Sun Worship - of the Culinary Kind

Patience... must have patience. It is April 16 and it's cloudy again after only 1 day of sun (yesterday) in what seems like forever! It snowed on Easter and several times since, when it wasn't raining instead. I appreciate the good this is doing for the water table, but I WANT SUN!

I shouldn't complain too much. Despite a full work day, we took full advantage of the sunny day we were given, and I hear there is hope for the near future.
I had been hoarding large laundry items such as towels and the dog blanket for the car, and we were able to get these washed and dried outside on the line. In wet weather we have a retractable clothesline and a wooden drying rack upstairs that works great for most stuff.

We also got the solar oven set up and managed to get the two most common (for us) solar dishes cooked before the sky became covered with the high clouds of today's dreariness. First was rice.
By far the easiest way to get perfect brown rice is to bake it, and the solar oven is perfect. We try to use covered glass casseroles for most of our solar cooking, and this is no exception. In a 2 1/2 Qt. casserole place 2 cups of rice and 4 cups of water. Cover and place in preheated solar oven and cook until all the water has disappeared. Voila` Perfect rice! See the wonderful Spanish Rice recipe from Morning Hill Cookbook on an earlier blog post (in the comments section).

Once the rice was done, we immediately replaced it with Banana Cake. Our family has never been big fans of banana bread (which would also bake fabulously in the solar oven), we prefer a cake to use up those bananas that have gotten softer than we like to eat fresh. We bake it in an 8" square pan and serve it without frosting, although you could fancy it up that way if you like.

Simmonsville Solar Banana Cake:
Mix together and set aside:
2 1/2 cups flour (we use whole wheat)
1/2 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

In mixing bowl,
cream 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
Add 1-1/2 cups brown sugar (you can use 3/4 cup honey instead) and beat until light.
Beat in 2 eggs, one at a time
Stir in 1/2 tsp cinnamon
(Optional - add 1/4 tsp cardamom)

In a 2 cup measure mash 1 cup bananas (3 bananas is perfect)
Add 1 tsp vanilla and 1/4 cup yogurt or buttermilk

Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture in about 3 parts, alternating with the banana mixture, blending until smooth after each addition.
Stir in:
1/2 cup chopped nuts (walnuts or pecans) and/or dried cranberries, dried blueberries or whatever inspires you!
Bake in greasecd 8x8 inch or 9x13 inch pan (thinner, but just as good) in preheated solar oven until done . It will be brown on top and, when tested with a toothpick or broomstraw - should come out dry.
In conventional oven, bake at 350 degrees for about 1/2 hour.

Enjoy!
P.S. I am happy to finally get to post this on a SUNNY day 9 days later...

Spring in the Garden... Baking in the Sun

Wahoo! A few consecutive days of warm, sunny weather! After weeks of on and off snow and a definite chill in the air, despite signs of spring like blooming daffodils and fruit trees, this warm interlude is very welcome.
We have been out in the garden preparing for the growing season. Working on the strawberry bed, mulching the rhubarb, weeding the asparagus, planting lettuce and peas, tending the garlic, and generally mowing down the cover crop and preparing to till and plant when our clay soil dries up some.
The end of winter/early spring is one of the least productive times in the garden, but we still have carrots, chard, beets, and even found a cabbage sprout that did not go to seed, but made a small cabbage instead. Better yet, there is finally new growth on the rhubarb and the asparagus is coming on.

Poor asparagus, the first spears that poked up were turned to mush by freezing cold. Now that it is not going below the mid - 30's we have been able to harvest the first of it. Even better, the rhubarb seems to have come up in force almost overnight!

We love rhubarb. Tart rhubarb pie with cold vanilla ice cream is to die for. We even like it made into a sauce to pour over custard or ice cream. This first rhubarb inspired me to indulge in one of our other favorite sunny day pastimes - cooking in our solar oven.

Solar ovens are wonderful. The first one here was modified cardboard boxes with foil lined reflectors and insulation between the boxes. It worked excellently, but despite our best care the cardboard started to warp and disintegrate in a couple of years. So we finally purchased a commercial one (then another!) and have been cooking in them almost every sunny day ever since, even in mid winter.
Think of them as a solar powered crock pot that also can bake. It is absolutely the best way to cook brown rice. Beans, stews, curries, lasagna, casseroles, pot roasts... all of these cook to perfection. Breads, cakes, brownies, and cobblers do just as well. We even use it to bake granola - which is the only thing we have ever burnt in it (oops...).

On the day we picked the rhubarb we just happened to have some organic strawberries I got in town, so it was obvious we had to make a strawberry - rhubarb treat.
I had already made some Spanish rice in the Sun Oven in the morning, so it was set up, pre-heated, and ready. I put together a quick and easy crisp and we had it by late afternoon, it cooked while we worked in the garden. All we had to do was check it and turn the oven now and then.
Now, you can easily cook in a solar oven without turning it. Just aim it somewhat west of the direct sun so the sun will hit it for the longest period of time. We built a giant turntable for ours using the base for a "Lazy Susan" and a scrap piece of countertop. This way we can turn it to follow the sun all day using a wedge to hold it in place so it doesn't turn freely in the wind.

You can build a solar oven easily yourself. There are many plans available on the internet, from simple Pizza Box "warming" ovens to a good basic cardboard box model: Solar oven plans . Lots of good information and more plans are in the book, "Heaven's Flame" .

For a wonderful, durable, reasonably priced solar oven, we use and recommend the Global SunOven.
Links to more information and cookbooks can be found at: Morning Hill
By the way, you will want some glass casserole dishes with lids. Colored glass is best, but they can be hard to find and/or expensive. K mart had the least expensive new ones I could find, and they crop up all the time in second hand stores.
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Now, about the Strawberry-Rhubarb Crisp... Here is the recipe:

Solar Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp
Use all organic ingredients, if possible.
3 to 4 cups fresh rhubarb stalks, cut in 1 inch chunks
1 pint of Strawberries, sliced
1/2 cup sugar or honey
1 Tbsp minute Tapioca
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1 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup flour (whole wheat or white)
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 cup chopped nuts (walnuts, pecans, or almonds)(optional)
a pinch of salt
5 Tbsp. butter, melted (you could use oil, but it is not near as tasty)
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Preheat your Solar Oven.
Mix the fruit, sweetener and tapioca in a 2 1/2qt casserole or 9"x 9"x 2" baking dish, set aside.
In a medium size bowl, mix together the remaining dry ingredients. Add the melted butter and stir until just mixed. Now sprinkle the oat mixture over the fruit and pat lightly.
Bake in the solar oven until top is crisp and browned and the fruit is bubbling up around the edges, 40 minutes to 1 hour (or more) as needed.
Best served still warm with ice cream.

I would love for others to share their favorite spring and/or solar oven recipes.