Solar Cooking

Beautiful day, time to get outside. Wait! Before you fire up the charcoal grill, try letting the sun cook for you. This solar cooker, CooKit, is a good starter model. Surprisingly simple, it is convenient, affordable and effective. And you can build it yourself. Materials you will need: Cardboard, aluminum foil, glue, and preferably a kid to assist you. Plans for the CooKit are free at Foldable Solar Panel Cooker. Or you can order it already made.

Ready to cook? You will need a dark, covered pot and a plastic bag (or oven cooking bag). And food - maybe soup or beans - the sort of thing you would put in a crock pot. Set the pot, in its bag, in the bottom of the cooker, to catch all the sun's rays. In a few hours of sunshine, you can make a tasty meal, cooked at gentle temperatures that preserve nutrients. Prepare your dish early in the day and then relax.

After a great meal, fold your portable CooKit for storage. It will be about the size of a large notebook. Easy to take along on a camping trip, handy for cooking and even for pasteurizing water.
There are many plans at The Solar Cooking Archive, even for a cob oven, like the photo at left. Here are recipes and cooking tips; recipes for solar ovens can usually be adapted for the Cookit. Solar cooking is extremely flexible. With a little effort and experimentation, you can build or buy an appropriate solar cooker and enjoy free and delicious cooking.