Not everything I try works...learning from a failure

Winter desolation.....in my backyard.  It's a cold Winter morning.  Of course I would be the one to try something new with the snow and cold outside....who else?  I knew the sun would be changing soon, so I decided to try my Sun Oven in this cold weather.

I decided to make Chili from items from my Pantry/Food Storage.

Here I am adding Canned Beans

I then added my Tomato concoction.

In went my canned Hamburger.

I added Dehydrated minced onion.

Chili powder was next....

Finally, Tomato Sauce.

See how the sun was moving quickly?  I set up the Sun Oven in the position that I traditionally use in the summer.  I let the Sun Oven heat up for a while.

I placed the Chili in the Sun oven.

I, again going off the settings and positioning from last summer, left my Sun Oven and went off to Church for 3 hours.

How did it turn out after I returned to my home? Not so well

There was a significant amount of condensation on the glass and the temperature was....really....low.

I brought the Chili and and used my temperature probe.  Look at the temperature....  Ugh, I had an epic failure here.

Why am I showing you this?  Well, first of all my neighbor told me that that everything I do (for this blog) turns out perfectly.  So not!  I don't always share the 'misses' and 'mistakes'.  So, today I am showing something that did not work.  

Image and information courtesy of Sungage

Here is what I believe happened.  Look at Figure (b) in the Summer, the rays hit the ground more directly.  Now look at figure (c) as this depicts the sun rays direction in the winter. This means that it would take more rays and a longer period of time to heat up in the winter.  This is a big deal!

Here is information about using this device in the Winter from the Sun Oven Website

Can I use a SUN OVEN® in the winter?

Yes, a SUN OVEN® can be used on a clear winter day. The most important factor in using a SUN OVEN® is the brightness of the sun, not the outside air temperature. Often, a 40-degree, clear, low-humidity day will allow food to cook faster than a 100-degree day with high humidity. The SUN OVEN® has been used very successfully at the base camp of a Mt. Everest expedition where the temperatures are often well below zero. There are, however, more cooking hours available in the summer than in the winter. In the summer, it is not unusual to cook from 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM, whereas during the early winter, effective cooking is limited to 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM.

I didn't start this oven until 12:30 p.m. and came home near 4:00 p.m.  I used it in the wrong time frame.

Am I giving up?  No, I will try this again this winter, however, I will babysit it next time.  I need to know that this is a viable option should I need it in the winter.  

So, this is just a learning experience...nothing more or less. I look forward to learning more as I build my skill set by using the tools I have available to me.

Should you cook frozen items in your Sun oven unattended all day?

I have been on vacation since July 24th.  Yes, I really have and I have both rested and worked during that time.  This past week, I worked along beside  my Sisters who all happened to be in town.  My parents have purchased a new home and my other sisters, who are part decorator, descended upon thier home to help make it worthy of being featured on the Parade of Homes....not that anyone has asked:).

What may my role have been?  I was a mover, organizer, companion, chauffeur, and basic laborer.  This is because I just don't think as creatively as they do, and I am perfectly fine with that.  I tend to be more of an analytical thinker....they are more creative.  This arrangement just works for us.

My sisters also have an interest in preparedness and food storage.  One day, I volunteered to cook dinner...in my Sun oven.  They had heard of it but had not seen one up close.  I decided to do something very easy....Roast and vegetables.

As you can hopefully see in the picture above, I used a Cooking Magic Bag. I just love these things.  I placed sliced onion on the bottom and then halved little new potatoes and added baby carrots.  I placed a frozen roast on top and sprinkled onion soup mix on the roast.  The bag was closed up, a black napkin was placed inside of the pan before bag of food was placed on top of that.  This dark napkin helps to attract the sun as the pan underneath was a disposable aluminum pan that would reflect the heat away.

I then began to show my family members how to align the Sun Oven with the sun by aligning the circles of light on the two indicators that come with the device. This appeared to be a bit enlightening for my sisters as they couldn't understand what these little 'white things' were for initially.

