Natalie Barron from Bee Provident Supplies will be teaching a class on cooking with the Global Sun Oven on Tuesday, July 14, 2009, at Macey's Grocery Store at 931 W. State Street in Pleasant Grove, Utah at 7:00pm. To register for the class, call Macey's customer service desk at (801)796-6601.

And the winners are...

There was such a great response from people across Utah that it took Sun Ovens International a little longer than anticipated to compile all of the entries and randomly select the winners. We had a total of 442 entries divided among 58 participants.

Entries were received from all across Utah, including Logan, Ogden, Syracuse, Farmington, Salt Lake City, South Jordan, Lehi, Orem, Provo, Delta, Moab, Ivins, Hurricane, Cedar City and St. George.

Foods included quesidillas, a whole chicken, stews, steamed vegetables, muffins, cakes, granola, rice, mac & cheese, stuffed onions and potatoes, to name a few.

We congratulate everyone who entered the competition and thank you for taking action to reduce the cooking carbon footprint in Utah. Now, let's list the winners of the first ever Solar Cooking Challenge.

Paula Childs from Salt Lake City wins a Sun Oven
Carson King from Provo wins a Sun Oven

Susan King from Provo wins the pots and pans
Dawndra Mills from Syracuse wins the pots and pans
Genine Fulcher from Lehi wins the pots and pans

Leland Smith from Orem wins the SUNdays cookbook
Karen Taylor from St. George wins the SUNdays cookbook
Jordan McCullum from Orem wins the SUNdays cookbook
Linda Walker from South Jordan wins the SUNdays cookbook
Rebecca Middleton from Lehi wins the SUNdays cookbook

Again, congrats to everyone who entered.

SLC Mayor Becker Gets a Taste

Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker had the opportunity to taste a solar cooked meal as part of the Solar Cooking Challenge. The weather was pretty sketchy that day, but Paul Munsen with Sun Ovens International was able to speak with the Mayor about the many benefits to using a solar oven.

The Sun Oven works great as an emergency prep tool. But there was also discussion about its use as a piece of camping equipment. This is a product with many uses, and one that can save money on utility bills because it does not use electricity or gas from a conventional oven.

Paul even shared the WAPI (Water Purification Indicator) with Mayor Becker. The WAPI is a simple little tool for knowing when water that is placed in the Sun Oven has been purified, since the water won't really come to a boil in the oven.

So Far So Good!

One day into the Solar Cooking Challenge, residents across Utah are responding to the call and whipping out some great meals in their solar ovens. Here are some photos that have been submitted so far from people in Syracuse, Spanish Fork, Delta, Farmington and South Jordan.

Meals have include a complete breakfast (eggs, toast and bacon), chicken fajitas, oats, chocolate chip pan cookies, muffins and cakes.

Way to go Utah. Even though the weather is a little cloudy today, let's get ready and hit it hard over the weekend and see how many more meals and photos will help contribute to cleaner air in Utah as we reduce the fuels burned and electricity used for cooking.

Keep cooking Utah.

Newspaper Article on Solar Cooking in Utah

The Salt Lake Tribune published a great article yesterday about solar cooking and the Solar Cooking Challenge, which kicks off today. Click here to read the article.

To submit your entry for the Solar Cooking Challenge, click here or on the link in the upper right-hand corner of the blog. And don't forget, the more meals you cook in it, and photos you submit, the better your chances are of winning some of the great prizes.

Plus, check below for information on the classes that are being held on Friday and Saturday of this week. Learn how to solar cook if this is something that you have never done before. Keep your eyes in the Utah media and look for stories about how easy solar cooking can be and the many benefits of solar cooked food.

Utah's Solar Cooking Challenge

Is Utah up for the challenge?

Estimates place more than 7,000 solar ovens in Utah, but only about 40 percent of them are being used on a semi-regular basis. The rest are setting in boxes next to the large food storage shelves in Utah basements. While solar ovens make a great emergency preparedness tool, there are many Green benefits to it, too.

