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October 26, 2008

Solar Pavlova: Solar Cooker Desserts

Solar Cooker Desserts: Solar Pavlova
Solar Pavlova

  • 4 egg whites

  • 4 T cold tap water

  • 1 1/3 cups caster sugar (very fine granulated sugar - could use regular white sugar)

  • 1 1/2 t vinegar (preferably white)

  • 1 1/2 t vanilla essence

  • 4 t cornflour (called 'cornstarch' in the US)

Topping:

  • 1 cup cream, whipped

sliced fresh fruit (e.g kiwifruit, strawberries, peaches, tamarillos) or berries, passionfruit pulp, pomegranate seeds etc. - whatever is available

Place egg whites, water and sugar in a bowl. Beat gently to mix and then beat until very stiff (10 minutes on high with an electric beater). Mix vinegar, vanilla essence and cornflour to a thin paste. Add to egg white mixture and beat until it is so stiff that you can fully invert the bowl and nothing moves (further five minutes with an electric beater).

Line a black tray with baking paper and spread mix on. It should be about 1 1/2 - 2 inches high and come no closer than 1 inch from the edge of the paper. Smooth over the top. If the container is taller than the batter then fix a black lid tightly onto the container; otherwise put props around the edge to hold the lid off the batter and then cover it with tin foil painted black on the outside.

Bake in a preheated solar oven 3-4 hours. It will have a marshmallowy texture with some crispness on the outside. Transfer to a serving plate and decorate with whipped cream and fruit.

Serves 6-8

Note 1: to cook in a conventional oven, bake for 45 min at 150 deg. C and then leave to cool in cooling oven.
Note 2: if you have no immediate use for the four egg yolks then mix them well with either 1/8 tsp salt or 1 1/2 tsp sugar and freeze for later use in custards, pastry, lemon curd, ice cream etc.
Source: SolarCooking.Wikia.com
As with all recipes for solar cookers, your cooking times may vary, depending on the sun, your solar cooker, the temperature of your solar cooker, your location on the planet, and any other number of factors. Just remember that this should be fun to experiment with. Try a few different recipes, note the position of the sun in the sky, and try to make sure your solar cooker stays pointed at the sun the whole time it is cooking. Note how long it takes food to cook in your cooker, at your location, during the time of year you are cooking your food, and adjust the recipes accordingly.

October 25, 2008

SharonID's Sunshine Shortbread (for solar box ovens)

SharonID's Sunshine Shortbread (for solar box ovens)
Shortbread can be cooked in a solar cooker


  • 2 1/2 cups flour

  • 1 cup confectioner's (aka "powdered" or "icing") sugar

  • 1 cup butter (two sticks or 1/2 pound)

  • 1/4 teaspoon salt

Amalgamate the ingredients. The easiest way is in a food processor (cut butter into pieces... the dough won't quite form a ball, but will get evenly clumpy). If you don't have a food processor, you can either cut the cold butter into the mixed dry ingredients and then wade in with your hands and knead until well combined or cream softened butter with the sugar and salt work in the flour by hand.

With your hands or the back of a large spoon, press the crumbly dough as evenly as possible in a greased small, dark cookie sheet (13"x9") or other equivalent pan(s). With a knife or pizza cutter, score the dough into small squares or diamonds.

This has been tried once covered (with a matching dark cookie sheet) and once uncovered and worked well both ways. Place in solar box oven and let it bake. With oven temperatures running 210F-225F it takes about four hours. If your oven tends to be a little uneven, turn the pan front-to-back after about two hours. A hotter oven would be somewhat quicker. Shoot for a light golden brown (the top may be paler... it browns from the bottom up, so use a spatula or knife to lift the sheet of shortbread a little to check the bottom if you're not sure if it's done). When you bring the shortbread in, re-cut on the lines you scored before baking while the shortbread is still hot (it's very crumbly to cut when cold).

This long, slow baking makes the best shortbread SharonID has ever tasted. In fact her family considered naming it Outlaw Shortbread because it is so deliciously decadent that it is surprising that it's legal!

Note: You can increase the fiber while still having a very enjoyable shortbread by putting 2 tablespoons of oat bran in your measuring cup and adding the flour on top of that. You could make the dough and press it into the pan the night before you want to cook it and refrigerate overnight. Remove from refrigerator at least a few minutes before putting into the solar oven.
Source: SolarCooking.Wikia.com
As with all recipes for solar cookers, your cooking times may vary, depending on the sun, your solar cooker, the temperature of your solar cooker, your location on the planet, and any other number of factors. Just remember that this should be fun to experiment with. Try a few different recipes, note the position of the sun in the sky, and try to make sure your solar cooker stays pointed at the sun the whole time it is cooking. Note how long it takes food to cook in your cooker, at your location, during the time of year you are cooking your food, and adjust the recipes accordingly.

October 24, 2008

Solar Fruit: Kellie and Kristine's Solar Cooker Dessert

Solar Cooker Desserts: Kellie and Kristine's Solar Fruit


  • 1 firm, ripe banana

  • 1 red apple

  • Ground cinnamon

  • Sugar

  • Honey

  • Walnuts

  • Orange rind (if desired)

Slice apple & banana. Sprinkle as much cinnamon & sugar over as desired. Sprinkle walnuts on top. Pour honey on top. Bake for 30 minutes or until soft. If you want to, add orange rind before baking for extra flavoring.
Source: SolarCooking.Wikia.com

As with all recipes for solar cookers, your cooking times may vary, depending on the sun, your solar cooker, the temperature of your solar cooker, your location on the planet, and any other number of factors. Just remember that this should be fun to experiment with. Try a few different recipes, note the position of the sun in the sky, and try to make sure your solar cooker stays pointed at the sun the whole time it is cooking. Note how long it takes food to cook in your cooker, at your location, during the time of year you are cooking your food, and adjust the recipes accordingly.

