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.

Solar Cooking Weekend Update

Ever since I discovered that Martin doesn't like pancetta I've been toying with the idea of cooking bacon in the Sun Oven. This morning I finally gave it a try; and learned a few things in the process. First, I'm happy to report, Sun Oven bacon is delicious. Second, it takes longer to solar cook bacon than it does eggs. The bacon was frozen and I'm sure that was a factor. Before putting it in the Sun Oven I let the broiler pan preheat. To make enough room to cook the eggs and bacon together I removed the leveling tray. I used a broiler pan because I thought the bacon would cook faster if the fat drained off. In hindsight that was probably a mistake. Even though I put the bacon in the Sun Oven about five minutes before the eggs, the eggs cooked much faster. When I took the eggs out, after twenty minutes, I also moved the bacon strips into the tray of the broiling pan. I'd say it took about ten more minutes for the bacon to get crispy. I also covered the eggs this time and they came out overcooked with pale yellow yolks. I think I'll go back to cooking eggs uncovered, it's easier to tell if they're done when you can see them! I don't eat bacon often, partly because it's fattening, but mostly because I usually burn it and I hate the way it makes the house smell. The Sun Oven eliminates the latter two concerns.

On Saturday I found pork loin roast on sale. I picked it up thinking I'd use a recipe from my "Cheater BBQ" book, but when I got home I realized I was a little tired of BBQ so it was off to the internet to find a recipe that could be adapted to Sun Oven cooking. I found a few but they all had long lists of ingredients and lots of steps. For some reason I don't make loin roast very often, I usually use a shoulder roast for pulled pork or tenderloin for grilling. After giving up on the internet recipes I turned to my favorite Italian cookbook "Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking" by Marcella Hazen. I'd used one of her pork loin recipes years ago and seemed to remember liking it. The recipe is simple, pork loin, carrots, oil, wine, nutmeg, and bay leaves. It also called for two tablespoons of brandy which I didn't have so I left it out. You basically poke holes in the roast, insert carrot sticks in them, brown the meat, and braise it in the red wine. It's supposed to simmer, stovetop, at very low heat for three hours. When it's done the wine should be reduced to a syrupy sauce that is drizzled over the slice meat. She does say to turn up the heat for the last half hour if there's still a lot of liquid left. 

To solar cook the roast I browned the meat stovetop before transferring it to the Sun Oven. I wanted to keep the temperature between 200º and 250º so I did not focus it directly towards the sun. After three hours the meat was incredibly tender but it looked as if none of the wine had evaporated. I set the lid ajar and turned the Sun Oven into the sun. I could see the liquid bubble away, but it was getting late. In the end I brought the pot inside, took the roast out, and reduced the liquid on the stovetop. The meat came out so tender that it practically fell apart when I tried to slice it. Next time I'll use a little less wine and probably skip the carrots. They look impressive but don't really add much flavor. The reduced wine sauce was delicious and is definitely a keeper.

No Fail Solar Eggs

 Once again there's nothing new from the Sun Oven today. Just a batch of solar baked eggs with spinach.

 Take six room eggs at room temperature, crack them in to muffin greased muffin tins lined with fresh spinach leaves, and bake in a pre-heated Sun Oven for twenty minutes. They come out perfect every time and can be frozen for future use. Just remember to set a timer and you can't go wrong. 

A Quick Solar Lunch

It was hot and sunny and I had no idea what I was going to cook today. I was out most of the day, but I did make it home for lunch. It seemed like a good day to whip up a batch of 20 minute solar eggs. Now that I know to set the timer, they come out perfect every time. Even with the little amount of time I had, and the total lack of planning, we managed to have at least one solar cooked meal today. Dinner was leftovers.

Solar Potluck Update

Note to self: After spending eight hours in the Arizona sun at a solar potluck it is not a good idea to drive two hours to Phoenix, get up the next morning at 4:30a.m, fly to L.A., and drive back to Phoenix the following day. It's exhausting! The solar potluck part, however, was a lot of fun. I had two Sun Ovens going all day. For starters we had biscuits, eggs, banana muffins, and oatmeal coconut raspberry bars. Around noon I got a pot of chicken thighs with rice and vegetables, and a loaf of peasant bread going. At 5:00p.m. everyone brought their dishes to the picnic tables, and by 5:30 everything was gone.

