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Tuesday, July 28, 2015

Cooking Outside! In A Sun Oven

Anise hyssop (this one is from the mint family) growing in one of our raised beds.
My Good Fences photo (from my archives) of a replica of the Pinta (and a bit of the Nina) when it was docked in Knoxville several years ago for tours.  We took the grands with us for an educational tour that day.  Please, click on the pic to appreciate all the fences.

I have wanted a Sun Oven for years and finally got one last month.  Goodman is fond of homestyle meals complete with a meat and 2 vegetables so I cook A LOT, and that heats up the house A LOT. I like the idea of cooking without the heat from the stove competing with the air-conditioning in the summertime so it just makes sense to use a sun oven (or/and an outdoor grill.)  And it's really handy when the power is off.   It can even be used in winter - as long as the sun shines you can cook in it.
Since I bought mine I've been surprised to find out how many people have never heard of them.  
Here it's cooking a pot of beans on our deck.  (Imagine li'l red beans cookin' away in there.)
 mine, mine, mine.  ;)
The pot sits on a leveling tray so you can position the oven so the glass lid on top of the oven directly faces the sun.

It can reach 400° inside when placed in direct line with the sun.  Here I made sun tea - next time I'm going to make it in a jar as the pans that came with it don't pour without spilling it everywhere.  o.O 
Cookin' Green Sun Tea
I usually boil pork short ribs (makes them super tender and chases away that awful piggy odor) for an hour on the stove then drain and slather them with sauce on the grill for 10 mins.  Here I cooked them in the oven for a couple hours then drained them, added sauce and grilled them the usual 10 minutes for added flavor.  Delicious. 
Short Ribs going into the sun oven
It took the sun oven about 2 hours to cook beef tips for supper last evening.  Just a few minutes of preparation on my part beforehand then the oven did the rest. Cool.  And that's exactly what happened since I cooked outside...the house stayed cool.   In the summertime I try to fry squash and such on our outdoor grill to help keep the house cool.  
Beef Tips with gravy & noodles, Fried Zucchini, and Mashed Cauliflower 

I've also tried a whole baked chicken, and it's great cooked in the oven, too.   If you have any questions about the oven or are interested in buying one click here to watch a video at the sun oven site.   No affiliation, just a happy customer.

You can read about them here >  Source  <<   Btw, part of the proceeds from sales help to place huge community sun ovens in third world countries.
The growing season will soon end so don't forget to gather mullein for your herbal cabinet.  :)
As always, I'm not a doctor so if you have a medical condition do consult your physician.
Mullein
Shared at The Art of Homemaking MondaysWildcrafting Wednesdays, Good Fences, Our Simple Homestead Blog Hop

51 comments:

  1. Your SunOven is neat! I have not seen them before, they a great energy saver too. Thanks for sharing, enjoy your day!

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    1. Glad to help spread the word, and thanks for stopping by, Eileen.

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  2. I have never heard of a sun oven like this either-I have ready about homemade reflector ovens but this sounds really nice-will check it out. thanks
    the mullein tea really helped me out last winter so I bought some seeds-but we just had months of too much beginning in march that I didn't get them planted sigh-I should see if I can find some wild ones.

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    1. Kathy, I've tried making a sun oven before, but this is so much better and very efficient as the chamber has a seal around it that keeps the heat inside. Glad the mullein helped...I wouldn't want to be without it.

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  3. A sun oven is on my list of "wants". Thanks for posting about them. It's always good to see them in action before buying. Just discovered a stand of mullien in the lily garden. Birds must have planted it.What do you use it for? Drying raspberry leaves today. Got a really good book about herbal Native American remedies the other day from a garage sale. Stay cool!

    Jane

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    1. Hi Jane! It's always fun to discover a cache of free herbs. We make a tea that really helps with chest-related illnesses. Usually the cough at the end of a bout with the flu is stopped after a few cups of mullein tea. I posted about our first experience with it here: http://foothillsofthegreatsmokymountains.blogspot.com/2014/10/in-garden-and-quick-handknit.html

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    2. Thanks! I'll bookmark that page. Always interested in herbal remedies.