October 23, 2008

Mark's "No Fail" Solar Cookies: Solar Cooker Desserts

Solar Cooker Desserts: Mark's "No Fail" Solar Cookies
Recipe for cookies baked in a solar cooker


  • 1 cup oats

  • 1 cup flour

  • 1 pinch salt

  • 1/3 cup oil

  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

  • 1/2 cup sugar (white or brown)

  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

  • 1/2 cup chocolate chips and/or raisins

  • 1/2 cup water

Note that the recipe calls for BAKING SODA, not baking powder. However, sometimes I put in 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder for additional fluffiness. Mix ingredients together and then form cookies. Comfortably makes 12 cookies spread over (2) 11 x 7 inch baking pans.

If you are using a Heaven's Flame type of cooker where the food will not be flat, consider using a couple of 11 x 7 inch mini-muffin pans. With two of these, you can make 18 to 24 mini-cookies (enough for everyone in the class!).

I find that using a 50/50 mix of raisins and chocolate chips makes for a cleaner eating experience. However, if you use raisins, be sure not to bake too long (more than 2.5 hours) because raisins start becoming crunchy after awhile. Cooks in as little as 25 minutes in a hot oven or 1.5 hours in a cooler oven.

Source: SolarCooking.Wikia.com

As with all recipes for solar cookers, your cooking times may vary, depending on the sun, your solar cooker, the temperature of your solar cooker, your location on the planet, and any other number of factors. Just remember that this should be fun to experiment with. Try a few different recipes, note the position of the sun in the sky, and try to make sure your solar cooker stays pointed at the sun the whole time it is cooking. Note how long it takes food to cook in your cooker, at your location, during the time of year you are cooking your food, and adjust the recipes accordingly.

October 22, 2008

Peach Meringues: Solar Cooker Desserts

Solar Cooker Desserts: Peach Meringues
Peach meringues can be cooked in a solar cooker


  • 5 medium peaches

  • 2 1/2 teaspoons brown sugar

  • Cinnamon

  • 3 egg whites

  • 1 teaspoon vanilla

  • 3/4 cup sugar

Wash and half the peaches. Place peaches cut-side up in pie pan or dark casserole dish. Place 1/2 teaspoon brown sugar in cavity of each peach half and sprinkle with cinnamon. Cover and bake 1½ hours.

Beat egg whites at medium speed until soft peaks form. While beating at high speed add vanilla and gradually add sugar.

Remove peaches from oven, top with meringue, cover each peach completely. Bake uncovered for 1 hour. Serve hot or cold.
Source: SolarCooking.Wikia.com

As with all recipes for solar cookers, your cooking times may vary, depending on the sun, your solar cooker, the temperature of your solar cooker, your location on the planet, and any other number of factors. Just remember that this should be fun to experiment with. Try a few different recipes, note the position of the sun in the sky, and try to make sure your solar cooker stays pointed at the sun the whole time it is cooking. Note how long it takes food to cook in your cooker, at your location, during the time of year you are cooking your food, and adjust the recipes accordingly.

October 21, 2008

Solar Concentrated energy from a recycled satellite dish

This is made from:

  • old 6 foot satellite dish

  • recycled mirror bits

  • cheap or recycled conduit

  • spaghetti pot

  • liquid nails or other heavy duty glue

  • black muffler paint

He says in the video that this solar cooker boils a pot of water as fast (or faster) than his propane cook top.

Free energy from the sun!

October 20, 2008

Solar Cooker Desserts: Solar Baked Brownies

Solar Baked Brownies
tasty brownies cooked in a solar cooker


  • 1/2 cup shortening

  • 2 1-oz. squares unsweetened chocolate

  • 2 eggs

  • 1 cup sugar

  • 1 teaspoon vanilla

  • 3/4 cup flour

  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

  • 1 cup broken walnuts (optional)

Melt shortening and chocolate together in solar cooker; cool. Beat eggs until light; stir in sugar, then chocolate mixture and vanilla. Add dry ingredients, mix well.

Add nuts. (Carrie and I don't like walnuts, so we wouldn't add them. And Carrie doesn't like any nuts in her brownies... but she doesn't mind having a nut for a husband). One thing we will add in our brownies is peppermint patties in a layer between a layer of brownie mix at the bottom of the pan, and a layer over the top of the pan. They're some of the yummiest brownies ever, and the fact that they're cooked by the sun makes them even more exciting.

Bake in greased 9-inch round dark roaster pan, covered, for one hour (in a box cooker). Cut into squares. Try it!

Source: SolarCooking.Wikia.com

Wheat-Free Cookies: Solar Cooker Desserts

Solar Cooker Desserts: Wheat-Free Cookies
Wheat free cookies baked and cooked in a solar cooker


  • 2 cups rye flour

  • 1 egg

  • 1/2 cup vegetable oil

  • 1/2 cup honey

  • 1 teaspoon baking powder

  • Salt to taste

  • Water to make proper consistency for drop cookies

  • 1/2 cup walnuts, chopped

  • 1/2 cup sugar-free carob chips

Mix all ingredients together, drop on cookie sheets and bake in solar oven 30 minutes to 1 1/2 hours depending upon temperature. Makes 4 dozen.
Source: SolarCooking.Wikia.com

As with all recipes for solar cookers, your cooking times may vary, depending on the sun, your solar cooker, the temperature of your solar cooker, your location on the planet, and any other number of factors. Just remember that this should be fun to experiment with. Try a few different recipes, note the position of the sun in the sky, and try to make sure your solar cooker stays pointed at the sun the whole time it is cooking. Note how long it takes food to cook in your cooker, at your location, during the time of year you are cooking your food, and adjust the recipes accordingly.


From the MayoClinic: Wheat is one of the eight most common allergy-causing foods. While wheat allergy most often affects children, it can also occur in adults. Allergic reactions usually occur in susceptible individuals a few minutes to a few hours after they've consumed wheat.

Signs and symptoms of wheat allergy range from mild to severe and can include skin reactions, congestion and digestive issues. Rarely, wheat allergy can cause anaphylaxis, a life-threatening reaction.