Sun Ovens International is calling on all Utah residents to take part in the Solar Cooking Challenge from June 25 through July 1. As meals are cooked, people can show off their culinary cuisines via the link on the blog (forthcoming) and enter for a chance to win cool prizes - Sun Ovens, pots, pans, and cookbooks.

The goal is to cook 50,000 meals during the challenge, which is a lofty goal, but achievable through a commitment of Utah residents to open those solar oven boxes and give it a whirl. Some of the solar cooking benefits include:

No Emissions - Since there are no fuels being burned (i.e. propane, charcoal, wood, natural gas), there are no harmful emissions being released into Utah's air. The only thing emanating from the oven will be the smells of cooking food.

No Air Conditioning - When cooking in the conventional oven in the kitchen, the house inevitably begins to heat up as the heat from the even seeps into the kitchen and throughout the house. This means the air conditioning has to turn on and fight against the oven. By cooking outdoors, you eliminate this battle of energy consumers - Oven v. Air Conditioning.

Won't Burn - Solar cooking, at least in a Sun Oven, helps eliminate burnt foods. The sealed box keeps moisture in, while cooking in a conventional oven or on the stove allows the moisture to escape.

If you don't know how to cook in a solar oven, here are three classes that are taking place in Utah:

Friday June 26 10 am
Kitchen Kneads
3030 Grant
Ogden, UT 84401

Saturday June 27 10 am
Kitchen Kneads
7579 S Redwood Road
West Jordan, UT 84084

Saturday June 27 12:00-2:00 PM
Vernon Worthen Park
300 South 400 East
St George UT 84770

These classes are great opportunities to learn about the many benefits of solar cooking, see the oven in action and take advantage of the Solar Cooking Challenge June 25 through July 1.

Bread Secrets

This past weekend was fantastic for cooking in the sun. Temperatures weren't too hot to keep people inside, but the sun was unabated from cloud cover. LaRue, a Utah dealer of the Sun Oven, was out in West Jordan at a Mother's Day Garden Fair for the Jordan Valley Water Conservancy District, and in addition to showing people just how the Sun Oven works from the booth space she had, she taught two classes that proved very useful.

The photo included with this post shows one of her many secrets to baking bread. She baked this bread the previous day to use as an example of how well the Sun Oven can cook breads. Because of how the Sun Oven cooks, the bread will not turn brown as it cooks. In order to get this affect, you have to grab a little squirt bottle and spray a little water on top. This concept is similar to when you go swimming and the water on your skin gets a little more tan because the water magnifies the rays of the sun, thus turning your skin (or the bread crust) brown.

If anyone else has some secret methods for baking bread, or anything else, please share them at sunovensusa@gmail.com.

Sun Ovens in the Utah News

Natalie Barron with Bee Provident Supplies in Lehi, Utah was at the EarthFest at the University of Utah during Earth Day 2009. While at the event, Fox13 reporter Scott McKane came to cover EarthFest and ended up interviewing Natalie about the Sun Oven. It was aired later that day on KSTU Fox 13.

For those living in Davis or Weber County, you may be interested in an article from the Standard Examiner, "Baking while the sun Shines." Jeff Demoss interviewed Paul Munsen with Sun Ovens International while he was here on tour. Demoss also interviewed Delois with Survival Solutions in Layton, who sell the Sun Oven. It is a great article, and if you are interested in reading it, click here.

Both Bee Provident Supplies and Survival Solutions are dealers of the Sun Oven, and there are also other dealers throughout the state.

News segments in Utah media

Mike and Natalie Barron (Bee Provident Supplies) did a great segment this morning on KJZZ at 9:25 a.m. They had set the Sun Oven up around 8:40 a.m. and by showtime, the oven had reached 320 degrees. They had cooked some bread over the weekend and that was used in the segment to show that you really can cook in the Sun Oven.

