Some Food From our Solar Oven

[JustAPrepper]

We have a Global Sun Oven. It was one of the first things I ordered and has become #2 on my list of favorite Prepper Kitchen/Food things, preceeded only by my Pressure Canner. Now that the weather is turning I'll be using it more often and experimenting with it more. If you've never considered a Sun Oven or have but aren't sure about them or are skeptical, I thought I'd share some things I've prepared with it to show it's versatility. Solar Ovens are not dependant on air temps, you just need to have some sun. My SIL in Utah makes bread in hers in the middle of winter and says it's wonderful.

*I have no affiliation with the maker of this product. I just happened to purchase one and enjoy it...a lot!

Our very first attempt with the oven using our own fresh ground wheat...

http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh140/Julie-Girl/SOLAR%20OVEN%20COOKING/9578a2db.jpg

http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh140/Julie-Girl/SOLAR%20OVEN%20COOKING/0e2c2f46.jpg



Rice

http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh140/Julie-Girl/SOLAR%20OVEN%20COOKING/aa81a0bd.jpg

http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh140/Julie-Girl/SOLAR%20OVEN%20COOKING/9efdef52.jpg

[JustAPrepper]

Stuffed Portobello's

http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh140/Julie-Girl/SOLAR%20OVEN%20COOKING/acbfe1d1.jpg

http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh140/Julie-Girl/SOLAR%20OVEN%20COOKING/7db0bb1b.jpg

http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh140/Julie-Girl/SOLAR%20OVEN%20COOKING/e3622f7e.jpg



Berry Crumble

http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh140/Julie-Girl/SOLAR%20OVEN%20COOKING/055dda95.jpg

http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh140/Julie-Girl/SOLAR%20OVEN%20COOKING/abc67bca.jpg

[JustAPrepper]

Roasted Veggie Lasagna

http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh140/Julie-Girl/SOLAR%20OVEN%20COOKING/73e1110c.jpg

http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh140/Julie-Girl/SOLAR%20OVEN%20COOKING/388cb224.jpg


Ancho Chile/Chicken Something Or Other I whipped up

http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh140/Julie-Girl/SOLAR%20OVEN%20COOKING/4a97fb2b.jpg

[JustAPrepper]

First attempt at cooking Eggs and Grits

http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh140/Julie-Girl/SOLAR%20OVEN%20COOKING/bf606b76.jpg


Second attempt at cooking Eggs and Grits...better but still a work in progress to figure out how not to cook the yolks hard

http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh140/Julie-Girl/SOLAR%20OVEN%20COOKING/20997e17.jpg


Creamy Corn and Pasta

http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh140/Julie-Girl/SOLAR%20OVEN%20COOKING/5955bef0.jpg

[JustAPrepper]

Stuffed Poblano's over Rice

http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh140/Julie-Girl/SOLAR%20OVEN%20COOKING/cfcba4f9.jpg



Another Chile/Chicken thing I whipped up, over Rice

http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh140/Julie-Girl/SOLAR%20OVEN%20COOKING/2b46d429.jpg



Breakfast Casserole

http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh140/Julie-Girl/SOLAR%20OVEN%20COOKING/b56133d5.jpg

http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh140/Julie-Girl/SOLAR%20OVEN%20COOKING/db5611b9.jpg

[JustAPrepper]

Orange-Almond Crusted Tilapia...and Rutabaga from the garden

http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh140/Julie-Girl/SOLAR%20OVEN%20COOKING/21c17e50.jpg



Some Peach Cake Thing I ended up with. Totally not what I started out to make but after some quick adjusting what I ended up with while experimenting with Freeze Dried Peaches...

http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh140/Julie-Girl/SOLAR%20OVEN%20COOKING/cc92b343.jpg

http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh140/Julie-Girl/SOLAR%20OVEN%20COOKING/3d423a2d.jpg

[JustAPrepper]

I've also cooked soups and stews, Chicken Wings and a Pork Roast. When I did the roast I used a Remote Theremometer like this so I wouldn't have to keep opening the lid to test for doneness.

