll file this recipe away for super bowl Sunday.

Late Start

Gone are the summer days when I could spend the better part of the morning browsing recipes in search of my next meal. I was doing that this morning, with little success, when I realized it was getting late. Having had no luck finding anything new and exciting I settled for chicken and rice with a side of root vegetables. I've made this before, but a never-been-done-before dish was just not going to happen today.
I wanted the vegetables - rutabagas, parsnips, and turnips - to be more roasted than steamed so I used two pans. I've done this before and it works, but considering my late start, this was probably not a good choice today. While it's possible to cook more than one thing at a time in the Sun Oven it does increase the cooking time, something I was quickly running out of. I guess I just have to come to terms with winter's limited cooking hours. It was past noon by the time I got everything into the Sun Oven. This just did not leave enough hours of effective sunlight to get the job done. The vegetables were o.k, but I had to pop the chicken and rice in the indoor oven for about twenty minutes to finish it. During these shorter days, when the sun is lower in the sky, the window for solar cooking seems to be from ten to two.
After a day like today you'd think I'd learned my lesson and get organized the night before, but I still have no idea what to put in the Sun Oven tomorrow. Whatever it turns out to be, it's going in earlier.

The pictures show how I got both pots in the Sun Oven. The towel is to prevent the tin foil from deflecting the heat. This method really does work. I've used it several times. I just started too late today.

Left Out In The Sun

This morning I got a chance to follow my own advice. I've said over and over that you can put a frozen chicken in the Sun Oven in the morning, focus it in the direction of the midday sun, and come home to find it ready. I never mention that I've never actually done that. Well, today I came close. It was my first day of volunteering at the Arizona Humane Society and I had to be there at eight a.m. I'd be home by one, but had a busy afternoon so I wanted to get something going. Yesterday was cloudy and the temperature here dropped twenty degrees overnight, I had no idea what kind of day was in store. The lower temperature was not a concern, that would not affect the solar cooking, but I couldn't tell if there were clouds on the horizon.  I set my solar oven up before the sun had fully risen and hoped for the best.
I used an idea that I got from one of my readers and made chicken breast with pasta sauce. She uses partially frozen chicken and cuts it into pieces before putting in it in the pot with the sauce. I left the breasts whole. I really didn't have a choice. I forgot to take them out of the freezer last night so they were frozen solid. She also puts cheese on top. I have to weigh in at Weight Watchers tomorrow so I did without.
Once I got to the Humane Society I was so busy washing surgical tools, helping out in the spay and neuter clinic, that I completely forgot about the Sun Oven. At one point, when I noticed there were no windows in the room, I considered stepping outside to check on the weather, but didn't bother. Either it was sunny or it wasn't and my food would cook or it wouldn't. I'd find out when I got home. Well, I did come home to find it ready. At dinnertime I tossed it with some pasta and enjoyed a no fuss meal.

Turkey, Ribs, Chicken, Bread and More...

Today was an amazing day of solar cooking. I was invited to an emergency preparedness fair by a local Sun Oven dealer. We couldn't have asked for better weather. Without a cloud in the sky and record high temperatures the multiple Sun Ovens were cranking out food like crazy. I made my signature Chicken with Two Lemons over Rice and baked two loaves of bread. Terry, who invited me to the fair, made cinnamon rolls, bread sticks, baby back ribs and roasted a thirteen pound turkey. Everything was devoured so fast I didn't even get a chance to take pictures, especially since I was doing my part to sample the fruits of our labor. The turkey, of course, drew the most attention. It was fully cooked in four hours, but we left it in for five, and it was moist and delicious. Unlike with a conventional oven where overcooking would dry the meat out, the additional roasting time made it juicier. I will definitely be solar roasting my Thanksgiving day bird, but what impressed me most were the ribs. I always thought ribs were hard to cook but all Terry did was season them with salt and pepper. After two hours in the Sun Oven they were fall off the bone tender. These will probably be on the menu of my next get together with friends. I really hope we achieved our goal of encouraging more people to cook with the sun. I'd love to have a few more solar chefs to exchange recipes with.

A Last Minute Change of Plans

One of the reasons I don't make a weekly menu is that every time I have done so, the grocery store would inevitably be out of some of the essential ingredients on my list. Today I had one thing planned, red lentil soup, so you can imagine my disappointment when I discovered that was the only empty bin in the bulk food section at the store. It was already mid morning and with little time to come up with an alternate meal plan I fell back on something I've already made - slow cooked chicken with salsa. This time I used boneless, skinless thighs instead of breast and in my opinion it's much better. The superior flavor and moistness of the thighs make it well worth the the additional calories. We used it to make soft tacos. I must admit, when in a pinch there is nothing easier for solar cooking than this dish. Chicken + a jar of salsa + tortillas = dinner.