The Barron's are from Utah County and recently became a dealer of the Sun Ovens. To find a Utah dealer in your area, click here.

The weather in Utah is supposed to be in the low 70s for the next few days, so it is perfect weather for cooking in the Sun.

If anyone missed any of the other news segments that featured the Sun Oven, check out the links to the stories below, listed in chronological order.

KSL Studio 5 - Paul Munsen talks about the Sun Oven in studio

Good Things Utah - Paul Munsen shows the Global and Villager Sun Ovens

The Spectrum (St. George) - Paul Munsen is part of a class in St. George on solar cooking

KCSG (St. George) - Paul Munsen shows and discusses both the Villager and Global Sun Ovens

KSL5-News - Jed Boal reports on the Global Sun Oven

Enjoy the stories and share them with your friends. If you are doing something in your area with the Sun Oven (i.e. teaching a class, using it regularly, cooking something unique, etc.), e-mail sunovensusa@gmail.com and we will share your stories with everyone.

Free Solar Cookings Class - Friday (April 17)

The Villager Sun Oven is being featured at two upcoming classes during its last week full week on tour in Utah. Don't miss your chance to cook with the power of the Sun. The classes are free to attend and both the Villager and the Global Sun Oven will be on display, and food will be cooked (as weather permits).

Don't forget about the classes in Logan at Macey's this Saturday. See previous posts for more information on those classes.

Here are the details for the two classes held this week in Salt Lake County. We will see you there.

Wednesday, April 15 from 11-1 p.m. and from 5:30 to 7:00 p.m.
3131 East Delsa Drive (3995 South)
Salt Lake County
Call LaRue with any questions - (801) 278-9473

Friday, April 17 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
The Cove at Herriman Springs
7200 West 14200 South
Salt Lake County
Call Michelle with any questions - (801) 253-7355

Update on Tour Schedule

Today, Paul Munsen will be in Vernal at the Garden Show, featuring the Sun Oven. There wasn't space for the Villager Sun Oven to be at the event, but the Global Sun Oven will be there. Here is a quick rundown of the schedule for the remainder of the month with events that relate to the Villager Sun Oven Tour:

• Friday, April 10 - Annual Spring Home & Garden Show And Outdoor Expo at Vernal's Western Park.
• Saturday, April 11 - Class at Kitchen Kneads begins at 10 a.m. 7579 S Redwood Rd., West Jordan (801) 561-9616
• Saturday, April 11 - Civil Defense Volunteers of Utah meeting at 7:00 pm at the Salt Lake City and County Building
• Wednesday, April 15 - LaRue Howells will be doing a demo on Solar Cooking, which will include the Villager and Global Sun Ovens from 11-1 p.m. (801) 278-9473
• Friday, April 17 - LaRue Howells will be doing a demo on Solar Cooking, which will include the Villager and Global Sun Ovens from 11-1 p.m. (801) 278-9473
• Saturday, April 18 - Class at Maceys begins at 11:00 a.m., 12:30 p.m. and 2 p.m. 50 North Highway 165, Logan/Providence (435)-753-3301
• Wednesday, April 22 - Earthfest at the Union Plaza at the University of Utah from 10:30AM-1:30PM

Also, keep an eye out in the Standard Examiner in Ogden, Utah for an upcoming article on the Villager and Global Sun Ovens, as well as KJZZ and other news media.

Great story on KSL's Studio 5

Paul Munsen with Sun Ovens International did a great job on a five-minute segment on KSL's (Channel 5) Studio 5 at 11 a.m. yesterday. Prior to the segment, he cooked some cinnamon rolls in the Global Sun Oven, then as the segment was winding down, he and the host, Darin, got to bite into them. They were delicious.

Click here to view the segment online.

It was a great segment because it showed the practical uses of the Sun Oven and how easy and fun it is to cook in it. I know the weather is a little "unsure" at this time of year, but knowing that the Oven works, especially with a hot Utah summer just around the corner, it's a great time to look at getting one.

