| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Cozynana |
Posted - May 10 2013 : 5:31:49 PM
I have been experimenting with my sun oven. Yesterday I cooked 3 baked potatoes without any water added. I was shocked how much water and condensation accumulated. It was fun. My hubby ate one for lunch and two fried for breakfast. My oven only got to 280 degrees, but that was hot enough to cook all three potatoes in about 2 hours and 20 minutes. I loved leaving it and coming home to cooked food. Next time I am going to make it a whole meal. This is almost magic to me. If I can get it hotter, I would like to bake bread. Does anyone know if how high I would have to get the temp for bread to cook correctly? |
| 25 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Ninibini |
Posted - Jul 25 2013 : 3:28:41 PM
I didn't do it yet, Kem, but I promise to let you know when I do. We had unexpected company and I just wasn't able to get to it early enough to try it out. But I will definitely let you know! :) I know Lisa (Nubidane) has made a roast in her solar oven, but I cannot remember how long it took.
I did try finding the rice flour at Wally World this morning, but they didn't have it. I'm going to have to try the natural food store next week. :)
Talk with you soon!
Nini
Farmgirl Sister #1974
God gave us two hands... one to help ourselves, and one to help others!
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| Cozynana |
Posted - Jul 25 2013 : 2:23:45 PM
I would be interested in how long your roast takes. |
| Ninibini |
Posted - Jul 24 2013 : 2:31:24 PM
Thank you SO much, Kem! I will have to find some rice flour next time I'm at the grocery store! I can't wait to try it!! AWESOME!
I bet your grandkids will have a great time with the sun oven! S'mores will be scrumptious!!! We're supposed to have a clear, sunny day tomorrow so I am trying to determine what to make... I have a pork roast in the freezer.. I'm thinking that just might be it! I'll keep you posted!
Hugs -
Nini
Farmgirl Sister #1974
God gave us two hands... one to help ourselves, and one to help others!
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| Cozynana |
Posted - Jul 23 2013 : 05:36:24 AM
Forgot to add, I have not tried anything else in the oven. Our grandkids are here, so want to get it out and create magic.lol I think we could do s'mores in it. At least hot enough to melt marshmallow and chocolate. |
| Cozynana |
Posted - Jul 23 2013 : 05:32:55 AM
Nini, hereis the pumpkin muffin recipe
Pumpkin Muffins
2 c. Brown rice flour (can use regular, but not as good) Ican buy this at Walmart or health food store
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking soda
1 16 oz can pumpkin
1 2/3c sugar
1 c oil
4 eggs
1 c chopped nuts if desired
Preheat oven 350 degrees. Combine all but flour, mix. Add flour mix and put in muffin cups. Bake until inserted toothpick comes out clean, about 15 minutes. This can be also put in a greased 10x15 jelly roll pan and baked about 25 minutes. Good with cream cheese frosting. |
| Ninibini |
Posted - Jul 17 2013 : 7:31:44 PM
I did, Kim! How neat is that?! I am tickled pink! I hope it will help encourage others to try solar cooking, too! I was just thinking about all of you yesterday. We finally had a beautiful, sunny day, so I made stuffed yellow squash (fresh from my garden) in my sun oven. It came out awesome! I was able to cook three halved squash (squashes?), which really surprised me - that was a LOT of stuffed squash in such a small space! I just created a big packet for them out of aluminum foil (shiny side in), greased it with a little butter, put the hollowed out halves inside, filled each with MOUNDS of hot sausage stuffing (oooh - so good!), sealed it up tight, poked holes in the top, placed it on the rack, sealed up the door, and let it bake for about three hours, turning every 30 minutes. It was done to perfection! (It was probably done sooner, but I left it in the oven to keep it hot.) I actually think it tasted better having been cooked in the sun oven! LOL! Such a great meal to have at the end of a really hot day - and my kitchen stayed as cheerfully cool as I did! ;)
I don't recall receiving that recipe, Kem, but you may have. Please do post it, though - I'm sure everyone would love to have it! :)
Have you made anything else in your solar oven lately?
Hugs -
Nini
Farmgirl Sister #1974
God gave us two hands... one to help ourselves, and one to help others!