Normally sitting outside in the heat is not my idea of fun, but I was so busy cooking and talking to people about solar cooking that I hardly noticed the sun beating down on me. I enjoyed myself so much that I can't wait until the solar cook-off in Bisbee, AZ in June. I only wish I'd taken more pictures. I've designated Martin as our official photographer for any future events. I tend to get so caught up in the food preparation that I forget about anything else.

Pictures can probably tell the story better than I can, so here they are:

There was a wide variety of solar cookers, many homemade, but I'd have to say the most popular was the Sun Oven.

Many people ask me how long a Sun Oven will last, this one has to be one of the first ones ever made and it's still working fine.

Here I am putting the final touches on the rice and chicken before serving it. I'm still working on perfecting the bread. The texture is still not right. The interior has improved from my first attempts, but the crust is not how I want it. It's hard to explain, but it almost seems like it's glazed and it's too crunchy. I'm not quite sure what other adjustments I can make. I'm putting it on a back burner for now. 

Oh, and just for the record, I did get something in the Sun Oven today too. Martin's favorite - Chicken with Two Lemons. It's always a good idea to stick to a tried and true dish after such a hectic few days.

Solar Cooking All Day Long

We were going to go to yard sales this morning, but opted to sleep in. It turned out to be a busy day for the Sun Oven. To start off I made a batch of pumpkin muffins. I found the recipe on epicurious.com. I chose it because not only did it call for buttermilk - I had some that was about to go off and wanted to use it up - but I had all the other ingredients on hand too. The muffins were done by mid morning. They were pretty good. Only problem is now I have leftover pumpkin that was more expensive than the buttermilk. I see a batch of pumpkin chili in the near future.

By now it was lunchtime. Martin never says no to eggs, so I put one of the muffin tins back to work. I took the picture before cooking the eggs. It's easier to see the pancetta lining that way. I remembered to set the timer and after twenty minutes in the Sun Oven they were ready.

There were still plenty of hours of sun left for what was originally the only thing I was planing on solar cooking today; BBQ Chicken thighs. Just take some boneless, skinless thighs, trim the excess fat, rub them with a BBQ spice mixture, place them in a dark pot, sprinkle them with liquid smoke, cover and cook them in the Sun Oven for an hour or so. When they're done, shred them using two forks, mix with BBQ sauce and serve. It makes a nice lighter alternative to pulled pork.

Solar Biscuits and Eggs, Take Three

It's not just out of laziness or lack of creativity that I'm making eggs and biscuits again. I need to perfect my technique. I want to make them - among other things - at the 28th annual solar potluck I'll be attending in Tucson on the 24th.

The biscuits were from Trader Joe's. They're the refrigerated in a can kind. I baked them first in the sun oven, instead of trying to bake them at the same time as the eggs like I did in the past. They were done in about 40 minutes. Mostly for their convenience factor, these are the biscuits I'll be making at the potluck. The eggs took 20 minutes and today I lined the muffin cups with pancetta and zucchini. The pancetta was yummy and I'm definitely using it for the potluck eggs, but I think I'll use spinach for the green.

More Eggs and Biscuits

Today's solar cooking project was once again eggs and biscuits. I was determined to get the eggs right this time. I like eggs for lunch; I usually have some kind of cereal for breakfast. This gave me plenty of time to bring the eggs to room temperature and preheat the Sun Oven.

Once again I put the biscuits in the Sun Oven first and let them bake for about ten minutes before the eggs. As soon as the muffin pan with the eggs went in the Sun Oven I set the timer for twenty minutes. Just having a timer going seems to keep me from getting distracted. The eggs were actually cooked to perfection after fifteen minutes. The biscuits still needed to bake a little longer, so we had the eggs with toast.

Reader Inspired Solar Easter Brunch

Thanks to the comments left by Sharlene on my post on eggs the other day, we enjoyed a nice solar cooked Easter brunch this morning. Her suggestion, to use a muffin tin to solar cook eggs that she freezes, inspired the eggs and muffins I made in the Sun Oven today. I don't have a go-to recipe for biscuits, if fact today may be the first time I've ever made them, so after browsing through a few at epicurious.com - some of them were surprisingly complicated - I decided to use a baking mix from Trader Joe's. I put the muffins in the Sun Oven about fifteen minutes before adding the eggs to give them a head start. To fit both pans in I stacked them, placing the biscuits on top of the muffin tin with the eggs, using a couple of canning jar rings to allow for air flow. Again the eggs were slightly overcooked, but that's probably because I got distracted. In the future I may just bake the biscuits first and cook the eggs while they are cooling. It would be easier to monitor the doneness of the eggs that way. I was planning on freezing the leftovers, but over the course of the day we managed to polish everything off.

