Now we're cooking! (and baking)
A generous parent at the school where I work donated the money for a solar oven for my science class. I sent away for a Sun Oven and it was delivered within a week. The students were as intrigued as I was, and I decided if it could heat up some water, we'd try brownies. The boys helped peel off the protective plastic from the reflectors, and we set it up in the sun.
Within 20 minutes the oven was over 200 degrees (it has a handy, easy-to-see thermometer), and it easily heated up a jar of water we placed inside. Since it passed the first test, we mixed the ingredients for a batch of brownies. By the time the pot was ready, the oven had reached 300 degrees, which was still less than the 350 degrees called for by the recipe. I fully expected our first attempt to be raw or otherwise inedible, and I was already preparing to analyze our results for the feedback we could learn from: less eggs, smaller pan, longer bake time....
In an hour, the brownies passed the toothpick test, so I cautiously brought the pan inside to cool. At lunchtime we sliced into the brownies, and passed out one to each of the students who helped with the preparation. They were the perfect balance (for me) between cakey and fudgy, and the kids were equally impressed! Our first attempt at solar cooking was an unqualified success! I couldn't wait to try other recipes!
Over the weekend I baked bread, cooked fish, corn on the cob, even ugali, a cornmeal staple I first encountered in Kenya.
Since then, I've made chicken by just dumping some thighs in the pot and covering them with salsa. In two hours, they were soft and exceptionally juicy. I have a meat thermometer that tells me for sure whether the chicken reached the right temperature. At school, I made this recipe with frozen chicken, and it was still done in two hours.
I saw a web page on how to make a solar cooker from a windshield shade, and I bought the materials over the weekend. The trial using a rectangular box as the base didn't work out so well, but I have a round bucket I'll try this weekend. Stay tuned!
9/26/05 This weekend Muna and I baked successfully in the windshield cooker: on Saturday we made the brownies to bring to a friend's birthday party. On Sunday we made my favorite Chipotle Chicken recipe (dump chicken and chipotle salsa in pot) and left it in the cooker for 4 hours (the chicken was right out of the freezer). This cooker cost a total of about $15. Next weekend we'll see how it does with beans!
Peter
Farrell
(650) 341-1995
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Peter
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