Braised Short Ribs with Parsnip Mashed Potatoes

It was a pretty uneventful solar cooking day. Our local supermarket,  Sprouts, had short ribs on sale, so I picked some up yesterday. This morning I found a recipe I liked on epicurious.com that wasn't too complicated. The sky was clear with no clouds in sight. I did have to go to three stores this morning to find parsnips. I was tempted to leave them out. I'm glad I didn't. I normally don't like parsnips, but they really went well in this dish. Hurray! A new vegetable has been added to my diet. That always makes me happy.

Solar Braised Short Ribs

My favorite things to come out of a sun oven are beans and braised meats. The relatively low heat is perfect for cuts of meat like short ribs. Even though I forgot to reposition the sun oven before I went out for the afternoon, I still came home to some perfectly cooked ribs. It reminded me of a meal we had at Cafe Roka in Bisbee, AZ but for a fraction of the price. I don't know what I'm going to put in the solar oven tomorrow. Maybe it will be cloudy.