10
Apr

Solar Oven – the second

   Posted by: MotherHen   in Solar Cooking

re-pete-003

I am excited to announce we now have our second solar oven.  Y’all aren’t much on the guessing the name, though.

re-pete-004

Pete was constructed following plans like these.

Re-Pete was constructed following these plans.

Now that we have done both we will build our next one like Pete, only because it was easier.  They both take the same materials and so cost the same to make.  I think they both took about the same amount of time to construct, too.

I figure I’ll need three.  One for the meat, one for the veggies and rice or taters, one for the dessert or bread.   If I like the way the bread bakes in the solar oven I’ll need a fourth, just for our daily bread.  Not a problem though.  The materials for this project are super cheap and the man power gets paid with room and board.

re-pete-001

My capricious weather-caster was right.

And if your weather-caster’s name is something besides Steve, Mike, Bob or Bill I will personally bake you some brownies next time I come to your house.  These guys are Mike (L) and Steve (R) and they were right, today.

I mean, when you change your forcast a few times in one day you’re bound to get it right at some point, huh?  Anyway, shortly after we put the chicken in the solar oven my sky clouded up and the sunshine was intermittent through the ideal solar cooker hours (10 a.m. thru 3 p.m.), so I just put that dutch oven in my indoor electric oven.  Remember solar cooker lesson #63:  Have a back up plan.  No worries.  Summer will be here soon enough.  And then we will have sunshine enough to cook every day, all day.  And this year I’m ready!

sun_tour-1

I’m taking orders.  What would you like to have me cook in the solar oven?  Here’s the link to the recipe page.  Is there something you are curious to see cooked in the solar oven?  Or something you hope will cook well in the solar oven?

I am also taking orders on ovens.  Want one and don’t have time or inclination to build it yourself?  Tex and I will build you one.  Haven’t decided on a price yet.  Interested?


Related posts:

  1. Sally Mae Cooks! Parmesan Oven Fries!
  2. Spring, and I’m not ready

This entry was posted on Friday, April 10th, 2009 at 3:09 pm and is filed under Solar Cooking. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

25 comments so far

Lauren Z
 1 

What a great idea!!! Would it work in Alaska? Last summer (my first up here, after moving up from SC when we got married in May) was a little cooler than usual, but it only got to 70 or above a handful of times. Also, it tends to be a little cloudier during the summer. I’m guessing it wouldn’t work during the winter; we could probably use it as an outdoor freezer, though. :D

April 10th, 2009 at 5:33 pm
MotherHen
 2 

Well, sounds like you aren’t getting enough sunshine to cook in a solar oven. I’ve been in Texas for so long I tend to think everybody has this much sunshine.

April 10th, 2009 at 6:00 pm
petersonclan
 3 

I always thought it would be a great job to be a weatherman… you can be wrong most of the time and still get paid.

Either that or a football player. You play 60 minutes out of 4+ hours and get millions.

Good deals, both!

petersonclan’s last blog post..Garden Club 4 / 10 / 09

April 10th, 2009 at 8:08 pm
Lauren Z
 4 

If it’s sunny – even if it’s a little cooler (60’s and 70’s) – would it work, though? Or does it have to be fairly warm?

April 10th, 2009 at 9:52 pm
MotherHen
 5 

Well, Carri, I think I would choose to be scorned by most of my community for being wrong so often than to be blasted by huge, angry men jacked up on steroids once a week, but that’s just me. 8)

April 11th, 2009 at 6:18 am
Cyndi Lewis
 6 

Gosh, Darn it! Our head forcaster is a “Bill”! I guess you won’t be trekking up to Michigan to bake me brownies.

Pete and Repete… Hahahahahahaha

My DH seems to think that solar ovens work with not only “hot” temps but also with the radiation of solar rays. Meaning Alaskans might do well with solar ovens because the rays are stronger although not necessarily warmer. I have no clue to this. Opinions?

Bread! Experiment with lots of breads!

Cyndi Lewis’s last blog post..Silly Me…

April 11th, 2009 at 7:17 am
MotherHen
 7 

Hi Cyndi,
I just read, this morning, in one of my solar cooking books that you really need to be between the 60th parallels to be in solar cooker territory. So, you should have success, but looks like the biggest part of Alaska is out of luck, solar oven-wise. There is a problem with the angle that the sun enters the cooker and how much heat is lost through the sides of the oven because of the second law of thermodynamics.
And bread is high on my list of try-its! 8)

April 11th, 2009 at 8:38 am
Lauren Z
 8 

Believe it or not, we live pretty much exactly on the 61st parallel. Wouldn’t you know…. : )

April 11th, 2009 at 9:57 am
MotherHen
 9 

Well, I might just try it anyway. I prolly would. Besides, if it doesn’t work, you can save it for using once y’all come back to your senses and get back to God’s Country. ;)

April 11th, 2009 at 10:24 am
LoisG.
 10 

I would like you to cook Chili Pie or Cheeseburger Pie. They sound like things your cowboys would like. I am sure you have your own cheaper (oops – more economical) homemade version of Bisquick.

I’m in Michigan, and like Cyndi, have a weatherman named Bill. If it is the SAME Bill, maybe Cyndi and I should get together on a hot August afternoon, whip together an oven (ha) and try to bake some brownies! I think July and August are the only months a solar oven would work in Grand Rapids. Maybe a few days in June.

Your ovens look very impressive, and if I weren’t so far away, I would order one. You really have me considering getting my teen sons on the oven building project. If they ever dare to say they are bored this summer, I know what they will be doing!