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| Cozynana |
Posted - Jul 17 2013 : 05:13:31 AM
Nini, Have you checked out the newest Mary Jane's Farm magazine? We are quoted in there. They featured our chat about solar ovens. We are celebs. Did I ever get you the recipe for pumpkin muffins? I would be happy to post if I didn't. |
| Cozynana |
Posted - Jun 27 2013 : 05:47:28 AM
Nini, I have not set my sun oven out all day to cook. I think this would work very well for a roast, potatoes, and carrots with some type of liquid. I know they say you don't have to add liquid, but I am still not convinced that a little liquid wouldn't help.
I use dark blue and black speckled granite ware. I have a small Pampered Chef lipped cookie sheet. I asked around and found two small round granite roasters for $5 each. They are $13 in the stores. I felt lucky to find them. |
| naturemaiden |
Posted - Jun 23 2013 : 02:31:35 AM
 now i want a sun oven!
Connie
http://www.naturemaiden.com/ - Soap & Candle
http://modern-day-laura.blogspot.com/ -Filled with everything I love!
http://www.thriftyfarmgirl.com/ - FOR SALE: Vintage Sewing Machines, Parts, Crafts and more.
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| nubidane |
Posted - Jun 22 2013 : 7:25:38 PM
Nini, I have done something like that (if you look at the link in Farm Kitchen I have some pics of beans & apple crisp), but I did it later in the day.. We had to leave around 3 & got back at 7. Everything was hot & cooked.
It's worth a try for sure, just don't use your most expensive cut of meat in case things don't go well!
Glad to see you back my farmgirl sister. When I don't see you post, I know something is not right. I have you on our prayer list at church.
God Bless... Lisa
"We must reject the idea that every time a law’s broken, society is guilty rather than the lawbreaker. It is time to restore the American precept that each individual is accountable for his actions.” – R.R. |
| Ninibini |
Posted - Jun 22 2013 : 07:15:41 AM
Thank you so much, Kem - I'm going to put that one right in the recipe book! Can't wait to try it!
Have you ever set the solar oven to the point of the midday sun early in the morning and left it to cook like that all day? I am wondering how that would work, and am eager, but nervous, to try... I sure would like to hear how it works!
Hugs -
Nini
Farmgirl Sister #1974
God gave us two hands... one to help ourselves, and one to help others!
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| Cozynana |
Posted - Jun 18 2013 : 06:29:40 AM
nini, Here is the Runza recipe I used.
Runza Dough
5 c flour divided 1 3/4c and 3 1/4c
3t yeast
1/2c lard
1/2c sugar
3/4c milk
1 1/2c water
1/2t salt
2 eggs
Mix 1 1 3/4c flour with all but eggs. Mix and then stir in eggs. Mix and add the rest of the flour. Mix. Knead for 10 minutes. Cover and let rest about 1 hour to raise. In the meantime make the filling for the runza with the following.
1 lb. browned hamburger
1/2 head cabbage chopped. Can use saurkraut if you want instead. Hubby is allergic to saurkraut so we always use cabbage.
1/2 onion chopped
salt and pepper
Fry all of this together until browned.
After the dough has risen, punch down and roll into about a 1/4" thick piece on a floured surface. Cut into about 4x8" pieces. I ended up pinching off balls of dough and rolling into individual rectangles. Add some of the meat mixture in the middle of the dough leaving room to fold sides and ends toward the center. This is about 1/2c or less meat for each one. Flip the folded pocket over and place on a greased cookie sheet to bake so seam is down. Let rise 20-30 minutes and then bake 375 degrees for about 20 minutes.
This made about ten? runzas and they freeze well. We reheat them in the microwave for 1 minute, flip it over and heat again for another minute.
Hope you like these. This is a time consuming recipe, but hubby really liked this bread. My mom used to make one with bisquick that was much faster. If you look on bisquick.com you may be able to find it.
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| MagnoliaWhisper |
Posted - Jun 11 2013 : 06:31:07 AM
I don't know a man who doesn't like runza's lol. They are called beirocks where I live and every one loves them. Especially served with mustard on the side.
http://www.heathersprairie.blogspot.com |
| Ninibini |
Posted - Jun 11 2013 : 04:11:20 AM
Not a problem at all, Kem! Sounds like you're having a wonderful time with your solar oven! I'm so happy for you! Mine runs a an average of 300 degrees, too, but what really helps is that I keep moving it with the sun about every half hour or so (twenty minutes as the sun goes down). My bread was cooked at about 300 degrees. It didn't take much longer than in the regular oven at all!
