12 Things You Need To Know About Cooking In Your Sun Oven--Sun Oven Day 2

12 Things You Need To Know About 
Cooking In Your Sun Oven

1.  There is a little prep work to do before you cook with a new Sun Oven

• Remove the sun oven from the box and packing material.  
• Carefully remove the blue protective film that covers the reflectors.
• Heat a pan of soapy water inside the sun oven.  Using the soapy water wash the inside of the oven well.  Be sure to pay special attention to the glass and the seal next to the glass.

2.  You need to preheat your Sun Oven. 

• To preheat the sun oven, find a location where there is unobstructed sun access. 
• Open the reflectors and position your oven so that the shadows fall evenly on either side of the oven, and the glass door has the full sun’s rays. (You may need to adjust the oven as you are cooking.)  
•  The glass should be held securely against the rubber seal using the small silver fasteners.  The screw that holds the reflectors in place should be turned so that if wind comes up the reflectors will stay in place.  
• Preheating is necessary when you do bread, cakes and other foods that rise, but it is not necessary for most casseroles. 

3.  You need bright sun light to cook in the Sun Oven.  If you can see your shadow then you can cook in the sun oven.  Because of wild fires the past week has been very hazy at my house consequently I have not been able to get my sun oven up to the 350 degrees I need to use it like a regular oven.  I can however get it hot enough to use it as a slow cooker.  

4.  Every time you open the door of your sun oven you lose about 25 degrees of heat.  So be prepared with all your supplies before you open the door.  Put your food in quickly and shut the glass tightly.

5. The inside of the sun oven is HOT!!!   It is deceiving at first you don’t think it is going to be hot.  It is be sure to use hot pads.
 

6.  If you spill something in your sun oven, let it cool down and then squirt it out with the hose.  You can use glass cleaner to clean the glass and the reflectors.   NEVER clean the hot glass with cold water it can crack the glass.

7. GET THE FOOD IN EARLY, AND DON’T WORRY ABOUT OVERCOOKING.
 

8. The best time to cook in your sun oven is when the sun is at its highest.  This is a little deceptive because it is warmest outside in the late afternoon so it seems like late afternoon would be the best time.  It isn’t.  Late morning to early afternoon is the best time to cook in the Sun Oven.

9. Do not add extra water when cooking in the sun oven. Water is dense and takes longer to heat than individual ingredients. Many recipes call for little or no water (as with crock pot recipes), relying instead on the natural moisture content of the ingredients.  It is not an omission in the recipe. 

10. There is a difference between cooking in your sun oven in the summer and in the winter.  As the earth tilts toward and away from the sun (as the seasons change) you use your sun oven a little differently.  In the winter 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.  During winter months use the extendable leg to aim the sun oven at the sun.  The sun oven it well insulated and the outside temperature plays little role in how hot the oven gets.  The sun oven will work well in the winter IF it is a sunny day.  In the summer:  12:00 noon to 4:00 p.m.  In the summer months do NOT use the extendable leg.  

Use the extendable leg only in the winter.

11.  Pay attention to your cookware.  It makes a big difference. Use dark or dull pans with a lid. Cook with a lid.  Most food, with the exception of cookies and open-faced cheese sandwiches, are cooked in containers with the lids on. The dark, porcelain-coated round and oval roasters are the best for most of the cooking and baking in the solar cooker. (The 9-inch round roaster makes a beautiful round loaf of bread). Be sure to use hot pads when removing the pots from the oven; the food will be hot!

Dark cookware works best. 

 

Stacking pans

Pans may be stacked to cook more than one item at a time.  When stacked everything cooks evenly (remember the sun oven works like a convection oven)

Pots may also be stacked allowing you to cook two different dishes at a time (think a starch and a protein)

12. If you can see your shadow it is a good day to cook in a sun oven.  If you cannot see your shadow don’t cook in your sun oven.

• GOOD: Clear and sunny.  Oven will preheat to 275° - 300°F (130° - 145° Celsius.)
• FAIR: Hazy or partly cloudy.  Oven will preheat to 200° - 225°F (95° - 105° Celsius.)
• BAD: On a completely cloudy day one cannot cook with the sun.  If the clouds move in and completely block the sun while cooking, simply finish the cooking in a non-solar way.

You might want to check out my Ultimate FREE Sun Oven PDF.

The Home Party Presentation Focusing on the Q.

Last week I participated in an opportunity meeting in Layton Utah.  Oppotunity meetings are a great way to get a ton of awesome training.  Watch on My Office news feed to see with there is a meeting near you.  

In the mean time:  I had Sariah video it for me so that I could share the training with all of you.   

Healthy Breakfast Cookies

Cookies for breakfast.  The words every kid wants to hear. 

One of the ways I’m getting ready to send the kids back to school is by making cookies for my kids to eat before school.  Did I mention they are healthy cookies? 