Story in St. George

The Villager Sun Oven was in St. George on Saturday doing some classes and was picked up by the television station in that area, KCSG. You can watch the video from the segment, which lasts about 2.5 minutes and talks about many of the different elements of the Sun Oven - environmentally friendly, great tasting food (more moist) and just something fun to cook in.

Click here to see story, then click on WATCH VIDEO.

Newspaper Article on Villager Sun Oven

Here is a link to the article in the St. George Spectrum from its class and visit to the area yesterday. More photos from the event will be posted later, but enjoy the article. It will be making it's way to northern Utah on Tuesday of next week, so keep you eyes peeled.

Click here to read article.

Villager Sun Oven on Tour in Utah (April 3-18)

The Villger Sun Oven is coming to Utah from April 3 through April 18. For those of you who are not familiar with the Villager, here is a brief excerpt pulled from their Web site, about the Villager:

"The VILLAGER SUN OVEN® is designed for large-scale feeding situations that require cooking great volumes of food quickly. Even though it is called an oven, enormous quantities of food can be boiled, steamed or baked at cooking temperatures of 500° F / 260° C with no fuel costs."

Here is a list of the times, dates and locations that the Villager Sun Oven will be featured during it's Utah Tour.

• Saturday, April 4 - St. George - Vernon Worthen Park 300 South 400 E. St. George, Utah


• Tuesday, April 7 - Salt Lake City - Good Things Utah (Channel 4) at 10 a.m.


• Wednesday, April 8 - Salt Lake City - KSL Studio 5 (Channel 5) at 11 a.m.


• Saturday, April 11 - West Jordan - Kitchen Kneads 7579 S Redwood Rd. (801) 561-9616


• Saturday, April 18 - Logan/Providence - Maceys 50 North Highway 165 (435)-753-3301

If you are interested in seeing the Villager Sun Oven, you are welcome to e-mail sunovensusa@gmail.com to request a presentation, and we will see what is available.

Once the tour in Utah is complete, the Villager Sun Oven will head to California for a Google Earth Earth Day celebration. Earth Day is planned for April 22, 2009, the same day as the event in California. Here in Utah, the Sun Oven will be featured at Earthfest at the Union Plaza at the University of Utah from 10:30AM-1:30PM.

Take these opportunities to learn more about solar cooking and get a glimpse of the Villager of Global Sun Oven. They are pretty cool. We will keep posting information about the progress of the tour, so be ready for more updates.

Here are some photos that I was sent last week. I know this blog focuses a lot on Sun Ovens in Utah, but these photos from Arizona are very applicable to things that can be done in Utah with Sun Ovens. An LDS Ward in Arizona had a neighborhood picnic and the food was cooked in the Sun Oven. Here is some of the text from the e-mail I was sent:

"We had a Ward Picnic last weekend and we had seven ovens with all kinds of meat from chuck roast, Pork Tenderloin, Tri Tip Roast and BB ribs. Everyone had a great time...and others commented on how simple it was and delicious the food." - Terry

The photos are pretty cool, and even though the weather in Utah is very snowy this week, this could be a great way of coordinating a ward or neighborhood activity here in Utah as the spring weather emerges from the white of winter.

Here is a recipe and story that was submitted to sunovensusa@gmail.com. It looks like a great recipe, so people might have to try it out. Thanks to Sherry for submitting the recipe and story. Everyone is welcome to share their experiences and we are happy to post them to the blog.

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I just received my Sun Oven today and cooked the following recipe for our supper. When I cook it in my conventional oven, the top dries out and the meat sticks to the pan, but in the Sun Oven it was moist and slipped right out of the loaf pans that I purchased with the oven.

I look forward to baking a batch of bread in it soon :-)

Sherry
Manti, Utah

Potato Meat Pie
1 lb. ground beef
8 servings (2 2/3 cups) instant potato flakes
1 egg
1 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
1 Tbs minced onion
1/4 cup ketchup
1 cup milk
1/8 cup margarine (1/4 cube)
1/2 cup shredded cheese.

