The Solar Oven Challenge

Kris · July 24, 2009 at 5:25 pm

Count me in. I just got my solar oven this week and it has not been opened.

matthiasj · July 24, 2009 at 6:16 pm

Those dishes looks great. Everyone should have a solar oven.

Judy · July 24, 2009 at 11:48 pm

I got my solar oven a couple of months ago and finally used it last Tuesday. I will take on the solar oven challenge and cook all of my weekend food with the sun! Good challenge!

Jan · July 25, 2009 at 1:57 am

I am getting ready to leave on a trip, so I don’t have time to try my solar oven right now. But I do have a question. I read that you can make ice at night in a solar oven. I am wondering if you know how to do this and if you could post something about that in one of your blogs? Maybe it could even be one of your solar oven challenges.

Jan

stacy · July 25, 2009 at 5:24 am

I’m up for the challenge. I have a Tulsi hybrid that I’ve used for a little over a year…a.lot during the summer but, not as often as I should. You really have to preare ahead of time. I probably won’t be able to cook tomorrow since we will be out a lot, but should be able to on Sunday.

Jenny · July 26, 2009 at 5:32 pm

I am presently disabled and trying to gather preparedness info as best I can. I feel overwhelmed with all the info out there so I truly appreciate your blog!
Can you please advise me as to what non-electrical appliances I could use for cooking and lighting in the event of an emergency?
I live in a small apt with no balcony so I am limited in the types of fuels I can use to cook and light if I had to shelter in place…

Thank you for any help you can extend and many blessings,

Kellene · July 26, 2009 at 10:37 pm

You all need to let us know how it turns out!!

Kellene · July 26, 2009 at 10:38 pm

i’d recommend getting something similiar to a Joy Cook stove that uses butane. Butane is one of the few fuels you can use indoors. Between my butane stove and my pressure cooker, I’ve been able to cook 3 meals a day for 3 weeks on one can of butane.

Kellene · July 26, 2009 at 10:41 pm

Jan, check out the end of this link. This professor talks about how he and his students accomplished this. I’m not yet familiar with it though. http://www.solarcooking.org/plans/funnel.htm

stacy · July 27, 2009 at 12:27 am

Today I made rice and a peach cobbler for part of our meal. This is the second time I’ve done rice and both times they were sticky. Any ideas about how to make it turn out drier?
I blogged about it here:
http://lifeonarollercoaster-stacy.blogspot.com/2009/07/solar-cooker-challenge.html

Kellene · July 27, 2009 at 2:23 pm

rice and pasta aren’t my favorite to do in the solar oven on their own. I usually do them as a part of a dish. However, the trick I did learn is to heat the rice up separately in one pan, the water in another, and then when they are both good and hot, mix them together. I do pasta the same way. I’m not sure why the cobbler would turn out less than stellar for you. When you do baked goods, I know that it’s important to pre-heat the solar ovens first.

Emily · July 27, 2009 at 8:48 pm

We just ordered our solar oven along with an optional reflector today. I’m eager to get proficient at this method of cooking and intend to give the oven some good use once it arrives. Now I need a good solar oven cookbook…!

Kellene · July 27, 2009 at 9:05 pm

Emily, you don’t really need a special cookbook because everything you can do in your regular oven you can do in the solar oven. The only thing you need to remember is that each time you open the oven door, you’re losing about 15 to 20 minutes of your cook time as the oven gets back up to heat. Such is really relevant when you’re doing baked goods. Enjoy!!!

solarchick · July 30, 2009 at 8:20 pm

So, how did the two-day solar cooking extravaganza go? Here’s a suggestion for cooking rice in the solar oven…try using about 1/4 less water. Repositioning the oven every 30 minutes or so to follow the sun will also help keep the oven hot and allow foods to cook faster.

stacy · July 31, 2009 at 10:58 pm

I have to admit I was a slacker…I didn’t get around to doing the second day. But, I’m going to try rice again this weekend and will let you know how it turns out.

ak · August 10, 2009 at 3:01 am

My husband and I took the solar challenge this week (after discovering this terrific website a few days ago). We purchased a Tulsi-hybrid solar oven quite a while ago but had not even removed it from the box, so thought what a perfect opportunity to get to know our solar oven. One of the dishes we tried was cooking rice and also experienced the sticky less-than-ideal texture however with added butter, salt and pepper, it was slightly improved. According to the included instructions/recipes, rice and water are combined then placed in the preheated solar oven. Next time I try cooking rice, I plan to first boil the water in the solar oven, with salt and oil, then add the rice. I believe it may improve the overall texture. Otherwise, our experience this weekend was fantastic. We cooked chicken, steak, pork roast, potatoes and onions, and fresh green beans. Thanks for this challenge! We look forward to accepting the other challenges posted.
Thanks.
Andra

Kellene · August 10, 2009 at 2:43 pm

SO glad to hear that!!

Shirley Paslay · March 9, 2013 at 9:19 pm

Another thing to remember, is to have your cheese covered and not on top during cookung, but add it right at the end and let it sit for a few moments to melt. Coojing it on top, dries it out to shoe leather. So covered or added at the end on top only for a few minutes.