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.

=======================
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
=======================

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