in which I nap too long and try to crank up the temperature in the cooker
After a bike ride and lunch, I napped while the veggies were roasting. My plan was to roast chicken next, but it was 3:30. Is that too late? I spread 2 brined chicken thighs, seasoned with lemon & oregano over a bed of onions, cumin seeds & lemon grass; put the pan in a roasting bag and onto a metal rack in the cooker, (to let heat circulate under the pan). I pegged two halves of a large roasting bag across the cooker opening: 285° on the pan’s lid and digital in chicken probe = 156°.
Day 10 – Can the cooker temperature increase enough to roast an undelicate “delicata” squash?
At the farmers’ market yesterday I bought what appeared to be a delicata squash on steroids. When I tried to slice it this morning I discovered that, instead of the delicate, edible skin of a delicata, it had the rind of a gourd. I wanted to make a bean-boat, so I scooped out the center, flipped the lids of two cans of organic Goya beans* -and the cats appeared in a nano second.
Re: leftovers. I love the beeswax cotton wraps – in lieu of plastic.
Winter squashes need 400° + to bake.
• How close can we get?
• Will slow cooking compensate for temperature?
At 10 am I did the same routine as yesterday: pan in roasting bag on metal rack, covered cooker with roasting bag.
T = 310° when I returned from bike ride at 1 pm – and squash was cooked. (Taste is bland, not like delicata!). (Did I mention that there was only 1 farmer and a lot of misc. vendors at the NoHo Farmer’s market.)
Bike ride side note. Used my new telescope to watch cormorants feed their “babies” in their nests high in the trees at Sepulveda Nature Preserve.
Get your ticket while the oven is hot
for the Solar Cooking Workshop on Saturday, Aug. 27. If you can’t make that one, we’ll plan to channel the rays again in Oct., and maybe Tea and Solar Treats in Sept.
- Product placements are part of my effort to demonstrate cooking with easily accessible food.
Los Angeles Eco-Village 