I’m not a morning person and sometimes when we are all running late on school days I send my kids out the door with a portable breakfast.   And yes sometimes that means Oreos for breakfast, but I swear that only happened one time. 

This year there will be no Oreos for breakfast instead I’m making a double batch of these healthy breakfast cookies and freezing them.  That way when we are crunched for time the kids can still eat a healthy breakfast.

These cookies have oats for fiber, flaxseeds and walnuts for omega-3s, dried fruit for antioxidants, and whole grain carbohydrates for energy.   They are low in fat and have a limited amount of sugar.  And the kids LOVE them.  

Healthy Breakfast Cookies

Printable Recipe

¼ cup butter

¾ cup unsweetened applesauce

½ cup granulated sugar

½ cup packed brown sugar

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

2 eggs  (or 2 tablespoons whole egg powderplus ¼ cup water)

1 cup old-fashioned oats

1/2 cup flaxseed

1/2 cup whole-wheat flour

1 1/2 cups 10 grain pancake mix (or use self-rising flour)

1 cup dried cranberries or cherries

1 cup chopped dried apricots (I use freeze dried apricots)

1 cup raisins

1 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350F.

Combine butter, sugars, salt and cinnamon in a large mixing bowl. Beat with a mixer at medium speed until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs and applesauce.

Stir in oats, flaxseed, whole-wheat flour and pancake mix (or self-rising flour). Stir in fruits and nuts until well combined.

Scoop dough onto a baking sheet, using a 1-ounce (2-tablespoon) scoop. Bake 10 to 13 minutes, until cookies are puffy and light tan. Be careful not to over bake. The centers will be a bit doughy and dense. Makes 2 dozen.

This recipe adapted from Relish Magazine.

Deal Alert: Freeze Dried Chopped Chicken

THRIVE Freeze Dried Chopped Chicken 12-Pack is on sale for $303.89.  You save $106.39.

Are you excited yet?  I sure am! This is only $25.32 per can.  Nearly half the cost of other freeze dried chicken.

This spring Shelf Reliance offered an amazing deal on freeze dried chicken and ground beef.  There was an overwhelming response and the package sold out almost instantly.  I’m excited to once again offer a great deal on freeze dried chicken.

What you need to know about this sale:

• Package contains 12 #10 cans of freeze dried chicken. 
• This sale is while supplies last or ends August 20^th
• The sealed shelf life is 25 years.
• Each #10 can contains 48 servings.  The package contains 576 servings.
• Quantities are limited. Sale end August 20^th  or when supply is gone, so don’t delay.
• Shipping can be delayed on sale items so plan accordingly.

Order THRIVE Freeze Dried Chopped Chicken 12 pack

Food Storage Building Blocks #2 Fat and Oils

                       

To Print Chart

When I was first building my food storage and trying to cook with it.  I ran across an article over at The Prudent Homemaker, that really impacted my ideas about food storage. 

After the family’s income was drastically reduced when the housing market tanked, the author, Brandy Simper had been living exclusively on her food storage.  She was frugal and careful and figured out how to feed her family with no grocery budget.  One of the things she said really hit me, when she did have a little money what did she buy?  

“ I buy oil, because I don't know when I'll get to go to the store again, and I don't want to run out before that time. We currently use about 1 gallon of oil a month, because of all the baking and other cooking that I do. I usually make French Bread, which doesn't call for any oil, but if your bread uses oil, you might need more oil in your storage.”  Brandy Simper, The Prudent Homemaker

Since reading about Brandy's experience I have been motivated to make sure I am storing enough fat and oil in my food storage.  It is not something I want to run out of.

Oil and fat are an essential part of our diet, and required to make many recipes.  Many of us store a lot of grains and dry beans, but I must say that in the event that I am eating exclusively out of my food storage I want to have enough oil and fat.

You should have at least 13 pounds of fat and oil to last 1 year for an adult.  Here is the recommended breakdown:

4 pounds of shortening

2 gallons of vegetable oil

2 quarts of Mayonnaise

1 quart of salad dressing

4 pounds of peanut butter.

 

Children need 7 pounds of fat and oil per year.  Here is the breakdown for a child:

2 pounds of shortening

1 gallons of vegetable oil

1 quarts of Mayonnaise

1 quart of salad dressing

2 pounds of peanut butter.

Source:  About.com Food Storage Calculator

The Big Problem with storing fats and oil

Fat goes rancid.   Particularly unsaturated oils like canola, olive, peanut or vegetable oil. 

 And there is really no coming back from rancid fat/oil.  

What causes oil to go rancid?  The regular suspects; heat, light and oxygen. 

How do you know your oil is rancid?  It tastes and smells bad.  Really bad.  It does not normally make your sick, but over time it can cause serious problem.