Mix beef, 1 1/3 cup dry potato flakes, egg, 1/2 tsp salt, pepper, onion, ketchup, and 1/2 cup milk

Place in 2 loaf pans.

Bake 325-350 degrees . . . 1 hour 15+ minutes in Sun Oven (until meat is cooked.)

Potato Topping
Boil 1 1/3 cups water with 1/8 cup margarine and 1/2 tsp salt
Remove from heat and add 1/2 cup milk to boiling water
Stir in 1 1/3 cups dry instant potato flakes

Spread on top of meatloaf
Top with shredded cheese
Return to Sun Oven until cheese is melted
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Indoor cooking with a Sun Oven

This may sound a little different, but I was able to cook inside using the Sun Oven. I work in downtown Salt Lake during the day, which makes it a little difficult to set up my Sun Oven outside of my office to cook a lunch.

So, just for fun I set up the Sun Oven in the large conference room at my office, where the sun shines directly through, and let it heat up for about 20 minutes. Then I stuck my corn dogs in it and left them for about 30 minutes. When I got back to them, they were crisp and ready to eat. I would have to admit that the Sun Oven cooked corn dog was a lot better than the soggy ones I usually get out of the microwave.

I guess it goes to show that the Sun Oven really can be used where ever there is sun - indoor and outdoor.

The photo shows it in it's indoor action. Sorry, no video for this one. Maybe another time.

News story on Sun Ovens in Utah

A local television news station recently did a story on Sun Ovens in Utah. It was a great story that showed how the Sun Oven works here in Utah, and how there are so many benefits to using the Sun Oven.

Here is a link to the video: http://www.ksl.com/index.php?nid=148&sid=5845295

The two people who were featured in the segment, LaRue Howells and Kitchen Kneads (West Jordan) are dealers of the Sun Oven, so for anyone interested in purchasing a Sun Oven, here is their contact information:

LaRue - (801) 278-9473
Kitchen Kneads - (801) 561-9616
Click here to link to other dealers of the Sun Oven in Utah, which are located throughout the state

Enjoy watching the segment.

Share your recipes or experiences

The weather in Utah has not been very good this week. We have had a storm about every other day in my Layton neighborhood. For this reason, I really don't have too much to write about this week. I did want to see if any of the readers of this blog have any recipes they would like to share, or experiences with the Sun Oven.

E-mail your recipes or experiences to sunovensusa@gmail.com, and I will try to post some of them in subsequent postings.

Hopefully this weather will clear up and I can do some additional videos or cooking in the oven.

I guess I also work during the day, so weekends are my primary time to cook some things.

An Emergency Prep Tool

One of the reasons that I was interested in the Sun Oven is because I am the Emergency Prep Specialist in my ward. In some of our meetings we have talked about what to do if there was an emergency that knocked out power for a long period of time. How would our neighborhood plan assure that the people who needed to stay warm the most (elderly and young children) had a way to keep warm. Many of the resources we found related to things like a Mr. Buddy space heater. But, the fuel (propane) that is used for that, would also be used in my little Coleman stove grill. So if my fuel got low, would I rather keep warm or eat warm food?

When I was cooking my brownies and my wife and I experienced how the Sun Oven worked, we saw the immediate practical application and appeal the oven has to emergency prep. I know there have been a lot of winter storms sweeping the country, which has knocked out power for days, so I know the scenario I outlined above isn't too far-fetched. A few years ago my wife, young son and I lost power the day after Christmas and our little apartment got pretty cold for the next two days before the power was reestablished.

If the storm is persistent, I will admit that it may make it difficult to cook in the oven, since it works best when the sky is clear and sun is high in the sky, but it is still nice to know that the Sun Oven would allow me to heat and cook food, which will allow me to eat the soups and cook the rice that I have on my food storage shelves in the basesment.

