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.

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.

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.