I tried roasting a chicken and baking potatoes in my sun oven on Sunday, but the rain clouds suddenly came in about half way through, so I had to finish it in the regular oven. I was so bummed, but it still turned out beautifully. I can't wait to try again! I found a 13" roasting pan at the local Mom-And-Pop hardware store and just couldn't wait to try it. The problem with that is that it is elongated and it was difficult balancing it on the swinging rack in the solar oven. The edges of the pan aren't rolled smooth, either, so they scratched the inside of the oven a little bit. I don't think it will harm the cooking process or anything, but I really am bummed about the scratches. Lesson learned. To be truthful, I think my chicken would've fit just as well in the round pans that came with the oven. I think I might just save the oval roaster for smaller casseroles in the regular oven at the holidays. :)
We've been having so much rain and cloudy weather here - a lot different from last summer which was so hut and muggy it felt like we were in an oven. It has been killing me to wait for the sun, but I surely do appreciate the lack of oppressive heat! ;)
What kind of pans are you using? Are you using all graniteware, or are you using other types of pans? Most of my bakeware is heavy pottery (even my muffin pans!), and I do have some cast iron pieces, but I'm hesitant to use them in the solar oven because they are all very heavy. Further, the pottery isn't super dark - more a light gray color, and some are white.
I would love to do pumpkin muffins like you did, though - those are our favorites! I would also LOVE your Runza recipe, if you wouldn't mind sharing! I haven't heard of them before, and just looked them up - I bet my guys would LOVE them!! YUM!!! I wonder if a small, solar oven-sized baking brick would make a difference when baking those... I'm going to do some investigation! We really enjoy spinach pies, but I haven't tried them yet. I'm thinking a baking brick might absorb some of the moisture and help cook up the dough better so it doesn't come out so "doughy"... I'm sure they'd be just as yummy in a regular pan, maybe just softer and lighter in color.
What are you using for a cookie sheet? How long did the cookies take? I like to "power bake" and freeze baked goods for later... I am just trying to figure out how long it would take to do a single batch and then calculate how many batches I can fit in before the sun goes down! LOL! My hubby would've eaten dry cookies, too - and he would've sucked down a half gallon of milk right along with them! :) He has such a sweet tooth... If I could sun-bake cookies, he'd be thrilled!
I haven't had a chance to watch the videos yet, but am very excited to do so. Hopefully at the end of the week. Just too much to do!
Keep me posted! Good luck! Have fun!
Hugs -
Nini
Farmgirl Sister #1974
God gave us two hands... one to help ourselves, and one to help others!
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| Cozynana |
Posted - Jun 10 2013 : 8:31:46 PM
Nini, sorry it took so long to reply. It has been a very busy 30 days. I love your pictures. At what temp did you bake your bread? I can get my oven up to 300 degrees now. I am going to have to practice getting pictures on here. I will see if I can get some on. I made pumpkin and cinnamon muffins that were good. I left them in a bit too long. I do test runs. I put one batch in the regular oven and one batch in the solar oven. I can compare each of them and see how they do. Today I did Runzas. I think the ones in the oven did better. It appears the bottom of the Runza did not get quite done because I fold the side and ends towards the middle creating a thicker dough. I would really like to get good at making bread. I also tried cookies today. I think I left them in a bit too long because they were a bit dry and crunchy. oh well, hubby ate them anyway. Guess they weren't too bad.
Linda, I watched the videos and found them informative. I want to be a pro at this in the future. Just like everything else, it is going to take some time to figure out the tricks to the trade. |
| MagnoliaWhisper |
Posted - May 18 2013 : 07:21:12 AM
yeah when I was growing up, at least where I grew up, not many people had a AC, in fact we didn't have AC till I had a back surgery and was in a body cast for a year, my parents bought a window unit then. But, till then we never had AC nor did any one in our neighborhood. I remember visiting some older people in our neighborhood and their house would be what felt like AC, like at least 20 degrees cooler. And I would ask wow did you get a AC, and they said no it was a attic fan. Well I always knew I wanted one. My parents though said it cost too much money. Well, when I grew up, I looked into them! lol (I wanted one! lol) Any way, Lehman's is usually more expensive I have found and they are only 500 dollars from them. So I'm guessing there's some place that is cheaper. So far we have never bought a home yet though...but when I buy a home that's one of the first things I'm adding! Even at 500 dollars, since it's solar, and you aren't having to continue to pay for it. I'm thinking that it the 500 dollars would be gotten back with in a year or two. 1) Wouldn't have to turn on the AC some days that we might normally would. 2) the days that the AC IS on it wouldn't have to work so hard. Then after the year or two, I'm thinking it would all be gravy after that-all the money savings on the AC not having to be on, or not work so hard. My dream would be to have two attic fans one on each rnd of the house.