      Jane

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  4. I have not heard of sun ovens before. What a great idea! I too am going to bookmark it and talk to my husband about it.

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    1. I'm so glad there is interest in the oven as it's a great alternative to turn to when the grid is down. :)

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  5. How cool is that?! Love the idea of cooking beans in the solar oven outside! It's even better than using the crockpot because no heat is needed in the house.

    Thank you for sharing this on The Maple Hill Hop!

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    1. Thank you, Daisy, I'm really liking my cooler kitchen since I started using the solar oven.

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  6. Who would have thought-a solar sizzler-amazing. Dinner looks good too! Hope you are having a great summer!

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    1. Thank you, Elaine, I'm doing great and hope you are, too. :)

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  7. No way! That is amazing! Here recently, we could almost cook many things on the sidewalk, it's been so scorching...lol! I have never seen one of these and I am truly amazed.

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    1. Ha ha, you're exactly right. It's been hot here, too, Debby. I prolly should have just cooked on the stepping stones.

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  8. wow! i've not heard of a sun oven before, either! i dread turning on the oven in summer time. if i cooked more, i'd definitely look into one of those for texas summers!

    loved all the fencing - nice red, too. :)

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  9. oh i completely forgot about sun tea .. my mom did that as a kid. we don't get enough sun here ... too many trees. i love the boat shot... that is pretty ... very calming water view. ( :

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    1. I would love to have more trees myself! Thank you for stopping by, Beth.

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  10. What do you use the mullein for? what do you harvest? I know is an herb, but I have yet to harvest it. by the way, a sun oven is just perfect especially when you live in the mountains...the sun is always higher here :0) mari

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    1. I harvest the leaves and flowers of the mullein plant.
      You can make a tea with the leaves that really helps with chest-related illnesses. Usually the cough at the end of a bout with the flu may be cleared up after a few cups of mullein tea. I posted about our first experience with it here: http://foothillsofthegreatsmokymountains.blogspot.com/2014/10/in-garden-and-quick-handknit.html
      Also, the flowers can be harvested and steeped in oil to be used for earaches. Here are directions for that: http://tacticalintelligence.net/blog/medicinal-plants-mullein.htm
      Hope this helps a bit.

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  11. Neat shot of the boat replicas and fencing. - I must say I've never heard of a sun-oven either but it's quite fascinating.

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    1. Thank you, Ida! You're such a good photographer that means a lot to me.

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  12. I love beef and noodles! You have me drooling!!!

    And the replicas of the ships from Columbus era, we had them here in Corpus Christi...now that they 'rotted' somewhat, and today's city budget cuts, etc....they're no longer part of the museum exhibit by the sea. Sad.

    Great fences.

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    1. Hi Anni! Thank you for stopping by, and isn't it terrible that our history seems to be going down the drain these days?

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  13. Never heard of a sun oven but here is N.I it may not work so well!!!

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    1. Hi Margaret! If I lived in your locale I wouldn't care if it worked or not! Hope to see Ireland some day.

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  14. ⊰❀˚° ·.
    Gostei muito das fotos. Não conhecia forno movido à energia solar.
    Bom fim de semana!
    Beijinhos.
    ♡ه° ·.

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    1. Thank you, Magic Ines, for stopping by and leaving a comment!

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  15. I hadn't heard of a sun oven before, either. But I know all about the oven making too much work for the air conditioner. Thanks, magnolias!
    ~

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  16. I've never seen a sun oven but it sounds like a wonderful thing to have!

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  17. This is the first I've seen of a sun oven as well. How wonderful! It is like your own natural crockpot!

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  18. You just reminded me that I need to pull the sun oven out and cook with it before summer is over! Lol. I will; as soon as this much needed rainy spell is over. Thanks for the inspiration!