If you or your child has a reaction to wheat, tell your doctor about it, no matter how mild the reaction may have been. Tests can help confirm a wheat allergy, so you can take steps to avoid future and potentially worse reactions.

Not all reactions to wheat are caused by wheat allergy. Some people have a digestive reaction to a sticky protein called gluten that's found in wheat and other grains. This reaction to gluten differs from a wheat allergy. It can be caused by an inability to digest gluten (gluten intolerance) or by an allergic reaction to gluten known as celiac disease or gluten sensitive enteropathy.

Enjoy your wheat-free cookies from your solar cooker!

October 19, 2008

Solar Cooker Desserts: Quick Raisin Pie

Quick Raisin Pie
Even raisin pie could be cooked in a solar cooker


  • 4 cup butter

  • 3/4 cup sugar

  • 3 eggs

  • 1 teaspoon vanilla

  • 1 1/2 cups raisins

  • 1/2 cup chopped walnuts

  • 1 stick pie crust mix, or better yet, make your own

  • whipping cream

Cream butter and sugar together until well blended. Beat in eggs and vanilla (mixture will be slightly curdled.) Add raisins and walnuts. Crumble the pie crust mix into filling mixtures, stirring until well distributed. Pour into a greased 9-inch amber casserole or black granite roaster. Cover and bake in solar cooker approximately 1 1/2 hours. (It has a cake-like appearance when done. Cool and serve cold or warm with whipped cream or ice cream. (Ice cream is affectionately referred to by Carrie as "the best thing in the world.")

Source: SolarCooking.Wikia.com

Hot Fudge Sundae Cake: Solar Cooker Desserts

Solar Cooker Desserts: Hot Fudge Sundae Cake
Hot fudge sundae cake that can be cooked in a solar cooker


  • 1/2 cup flour

  • 3/4 cup sugar

  • 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons cocoa

  • 2 teaspoons baking powder

  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

  • 1/2 cup milk

  • 2 tablespoons oil

  • 1 teaspoon vanilla

  • 1 cup nuts, chopped

  • 1 cup brown sugar

  • 1 3/4 cups hot water

In a dark round roaster stir together the flour, sugar, 2 tablespoons cocoa, baking powder and salt. Mix milk, oil and vanilla until well-blended. Add the milk mixture to the dry ingredients. Add nuts. Sprinkle brown sugar and cocoa over batter. Pour water over batter. Cover. Bake approximately 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Remove from oven and let stand 15 minutes. Spoon into dessert dishes. Top with ice cream. Spoon sauce over each serving.
Source: SolarCooking.Wikia.com

As with all recipes for solar cookers, your cooking times may vary, depending on the sun, your solar cooker, the temperature of your solar cooker, your location on the planet, and any other number of factors. Just remember that this should be fun to experiment with. Try a few different recipes, note the position of the sun in the sky, and try to make sure your solar cooker stays pointed at the sun the whole time it is cooking. Note how long it takes food to cook in your cooker, at your location, during the time of year you are cooking your food, and adjust the recipes accordingly.

October 18, 2008

Solar Cooker Desserts: Hot Fruit Dish

Hot Fruit Dish
Solar cookers cok more than just rice  try some hot fruit cooked in a solar cooker


  • 3 bananas

  • 4 apples

  • Honey, to taste (or sugar)

  • Lemon

  • Water

  • 3 teaspoons cinnamon

  • 6 whole cloves

Slice bananas. Cut apples into eights (peel if desired) and place apples into lemon water to keep from discoloring. Drain. Mix fruit, cinnamon and cloves. Cover. Bake for 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Serves 4.
Source: SolarCooking.Wikia.com

HOT FRUIT COMPOTE
(From Cooks.com, but can be modified for a solar cooker)

8 soft coconut macaroons
1 (16 1/2 oz.) can dark sweet cherries, drained
1 (16 oz.) can sliced peaches, drained
1 (15 1/4 oz.) can pineapple chunks, drained
1 (17 oz.) can apricot halves, drained
1 (16 oz.) can pear halves, drained
1 (21 oz.) can cherry pie filling
1/2 c. brandy

Crumble macaroons in shallow pan. Bake at 400 degrees for 3 to 4 minutes or until lightly toasted. Cool. Sprinkle 1/2 amount in 2 1/2 quart casserole. Layer remaining ingredients in order given. Sprinkle remaining macaroons on top. Cover and refrigerate 8 hours. Remove from refrigerator. Let stand 30 minutes. Bake, uncovered, 35 to 40 minutes or until bubbly. Yields 8 to 10 servings.

Apple Custard: Solar Cooker Desserts

Apple Custard
Even apple custard can be cooked in a solar cooker


  • 1 13-oz. can evaporated milk

  • 1/3 cup honey

  • 4 eggs

  • 1 teaspoon vanilla

  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon or cardamom powder

  • 3 to 4 cups apples

Blend ingredients (except apples) for a few seconds in a blender. Place apples in a dark baking dish. Pour liquid mixture over the sliced apples. Cover, place in solar oven and cook about 1 1/2 hours to 2 hours.
Source: SolarCooking.Wikia.com

As with all recipes for solar cookers, your cooking times may vary, depending on the sun, your solar cooker, the temperature of your solar cooker, your location on the planet, and any other number of factors. Just remember that this should be fun to experiment with. Try a few different recipes, note the position of the sun in the sky, and try to make sure your solar cooker stays pointed at the sun the whole time it is cooking. Note how long it takes food to cook in your cooker, at your location, during the time of year you are cooking your food, and adjust the recipes accordingly.

October 17, 2008

Solar Cooker Desserts: A Little Chocolate Cake

A Little Chocolate Cake
Everyone likes chocolate cake cooked in a solar cooker
Note: This recipe was designed for 3-4 cup backpacker pot in an EZ-3 Solar Cooker, but it should work in any cooker that can take such a pot.

