Today I dusted off my solar oven and decided to cook the potatoes I will need for my Shepherd’s Pie I’ve planned for dinner tonight. Solar cooking definitely requires planning ahead, especially during the rainy season in Florida. I can’t really cook a dinner dish because it starts clouding up and raining around 2 o’clock. So, knowing I needed mashed potatoes for dinner, I decided to try baking them during the morning hours and then fixing them at dinner time.
It all worked out pretty well. The potatoes were not quite as soft as I like, but they were “mashable” and edible. During the winter months, I should be able to fix the whole dish (except for browning the ground beef) without using fossil fuels.
My goal is to cook or bake with my solar oven at least once per week, with the ultimate goal to be cooking with the sun on an almost daily basis. Like everything else, reaching my goal will require planning (something I struggle with). I keep pressing on though, know that every time I cook with the sun I’m saving my family money, and conserving nonrenewable energy.
