Are you looking for a really cool project to chase away the winter blues? Why not make a solar oven? It is an easy project that you can make, possibly with materials you already have on hand. When spring comes around, you will be ready to set your new solar oven outside and see what you can cook with it!
Making a solar oven is not hard. You need a few simple things such as a two large cardboard boxes that can nest in one another, aluminum foil, black paint, perilite, tape, an oven thermometer and an old window.
Begin by taping the aluminum foil to the inside of both boxes. We used clear tape to do this so we did not cover any of the aluminum foil with dark tape that may have interferred with the solar cooker working well. As you can see from the first photo, over time, the clear tape begins to yellow. We chose to use duck tape on the outside of the box because we thought it would hold better than the clear tape.
Then cut enough one inch strips of cardboard to put every couple of inches inside the bottom of the larger box. Bend these strips so they zigzag, then lay them on their skinny sides in the bottom of the box. What you are doing is creating air space.
Pour in the bag of perilite. You want about an inch of this in the bottom of the box. Sit the smaller box into the bigger one and fill the sides equally with more perilite. Tape the two box flaps together and trim off the excess. You now have your oven assembled.
The next step is to cut a large piece of cardboard the size of the bottom of the smaller box. Cover it with aluminum foil, then paint it black. The black side will face up when it is set in the bottom of the oven and your pans as well as the oven thermometer will sit on top of it.
The old window will go on top of the box to seal it. You can use plexiglass if you prefer.
Your solar oven is now ready to try out. Recipes will be coming soon so keep a watch on this site for them!
Filed under Solar Oven by on Jan 3rd, 2010. 4 Comments. 
Once you have your solar cooker ready to use, you may want to try out solar cooked desserts. This is a great way to have baked items in the summer and not heat your kitchen up.
Try your favorite brownie recipe made in a solar cooker. Most brownies take about an hour to bake.
Use the cooker to melt butters, lards or other hard ingredients that need pre-melted.
Here are some other recipes for solar baked desserts.
Solar Baked Apples
These are not only delicious but a healthy alternative to sweets.
Mix together one cup white sugar and one cup brown sugar in a bowl and set aside.
Core the whole apples. There is no need to peel them. Fill the cavity of each apple with sugar, then sprinkle the entire apple with cinnamon. Place in a dark pan, cover and bake for one and a half to two and a half hours. The apples should be soft when done.
Cookies baked in a solar oven can be put onto a cookie sheet or baked in muffin pans. Some ingredients such as raisins can become crunchy if baked too long.
Cinnamon rolls are a delicious snack or breakfast food that does great cooked in a solar oven. They will need to be cooked for a little over an hour. Remember to test your food and experiment. If the food is not done to your liking, you can always return it to the solar oven or finish it using a conventional method of cooking.
This is just a sampling of what you can do with a solar cooker. Go ahead and try cakes or other favorite desserts. Remember the oven thermometer that lays in the bottom of the solar cooker will tell you how hot it is inside the cooker. Learn how to control the temperature of your cooker and you will be able to cook just about anything you wish.
Don’t get discouraged if your meals don’t turn out perfect the first few times you try. Remember to have a back-up meal plan just in case and also remember that pratice makes perfect!
Filed under Desserts, Solar Oven Recipes by on Jan 3rd, 2010. Comment.
