The Chicken that almost wasn't

Yesterday was an unexpectedly gorgeous day. Sunny in the morning, then overcast and gently breezy all afternoon. It’s the kind of weather they put on Disney movies.

And also the kind of weather that makes for frustrated solar cooks.

I was going to cook my husband a chicken before I made dinner, so I put a pot out to cook in the morning. When I went out at lunch, the clouds had come and the cooker was sitting well below optimal temperature. So I wiped it off, repositioned it, and hoped for the best. 3 hours later the chicken was still not up to temperature, so I scrapped any hope of making dinner in it and called my husband to see if he had any ideas (our regular oven died and we have been slow to replace it).

About an hour later he is on the back porch with a propane camp stove trying to cook it before the wind blows out the flame.

By 5:30 we did finally get the chicken cooked and the kids and I enjoyed some lentils with rice and salsa. It’s weird to have something like a beautiful afternoon almost ruin your dinner! Maybe we should actually replace the regular stove…

Follow the rest of my solar cooking, as I attempt to solar cook everyday for 6 months, at www.solarcookingchallenge.wordpress.com!