Online Solar Cooking Group Site
Greetings. If the topic interests you, I have formed a new internet group at this site:
Solar Cooking for People and the Environment.
This MSN group is open to anyone and allows you to contribute your ideas and thoughts on solar cooking to the web. It is in its infancy now, so we need others to join so we can accomplish something positive for the world. Hope to see you on the site!
Solar Cooking beats Crock Pot Cooking!
Last Monday was Memorial Day and my wife wanted to cook the brisket of beef we had in the freezer. We bought the meat when it was on sale around St. Patrick's Day and it was about time to use it. We put it in our Sun Oven and it was absolutely delicious. Solar cooking is great for just about everything, but especially good for roasts of all kinds. The moisture mostly stays in the meat and it cooks soo tender and tasty. When my Seventeen year old was Thirteen she said: "Dad, always cook in the Sun Oven when you can. Food tastes better."
I really think food does taste better. I used to do a lot of crock-pot cooking but now I have found a better way. A few years ago, when I was learning about cooking in the sun, I bought two identical beef roasts from Albertson's and tried a little experiment. I froze both roasts then one weekend I cooked one of them in the Sun Oven, and we all loved it. The next weekend we cooked one in the crock-pot and wow, what a difference. No one wanted seconds and the meat just didn't taste as good. I couldn't believe the difference.
Virtually everyone who owns a Sun Oven and cooks chicken says that it taste's better than Kenny Rodgers Rotisserie chicken. I whole heartedly concur, and I love KR chicken! The neat thing about a Sun Oven here in Vegas is that I can bake everything in the hot summer months without heating up the house. A real energy saver, but more than that, we get fresh baked food without the discomfort of a heated house.
Rhodes Bake-N-Serv Rolls
I usually bake my bread in the mornings or around noon because the solar intensity is greater and higher temperatures are achieved during those times. But this last Monday I put in some Rhodes Bake-N-Serv wheat rolls in the solar cooker after the brisket was done. It was about three in the afternoon and I was a little worried the oven wouldn't get hot enough. Well, I was pleasantly surprised. Rolls turned out great! Browned to perfection.
I must tell you a little about the Rhodes Bake-N-Serv line of products: Ever since I moved to Vegas from Granstville, Utah I have looked for the wheat rolls and bread dough from this brand. Never found it until a new Walmart Supercenter opened up near my new home. As a small business manager I can't stand Walmart and I try not to shop there if at all possible, but they have the best selection of Rhodes products of any grocery store chain in Las Vegas. I found the white rolls at Smiths, but Walmart has the wheat rolls too. They also have other Rhodes products that are great! I mention this because I have always loved this frozen dough, and Ken and Ethel Farnsworth, Sr. stopped into our store a few weeks ago for some RV supplies. They are the owners of Rhodes and graciously donated two books to our Solar Living Library located in the back of our store: 'Fresh Ideas with frozen dough' and 'Kids' Ideas with frozen dough'. These are great books every family should have in their kitchen and we have them in our library for you to browse. Please stop by to check out some of the recipes and ideas in these two books. You will be pleasantly surprised.
Well, have a great day, and please check out the article 'Heating, Cooling and Refrigeration' that is linked in the post below.