Perfect for singles, couples, or a kids' tea party.

Sift or mix together:


  • ½ cup flour

  • 2 tablespoons cocoa

  • 1/3 cup sugar

  • 1/4 rounded teaspoon baking soda

  • pinch salt

Mix together:


  • 1/3 cup cold water

  • 2 tablespoons oil

  • 1 teaspoon vinegar

  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix well. Pour into greased small pot (3-4 cup), cover with dark lid, and set out early. Wait at least an hour and a half before checking. It is done when it feels firm and the top springs back when pressed lightly and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out without wet batter sticking to it.

For an extra yummy treat, add chocolate mint frosting. When cake is done, immediately cover top with thin mints or pieces of peppermint patty type candy. Return to cooker for ten minutes. Remove and spread the melted candy over the top of the cake. Delicious!

Source: SolarCooking.Wikia.com

Rice Pudding: Solar Cooker Desserts

Solar Cooker Desserts: Rice Pudding
Even rice pudding cooked in a solar cooker


  • 1 cup rice, cooked

  • 3 eggs

  • 1 1/3 cups milk

  • 2 tablespoons brown sugar

  • 5 tablespoons sugar

  • 1 tablespoon butter

  • 1 teaspoon vanilla

  • 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice

  • fresh lemon rind

  • cinnamon

Combine eggs, milk, sugars, butter and vanilla. Mix into the cooked rice. Add lemon juice and rind. Place in dark pan. Cover and bake 1 1/2 hours. Sprinkle with cinnamon and brown sugar when done.
Source: SolarCooking.Wikia.com

As with all recipes for solar cookers, your cooking times may vary, depending on the sun, your solar cooker, the temperature of your solar cooker, your location on the planet, and any other number of factors. Just remember that this should be fun to experiment with. Try a few different recipes, note the position of the sun in the sky, and try to make sure your solar cooker stays pointed at the sun the whole time it is cooking. Note how long it takes food to cook in your cooker, at your location, during the time of year you are cooking your food, and adjust the recipes accordingly. Generally speaking, it's difficult to burn your food in a solar cooker.

Rice pudding is a dessert enjoyed by people of different cultures all over the world, originating in Asia. It is made by combining rice with a sweetener and other ingredients.

North America
In Canada and the United States of America, most recipes have descended from European immigrants. In the latter half of the twentieth century, Asian and Middle Eastern recipes have become more common. In the United States' New England region, the most popular is made with long grain rice, eggs, milk, sugar, or in the U.S. state of Vermont, maple syrup. This is combined with nutmeg, cinnamon, and raisins. The pudding is usually partially cooked on top of the stove in a double boiler, and then "finished" in an oven.

United Kingdom
In the United Kingdom, rice pudding is a traditional dessert, and is very popular. Rice pudding is traditionally made with pudding rice, milk, cream, sugar and is sometimes, but not always, flavoured with vanilla, nutmeg or cinnamon. It can be made in two ways, in a saucepan or by baking in the oven. In a saucepan, it is made by gently simmering the milk and rice until tender and then the sugar is carefully mixed in. Finally, the cream is mixed in and it can either be left to cool and be served at room temperature, or it can be heated and served hot, it should have a very creamy consistency. When made in the oven, the pudding rice is placed into a baking dish and the milk, cream and sugar are mixed in. The dish is then placed in the oven and baked at a low temperature for a few hours, until the rice is tender and the pudding has a creamy consistency. Whilst cooking, the pudding may have developed a thick crust which, when eaten, adds an interesting texture to the pudding. Ready-made rice pudding, which is pre-cooked and ready to eat, is sold in tin cans or pots and is very widely available and found in most supermarkets and shops. Because it is canned, it has a very long shelf life.

History
Rice was first cultivated in Asia. Over thousands of years, various pudding recipes have developed in the Eastern Asia. Some include fruit and honey, while others are far simpler consisting of only rice, water and sugar.

For the west, rice pudding originated in the Middle East or Persia. The dessert gained popularity during the Middle Ages. Firni, one of the oldest of these Middle Eastern puddings, is made with rice flour and was introduced to India by the Moghuls. Records of an Indian sweet milk pudding occur in the 14th century. Shola, flavored with rose water, was introduced to Persia by the 13th century Mongols and is now eaten in much of west Asia. However the Indian Kheer has an independent history, as it is older than 2000 years.

A reference to rice pudding is found in the third verse of the seventeenth-century nursery rhyme, "Pop Goes the Weasel:"

Half a pound of tuppenny rice,
Half a pound of treacle.
Mix it up and make it nice,
Pop goes the weasel.

Enjoy your rice pudding from your solar cooker!

October 16, 2008

Solar Cooker Breakfast: Katie's Asparagus Quiche

Katie's Asparagus Quiche
Asparagus quiche can be cooked in a solar cooker
Carrie doesn't really like asparagus, even though I love it, so we would probably make half of ours with Asparagus, and half without (if we used asparagus at all). The nice thing about quiche, even quiche cooked in a solar cooker, is that you can put whatever you like to eat in it, and leave out whatever you don't like.