Source:  Live Strong

Because fat and oil have such a short shelf life they MUST be regularly rotated.   

 Food Storage Fat and Oil Comparison

		Cost:  August 2012
Vegetable Oil, opened	1-3 months	$8.98  for 5 quarts at Sam’s club
Vegetable Oil, unopened	6 months
Olive Oil, unopened early harvest, high polyphenol, filtered.  Packaged in a dark bottle and stored in a cooled dark place. The Olive Oil Source	3-4 years	$12.98  for 3 quarts at Sam’s Club
Shortening (Crisco) unopened, in the can, stored in a cool dark place away from strong odors, direct sunlight and heat sources. Crisco.com	2 years from manufacture date	$7.89 for 6 pounds at Sam’s Club
Shortening (Crisco) opened**	About 1 year
Butter Powder	Sealed 5 years Opened 9 months Cannot be used for frying	$23.79 for a #10 can From Shelf Reliance
Shortening Powder	Sealed 10 years Opened 1 year Cannot be used for frying	$12.30 for a #10 can From Shelf Reliance
Peanut butter unopened, stored in a cool dark place	18-24 months Peter Pan recommends 18 months Skippy Peanut butter is 24 months Jif Peanut butter is 24 months	$10.98 for  5 pounds (2 jars)
Peanut Butter Powder  (like PB2) Bell Plantation.com	Unopened 10 to 12 months Opened 4-6 months	$13.95 for 13 oz from Amazon
Salad dressing unopened Shelf Life Advisor	5-6 months unopened, 4 months opened, stored in the refrigerator	$9.88 for 5 pounds Hidden Valley Ranch at Sam’s Club
Nuts—In the shell	24 months
Nuts out of the shell What's Cooking America	3 months  1 year if stored in fridge 2 years if stored in freezer	$11.74  for 2 lbs (Walnuts) from Sam’s club
Ultra High Temperature Whipping Cream Wikipedia	6-9 months unopened	Gossners

This Month's Give Away 
2 Cans of Shelf Reliance Shortening Powder.   Shortening powder can be used to make your own brownie mixes, make pies, cookies, and frosting.  Shortening powder does not work for frying.  Shortening powder has a shelf life of 10 years.   If you are not sure how to use shortening powder, try this tutorial.  

How do you enter?  Just leave a comment on this post letting me know what you did to build up your food storage this month.  I want to know specifically what you did in regards to your fat and oil storage, but I'd love to hear about any progress you have made.    For an additional entry you may share this give away (facebook, pinterest, twitter, blog).  Please leave an additional comment for sharing the post.  

July's winner

Julie is the winner of the July’s give away. 

Julie said...

I just came across the idea of 72 hr kits recently and I've been intrigued. I began putting ours together and have 1 day's supply of water so far and bought a bottle of bleach and taped a dropper to it in case need to use contaminated water.

She wins the Frontier Pro Water Filter.  It will filter up to 50 gallons of water and is perfect for your short term water needs.  It is compact and will easily fit in any 72 hour kit. 

Julie please e-mail me at heather@teamshelfreliance.comto claim your prize.  You have one week to claim your prize.

Snickerdoodles

Snickerdoodles are a sugar cookie rolled in cinnamon sugar.  They have a cracked surface and can be crisp or soft depending on your preference.   I especially love the crisp and chewy texture. 

Snickerdoodles make an excellent addition to your food storage recipes because they do not require any exotic ingredients.   Chances are you already have the ingredients to make these cookies in your pantry or food storage. 

A couple of note on the recipe:

•  Do not over bake these cookies.  Every time I make this recipe I have a dilemma “Are the cookies finished? Should I take them out of the oven?”  The answer is yes.  They are finished baking.  Take them out.  Over baking will ruin the cookies.   
•  These cookies will puff in the oven and then fall when removed from the oven.  This creates the cracked top that is traditional on snicker doodles.

Snickerdoodles

Printable Recipe

1 c shortening

1 ½ c. sugar

2 eggs (2 tablespoons powdered eggs plus ¼ cup water)

2 ¼ c flour

2 t cream of tartar

1 t baking soda

½ t salt

1 t vanilla

Cinnamon Sugar Mix

1 cup sugar

1 Tablespoon cinnamon

In the bowl of a stand mixer cream shortening and sugar, until fluffy.  Add eggs (or powdered eggs plus water) and beat to combine. 

Add flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, salt and vanilla mix until combined.

In a small bowl stir cinnamon and sugar together.

Roll dough into balls the size of a walnut (or use a cookie scoop). 

Roll dough balls in cinnamon sugar mixture.  Place on a greased or papered baking sheet.

Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes. 

DO NOT OVERCOOK.  Cookies will puff in the oven and then fall when removed from the oven.  This creates the cracked top that is traditional on snicker doodles.