I brought two DIY solar cookers to my cat-sitting gig in “THE VALLEY”. Because they are so portable, and because this home has every modern convenience + solar panels, it’s a cheap thrill to do something low tech and hands on. How portable are these cookers? The five pieces of poster board form a 14″x14″x1/2″ … Continue reading DIY solar cookers have their day in the sun – but don’t leave them out in the dew
I want to begin with a huge public thank you to Federico who built a beautiful cart from upcylced materials for the newest, largest, heavy solar oven. I am so grateful to move it out of my apartment, to store it outdoors so I do not have to navigate stairs while carrying it. Now it … Continue reading Solar cooking after weeks of rain
This is so low tech – I love it. Eggs cook faster in a solar oven than in the cooker. I haven’t got the knack of predicting whether they will be hard or soft cooked, yet, so I just try one & decide whether or not to let them cook longer. Next LA Ecovillage solar … Continue reading Solar cooked eggs
This soup has to be special because it may be our last meal together.
Shameless promotion: Solar Cooking Workshop – including demo of a cheap, easily portable DIY cooker- Sat. Aug 27, 10 am. tickets: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/cooking-with-the-sun-solar-cooking-workshop-tickets-386203142997
Ambient temperature was low 90s when I decided there might be enough sun breaking through to try cooking in the pre-heated sun oven: 1/2 lb. ham, 2 fish fillets, 2 chicken legs, 2 large sweet potatoes and green beans. I don’t recall what time I began, but by 1:45 pm voilà
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 … Continue reading Day 9- Solar Cooking Sabbatical
Our August 27 solar cooking workshop attracted attention from Luther Krueger who hosts Saturday Solar Cooking Brunches in Minneapolis, gives s.c. demos across the state and interviews solar cooks around the country. He says, I think what you are doing is really up at the top for getting the message out–and DIY cookers are soon … Continue reading Super Solar Monday
Get your Eventbrite ticket to join Sage and me on Saturday, August 27 at the LA EcoVillage, as we cook and bake in 4 varieties of solar cookers. We’ll demonstrate how to make a simple cooker and have low cost DIY kits available for purchase.
Sage and I were heat-wave opportunists last weekend as we took advantage of 90-100℉ days to try new solar cooked recipes for future Solar Cooking Demonstrations at the Eco-village. We want to use foods in season as often as possible so we hustled to harvest 8 “end of season citrons” from our aka lemon tree. … Continue reading What’s solar cooking this week?
Dang! I thought DST returned in April, so when the clocks sprung forward last weekend, I realized that I’d have to adjust our solar cooking demonstration plans by cooking some of the food in advance. No worries. I’ll just demonstrate using the sun to save energy by toasting the cornbread, heating the lentils and cooking … Continue reading In spite of daylight savings time, food is ready for solar cooking demo.
Impromptu Solar cooked Thanksgiving potluck
We use the recipe for Apple Pan Dowdy from my ancient Fannie Farmer cookbook. Edy does the math to double the recipe and makes the cottage pudding topping. Apples, raspberries and concord grapes from our gardens are baked in the solar oven with cinnamon, nutmeg & ginger and placed in the bottom of the pan. … Continue reading Edy learns to bake with solar oven
people often ask about using the solar oven so today i decided to document roasting a whole chicken. first, i soaked the whole chicken in a brine for 3-4 hrs (organic- Mary’s Farm, sold at Galleria. i prefer Mary’s whole chicken to her scrawny legs.). pound garlic, cut herbs, lemon, & salt
Now that many people are working from home, why hasn’t solar cooking caught on?
Cycles are one of the themes of a walk-about tour through Eco-village gardens, lead by Sage and me on May 21. Event tickets available through May 19. Blossoming trees in their prime Bounty at the end of plant life cycles Pickled, nasturtium seeds taste like capers. 1 pint Nasturtium seeds – let them dry a … Continue reading Cycle of life in the April garden
I usually select a few of last season’s sweet potatoes to grow “slips” for the next season’s planting, but the ones I selected this year haven’t sprouted. I was on the verge of buying slips when I noticed sweet potato leaves in two areas of the garden, so I dug really deep and retrieved pieces … Continue reading Sweet potato slips gift (try saying that 3 times!)
Pacific Electric is a full service electrical and solar contracting firm and a worker owned coop. They are having a kick off party at the L.A. Eco Village on Friday, April 25 at 6pm and you are invited. Make sure to check out their website to get an idea of the range of services they … Continue reading Kick off party for Pacific Electric, a worker owned co-op
Having a birthday lunch with my neighbor Dale today, he told me about this article that he caught in yesterday’s LA Times, and that he’d posted the hard copy on our bulletin board. Couldn’t wait to get home to read it, especially when Dale indicated that he really understood what Dave’s research was about from … Continue reading Dave Auerbach in the L.A. Times 2/2/11
Eco-Village is looking for some investors. Eco-Village’s non-profit parent, the Cooperative Resources and Services Project “CRSP,” has utilized an innovative Ecological Revolving Loan Fund “ELF” to crowd-source purchasing property for permanent ecological and affordability benefits. In 1996, CRSP purchased our initial 40-unit apartment building at 117 Bimini Place. In 1999, we expanded by purchasing the adjacent 8-unit Bimini Terrace. … Continue reading Loan Your Dollars for Local Ecological Good
Los Angeles Eco-Village 