  • 9 eggs
  • 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
  • Approximately (25) 3-4" asparagus tips, raw
  • 1 teaspoon paprika
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt (optional)
  • freshly ground black pepper to taste
  1. Spray the pie pan with oil.
  2. Place eggs into a bowl and wire whisk them until well beaten.
  3. Stir in all the rest except the asparagus tips.
  4. Pour mixture into pie pan.
  5. Gently place the asparagus tips in a wheel-spoke design around top of quiche.
  6. Crush more black pepper over top if desired.
  7. Bake in solar cooker for 1 - 1/2 hours, depending on your solar cooker

Source: SolarCooking.Wikia.com

Brownie Pudding: Solar Cooker Desserts

Solar Cooker Desserts: Brownie Pudding
Solar Brownie pudding cooked in a solar cooker


  • 1 cup flour

  • 2 teaspoons baking powder

  • 1/4 teaspoon salt

  • 3/4 cup sugar

  • 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons cocoa

  • 1/2 cup milk

  • 2 tablespoons melted butter

  • 1/2 cup chopped nuts

  • 1 cup brown sugar

  • 1 1/2 cups boiling water

In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, salt, sugar and 2 tablespoons cocoa. Add the milk, butter and nuts. Mix thoroughly. Spread in a greased 9-inch dark pan. Mix together the brown sugar and 1/4 cup cocoa and sprinkle over the batter. Pour the boiling water over the batter. Cover. Bake about 2 hours in a preheated solar oven. Fudge sauce forms under brownie like topping.
Source: SolarCooking.Wikia.com

As with all recipes for solar cookers, your cooking times may vary, depending on the sun, your solar cooker, the temperature of your solar cooker, your location on the planet, and any other number of factors. Just remember that this should be fun to experiment with. Try a few different recipes, note the position of the sun in the sky, and try to make sure your solar cooker stays pointed at the sun the whole time it is cooking. Note how long it takes food to cook in your cooker, at your location, during the time of year you are cooking your food, and adjust the recipes accordingly.

October 15, 2008

Solar Cooker Breakfast: Cotton Undie Eggs


Cotton Undie Eggs

This solar cooker recipe you simply must try with a group of kids. We haven't done it yet, but Carrie and I can imagine the hilarity that must ensue.

  • 3 eggs

  • Lettuce

  • Bread

  • Whatever condiments you like on egg sandwiches

  • Clean Black Cotton Undies

  • A Group of School Kids

  • A Responsible Adult

  • A sense of fun!

Take the eggs and carefully wrap them in an old pair of clean, black cotton underpants. Place in the cooker until done. (Ours in a home made panel cooker, the eggs covered with a large pyrex dome, for about 1.5 hours and were a tad overdone.) When ready, use them to make curried egg and lettuce sandwiches to share for lunch.

This is one for a group of kids to get them interested in solar cooking. There was no way they thought they could cook eggs in old black cotton sox or underpants and chose to cook the eggs in an ancient pair of worn out black cotton underpants (complete with holes) and called the eggs "underpant eggs"!!!

We used the cooked eggs to make curried egg and lettuce sandwiches for lunch which they all enjoyed. The eggs went into a panel cooker, were covered with a pyrex dome and cooked for a bit more than one hour. They were great in the sandwiches and it was a lot of fun. It made a solar cooking lesson a fun learning experience for the kids which they have never forgotten.

Source: SolarCooking.Wikia.com

Apple Cupcakes: Solar Cooker Desserts

Solar Cooker Desserts: Apple CupcakesApple Cupcakes cooked in a solar cooker

  • 2 cups sugar

  • 1/2 cup oil

  • 2 eggs

  • 6 cups apples

  • 2 cups flour

  • 2 teaspoons cinnamon

  • 2 teaspoons baking soda

  • 1 teaspoon salt

  • 1 teaspoon nutmeg

Combine sugar, oil, eggs, and apples. Sift together the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, salt and nutmeg. Add dry ingredients to the sugar mixture. Use paper cupcake liners in dark cupcake pan. Fill cupcake pans half full of batter. Bake in solar oven approximately 2 to 2 1/2 hours. If it is a sunny day, watch the baking time.
Source: SolarCooking.Wikia.com

As with all recipes for solar cookers, your cooking times may vary, depending on the sun, your solar cooker, the temperature of your solar cooker, your location on the planet, and any other number of factors. Just remember that this should be fun to experiment with. Try a few different recipes, note the position of the sun in the sky, and try to make sure your solar cooker stays pointed at the sun the whole time it is cooking. Note how long it takes food to cook in your cooker, at your location, during the time of year you are cooking your food, and adjust the recipes accordingly.

October 14, 2008

Solar Cooker Breakfast: Spinach Quiche

Spinach Quiche


  • 1/2 cup chopped onion

  • 1/2 cup mushrooms, sliced

  • 1 cup Swiss cheese, shredded

  • 1 10-oz. package frozen spinach, thawed and drained

  • 3 eggs

  • 1 can evaporated milk

  • 3/4 cup Bisquick

  • 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

  • Salt and pepper, to taste

Butter a 9-inch round dark roaster pan. Combine onions, mushrooms, cheese and spinach in a round roaster pan. Beat together the remaining ingredients. Pour over the vegetables. Cover and bake for 2 1/2 hours.
Source: SolarCooking.Wikia.com

Grandmother's Crustless Pie: Solar Cooker Desserts

Solar Cooker Desserts: Grandmother's Crustless Pie


  • 6 apples (chopped or sliced)

  • 1/3 cup sugar

  • Cinnamon

  • 1/2 cup butter

  • 1 cup flour

  • 1 cup brown sugar

Place apples and sugar in buttered round or oval black roaster. Work together the flour, brown sugar and butter and sprinkle over apples. Sprinkle cinnamon on top. Cover and bake in solar oven about two hours. Cool, serve with vanilla ice cream.
Source: SolarCooking.Wikia.com

As with all recipes for solar cookers, your cooking times may vary, depending on the sun, your solar cooker, the temperature of your solar cooker, your location on the planet, and any other number of factors. Just remember that this should be fun to experiment with. Try a few different recipes, note the position of the sun in the sky, and try to make sure your solar cooker stays pointed at the sun the whole time it is cooking. Note how long it takes food to cook in your cooker, at your location, during the time of year you are cooking your food, and adjust the recipes accordingly.

