Are you tired of writing big checks to the electric and gas companies? I have found a way to reduce those bills by using the sun for most of my cooking. The electric stove and outdoor gas grill just sit there, seldom needing to be cleaned.
Living in the desert requires adapting to the intense sunshine. A primary strategy is to avoid the sun as much as possible. That is not easy to do in the Big Bend area.
Desert animals seek out burrows or shade during the day and spend the nights roaming about looking for food. Big Bend residents have adapted to the intense sunshine by using hats, vehicles for travel, and staying in the shade as much as possible. Why not use the sun to improve our lives?
Last spring, while browsing on eBay, I found and bid on a solar oven. I secretly hoped I would not win the item, but I did. Upon first inspection when it arrived, it seemed well built and was portable. Included were directions for how to prepare whole wheat bread, millet cake, beans, potatoes, onions, sweet corn, chicken, meat, fish, vegetables, and cheeseburger pie, whatever that is. It seemed that you could cook just about anything in the solar oven. I was skeptical yet optimistic.
The oven sat in the shed for several weeks. Every time I was in the shed I felt that I had wasted lots of money. Finally, I decided to bring it out into the light of day. I’m not sure what motivated me to drag it out for a test. The dinner menu featured whole roast chicken, and I thought using the solar oven would be a good initial test.
Following directions, I set the oven on a table in the back yard, set it up facing the right way, and opened the reflectors. Within 20 minutes the oven thermometer had reached 325 degrees. Amazed, I went into the kitchen and prepared the bird. A dark colored covered pan was included with the oven, so in went the bird. As I carried the pan outside I passed the electric stove and smiled.
Using oven mitts (note the temperature gauge which had read 325 when I went into the house was now pushing 350 degrees), I opened the tempered glass door and put the pot in. I closed the door and noted the time. Then I just stood there staring at the pot in the box. Not a sound except cooing doves – a good sign.
My wife came home and smelled chicken as she rode her bike into the yard. She saw the oven and was a bit skeptical. (Later, when I went into the house, I noticed the phone book’s yellow pages open to the “P” page. Podiatrist? Likely not. Picture Frame Dealers? Nope. Pizza! Yes. That was it. The woman either had little faith or a contingency plan. She is smarter than me, by the way.)
At the one-hour mark I opened the oven and lifted the lid on the pot. Steam rushed out, and it actually looked like a chicken that was actually cooking. I secured everything and went back into the kitchen to prepare a salad. My plan was to remove the chicken at the two-hour mark, figuring it would be done then. I contemplated pre-heating the oven “just in case” but decided not to as that would show a lack of confidence.
Since the oven entered my life it has cooked rice, barley, chicken, vegetables, baked countless loaves of bread, pot roast, pork roast, baked potatoes, yams, bulgur and a few other dishes I don’t remember. It is easy to use and only needs to be adjusted towards the sun once an hour or so depending on the temperature you need to maintain. One day I needed to fire up the stove to finish a meal because clouds moved in. Partly cloudy days are no problem.
Summer is a great time to use the solar oven: who wants to heat up a kitchen preparing dinner? Winter is no problem as even on a 40-degree day the temperature easily reaches over 300 degrees. Food stays moister in a solar oven and tastes better.
I learned about cooking from my Italian uncle, who loved to cook. He would keep his dinner guests waiting while plying them with cheap red wine. Periodically, he would taste the food and would make a big issue over how delicious it was – but still “not quite done.” He would always smile at that point. “More wine?” he would ask his guests. When his guests became weak from hunger and had a wine buzz, uncle Guido would serve the food too hot to eat. It drove the diners crazy, but my uncle’s flair and the anticipation of the guests made the food even more delicious. Just having the name Guido gave him an advantage in the kitchen. He would have loved solar cooking.
Using the solar oven has brought a bit of excitement and adventure into what can be a boring task. Buy or build your own and give it a try. Amaze your friends.
Where to get information about solar cooking and solar ovens.
www.sunoven.com This site has lots of information and is the source for the oven I own.
solarcooking.org/plans For lans on how to build a solar oven for free or almost free Quite interesting as many cultures depend upon the sun for cooking.
www.cookwiththesun.com This guy has been cooking with the sun for 30 years.
Or try Google or some other search engine: tust type “solar cooking” or solar ovens and enter the magical world of solar cooking.
George Pitlik was a software tech support guy with the Conroe, Texasschool system. He retired and has lived in Alpine for almost two years.
Daring cook, all-around ride-your-bike kind of neighbor and writer George Pitlik using one of his best impulse buys ever: the solar oven.
