August 1-3, 2009

I have to confess I helped the consumer economy along a bit by consuming a useful utensil—Global sun oven with the discount I got from using Chile Chews name. I also got one 3 qt pan to use with it. I don’t have anything quite like that in my pots and pans.

This thing is really easy to use after using my Tulsi oven. I'm pretty sure from looking at it that it's easy to use and I will be able to cook the more traditional mid-Western, farm like, WASPy cooking that I learned from my Mom! The Tulsi isn’t hard to use but with it’s flatter design and the pans it came with, I had to adjust the way I cooked foods and what foods I could use in it.

With the Tulsi and after reading food/cooking/prep blogs I have tried more new foods to me and ways of cooking them in the past 18 months than I have in my whole previous life! Couscous, quinoa, beans, lentils, various nonyeast breads, some egg dishes beyond scrambled or hard boiled and all kinds of vegetables I never ate--or knew I had eaten. That would be chards, kales, collard greens and winter squashes. I've liked most of them. The greens just go well in salads and sometimes in vegetable soups. But mostly beans and butternut and acorn squash aren't going to be my favorites. I could cultivate the taste of acorn squash, I think, it smells so good cooking. However, split peas and lentils with veggies and/or rice are just fine.

After reading some other bloggers who deal with solar cookers, I realize how easy I have it using these ovens where I live. On my north patio, where I cook from mid May to mid October, it’s perfectly flat, I have sun all afternoon with no trees/bldgs anything to block the sunlight at all. I have sun well overhead mostly coming straight down. The sun does move across the patio during the day but the middle of the patio close to the north wall gets sun for a good 4-5 hours. I put the ovens out there with stuff in them and they hardly have to be adjusted at all June until after early/mid September. After end of October I’ll have to cook in the front yard. I didn’t do any solar oven cooking after mid November last year until this June. I’m going to try to do more this winter and see how it works.

There’s plenty of unshaded yard to use although the sun angles are much different and my neighbors can see what I’m doing. ;) Two nice African sumacs give us shade and a pleasant yard in this common area. Some neighbors cook on their front porches or use the barbecue that’s near the pool so several of us see each other cooking outside.

Chicken breasts (2) and some liquid I put in with them were in the big oven for 2-3 hours. Great! They didn’t need to be in quite that long but I put them out and did some stuff and took a nap and it was 3 hours later.

Tomorrow, I’m going to use the liquid, maybe with some soup stock I’ve got on hand, or maybe not, and make a soup.

The next Day:

Pot of broth from yesterday and various fresh veggies and it’s in the oven. Wish I had some crackers of some kind. This came out pretty well except it was more stew than soup!

Monday Aug 3: Put the last two pieces of “old” frozen chicken in the GSO to cook. That’s the last of the frozen chicken parts, breasts, legs, thighs, whatever. In for 3 hours, that was more than enough to cook them thoroughly. The cats will get some of it for dinner. Easy to smell it cooking when I go out the patio doors!

AIP thoughts on Monday:

1. Keep on with as much solar cooking as possible through cooler weather even if it’s out in the front common area.

Have to watch where I’ll set oven as the cats will probably want to check it out. So, no balancing it/them on the porch wall; put it on the ground or on the small table out front. I’m at the end of the building so it’s probable if it’s on the sidewalk it won’t be in anyone’s way except mine.

2. Keep closer track of BTUs this winter. I’m sure I could get this usage down some more.

3. I ‘ve hardly used hot water for bathing this summer. Water in cold taps is plenty warm for showers most days July-August from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.

4. Idea: Keep plastic pitcher available to put water in that is “extra” at the kitchen sink. It’s surprising how much water this is.

5. When rewiring, put some outside outlets in from and back, please.

6. Idea: Could schedule using electric oven for more things at the same time.

7. Idea: For refrigerator, could schedule taking things out and putting things in instead of so many individual grabs from the fridge. Tricky!

8. When I’m cooking breakfast, either hot or cooler weather, I’ve been bringing cereal to proper temperature and then taking it off the burner to finish cooking or turning the burner off altogether. Also, I’m using the pot lids while this off the heat is taking place.

9. Idea: Have a whole energy audit done? Sometimes utilities will do free audits; but I don’t know if mine would do this.

enough for now, Shamba