October 13, 2008

Solar Cooker Desserts: Lemon Jell-O Cake

Lemon Jell-O Cake
Lemon Jello Cake cooked completely in a solar cooker


  • 1 package yellow cake mix

  • 1 3-oz. package lemon Jell-O

  • 3/4 cup water

  • 1/2 cup salad oil

  • 4 eggs, unbeaten

  • 1/2 cup lemon juice

  • 2 cups powdered sugar

Place cake mix into large bowl. Add Jell-O, water, oil and eggs. Beat three minutes or until smooth and creamy. Pour batter into ungreased dark 9 x 13-inch pan. Bake uncovered for 2 or 2 1/2 hours. Be sure it is done. Take out of oven immediately. Puncture cake with a fork about every inch or so. Mix lemon juice and powdered sugar together. Pour over the hot cake.
Source: SolarCooking.Wikia.com

As with all recipes for solar cookers, your cooking times may vary, depending on the sun, your solar cooker, the temperature of your solar cooker, your location on the planet, and any other number of factors. Just remember that this should be fun to experiment with. Try a few different recipes, note the position of the sun in the sky, and try to make sure your solar cooker stays pointed at the sun the whole time it is cooking. Note how long it takes food to cook in your cooker, at your location, during the time of year you are cooking your food, and adjust the recipes accordingly. Generally speaking, it's difficult to burn your food in a solar cooker.

Solar Cooker Breakfast: Poached Eggs in Spanish Sauce

Poached Eggs in Spanish Sauce

    Poached Eggs adn Spanish Sauce that have been cooked using a solar cooker
  • 1/4 cup onion, chopped

  • 1/4 cup celery, chopped

  • 1/4 cup green pepper, chopped

  • 1 can 8-oz. tomato sauce

  • Spanish seasonings

  • 5 eggs

In a covered casserole dish, soften onion, celery and butter at 250°F about 30 minutes. Add one small can of tomato sauce and Spanish seasonings. Heat thoroughly. Break eggs into a bowl, uncover the casserole and gently pour eggs into the sauce. Cover and cook until eggs are firm.
Source: SolarCooking.Wikia.com


What do you think about this solar cooker recipe? Would you make changes to poached Eggs in Spanish Sauce in a solar cooker? Post your thoughts using the comments below.

October 12, 2008

Solar Cooker Desserts: Blueberry Muffin Cake

Solar Cooker Desserts: Blueberry Muffin Cake
Solar Blueberry Muffin Cake cooked in a solar cooker


  • 1 package blueberry muffin mix

  • 1 egg

  • 1/3 cup brown sugar

  • milk

  • butter

  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon

  • Prepare 1 package of blueberry muffin mix following the instructions

Line the bottom of a 9-inch round roaster with a piece of wax paper. Pour in the blueberry muffin mix and cover with lid. Place in a preheated solar oven and bake for 1 hour. After removing cake from oven, a mixture of brown sugar and cinnamon may be added to the top. Cover cake with lid for five minutes to let heat of cake adhere the topping. Remove lid, let cool. Run knife around edge, hold hand over cake with hot pad, invert and remove cake, peel off wax paper, invert plate over cake bottom and turn right side up.
Source: SolarCooking.Wikia.com

As with all recipes for solar cookers, your cooking times may vary, depending on the sun, your solar cooker, the temperature of your solar cooker, your location on the planet, and any other number of factors. Just remember that this should be fun to experiment with. Try a few different recipes, note the position of the sun in the sky, and try to make sure your solar cooker stays pointed at the sun the whole time it is cooking. Note how long it takes food to cook in your cooker, at your location, during the time of year you are cooking your food, and adjust the recipes accordingly. Generally speaking, it's difficult to burn your food in a solar cooker.

Solar Oven Breads: Heather's Wheat Berry Bread

Heather's Wheat Berry Bread
Wheat Berry bread that has been cooked in a solar cooker


  • 2 cups wheat berries

  • Flour for dusting

  • Water for sprouting

Sprout the wheat berries for a day. Rinse the sprouts and grind them to a paste. Lighly dust the inner container of a box solar oven with the flour. Shape the ground sprouts into a mound and place in the inner container. Let the bread bake in the solar cooker for the day.

Comments: I made this bread in a solar on the roof of a building in Allahabad, India. The recipe worked well in the winter and summer, but not during the monsoon. The bread is similar to "manna bread" available in the US. It is sticky, moist, and sweet. Additions such as raisins or dates could be nice.

Source: SolarCooking.Wikia.com

October 11, 2008

Solar Oven Breads: Cornbread A La Sol

Cornbread A La Sol
Cornbread A La Sol cooked in a solar cooker
Dry Ingredients:


  • 1/2 cup corn meal

  • 1/2 cup corn flour

  • 1 cup white flour

  • 2 tablespoons baking powder (preferably aluminum-free)

  • 3 tablespoons sugar

  • pinch salt

Liquid Ingredients:


  • 1 egg

  • 3 tablespoons oil

  • 1 cup milk

Blend the liquid ingredients together. Add the dry ingredients and mix thoroughly. Pour into a 7 x 11 inch pan (preferably one with the underneath painted black). Bakes in about 1 to 2 hours. Consider it done when 'fault lines' appear to be running along the top.

Source: SolarCooking.Wikia.com

Solar Cooker Desserts: Oatmeal Squares

Oatmeal Squares
Very tasty oatmeal squares that were completely cooked in a solar cooker


  • 1 egg, beaten

  • 1/2 cup honey

  • 1/2 cup melted butter

  • 1 teaspoon vanilla

  • 1/2 cup whole wheat flour

  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

  • 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

  • 1 cup quick-cooking rolled oats

  • 1/2 cup chopped walnuts

In a small bowl, beat together egg, honey, melted butter, and vanilla. In another bowl, sift together flour, soda and nutmeg. Add oats and walnuts to the flour mixture. Stir. Add the egg mixture to dry ingredients. Mix well. Bake in a covered, buttered 9 x 9 inch pan. Raisins and/or carob chips may be added.
Source: SolarCooking.Wikia.com

October 10, 2008

Solar Oven Breads: Foolproof Whole Wheat Bread

Foolproof Whole Wheat Bread

    Whole wheat bread cooked in a solar cooker
  • 2 tablespoons dry yeast

  • 5 cups hot water

  • 2/3 cup oil

  • 12 cups whole wheat flour (or 7 cups whole wheat flour & 5 cups white flour)

  • 1/2 cup warm water

  • 2 tablespoons salt

  • 2/3 cup honey or sugar

Sprinkle yeast into 1/2 cup warm water. Let stand 10-15 minutes. Add 1 tablespoon sugar. Combine the remaining 4 1/2 cups hot water with 7 cups whole wheat flour in a large bowl. Add salt, oil and honey or sugar. Continue mixing until well blended. Add 1 cup flour to mixture. Add prepared yeast to mixture and blend thoroughly. Add 3 to 4 more cups of flour.

