SOLAR COOKING

My neighbor, Jan, recently purchased a solar oven and has been having fun experimenting with it.  Besides casseroles she has made corn bread and cookies. The experimental stage. Her oven is a pretty fancy affair and most likely performs better than mine. About twenty years ago, I did the same thing. I bought a solar oven, a very simple affair of folded cardboard with aluminized sides, and that’s it folks. I’d have friends come up from the Bay Area, throw a chicken and some veggies in the black pot, stick it in the solar oven and go wine tasting or trekking antique stores with them.  Then come home to a fully cooked casserole. Delicious and easy.

I wore out my original one, and made a couple of them at home out of card board boxes and aluminum foil.  They didn’t work as well. I baked cookies once on a plastic form that I had from a recent purchase and the plastic melted on one end showing me that the heat in my cardboard box was uneven. The cookies all turned out fine. I should have used a Styrofoam meat tray for my cookie tray instead. Everyone I’ve fed a meal from my solar oven is amazed at how good the food tastes. Jan inspired me to get out my solar oven and put this heat we’ve been having to good use.  I was expecting company and here is what I cooked:
I placed six Italian Sausage in the bottom of the (black is required even if you have to paint it black) pan. Over them I placed six chicken breasts. I added a 1/2 cup of chicken broth, 1/4 cup garlic wine vinegar, and several sprigs of fresh thyme then covered everything with veggies. Two cloves of garlic, crushed and sliced, some mixed deli black and green Mediterranean olives with a bit of the juice,; a diced  half of red onion, a small red bell pepper, about ten frozen brussels sprouts, a peproncini and a hot prosciutto stuffed pepper that also came from the deli Mediterranean olive mix available at practically any grocery store these days. I cut it up small to spread the flavor around. (I’ve also made this dish with six preperoncini from a jar without the olives,  but I liked the olive mixture better.) A meal like this will cook in about two to four hours, depending on how bright the sun is, meaning, summer like now. In winter, it takes longer. You also have to have full sun on your cooker the whole time. With my trees grown so tall, I now have to move my cooker around to keep it in full for more than two hours.

The finished casserole looked like this. It was absolutely yummy. I might mention Jan hates brussels sprouts, but loved them from the solar oven. No bitterness, wonderfully tender and sweet.  The best benefit of cooking in a solar oven, is you can’t over cook or burn anything.

I served this over rice, cooked in a solar hot pot. I could have put the rice in the casserole, and have done that with good results. Or next to the casserole in it’s own black pot. But I like having the little solar hot pot for heating up leftovers while I type, or cooking polenta without stirring, or a sweet side dish like carrots with butter, red wine and brown sugar. It also bakes a single layer of a cake mix or six  cupcakes  fitted into a round single layer cake pan. Both ovens fold up into a small package, by the way.  The other thing I like about solar ovens is that if you buy one from Solar Cookers International, you can share with third world countries a cooking concept that is easy to build, easy to use, saves trees and expensive fuel, usually gas or oil, for people who live without power in remote villages. Of course, solar ovens also serve people who live in regular housing as well. SCI is a non-profit organization that delivers five solar ovens to people that need them for every one that you buy. A great $25 donation.  There web site is: http://www.solarcookers.org/index.html
But, if you type in solar cooking, or solar cookers in your search engine, all of the solar companies will pop up. It makes for some interesting choices. In Africa, for instance, they have small restaurants that operate on big solar cookers. They make solar “fryers”, and give you directions on how to make one at home from a disguarded television dish that the companies never come and pick up. Its a fun read and a fun thing to do. Great for the RV life and the environment. What’s not to like?

MOVING ON AND A RECIPE

Leaving the cousin "spoilers" yesterday, we headed for Marthas Vineyard. Everyone describes it as beautiful and appealing with no fast food places or billboards. Its expensive to bring cars on the island so traffic is light. At one time the best mode of transportation on the island for day visitors was hitchhiking. The locals biked. They now have a good bus system.

 We're hauling our motor home over on the freight ferry with the trucks that deliver goods. We spent the night at Buzzards Bay; walked around town under a huge black cloud that rained in the distance. A railroad bridge over the Cape Cod Canal, connects the island with the rest of Massachusetts. This bridge lifts up 135 feet to allow boats under it. It was put in service by the WPA in 1935 and for many years was the longest lift span in the world. Now, at 544 feet, its the second longest. Its a beauty.

Five trains a day still run over this amazing bridge. We parked at the Eagles Club in Buzzards Bay and had an impromptu concert by a bagpiper. Later the drummers came to practice as well. How cool is that?
 

Yesterday, I promised a recipe for French meat pie, and here it is:
You make a double pie crust, a bit short. The filling:
Brown a half lb. ground pork and half lb ground beef, 90% lean, if you can get it. Mix in one chopped onion and a stalk of celery and continue cooking until soft. Salt to taste.Then add to the pan two large previously cooked russet potatoes, mashed but unseasoned. Stir this around until everything is well mixed. Add a bit of water if it seems dry. It should be the consistency of hash.  Season liberally with poultry seasoning, about a 1/2 package of Bells. Then a tsp each of nutmeg and cinnamon. Fill the pie, top with crust, and bake for an hour at 350*. Hope yours turns out as good as mine. Better second day if you can leave it alone that long.

Philosophy, psychology and new friends

Jim has a bunch of RV friends that are members of the WINs. WIN stands for Wandering Individuals Network. They share holidays, excursions, all types of gatherings. Many belong to more than one group, such as LOWs, Loners On Wheels, ESCAPEEs, self explanatory. It amazes me how many people love the RV lifestyle. Jim was featured on a television program about single RV'ers on the AARP channel last year. We decided to interview some of the unusual characters we've met in the RV world and see if they won't make a book.
Consider Randy Vining, an intelligent fellow who likes to leave as small a footprint as possible. He calls himself the stealth RVer. He lives in about 100 square feet, uses about two gallons of water for a shower, he uses only solar power, (some rigs have wind generators as well.) He made his own RV which he calls a stealth RV because you could never tell by looking at it that it is a domicile. He can park it on a city street and basically live anywhere he wants without arousing anyone's curiosity. Randy, the Stealth RV-er, is a member of WINs. He has a relationship philosophy that kind of defines people who have this wanderlust. A big part of their make up is to have a great sense of fun and humor.
Randy drew two figures, one resembles a snowman the second one resembles an upside-down snowman. The woman he desires is represented by the upside down snowman. Strong (lg. circle on top,) represents a strong parent relationship, middle circle, represents responsibility, (ie can support herself and balance a check book) small circle on the bottom, has a small sense of the child. He on the other hand has a weak (small circle on top) parent script, his center is equally responsible, can take care of himself and balance a check book, large strong circle on bottom has a large sense of the inner child. Does that make a balanced couple? Hmmmm. Jim says he never pays attention to such stuff. Hmmmmm! Randy and Jim are both fascinating characters. We've set up two interviews and have two more in mind.
Today, the day after Christmas, was another dental day. Feeling a bit bruised but my smile looks great. The French meat pie, by the way, was supreme, and, yes, I give out recipes.