http://www.heathersprairie.blogspot.com |
| wooliespinner |
Posted - May 18 2013 : 05:34:45 AM
I never thought of getting those or even knew they made those. Our attic gets horrible hot in the summer. Thanks for sharing that tidbit, I will have to look into those and see how the pricing is on those. I bet those would really make a difference on the summer for sure.
Linda
Raspberry Run Farm
Nubian Dairy Goats |
| MagnoliaWhisper |
Posted - May 17 2013 : 9:39:04 PM
Linda I'm also wanting to get solar attic fans to put in the roof to save on electric (pulling the heat out of the top of the house, making the AC not have to work so hard, you can also reverse them in the winter to pull the heat down into the house from the top).
http://www.heathersprairie.blogspot.com |
| wooliespinner |
Posted - May 17 2013 : 08:45:17 AM
Kem I ordered one a few days ago. I am hoping to get it sometime early next week. The oven you have is from the same company I ordered mine from they are both made in the usa. This one is called an all american sun oven its the same one Nini has. I think there a few differences between them but not much. How long have you had yours? I am stalking both threads on the ovens so maybe I will get some experience before mine arrives. I sure am excited to get one. Will let you know when we get ours and let you know what I try first.
On there website they have a video on breadmaking and setting up the oven to maximize the suns power. If you have highspeed internet its worth watching their videos.
We have one of the highest electric co. in Ohio. I cook with a gas stove and we heat with wood. Our electric bill runs around $175 dollars if I am not using the ac or the blower on the woodstove then its well over $215. I have all flourescent light bulbs and use the clothes line most of the time. We do have 2 freezer tho and 2 fridges and I know they burn some power and lots of dirty farm laundry. So I am hoping to be able to cook outside when its hot so our house doesn't get so hot and fight the ac trying to cool it in the summer.It get so hot and humid here in the summer. Also it should save on propane which is pricey too. Our last small cylinder cost $149 and it keeps going up and they only last about 4 months unless I am canning sometimes I get a little more. Twenty one years ago our first tank cost uf $49 dollars and I thought that was high....lol.
Linda
Raspberry Run Farm
Nubian Dairy Goats |
| MagnoliaWhisper |
Posted - May 12 2013 : 07:51:50 AM
the stone (or bricks that you can cover in foil-but I prefer the stone) and grill is best for pizza, it's the hottest you will probably get for a home "oven", in NYC Lambardies has HUGE brick ovens they start up at like 4 am with lots of wood and fire! lol
http://www.heathersprairie.blogspot.com |
| Ninibini |
Posted - May 12 2013 : 06:12:37 AM
Yeah... That's what I kind of thought, Heather. What can I say? Hope springs eternal! LOL! We have made pizza on our grill with my stone - it's pretty darned good!' I'll just stick to that when it comes to cooking outdoors. :) Maybe it would be good for making spinach pies or calzones? I might try that instead. :)
Have a great day, girls!
Nini
Farmgirl Sister #1974
God gave us two hands... one to help ourselves, and one to help others!
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| MagnoliaWhisper |
Posted - May 11 2013 : 10:36:05 PM
now I'm no expert in the least on sun ovens.
