we've been in sweets overload around these parts lately as i've been trying all sorts of food experiments.
translation: my pants have never been tighter post-partum as i've been overindulging in all sorts of carbohydrate goodness.
maybe i should actually start exercising seeing as swimsuit season is a measly 2 weeks away. meh.
anyway, among the many experiments i've tried my own version of strawberry trifle:
just layered angel food cake, strawberry danish dessert, strawberries, and a mixture of fresh whipped cream and instant vanilla pudding. i added about 1 1/2 teaspoons of orange zest and about 1/2 cup sour cream to the cream/pudding mixture.
wow, heaven in a bowl. i think next time i'll add bananas and raspberries too.
next up, classic
oatmeal bread. i forgot how much i love this stuff. and slathered in homemade cinnamon honey butter? ummmm, yes. just pack on the love handles and we'll call it good.
this last week i tried a new cinnamon roll recipe. the surprise ingredient was 1 cup of mashed potatoes. they were seriously to die for. maybe even my best cinnamon rolls yet.
see? carb overload. and these are just the ones i've taken photos of. but wait, there's more.
several years ago, deek's generous grandpa gifted each of his children a sun oven. what, you ask is a sun oven?
it's an oven that bakes your food by harnessing the power of the sun.
oh my heck, you guys, first natural birth and now sun ovens?? what is becoming of me??
basically, there's big metallic reflectors that some how heat up an inner chamber, or oven. no electricity needed.
we finally were able to bring it out of storage and test it out on monday. ironically, this first thing i baked was amish bread. (i love when life throws in little ironies like that. i still chuckle to myself over this one. also, would anyone in boise love an amish bread starter? they're sitting in my freezer. just give me a shout out.)
so, step one. place oven in the sun to preheat while preparing your food. at 2:15pm mine took about 20 minutes to preheat to 325 F. it was a 90F day with full sun. they say the outdoor air temperature doesn't matter - it's the brightness of the sun and the lowness of the humidity levels that provide the best environment for sun cooking. supposedly they've successfully used these in mt everest base camps.
here are my loafs, prior to baking:
(excuse the chalk background)
the oven has this nifty thermometer gauge that displays the exact temperature:
step 2: place your food in the oven and sip pina coladas. or chase down your 2 year old who has removed the cinnamon rolls, homemade ice cream, and popsicles from the freezer which are now melting all over your wood floor.
see that glass door on top? that and the inside chamber where the bread is baking are the only parts of the entire contraption that are hot to the touch. the reflectors and outer wood box aren't hot at all.
there's a hanging shelf in the chamber to set your food on. this provides a way for hot air to fully surround your food. and for your food to stay level if the oven is on a slope (like mine was). here's a slightly better view:
my amish bread recipe said to bake at 325F for 1 hour in a conventional oven. i placed my bread in at 2:45pm and it was done by 4:15pm, so it took about 30 minutes longer than normal. however, i had to open the glass door twice during baking to wipe out condensation that had formed (which they say can add 10-15 minutes of baking time per opening) and to sprinkle a sugar mixture on top that i had completely forgotten about. also, some clouds covered the sun for about 15 minutes of the bake time.
so overall? not too shabby on the bake time. and it prevented my kitchen from heating up like a sauna which was my whole point in trying it out.
here is the bread right after i pulled it out:
i know. definitely not pretty. like i said before, i forgot to sprinkle on the sugar before placing it in the oven and since i didn't get the bread exactly in the middle of the hanging shelf it slanted forward quite a bit.
and also, because i'm such a talented baker and all, i didn't grease my pans well enough so when i dumped the bread out it looked like this:
but still, it tasted just fine. fantastic, in fact. and the entire time i was eating it i kept thinking, "the SUN baked this. guys, the SUN." and it didn't take an ounce of electricity or add any heat to my home.
it was amazing and i definitely recommend it.
so, let's break it down.
the pros: simple. easy to use. bakes food solely by the power of the sun. it's fun. did i mention it bakes food solely by the power of the sun? the SUN you guys. doesn't heat up my house.
the cons: totally unusable on cloudy days. can't use aluminum bakeware since it decreases the efficiency of the reflectors (my favorite bread pans are aluminum. bummer). it obviously will take some practice leveling food on the swinging shelf thing while simultaneously trying not to get burned. takes a little longer than normal to bake.
overall i would totally recommend it. can't wait to try it again soon. in fact, my plan is to use this as my primary way of cooking dinner this summer to save on our air conditioner bill and to save energy in general. i wish i was more concerned about the well being of our planet, but really it just boils down to the fact that i'm a cheapo, and any way i can save money, i'm a fan.
i'll let you know how run 2 goes.