Solar Eggs Sunny Side Up

After checking the hourly forecast on accuweather.com this morning - it's usually right - I decided against the meatloaf I was planning to make today. It was already a little overcast and was supposed to get worse as the day went on. Instead of taking a day off from solar cooking I took advantage of the few hours of available sun to make some breakfast for Martin.

The sun is not my preferred method for preparing eggs, unless it's at the Annual Oatman, AZ Sidewalk Egg Fry Contest. It's too hard to get them right, it seems they always come out with the yolks overcooked, probably because of the even heat in the Sun Oven's insulated cooking chamber. Also, it takes a lot longer then cooking them in a frying pan. I don't mind the additional twenty minutes it takes to solar cook things with naturally long cooking times, like meats or stews, but with eggs it's just not very practical. I tried to speed things up, without much luck, by preheating the pan. Unfortunately this morning's sun wasn't quite strong enough. The Sun Oven's temperature hovered around 200ºf. It took almost half an hour to the cook two eggs with prosciutto and the yolks were overdone. Oh well, Martin was happy to wake up to a hot breakfast. He gets up later than me and is in charge of his own morning meal which usually consists of coffee and toast.

Frittata Redoux

Another sunny day today and another frittata. I had so much fun making one on Saturday - yesterday was too cloudy for solar cooking - that I made one for our dinner's main course. I even had enough time and sun to make a big pot of split pea soup to go with it.

The ingredient of today's frittata are potatoes and fennel (sliced paper thin), leeks, spinach, and of course eggs. Martin wasn't very hungry tonight so we have enough left over to make sandwiches for tomorrow's lunch.

Solar Frittata for Lunch

Sometimes it's the improvised meals that come out the best. We're going to Cibo with friends for dinner tonight. It was a bright sunny morning. A perfect day for a nice solar cooked lunch. After foraging around in the refrigerator, I came up with some eggs, zucchini, leeks, potatoes, and some fresh mint. I figured I could use these to make a decent frittata. I started off by sauteing the leeks and the sliced zucchini in a cast iron frying pan. When they were just beginning to soften I transfered them to a bowl to cool and tossed them with some chopped mint. Then I lined the frying pan with some finely sliced potatoes using a mandolin to get them paper thin. In another bowl I beat six eggs with a little milk, some grated parmesan, salt, and pepper. I mixed the eggs and the cooled vegetables together and poured everything over the potatoes. The was a slight moment of panic when I realized I'd never put the frying pan in the Sun Oven before; luckily it fit. The result was a lovely golden brown frittata with zucchini on one side and potatoes on the other. I was hoping there'd be some leftover for us to offer our friends as an appetizer before going out, but no such luck - we polished it off in one go.

Solar Brunch

With enough food in the fridge to feed a small army I was tempted to not do any solar cooking today. Not only do I have the leftovers of a fifteen pound turkey, my cousin also brought me a huge piece of porchetta from a recent dinner party at her house.

  The sun was shining so I had to make something.

We slept in late, late enough to allow the sun to rise enough to be able to solar cook eggs for breakfast. I cracked two eggs over some leftover greens, some salt and pepper, twenty minutes in the Sun Oven, and breakfast was served. Pretty simple stuff. I had the rest of the day free and got a chance to attend an open house at the Adobe Mountain Wildlife Center.

I'm leaving early tomorrow morning, hopefully Martin has enough food to make it until I get back. Next solar cooking update will be after Thanksgiving.

Eggs with Prosciutto Sunny Side Up

The forecast today was once again partly sunny and even with three days of clouds behind me I would have had to make a trip to the grocery store to get something for dinner. I didn't want to rush off to the store first thing in the morning only to come home to a cloudy sky. Today our solar cooked meal would be lunch. Eggs and prosciutto, cooked in the Sun Oven for about twenty minutes. A little overcooked if you ask me.
Tomorrow's forecast is mostly sunny. Hopefully that means I won't have to worry about clouds.

