Sunny Yellow Squash and Onions

by Christa Upton
(South Dakota)

Recipe 49 in the Solar Hot Pot

Sunny Yellow Squash and Onions

This is a wonderful side dish that goes with just about any meal. I don’t think it’s going to take much to cook, so it’s great for the “short” late October days with a lower sun angle.

10:30 am—4 T butter: cut in pieces and put in Solar Hot Pot. Cover, set up facing the sun, set timer for 30 minutes.

Then prep:

1 medium onion (slice very thinly)


11:00 am—onion: put in bottom of Pot. Cover, adjust to sun, set timer for 60 minutes.

12:00 pm--using pot holders, pick up Pot (with lid on) and ‘swirl’ a bit to stir. Adjust to sun, set timer for 30 minutes. You can let go even longer if you want more sweetness brought out of the onions.

Let me just say: today it is 74 degrees Fahrenheit, 100% sunny, light breeze, birds talking, crickets chirping--gorgeous! Babysitting the solar cooker and working on the laptop out here is fantastic.

I originally came out (rather than just putting out the Hot Pot out and prepping inside) because our kids hate when we chop onions inside (smile), and I’m glad I did!

Then prep:

3 yellow summer squash (slice thinly) (can use part or all zucchini instead) (can use less if you’re concerned about getting it cooked; 3 fills the Pot pretty good)


12:30 pm--squash: put on top of onion. Cover, adjust to sun, set timer for 30 minutes.

1:00 pm—using pot holders, pick up Pot (with lid on) and ‘swirl’ and shake a bit to stir/toss. Adjust to sun, set timer for 30 minutes.

1:30 pm—check for doneness.

Salt before serving.

Well, I was wrong about it taking much to cook! I guess the heat is pretty high to cook it on the stove, and we had trouble getting it cooked in the Solar Hot Pot. But, we are around the 43rd parallel, and that sun isn’t getting very high in the sky anymore! (smile)

We left it until 2:30 and then had to finish it on the stove!

The onions did pretty well in the morning, but the squash was less than half-cooked.

But if you are at a lower parallel or it’s more toward mid-summer, you shouldn’t have any trouble.

ONE recipe left to go! I can’t believe it!!! I’m so tickled that I’ll meet my goal of 50 recipes. That could not have happened without Cantinawest of course, and my family, especially my husband. (smile) I have been pretty sick this summer, so he has done a lot of the actual prep and cook, sometimes helping me adjust the recipes and taking pictures, too.