Polder 362-90 White Thermometer / Cooking Timer w/ Memory (http://www.google.com/products/catalog?q=polder+remote+thermometer&rls=com.microsoft:en-us:IE-SearchBox&oe=&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=shop&cid=1446773704555318514&sa=X&ei=PsmITsOvEKrk0QH2isnFDw&ved=0CH4Q8gIwBA#)

[bacpacker]

You are killin me. All that food looked and sounded wonderful. I need to look into getting a solar oven, they would be super useful in bad situations.

[izzyscout21]

As I look down at this really exceptionally sh*&%y offering of Burger King, I suddenly feel the urge to throw it against the wall.

[JustAPrepper]

As I look down at this really exceptionally sh*&%y offering of Burger King, I suddenly feel the urge to throw it against the wall.

That seriously made me LOL. Thanks!:cool:

[The Stig]

No kidding. That food looks fantastic.

How much do you have to alter your normal cooking perimeters (times, types of pans, etc) to accommodate for the difference between this oven and say a convection (or regular electric for that matter)?

[ladyhk13]

I have seen these and seriously thought about buying one but wasn't sure if they really worked and worth the money...ok, you sold me! I guess I'm going to have to look them back up and maybe ask for one for Christmas! The bread looked wonderful................

[JustAPrepper]

No kidding. That food looks fantastic.

How much do you have to alter your normal cooking perimeters (times, types of pans, etc) to accommodate for the difference between this oven and say a convection (or regular electric for that matter)?

This is very hard to answer. It all depends on the sun.

On average our oven will reach about 350 degrees but it has reached as high as 425 on rare occassions and sometimes will hover around the 250 mark and not go higher. If it stays that low for an extended period, depending on what I'm cooking, I'll bring the food in and and cook it on the stove to kill any bacteria.

Solar cooking requires attention. As the sun tracks across the sky you need to adjust your oven accordingly by either turning it or tilting it higher or lower depending on the sun's rays.

As for the pans, if you order the oven from an online source, spend the extra few bucks to get the cookware right off the bat. The inside of the oven is very small and many traditional cookware items won't fit. We didn't order the cookware and are finding it incredibly difficult finding things that will fit...but I've made do with a few things I had on hand. I can order the cookware but I have to pay shipping so I'm trying to avoid it by finding alternatives...save yourself some trouble...if you ever order an oven, go ahead and order the cookware that is specially made for the oven.

And don't be fooled...this is not an Easy Bake Oven...it's the real deal. I've severly burned myself more than once putting food in or taking it out. And Sunglasses are a must. If you walk up to your oven with no eye protection you will see Sun Spots for days.:cool:

[ladyhk13]

Do you still need to rotate if you place it in an area of full sun?

[Evolver]

Bumped

[Evolver]

Do you still need to rotate if you place it in an area of full sun?

Yes.

[mollypup]

I'd LOVE to have one of those ovens but I don't have the money to buy one. I've got boxes, foil, black paint, plastic and directions on how to build one but just haven't gotten around to it yet. Thanks for motivating me to get off my backside and get to work Justa! :D

[Evolver]

I'd LOVE to have one of those ovens but I don't have the money to buy one. I've got boxes, foil, black paint, plastic and directions on how to build one but just haven't gotten around to it yet. Thanks for motivating me to get off my backside and get to work Justa! :D

Here's a gift for you Molly. Just print it, cut it out and glue it to a some cardboard. So now you have an a round to it.:p

http://i572.photobucket.com/albums/ss162/xplore2c/2it.jpg

[izzyscout21]

That was prolly one of the funniest smart-ass combacks I've ever seen. ROTFLMFAO!! Oh crap, forgot to breathe...........

[Sparrow]

Can you be my wife justa?!?!?!?!!!!

[Conscious]

Fantastic work on that grub JustaPrepper.

You've got a good eye behind that camera to boot, Pics look as good as the food in them.

I'm with everyone, makes me want to get off my duff about "that solar oven project i've been thinking about".

[Evolver]

Just to add... The main key to a solar oven is the insulation. If you don't have the insulation in the main box to hold the heat all you end up with is a warmer so if your building one insulate your main boxes well. :)

[Sniper-T]

That's awesome Justa!! Do you use it year round?

Do you notice a difference in cooking time from summer to winter?

Does it work inside your house, if you have it facing a window?

How long does it take to cook a loaf of bread? Or a lasagne? Stuffed portabellos?