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  19. Neat that you got to see Pinta and Nina replicas! Wow, a sun oven can reach 400 degrees?! I remember we had a project when we were younger where we tried to cook in a little box covered with black paper in the sun, but a real working oven...that's impressive. And your beef noodle dinner looks delicious.

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  20. This is awesome about the sun oven. I've never seen one, but this is a very interesting posting. Thanks for sharing with us.

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  21. I have always found sun ovens interesting.
    Great post :)

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  22. Are those scale replicas? They look really small! I always thought the caravels La Pinta and La Niña were huge ships. Ashamed I don't know this piece of history of my country well.

    It seems like I have to do a bit of research everytime I visit your blog. Very educational I must say. No idea of what a sun oven is so off I go learning something new. :-)

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  23. Hi Alhana! Yes, the ships are replicas.. of the ones that Columbus used when he discovered America. They were for exploration so only the crew and the explorers used them. Later on, colonists sailed on-board The Susan Constant, (71 people) Godspeed, (52 people) and Discovery (21 people) to the New World, North America. And they were packed in there like pigs in a pen! Replicas of these later ships are at Jamestown Harbor in Virginia.
    Thank you for stopping by! :)

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  24. ♪♬ه° ·.
    Bom sábado!!!
    Muita paz e tudo de bom!!!
    ✿˚° ·.

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  25. Lindo domingo!
    Ja seguindo
    aguardo la no Espelhando.
    Bjins
    CatiahoAlc.

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  26. This is so fabulous! I had no idea such a thing existed :) Just reading through some of the posts on your blog now - It's wonderful! Hope you'll check my blog out if you get the chance :)

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  27. My parents have a Sun Oven too! They love it, and of course it's very practical in Texas. :-)

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  28. what an interesting post. I had never heard of sun ovens and think they are a great idea. I can just imagine the sunday lunch sizzling in the sun on our balcony.

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  29. I've never heard of sun ovens as well, sounds great and good for the environment.
    Amalia
    xo

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  30. Hope you're having a great summer. This sun oven is really interesting.

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  31. Dearest Toni...how lovely to ''visit'' with you this pretty Sunday afternoon...things have been quite busy in my neck of the woods, so sadly I haven't gotten to as much blog visiting as I'd like...

    Your sun oven is amazing...I would love one, especially in the summer when temps reach just under 40 degrees Celsius in the shade! I spend so much time cooking in the kitchen that often I feel like I am going to pass out from the heat! What with summertime preserving, jam making and such, the kitchen becomes an oven! :). This would be fantastic!

    Wishing you a wonderfully blessed week ahead...do enjoy your last few weeks of summer! I am so delighted that Spring has finally arrived in these parts, and I am super busy in the garden!

    Sending hugs and so much love, always!
    Kelly-Anne

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  32. Hi sweet friend! Somehow I missed this post....not sure how that happened :) A sun oven - how delightful! I have never heard of one, but what a fabulous idea! We have a swamp cooler in our home and anytime I bake in the oven during the summer I have to turn it on or else the house is roasting! :)

    Wishin you a lovely week. Hugs to you!

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  33. Gostei de visitar o seu blog.
    Um abraço.
    http://andarilharar.blogspot.pt/

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  34. Thank you so much for visiting my blog!! I do so enjoy yours too! I love those old fashioned pictures in your side bar!!...so pretty!!

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  35. Hi, Toni!! I have almost purchased a sun oven twice and then for some reason haven't! OK, I will do it, esp. since we think there will be a severe financial downturn in just about every area soon! Thanks for the reference!
    Yes, It is time I gathered more mullein :)
    I pray you are well and strong in the Lord!

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  36. ✿༽

    Ótimo fim de semana, cheio de muitas alegrias!
    Beijinhos.
    ✿✿ه✿✿ ܓ

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Thank you for your comments!