So, the Sun Oven comes in pretty hand for emergency prep supplies and there are numerous retailers in Utah, so if you want to see where to get one, click on the link on the right-hand top of the blog. Enjoy.

A winter update

Dear Solar Cooker folks,

I just read a posting on the SunOven blog. I'm not sure who will read this, but here goes . . .

I've been a user of solar cookers since 1989, when I first read about them in a Christian Science Monitor article that described the solar box cooker. I wrote for the plans for the Solar Box Cooker -- Patio Model from Sheri Cole from Phoenix, Arizona, and worked with my teenage sons to build one over a couple of weekends. (The plans cost $5, and the materials were about $75, mainly for the double pane glass). We have used it during the summer months since then. It's big and holds 2 pots or more, with a huge reflector lid.

But the major problem with it is that it's basically useless during the winter months. So when I learned of the Global Sun Oven and what it would do, I was intrigued. My neighbor had one, so I was able to try it out before purchasing one for our familly. We bought one for ourselves and for the two sons who worked on the original one, who are now in their thirties, one married and one single with his own home. Some other people went in on the purchase as well, so we were able to get the lower price (5 or more ovens ordered).

I am delighted to have a sun oven that works during the winter months. We were out of town last week -- attending the Inauguration in Washington D.C., a fantastic experience -- but the week before I made solar brown rice and some banana bread. Today, with partially cloudy skies, I put in some wheat to make "wheatberries" for breakfast cereal and "bulgar wheat" for salads or other dishes.

My interest in solar cookers is mainly in using my food storage and in energy conservation. We make use of the oven probably 2-3 times per week, weather permitting.

I'll try to dig our old tried-and-true solar box cooker out of the snow pile for a photo one of these days. It continues to work miraculously during the summer. However, today in Logan is cold, and it would only warm food, not boil water.

The sky has now clouded over, but I think that there was enough sun at noon to cook the wheat. If not, I can put the pan in a snow bank and fire it up on another day.

It will be fun to share recipes and tips. I think sun ovens are the key to using food storage and to eating more nutritiously (and I do like food!).

Signing off on a Tues. afternoon in beautiful Cache Valley -

Nick Eastmond

Getting my Sun Oven

I recently received my Sun Oven and was pretty skeptical at first. It seemed like an interesting concept, but getting the necessary heat without using electricity or gas seemed far-fetched. I had talked to some other Utah residents who had used it, so I figured it would be worth a try. I set it up the first time at about 3:45 in the afternoon, just to see how hot I could get it. It would go above 130 degrees, but I was assuming because it was winter and the sun was getting pretty low in the sky by that time.

I figured I would try it on a Saturday when I was home during mid-day. I set it out in my backyard on top of my patio table (which had a nice 1" layer of ice and snow on it) and let it pre-heat. After about 30 minutes it was at 325 degrees, which is what my brownie recipe called for. I had my kids help me mix it up and then placed it in an 8x8 cake pan then stuck it in the oven. I set the timer for 50 minutes, because that was what the recipe called for. However, my wife needed me to run to the mall to buy her a new shirt because we were getting family pictures taken that day, so I didn't get back to pull them out of the Sun Oven until 75 minutes after I had put them in the oven. In a conventional oven, that would have been some pretty burnt brownies, but I was surprised to find my brownies pretty moist and well cooked throughout.

I shared the brownies with my inlaws and around the office the next Monday. I had filmed my endeaver and it can be viewed from the video bar on the side of this blog. Needless to say, it did work and both my wife and I think it is pretty cool and can see some real practical applications for the Sun Oven and emergency preparedness. Check em out, if you haven't yet, and see about getting one. They are cool (though they get hot) and fun to use, I just have to plan a little further in advance when I plan to use it.

I'll keep posting and sharing my experiences, and trying to add some videos to the blog, too. So keep checking back.