[mollypup]

Here's a gift for you Molly. Just print it, cut it out and glue it to a some cardboard. So now you have an a round to it.:p

http://i572.photobucket.com/albums/ss162/xplore2c/2it.jpg

Thanks Evolver! I'll print out lots with plenty to spare! :D

[JustAPrepper]

That's awesome Justa!! Do you use it year round?

Do you notice a difference in cooking time from summer to winter?

Does it work inside your house, if you have it facing a window?

How long does it take to cook a loaf of bread? Or a lasagne? Stuffed portabellos?

Thanks Sniper!

Yes, I use it pretty much year round. The only time I really don't use it is during the heat of our summer when it's almost unbearable to walk outside of the air conditioning. Standing over an oven in 100+ degree heat with 80% humidity has a really high suck factor.

There's really not much of a difference between cooking in any season. The heat is not dependant on outside temps, it's dependant on the sun. The more sun you have and if you can keep the oven tilted and rotated the right way, the higher the oven temps will go. I said earlier, my SIL in Utah bakes bread in her oven in the middle of winter and they love it.

I forget how long it takes to bake a loaf of bread. We haven't done it in a while. Seems as though it took about an hour though. All the ingredients for the lasagna were already cooked so it just needed some time to come together and for the cheese to melt. I'm guessing about a half hour. Mushrooms, pretty much the same as the lasagna. I try not to ever open the door so I have to go mostly by look and just kind of knowing how long things take in general. I also sometimes use the remote thermometer that I mentioned, I think the link to it is on the first page.

I'll be setting it up again probably in the next week or two and start doing some more experimenting. I'll keep you all posted. :)

[Sniper-T]

I'm curious as to whether or not this would be viable to me. We get some great sunny sunny days through most of our winter... but with outside temperatures reaching (and surpassing) -40F I'm wondering if it would cook or even heat up at all.

[JustAPrepper]

Sniper, with temps *that* low I would wrap the outside of the box with a blanket or something as an added layer of insulation but other than that, I can almost guarantee you it will heat up if you can keep it facing the sun. Even way down here our sun is low in the winter months so I usually have to use a different spot in the backyard when I use it so it doesn't get shaded from the house in the afternoon hours.

And here's something I found just for you...a guy in Ontario who made his own oven, I really like his design with the side opening door! A much better alternative for those of us who are vertically challenged and find it difficult to reach in and out when the panels are open. Anyway, it was a cold and windy February day. His oven hovered around the 350 mark all day and he cooked a whole chicken. It looked great! Solar Oven - First Issue - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=47rpRAA86eo)

We don't expect to use ours every single day. There will be days when it's too cloudy or raining. We just look at it as another layer to our preps and a cool thing for me to play with in the meantime. :p

[Sniper-T]

Thanks Justa...

That gives me some hope!

[Sparrow]

as i look down at this really exceptionally sh*&%y offering of burger king, i suddenly feel the urge to throw it against the wall.

lolzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

[JustAPrepper]

Wanted some Bean Burrito's/Enchilada's for dinner and decided to try them in the Solar Oven. I have a little rectangular pan that fits in the oven but it's a tight fit and I always burn myself using it so I decided to use the round pan and "stack" them. I wondered how I would get them out of the pan so I made "lifters" out of aluminum foil. I had about a cup of shredded beef and gravy left over from last night's dinner so I used that and added half a can of Enchilada Sauce to it then smeared the beans on the tortillas, drizzled with gravy mixture and topped with cheese. It was done in twenty five minutes and the lifters worked perfectly.

Beefy, Beany, Cheesy Enchilada Stacks

http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh140/Julie-Girl/SOLAR%20OVEN%20COOKING/120511BEEFANDBEANSTACK2.jpg

http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh140/Julie-Girl/SOLAR%20OVEN%20COOKING/120511BEEFANDBEANSTACK3.jpg

[bacpacker]

That looks good! I love Mexican food.

[Evolver]

It was big and tasty for sure. I was big enough for dinner last night and lunch today for the both of us. I agree Bp! I could eat Mexican food five days a week.

[Sniper-T]

That looks good! I love Mexican food.

You know what they call it in Mexico??

Food

:)

[jamesneuen]

Necro-post? Anybody been pulling their ovens out?

[ladyhk13]

Not until summer. I'll have to learn how to use it.