Knead for 10 minutes or until there is a consistency like cookie dough. A stickier dough will result in moister bread.

Oil hands and divide dough into 4 parts. Mold into loaves on oiled counter. Place in oiled pans. Oil top of loaves if soft crust is desired.

Cover loaves with damp cloth and let rise 1/3 in bulk.

Place loaf pans in dark pans with lids, or insert an empty loaf pan on top of each loaf of dough. Cover. Place in solar oven by 11 a.m. Cook 2 1/2 hours.
Source: SolarCooking.Wikia.com

Solar Cooker Desserts: Peach Pudding Cake

Peach Pudding Cake
A great recipe for peach pudding cake cooked in a solar cooker


  • 1/4 cup melted butter

  • 1 package yellow cake mix

  • 1 3 1/4-oz. instant vanilla pudding mix

  • 1 egg

  • 1 cup milk

  • 1 16-oz. can peaches, undrained (or 2 cups)

  • 1 teaspoon grated lemon peel

Melt butter in 13 x 9 inch pan. In large bowl, stir cake mix and pudding mix together. Add egg and milk. Beat until smooth. Add peaches with juice and lemon peel. Pour into baking pan. Cover. Bake two hours or until done.
Source: SolarCooking.Wikia.com

You could add an additional level of fun to this (but only if you're the kind of person who thinks it's fun to have your friends bite down into something hard in their solar baked pudding cake).

In medieval England, tokens, such as coins and thimbles, were baked inside the birthday cake, a tradition which persists today with the Christmas pudding. Receiving a coin in one's slice predicted future wealth while it was believed that those receiving a thimble would never wed.

October 08, 2008

Solar Oven Breads: Easy French Bread

Easy French Bread
easy French bread cooked in a solar cooker

  • 1 package yeast

  • 2 cups water

  • 4 1/2 cups white flour

  • 1 tablespoon sugar

  • 2 teaspoons salt

Dissolve yeast in one cup lukewarm water. Sift flour with sugar and salt into a large bowl. Stir in dissolved yeast. Add just enough of the second cup of water to hold dough together. Mix until dough is sticky. Cover with a cloth and let rise until doubled. Butter or grease a round roaster and add dough to dark pan. Let rise another half hour. Cover. Bake in solar oven until golden brown, about 2 hours.
Source: SolarCooking.Wikia.com

October 07, 2008

Beer Bread Made in A Solar Cooker

Carrie and I love beer, and we love bread, so a combination of the two made in a solar cooker sounds like a little slice of heaven to us.
Beer bread cooked in a solar cooker
Beer Bread From A Solar Cooker

  • 3 cups self-rising flour
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • 1 12-oz. can of beer, at room temperature

cheese slices

Mix first three ingredients together and place in buttered black pan with lid. Place cheese slices on top. Cover. Cook in solar oven for 2 or 3 hours.

GreenPowerScience Flash Cooks An Egg

It's pretty cool that this video isn't sped up or cropped in anyway. She simply shows you how easily and quickly an egg can be cooked using the power of the sun, some oil, and an excellent Fresnel lens.

That's just neat.

This video shows the power of direct cooking. It is 5 times faster than bottom cooking but requires a lot of experience and requires caution.

This is their third cooking episode using only a large Fresnel Lens and ONLY the power of the sun.
Visit greenpowerscience.com/ to learn more.

October 06, 2008

Mint Tea Made By The Sun

Mint Tea in a solar cooker
(This one's easy)

Ingredients:

  • 1 gallon water
  • several sprigs of freshly picked and washed mint

Crush the mint slightly before adding it to the water. Leave in the sun all day.

A jar can be painted black to increase temperature and keep an "off taste" from forming.

You can also put this into a solar cooker and get the tea you want a little more quickly.

If you'd like to use a sweetener, try stevia. Most grocery stores carry it in the "supplements" section (thanks to some funny tampering at the FDA).

BuildGreenTV shows How To Use A Solar Cooker

Kevin Contreras from BuildGreenTV shows how to cook a great chicken dish in one of his favorite innovations, a solar oven.

This video shows a box cooker with mylar panels that fold out very easily.

Info on where to find an oven is here on GreenJoyment.

October 05, 2008

Crazy Canucks Cooking With Solar Ovens

"This is our first solar box oven ever. Here is an account of a day of cooking in winter (Feb 24/08) in Ontario Canada. Enjoy!"

This guy's a little boring to listen to, but he got his temperature up to 360 F/170 C, when it was 40 F/5 C outside, and cooked what appears to be a VERY yummy chicken!

That's pretty darn impressive.

The Chief of Solar Cookers

own words "IT'S JUST THE POWER OF THE SUN!!!"

Onyemaechi Chukwuemeka is the self-proclaimed "Chief of the Solar cooker." I love this dude! His voice makes listening to him like relaxinging in a warm tub. He's definitely excited about this solar cooking thing.

Happy about solar cooking

He cuts the chicken into pieces and mixes it around into some spices, puts it all into a black pot and sets it on a wire inside a parabola.

That dude's really ripped too.

October 04, 2008

Spanish Omlette on a Nifty Solar Cooker

I really like how this parabola is designed to rotate and become a shield while you're working with the food and then a focuser while you're letting it cook. Seems like a very safe way to be cookign food in a solar cooker.

