A Little Surprise for my Healthy Living Class

Today I am taking some small loaves of fresh sun-baked bread to my fellow students in our weight managing and healthy living class. Today is the last day of classes and several participants have asked about my Sun Oven that came up in discussions.

The classes are about healthy living and how much healthier can bread get if it is freshly milled and rising in bread pans ten minutes later? The wheat I used was natural Wheat Montana hard white wheat, organic barley, organic kamut berries, organic oats, organic rye, molasses, grape seed oil, sea salt, vital wheat gluten and wonderful Moapa Valley raw honey!

This rather large batch of bread took two Sun Ovens to bake while the sun was just perfect. I used my 20+ year old, well used, (refurbished 3 times) Sun Oven and the newer All American unit.

Yesterday we baked a small turkey breast roast and last week a pork roast. Next on the list is baby back ribs that Smith's had on sale a couple of weeks ago. Can't wait. Ribs slow cook and become soo tender. It is not the same as BBQ ribs, but with home-made rib sauce....oh soo delicious! And I don't have to heat up the house in our hot Las Vegas summers!

A special SHOUT OUT to Shannon, our instructor. She does a wonderful job and I am sure she doesn't get all of the thanks she deserves! Also a special thank you to Southwest Medical for making these wonderful life-changing classes available.

While fresh-baked warm bread is the best, I have learned from a baker to freeze the loaf while still a little warm and not quite room temp. This locks in all that sun baked goodness in the loaf for later enjoyment! I had to do this day before yesterday because I had a 2 hour class today right during morning baking hours.

I hope everyone enjoys the surprise and if you have a Sun Oven I hope you get some of the same enjoyment I get out of my 20 year old Global Sun Oven!

All the best, Michael

Honey-Molasses Cornbread

I usually make my honey cornbread with roasted corn but had to use 'creamed corn' today. It was sunny today and I was thinking about that great cornbread we used to get at Kenny Rogers Rotisserie Chicken restaurant. They closed 'em down in Vegas, but their cornbread was sure good! So was their chicken (but Costco fills that empty space).

I put out my well used 20 year old Sun Oven this morning. It is harder to get full sun in the winter months in my back yard, but plenty to cook a little cornbread.

 

 

Baked Ham

We've used our global Sun Oven for over 18 years and it keeps on providing delicious cooked bread, roasts, beans, rice, baked potatoes, quick breads, cookies, cakes and more. Yesterday we cooked a small ham, since we didn't cook one on Easter. It reminded me of a family story:

Back when we were not "empty nesters" my son slightly chided me for buying too much food when I bought a fairly large ham on sale and was getting it ready for baking in my Sun Oven. I shrugged it off.

After eating dinner that night he came to me and said, "Dad, I take back what I said earlier today. That was the best tasting ham I ever ate!"

I find that true with just about anything cooked in a Sun Oven. "Everything just tastes better", said my daughter about 17 years ago. There is little exchange of air and the food is always moist and full of flavor. It is my number one preferred means of cooking. I would be lost without my ingenious, simple solar cooker.

I saw a review on You Tube the other day that was rating various solar cookers. I could tell that the author of the video actually had not even tried any of the various cookers, but rather assembled a top 10 solar cookers list from information of others on the internet (just so he could get advertising "hits"). When it came to the Sun Oven the announcer and graphics said that it takes "just a few minutes to set up the Sun Oven".

Not even! It takes a few seconds! I pick it up (3 seconds), set it down on the patio outside my door (4 seconds), open the reflectors (3 seconds), aim it towards the sun (2 seconds), adjust the level (4 seconds at the most), go in the house to prep the food then cook it. I mean if I spend any more than 15 seconds setting up then I am walking to the other side of the yard due to shading.

It is really that simple! Oh, here's pics of the small ham:

The honey/maple glaze I put on the ham darkens it a bit. 

I'm ready for bean soup later in the week!

We cooked the ham in the dark pot to the right. It is the pot we got from Sun Oven.

It is perfect for almost everything we cook, except cakes, cookies and bread.

I get asked all the time, "will the Sun Oven brown my food?" Yep, and it will burn cookies if you leave 'em in too long! It is a true oven and you can cook ANYTHING you would normally cook in your regular oven.

Happy Sun cooking my friends.