A fabulously sunny day and an early start paved the way for a delicious solar lunch. We discussed various items we might cook in our solar cooker– many of which were desserts!– and decided instead to try something more meal-like for our dinner. Jim suggested trying a simple lentil dish and some rice, so we gathered up the ingredients.
Continued…

Today was a gloriously sunny day so decided to “fire up” the ol’ box-style solar cooker while we worked around the garden.

The first round was a batch of “Solar Granola Bars” and a broccoli cheese “Solar Soufflée.” This first round cooked in roughly 3 hours (11:30 – 2:30) Janice has posted the recipe for the Granola Bars elsewhere on the site — and frankly, I think they taste a bit too good to be saddled with such a depressingly healthy name. To me, they’re some kind of brownie. The soufflée contains three eggs whipped with a bit of shredded cheese and some chopped up broccoli leftover from dinner last night. This batch also had a generous addition of fresh garlic. Coat the cooking vessel with something to keep it from sticking (a spray of Pam, a bit of olive oil, butter…) The great thing about solar eggs is that they fluff as they cook so their texture is quite wonderful.

As we were eating our eggs, our daughter tasted them and wanted some for herself so she made another batch. Since the cooker was going to be tended, I quartered a couple potatoes and halved two small onions and drizzled them with oil. These “Solar Roasted” vegetables will be a great start on hash browns for tomorrow. The really nice thing about the box cooker I built is its capacity. We could have easily had another pot in there.

It’s supposed to nice most of the weekend. I wonder what we’ll make tomorrow.