lost in the woods

by Ryan Deweerd
(Hamilton,Michigan,Usa )

Yesterday, I cooked a batch of applesauce with Granny Smith apples that I scavenged with my friends out in Hamilton,Michigan and I also cooked potatoes for potato salad that evening. The applesauce was so hot that when I ladled it into jars, it caused the lids to seal (not true canning, but I thought it was impressive). As I made dinner later that night, I realized that I could have also cooked hard-boiled eggs and heated up the black-eyed peas for a 100% solar cooked meal. If only I had planned better! C'est la vie.
Solar cooking is also more worthwhile during the summer months of May through September. There is less wind or cloud cover, and thus less anxiety about whether the Global Sun Oven will tip over or fail to cook a dish completely. Cooking outside also decreases the heat gain inside my house. Since my air conditioner has a difficult time keeping our house under 80 degrees when it is over 100 degrees out (for example, the entire last three weeks), solar cooking saves energy (and money) on both cooking and air conditioning, and is essential for keeping the house cool on the hottest days.