Here's are a couple of Cooks.com recipes for a Spanish Omlette, but I'm sure they can be easily modified to work just fine in a solar cooker!

Spanish Omlette 1
3 large potatoes
1/2 onion
3 rashes of bacon
2 eggs
1/4 cup of milk

Slice potatoes finely and put in a pan on a low heat. Chop up the onion and bacon. Add to the potatoes.
Cook the ingredients until golden brown. Pour in, then crack the eggs on top of all of the ingredients. Let it set.

Cut into slices and serve.

Spanish Omlette 2
5 eggs
2 c. peeled, cooked, cubed potatoes
1 onion, finely chopped
1 green pepper, minced
12 green stuffed Spanish olives, slices
1 tsp. salt
4 oz. lean, cooked ham, cubed

Beat eggs until fluffy. Fold in remaining ingredients. Spray a round, non-stick cake pan with cooking spray for no-fat frying. Spoon in omelet mixture.
Bake at 350 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes until eggs are set. Cut into wedges.

The cooked ham can be replaced with leftover roast poultry, seafood or water packed tuna.

October 03, 2008

Pressure Cooker Gets Overcooked in Solar Cooker

Pressure cooking is a method of cooking in a sealed vessel that does not permit air or liquids to escape below a preset pressure. Because the boiling point of water increases as the pressure increases, the pressure built up inside the cooker allows the liquid in the pot to rise to a higher temperature before boiling.

Pressure cookers are generally made from aluminum or stainless steel. The former may be stamped and buffed or anodized, but this metal is unsuitable for the dishwasher. Expensive stainless steel pressure cookers are made with heavy, three-ply, or copper-clad bottom (heat spreader) for uniform heating, since stainless steel has lower thermal conductivity. Most modern units are dishwasher safe, although some manufacturers may recommend washing by hand.

A gasket or sealing ring forms an gas-tight seal which does not allow air or steam to escape between the pot and the lid; normally, the only way the steam can escape is through a regulator on the lid when the pressure has built up. In case the regulator is blocked, a safety valve is provided as a backup escape route for steam. The simplest safety valve is a loose-fitting rubber plug in the lid, held in place by steam pressure. If the pressure exceeds design limits, the plug pops out of its seat.

To seal the gasket, some pressure cookers have a lid lock with flanges, similar to a bayonet-style lens mount, that works by placing the lid on the pot and twisting it about 30° to lock it in place. Contemporary designs of this style of cooker also have a pressure-activated interlock mechanism that prevents the lid from being removed while the cooker is pressurized.[1]

Other cookers, particularly the larger types used for home canning, have oval, oversized lids.[2] With these, since the lid is larger than the opening in the top of the pressure cooker, one inserts the lid at an angle, then turns the lid to align it with pot opening. A spring arrangement straddles the top of the cooker and holds the lid in place. When cooking, the pressurized steam inside keeps the lid tightly in place, preventing accidental removal.

Pressure cookers are usually heavy, because they need to be strong. However, some pressure cookers are manufactured for camping, and can be as light as 1.2 kg for a four-litre pot.

October 02, 2008

Engineers Without Borders: Solar Cooker Challenge

These are solar cooker ideas from the Engineers without borders solar cooker challenge.

Maybe you can get some ideas here for building your own solar cooker!

Engineers Without Borders - USA (EWB-USA) is a non-profit humanitarian organization established to partner with developing communities worldwide in order to improve their quality of life. This partnership involves the implementation of sustainable engineering projects, while involving and training internationally responsible engineers and engineering students.

The activities of EWB-USA range from the construction of sustainable systems that developing communities can own and operate without external assistance, to empowering such communities by enhancing local, technical, managerial, and entrepreneurial skills. These projects are initiated by, and completed with, contributions from the host community working with our project teams.

EWB-USA contributes to meeting the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) through capacity building in community projects. Capacity building is defined in that context as "..the building (or strengthening) of human, institutional and infrastructure capacity to help societies develop secure, stable and sustainable economies, governments and other institutions through mentoring, training, education, physical projects, the infusion of financial and other resources, and most importantly, the motivation and inspiration of people to improve their lives" (Hatch, 2004).

How to Make a Solar Smoker in 30 seconds or less

How you can set up to smoke your food in 30 seconds or less just by using the sun and a Quality Solar Grill.

From their web site:

The High Quality Solar Grill is a revolution in solar cooking!
The High Quality Solar Grill is easy to use and Cooks Food Fast!
This solar grill cooks in minutes! Baking, Boiling, Broiling, Stewing, Frying, Deep Frying, even Smoking.

October 01, 2008

Simple Solar Cookit Demonstration

This is a solar cookit demonstration which is great for how their model is easy to use. It's a shame that it takes place on a cold day with no sun, because it's always fun to see what was cooked and how it turned out, but still interesting nonetheless.

A Meal from solar cookers

A Meal from solar cookers

Carrie and I decided that it would be fun to eat an entire meal cooked by the sun.

So, we took our three cookers. In one, we placed leftover chili. In another, we placed potatoes.

And in a third, we placed Joan's rice pudding (for dessert). Thanks Joan!

All three videos are posted below (we made them for YouTube as individual videos, but we ate this as a full meal).

Other than the mildly disappointing results from the sun not cooking the rice pudding (simply because we didn't get it outside early enough in the day, we were very pleased with how this meal turned out!

Baked Potatoes wrapped in foil and cooked in an eagle solar cooker

Leftover chili cooked in a champagne chiller picked up at GoodWill

For dessert, rice pudding in a solar cooker

(We'll post Joan's recipe soon!)

So, in light of this experiment, and solar cooker week here on GreenJoyment, what thoughts do you have about solar cooking? Are you already using solar cookers? if so, what are your results?

If not, has this series of videos inspired you to create your own solar cookers?

We'd love to know! Use the comments below to drop us a line with your thoughts!

Thanks for joining us for Solar Cooker week here on GreenJoyment.com