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The solar cooker made from a windshield sunscreen worked in
that it *eventually* cooked the brownies. Someone mentioned that brownies
weren't really an emergency food but I beg to differ. "Comfort Food" is almost
as important in an emergency situation as protein, especially for children and
older adults who quickly suffer from food fatigue and will simply stop eating.
Chocolate cake and brownie mixes won't last in long-term storage but cocoa will
last for years.
The advantage to this type of cooker is that it's very light and portable. It'd
easily fit in a backpack and could double as what it was designed for, a
sunshade. The disadvantage of this type of cooker is that it only reached 150
degrees on a mostly sunny day. I believe the biggest reason it only reached 150
degrees was because there's nothing in the cooker to absorb and retain the heat.
Every time a cloud covered the sun for a few minutes it lost the heat too
quickly. I'm thinking if we'd put a brick painted black or a black rock in the
bottom it would have helped hold in the heat. If you have all day to allow
something to cook while you're doing something else, it would be ok and I think
it would serve as a solar still to purify a small amount of water.
The second solar cooker we didn't complete. I'm not the best at calculating how
long a task takes to complete but all the second one needs is a reflector.
Thanks so much to the guys for their help! I'll finish it this weekend and let
y'all know how it works. One thing I did learn from this cooker is that the next
one I build will be big enough for my roaster pan to fit in. This one will be
good for a 2 quart pot which is fine for 2 people but if you're cooking for a
bigger family or cooking a large piece of meat (a whole chicken, turkey, pork
shoulder, etc) you'd probably want a bigger oven.
If anyone wants the plans for one or both of the solar cookers, shoot me an
email.
I think everyone enjoyed the sourdough crackers that were at the meeting. This
is a great way to use the extra sourdough starter you'd ordinarily throw away.
For the recipe go to:
http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/sourdough-crackers-recipe. They're
super easy, cheap to make, and very tasty! If you'd like me to bring sourdough
starter to the next meeting, please let me know a few days ahead of time so I
can save it for you. I'll probably bring something to try in the ready-made
solar oven that Nancy is bringing to the September meeting. I think I remember
she said it was a Sun Oven brand. |
