Monday, July 9, 2012

Solar cooker cooking: Sweet potatoes, Garbanzo beans

This is my solar cooker all set up.  I have two sweet potatoes in this makeshift pan cooking.  Notice it is a black pan in order to help absorb heat.  It is actually two round black pans, one being used as a lid to help increase the heat.  Once you put the food and pans into the cooker, place the glass over the top.  I had to use a brick to hold it in place because I used an old storm window which was too big for the box.  The box top is also not terribly flat and the weight helps make a tight seal.  You can probably alter most recipes so that you can use this cooker for them, it will just be a bit of a learning curve like anything else.  I started with baked sweet potatoes because it is ok if you over or under cook them a little bit.  These took 6 hours and came out nice and soft.  I went out part way through and changed the angle of the cooker so that it was pointing at the sun.  I noticed that it had started to be shaded which is not any good for cooking.  I have also made beans in this cooker since.  I just did garbanzo beans in water to be used for another recipe.  This took 8 hours and they came out great as well.  It just takes a little planning in advance and this cooker is an excellent addition to my "kitchen."

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