Solar Hard Boiled Eggs

No major solar cooking projects today. With the fridge full of leftovers I thought I'd experiment a little. I've wanted to use the Sun Oven to make some hard boiled eggs ever since I learned from Paul Munsen of Sun Ovens Int. that it was possible. I found the idea of boiling an egg without water to be very intriguing. Turns out it may be the one thing that is possible to overcook in a Sun Oven. I didn't pay attention to the time when I put the eggs in the oven and then I completely forgot about them. In all I think they were in the Sun Oven for just under two hours. They came out a little on the brownish side. Paul had warned me that they would have brown spots if they were touching but mine were brown all over. They were still edible and made a nice mid-afternoon snack but I'd take them out of the oven sooner next time, assuming I remember. It's good to know that the Sun Oven is so versatile. While it's easy enough to boil an egg over a traditional stove, the Sun Oven would come in handy when camping where open flames are not allowed.

Breakfast in the Sun Oven

We left this morning for a two day vacation. I took advantage of the fact that we would be getting up a bit earlier than usual to try using the Sun Oven to make breakfast. Normally the sun is too low to start solar cooking before 9 a.m. but if you turn the Sun Oven upside down you can catch the early morning rays. I made the same thing as I did last meatless Monday, baked eggs with zucchini. I put the Sun Oven out at 7 a.m and the eggs were ready by 9 a.m. I realize that's a bit late for breakfast but it gave us time to get everything ready to go and have a hot meal before hitting the road. I'll be out of town for the next two days so my next solar cooking update will be on Thursday.

Meatless Monday Solar Egg Bake

I think the the sudden loss of my favorite cat this month is starting to catch up with me. The last time I felt like this was when I was working as an airline reservation agent and one of our planes crashed. For the first two weeks it was like being on autopilot then the shock wore off and it felt like I'd been beaten up. Exercising helped me deal with the stress of that situation and although I have to force myself to cook and update this blog it may be the one thing that's keeping me sane right now.
Not only was I not in the mood to cook anything today I also couldn't think of any appetizing vegetarian dishes for Meatless Monday. The only foods that sounded desirable were the few things that are not suitable for solar cooking. Like pasta or grilled and fried foods. This dish is loosely based on a recipe from epicurious.com but I think I made enough changes to call it my own.

Baked Eggs and Zucchini

4 slices whole wheat bread
1 tsp butter
2 tsp olive oil
1/2 small onion sliced thin
2 small zucchini sliced thin
6 eggs
2 tbs milk
salt
pepper
1/4 cup shredded white cheddar cheese

Heat oil and onions in small frying pan and cook until tender.
Spray 9x9 glass baking dish with cooking spray. Spread butter on bread slices and place them in baking dish. Top bread sliced with cooked onion. Cover with sliced zucchini. Wisk eggs, milk, salt and pepper together until frothy. Stir in cheese and pour mixture over bread and zucchini. Cover baking dish first tightly with tin foil then parchment paper. Place in Sun Oven and bake 45 minutes. Remove tin foil and parchment paper and continue baking until set, approx. 20 minutes more. Serves 4

This was surprisingly good but I would add some herbs and maybe different vegetables next time. The possible variations are almost limitless. It was ready in time for lunch and is definitely something I would make again.

Solar Huevos Rancheros

We still have plenty of leftovers from the past two days for dinner tonight so I decided to try making 100% whole wheat bread again today. After a quick trip to the store for some fresh flour I got the dough going in the bread machine. Since it wouldn't be ready to go in the sun oven for a few hours I made solar cooked Huevos Rancheros for lunch. Here's the recipe:

Huevos Rancheros - Serves 2

2 corn tortillas

4 eggs

2/3 cup refried beans

4 TBS prepared salsa (red or green)

2 tsp sour cream

salt and pepper

Put solar oven out to preheat. Spray two small dark metal pans with cooking spray. Place one corn tortilla in each pan. Divide refried beans between the two pans making room in the middle for the eggs. Put eggs in the middle of the beans. Place pans on a dark baking sheet, cover with glass lids and place in preheated oven for approx. 25 minutes. Cooking time will vary depending on oven temperature. When eggs are cooked remove from oven, top with salsa and sour cream and serve. To keep this low calorie I don't use cheese but if you like you could add some shredded cheddar about 5 minutes before the eggs are done.

Solar Lunch

Since it's almost noon and I still don't know what to make for dinner I'll use the solar oven to make some lunch today. This way I can go about my business this afternoon without worrying about clouds or wind and still get some solar cooking done.

We're having eggs and spinach for lunch. Maybe we'll go out for dinner.