April 11th, 2009 at 10:28 am
Lauren Z
 11 

:D Yes, I thought about maybe trying it anyway. Maybe when our kids are older we’ll build one together and try it out. (We have a 5-month-old [though his adjusted and developmental age is 2 months; he was born 3 months prematurely], and I’m almost 3 months along with our second one.)

I think we’re in Alaska to stay. : ) My husband was born and raised here, and is Alaskan through and through! Even though I haven’t even been here a year (we got married in May, found out we were expecting in June, and our premature son was born 6 months and 3 days after our wedding), I love it! It’s absolutely beautiful!

I’ll be sure to pass on the solar oven information to my family in SC!

April 11th, 2009 at 1:08 pm
MotherHen
 12 

Hi Lauren,
I had a look around your blog and read a little about your tiny, adorable son. I didn’t realize that you are expecting again. What a blessing! Praise God!
I was just spoutin’ off about God’s Country, although I don’t see how anybody can stand living anywhere besides Texas! I guess I can’t help the spoutin’ off, ‘cuz I’m doin’ it again. Maybe I better shut up. ;)

April 11th, 2009 at 2:18 pm
Stephanie
 13 

I guess I’m the winner of the brownies. Our weatherman is Gary, now if you’d be so kind as to hop in your vehicle and drive to Wisconsin, I’ll not only let you bake me brownies, I’ll let your boys make me a solar oven! ;)

April 11th, 2009 at 2:31 pm
MotherHen
 14 

Gary? Really? Well, Stephanie, I guess you win. We’ll be on our way as soon as you provide documentation in the form of Gary’s birth certificate or drivers license or voter registration card, and fingerprints or palm print, and his membership card to meteorologists anonymous. Now, do y’all prefer walnuts or pecans in those brownies?

April 11th, 2009 at 2:38 pm
Julie
 15 

“And if your weather-caster’s name is something besides Steve, Mike, Bob or Bill I will personally bake you some brownies next time I come to your house. These guys are Mike (L) and Steve (R) and they were right, today.”

Our weather man’s name is John AND on another channel we have a weather woman.

Can’t wait for you to visit SC with yummy brownies. Could you bring one of those nifty solar ovens as well ;-)

Julie’s last blog post..The Empty Egg

April 11th, 2009 at 5:06 pm
Lauren Z
 16 

Thanks for looking at our website! I forgot that we hadn’t gotten the new news up on the website yet!

Texas is nice; my grandfather grew up on a dairy farm there, in Victoria; my family’s been to San Antonio for VF conferences and such; and my husband lived there for 6 months before we started courting, while he interned with Vision Forum. I think I’d rather live in South Carolina, Virginia, or Alaska, though…. (Dare I even suggest such a thing?) :D

April 11th, 2009 at 7:03 pm
MotherHen
 17 

Yup, no prob, next time I’m in SC I’ll stop in and bring brownies!

April 11th, 2009 at 9:04 pm
MotherHen
 18 

Yes, my family has heard of your family through VF. Smallish world, eh?

April 11th, 2009 at 9:05 pm
Cyndi Lewis
 19 

Yup, Lois- we’re right outside of Grand Rapids. (Hudsonville) Bill Steffen is “our” weather guy. I’ve talked my hubby into building a solar oven and plan to post about it at my blog so you can see if there is success in Michigan.

Cyndi Lewis’s last blog post..Happy Resurrection Sunday!

April 12th, 2009 at 4:06 pm
MotherHen
 20 

Too cool, Cyndi!!! 8)

April 12th, 2009 at 5:52 pm
Keeley
 21 

Very interested in the solar oven. =) I have change in the change jar, think that’ll cover it? =D =D

Maybe you could think about not only selling finished solar cookers, but also solar cooker packs – you know, where you send all the fixin’s and instructions and people put it up themselves?

I wonder if my hubby will make me one for mother’s day? =D =D

April 14th, 2009 at 11:15 am
MotherHen
 22 

Oh Keeley, just do it. 3 boxes, a pkg of Turkey Oven Bags,some newspaper (for insulation), some tin foil and some Elmer’s glue. Really. Can’t recommend it highly enough!

April 14th, 2009 at 11:40 am
Reen
 23 

Wow, very cool! I’m new to your blog, loving the solar oven ideas! I’d thought about doing this last summer (I, too, live on the face of the sun, erm, I mean Texas). Now that you’ve shown us so many good ideas for what to do with one, this summer we’re totally going to do it!

April 22nd, 2009 at 2:09 pm
MotherHen
 24 

Hi, Reen!

Glad to meet ya! “face of the sun” you crack me up, but yer right! It’ll be feelin’ that way in a few weeks, so why not lasso that bad boy and put ‘im to work cookin’ supper! Today I made chilaquiles and brownies!

April 22nd, 2009 at 2:35 pm
Stephanie K
 25 

Ah, you all (I mean y’all) are making me homesick for Texas. I actually thought I would never want to live there and didn’t see what was so great about it. Then I got married and DH got transfered outside of Houston. And you know what? I loved loved loved it. Well, not the city part, but the state as a whole, especially rural east Texas where I worked for a bit. It is just too far from the midwest (i.e. family) though. If you’d be willing to move it a bit closer I’d be back in a heart beat.

I’m gonna have to take a look at the plans. I try to do a new thing each year, and though I’ve done my ‘new thing’ for this year, I feel like I can handle another on. Besides, we have a great deck for this; it gets lots of sun during the summer.

The names brought this joke to mind: Pete and Repete were sitting on a log. Pete fell off who was left? “Repete” Pete and Repete were sitting on a log. Pete fell off who was left? … I think you get it. =)

April 24th, 2009 at 10:43 am