But, here's my take on pizza. If you want a regular mainstream american pizza (that compares to say pizza hut) the sun oven would probably work fine. If you want a really totally awesome knock your socks off, REAL NYC style pizza then the answer would be no. I learned from Lambardi's (the first pizza restaurant in the USA, over 100 years old) you want a VERY VERY VERY hot oven to cook pizza in. Like 600 to 800 or more degrees! Pizza should take no longer then 3 minutes to cook! lol Preferably around 2 minutes. You'll get the most amazing crust in the world, crisp crunchy on the outside, and soft and airy on the inside! It's like I didn't even know pizza tasted like that before. BUT, after I had lambardi's I've never been able to "like" pizza in a lower temp oven again! lol haha
http://www.heathersprairie.blogspot.com |
| Ninibini |
Posted - May 11 2013 : 7:37:31 PM
Mine is the All-American Sun Oven. It's made by the same company as yours, and I think it's pretty much the same thing, except the interior chamber is a little bit bigger and it has an adjustable leg in the back to help angle the oven towards the sun. We just got it recently, and I love, love, love it!
In all honesty, Kem, I just use the bread recipes from the cookbooks on the shelf, only I substitute butter for shortening in the recipe as well as when greasing the pan (I use what little is left on the butter wrapper for that!). I will try to figure out which one I used this last time and post it for you. :) It's very good, but I would like to find a really exceptional bread recipe myself! :)
To answer your question, though: no, there's hardly ever ANY leftovers in this house with my two hungry guys constantly rooting around. Bread? Never! LOL!
So far, I've made raspberry chicken with rice and vegetables, spaghetti sauce with frozen meatballs (just put them in the sauce frozen and cooked til done - maybe 4 hours?) and frozen French bread, chicken with barbecue sauce and corn bread, and apple cake! Everything was so good! I would really love to do a pot roast or meat loaf or stew or chili or something next. It has been very cloudy and rainy here all week, and it looks like it might not be til next weekend before I get to play around with it again! :( Bummer!!! But your plan for the onions, potatoes and meatloaf sound Heavenly! I can't wait to hear how it comes out! Bread pudding, too! I'd LOVE your recipe! Bread pudding is one of my favorites!!! I don't have a "recipe" for it, but my girlfriend's Mom taught me how to make a peach bread pudding years ago by just mixing a whole bunch of stuff together - no measuring or mixing, just eye-ing everything up. It's AWESOME! I'm going to definitely have to try that, too - I'm glad you mentioned it!!! :) I wonder if pizza would work in the sun oven - what do you think?
Also - do you know if a baking stone or cast iron would be okay in the sun oven? Both of them are very dark and the right size for my oven, but from what I read the lighter weight granite ware pans seem to be the ideal recommendation. I have a 3 quart lidded cast iron dutch oven that I'd love to use, but I'm not sure if it would be too heavy for the swinging rack, nor am I sure whether it's okay just to place it in the bottom of the oven... Maybe I should just stick with granite ware? What do you use?
I'm glad we can chat about this, too! Maybe we can help each other work out the kinks and become really good at sun cooking! YAY!
Here are a couple of pics of the bread and the apple cake I made. I don't think I took pics of the other stuff - they guys got to it too quickly. LOL! Please share pics of your sun goodies, too, okay? :)
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Thanks so much for sharing with me - I really appreciate it!
Hugs -
Nini
Farmgirl Sister #1974
God gave us two hands... one to help ourselves, and one to help others!
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| Cozynana |
Posted - May 11 2013 : 6:52:19 PM
Nini, What brand is your solar oven? Mine is a Global Sun Oven. I want to somehow make mine cook hotter, but am going to try the bread. Would you share your recipe you use for the solar bread please. Have you tried anything like meatloaf in it. That may be my next experiment with sliced onions in the bottom of the pan and halved potatoes around the edges of the meatloaf. Do you ever have any of your homemade bread left? I have a wonderful bread pudding recipe that might work well in the solar oven if you need to use up the last of the bread.
This is so much fun! I have always wanted someone to talk to about solar cooking. So glad you responded. |
| Ninibini |
Posted - May 11 2013 : 07:42:07 AM
Oooh! How exciting, Kem! I just started experimenting with mine recently, and am having a blast! It is like magic, isn't it? My family and next door neighbor are simply amazed!
My oven gets to about 300 degrees and my bread cooked in less than two hours. I don't think you "need" to get the oven up to 300 degrees, though. If you only get up to 280 degrees, it might just take a little longer, that's all. Also, quick tip: instead of spraying the top with water to help it brown, though, I just brushed it with a little melted butter - it turned out beautifully!
I can't wait to see what else you make and to hear how it all turns out! Have fun!
Hugs -
Nini
Farmgirl Sister #1974
God gave us two hands... one to help ourselves, and one to help others!
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