I intermittently went out to check the oven and had to move it and realign the little circles of light as the sun moved over head.  I used a frozen roast on purpose.  When I attended the class to learn how to use the Sun Oven, several participants state that they put frozen items in the sun oven in the morning before they leave for work and eat the prepared meal when they returned home.

Well....how did it turn out?

This is the finished product.

I sliced the roast and it was cooked through.

How did it taste?

Well, my father was raised on a cattle ranch and considers himself to be somewhat of a connoisseur when it comes to beef.  He traditionally has a jar of Chili Sauce (that he and my mother can each year) ready to put on....everything. Imagine my surprise when he not only said the beef was good, but also when he did not put any Chili Sauce on it!

What did I learn with this?

Well, I learned a couple of things.

• I would hesitate to leave the Sun Oven unattended with a meal inside of it for the entire day.  I found I needed to make little adjustments every few hours. Plus, we went shopping for a while. As I was unfamiliar with the 'shade' pattern that my parents new home made as morning faded into the afternoon, my little device was shaded when I came home.  I quickly checked the food and it was very, very hot still.  I was lucky.....
• I would cut up my vegetables into smaller chunks. They were cooked, but firm.  I didn't add any liquid as I knew this was a closed system.  I was counting on the juices from the frozen roast to be the liquid in the bag. There was liquid, but apparently it did not steam as I thought I should.  
• This device creates some buzz.  A neighbor came over to see what we were doing.  My Dad tried to give him the 10 cent tour as we were all inside the house except him.  A couple of days later, the neighbor asked if it worked. My sisters answered for me...a resounding yes.  
• This worked well as it was really hot this past week.  My parents new home heats up when the oven is used.  So, we could have this meal without heating their home.  I would do this again in a heartbeat!

Here comes the Sun......

This is Paul Munsen, the President of "Sun Oven".  He recently taught a class on the new "All American Sun Oven" at the Honeyville Store in SLC.  I went just to learn about this new product only as I already have a Solar Oven that I really love.

However, once I heard about all the upgrades and things that it could do...yes I really did it.....I bought one for myself.  I think that both of my solar ovens have distinct uses and I look forward to using them both!

Well, I got it home....in a very big box.  This deal through Honeyville includes several extra's.  (Please know that this deal ends today).  The unit itself weighs 22 lbs and is easy to carry.

These items came with this purchase.  Upgrades to the unit are as follows:

• A "T" leg with 2 stakes are included to ensure the unit stays stable in windy conditions.
• Three racks are included to be used for Dehydration or from layered cooking (like cookie sheets).  Also a roll of Parchment paper is provided for dehydrating.
• 2 Dark Round Enamel Pans that stack if you wish. Each pan has a different lid, one dark and one clear. 
• 2 Bread pans
• One Multi-Fuel Water Pasteurizing Indicator (WAPI).  More about this cool little device later.

Well, I just opened the device.  See the 'self-leveling' grill inside?  I love this as your food will always be level no matter what angle you are tilting your oven.  In addition, this new All American 's rack can handle a 9x13 pan means the inside of this unit is larger than the previous model.

I love these.  They are called "E-Z Sun-track indicators".  Essentially, you line up the light coming through the top hole with the hole on the bottom to indicate that you unit is in the best position for direct sunlight.  Every thirty minutes, you may have to adjust you unit as the sun travels. These indicators make it a snap.

This is a "T leg" that is used to adjust the angle of the unit.  The previous unit reportedly only had a single leg. This "T" shape helps the unit be more stable and is adjustable.

Here is the leg being used.

At the bottom of the "T" are holes that allow you to stake the unit to the ground to keep it from being blown over by the wind. You reportedly can also insert the ends of Bungee cords into each hole. This way you can run the Bungee cord under the table and secure it from wind as well. 

You need to remove the protective coating off the reflective surfaces.

The unit also comes with a built-in thermostat.  This one raised 100 degrees in under 5 minutes while we were pulling off the protective covering of the reflective surfaces.

