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.

An Unmonitored Sun Oven

No new recipe today. Just a big pot of Pumpkin Chili Mexicana, but it is the first day since starting my blog that I left the Sun Oven unattended for so long. We left the house at 9:30 a.m. and did not get back until well after sundown. I had done most of the prep work last night, so this morning all I had to do was brown the meat before putting the pot in the Sun Oven focused towards the midday sun. When we got home it was too dark to see the temperature, but when I took the pot out it was still a little warm. Five minutes on the stove, a loaf of bread that we picked up on the way home, and dinner was ready. We have another long day coming up on Thursday so I'll be putting remote solar cooking to the test again.

Meatless Monday Pumpkin Curry

It turns out it was a very good thing I didn't take my Sun Oven with me to L.A. Between the thick fog that rolled in on Thursday and the fact that we were so busy working that we didn't even get a chance to go for a walk on the beach that was half a block away, I wouldn't have been able to use it at all. We left much later than expected on Sunday and didn't make it home until two a.m. I was afraid I wouldn't get any solar cooking done today so I was overjoyed this morning to find a recipe using ingredients that I mostly had on hand.  I substituted butternut squash for the pumpkin, somehow the one in the fridge hadn't rotted yet, and I only had to go to the store for the spinach and apple. This worked out great because they didn't need to be added until the last ten minutes of cooking, giving me plenty of time to get the dish started. Paired with some brown rice it made a complete meal with very little fuss. I found the recipe on allrecipes.com. Here's the link: Pumpkin Curry with Lentils and Apples.

A Day of Solar Baking

The Sun Oven was very busy today. I made two pizzas, a focaccia and a pumpkin cake. To make my part of the job easy I used purchased pizza dough and a cake mix from Canterbury Naturals.  I couldn't decide if I wanted tomatoes or eggplant on the focaccia so I did both. A drizzle of olive oil, a sprinkle of salt, pop it in the pre-heated Sun Oven and you're done. It was a beautiful sunny day and keeping the temperature at 350º was a cinch.
Tomorrow we're taking the Sun Oven on a camping trip. I won't be able to update my blog until we get back but I promise to take pictures.

Solar Pumpkin Chili Mexicana

I got this recipe from Weight Watchers. It's a favorite in our house for many reasons. First, it's only two points per serving. I'm not sure what that translates to in calories but I'd say less than 200. Second, it makes a massive pot of chili. Even Martin can't finish it off in one sitting. There's more than enough for one meal. Third, unless you tell them, nobody would guess that it has pumpkin in it. And finally it can be served over pasta, a potato or with a slice of good bread so there is room for variety. I got it in the sun oven early today and it was ready by lunchtime. We had it for lunch and dinner with enough left over for one more meal. There's a recipe on allrecipes.com that is almost identical to the Weight Watchers version. The only modification is cooking spray instead of vegetable oil. I also substitute chipotle peppers in adobo sauce for the chili powder. I think it's even better when it's made in a solar oven.