Here, Rooster Senior is getting the last little bit of coating off, and the unit is ready to use.

These are the stacking pots.  Since the the unit cooks evenly instead of just getting heat from the bottom, stacking is efficient.  The reason that we have to stir our food when cooking on the stove is that we are transferring heat from the burner to the bottom of the pot.  In order to keep the food from burning, we stir. With Solar Cooking, as long as the pans/containers are raised up off the floor of the device, heat circulates evening around everything inside and the food and containers are all the same temperature.

Experimenting on the word....

It is hard to see, but we have lined up the sunlight between the two circular openings.

In honor of Easter, I decided to 'hard boil' 2 eggs (without water). Mr. Munsen stated that this works really well with fresh eggs as the heat separates the shell and the lining and makes them easy to peel when they are cool.  I decided to try this.  It takes 50 minutes for one egg, and about 55 for 2.  He said up to an hour or more to do more.

I place the eggs on the self-leveling rack.

I left the unit to cook while I did other tasks inside the house.

When I came back out about 55 minutes later, the temperature in the unit was over 300 degrees.  

I opened the unit and took the egg out.....it was hot.

To check to see if the egg is cooked, spin it.  If it wobbles, the yolk most likely is not cooked.  If it spins, you should be good.  That was the case with these eggs....this one is actually spinning...but you can't tell in this still shot!.

After it cooled, I sliced it....see, it is cooked all the way through.

I learned a great deal from Mr. Munsen.  I look forward to using this device more fully.  I can't wait to try it on a Sunday.....for dinner!

BTW, Honeyville is selling this combination through the end of the month.  It should be available through other suppliers in April.

Consider it!

My Sunday Dinner......so easy!

Here is my Sunday Dinner complete with Barbecue Chicken Breast, Baked Beans, Potato Salad, and a Tossed Salad.  We get out of church at noon....we started to eat about 12: 20.  How did I do it?  Look and see.

I used my Solar Oven (Tulsi Hybrid Solar Oven).  It comes with it's own pans. I sprayed both pans (2 of the 4) with Vegetable Oil to make the clean up easier).  I put the chicken breasts in the left one (partially thawed) and covered them with barbecue sauce from my food storage room.  In the 2nd pan, I placed a pint jar of beans I had canned myself (pintos in this case).

Next, I put in some dehydrated onions, a few big squirts of ketchup, and a bit of Worcestershire sauce.

I placed them into the solar oven, closed the lids and put both side reflectors on.  I then made sure it was facing the sun....and left for church.

When I came home, the temperature was between 275 degrees and 300 degrees Fahrenheit.

It appears that I did not put one of the lids on tightly, but no matter, the temperature remained the same.

Rooster Senior helped by taking out the Chicken first....

And then the beans.  Theses pans were very hot....always use hot pads (and this oven even comes with one).

We placed the hot pans on hot-pot-holders on our patio table.We also had put a potato salad (made previously) and a quick tossed salad out.

The beans required a little stir to ensure all the ingredients were mixed together (lesson to self, stir before cooking).  The chicken was tender and delicious. The beans were really good as well.  After eating and having a really nice conversation during dinner, it was a quick trip to take the dishes to the dishwasher.   Total time from oven to dishwasher, just under an hour.

What is the point of all of this? A solar oven...with constant heat...can not only cook your foods, but keep them warm at a safe temperature.  These foods were not dried out and were very tender.  A great deal of the food we had today was from our Food Storage....and we practiced using our Solar Oven.  Finally, it was super easy to do.  On a hot day like today...who wants to heat up the kitchen.

So, the take home message...food storage is not something 'icky' and difficult. It is actually convenience foods...and they are easily retrieved from your stockpile.  Being prepared is about being obedient and exercising your faith.  It is also about making your life a bit easier....and healthful.  If you need a paradigm mind shift....pray and ask Heavenly Father to help you change your view about stocking up and being prepared.  I promise, there is piece of mind when you have your food and supplies in your home. Consider it.