Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, April 19, 1995 TAG: 9504200054
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: A-8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: ALMENA HUGHES FOOD EDITOR
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
``It was just a cheap cardboard model, and I left it out in the rain one day and that was that,'' the 27-year-old owner of Moonlight Solar in Christiansburg said recently.
Easy decomposition of some models, along with their lids being subject to breakage and baking hours being somewhat restricted, might be solar cookers' only disadvantages.
Among their advantages, Harriet Kofalk, author of the recently published ``Solar Cooking: A Primer/Cookbook,'' cites coming home to a hot, ready-to-eat meal and lower utility bills.
A third plus, helping to cut the planet's pollution, is on many minds as we approach Earth Day's 25th anniversary Saturday.
``It's hard to burn things in a solar cooker,'' Walsh added to the list. ``And they're fun to play with. The kids can set up a bake sale and cook their cookies right there on the lawn.''
Still, he estimated that fewer than 50 people in the Roanoke area - mainly in Carrol and Floyd counties - solar cook on a regular basis, with only a handful more using solar cookers while camping.
The principle - using the sun's energy rather than wood or another nonrenewable source - really isn't complicated. If you've ever made a jar of sun tea, you've technically solar cooked.
While a whole range of designs exist, author Kofalk says the most popular solar cooker is a ``box in a box.'' Typically, box cookers are made from two cardboard boxes, one inside the other, with the in-between space stuffed with some type of insulating material. The boxes are lined with aluminum foil and the inner box has a black metal plate on the bottom to draw heat downward. A sheet of glass forms the lid and holds in the heat; another foil-lined flap acts as a sunlight reflector. Food is usually cooked in heavy dark pots with lids. The temperature outdoors is less important for the cooking process than clarity of sunlight.
Walsh got interested in solar power at age 9. For the past seven years, he's been selling and installing alternative-energy equipment, first through Bell Electric and since last June through Moonlight Solar.
He said that temperatures in cardboard cookers seldom exceed 350 degrees. But temperatures can reach and remain as high as 500 degrees in some larger custom-built cookers. They typically cost between $150 and $400 and are made of waterproof metal or sealed plywood, which can be left out in the rain without disastrous results.
``Some of the larger models also have a 'sun peg' like a sundial where you use a shadow to adjust the temperature for hot, medium or low,'' Walsh said.
Like any other new form of cooking, he warned, solar takes some getting used to.
``Solar cookers keep the moisture in more than a regular oven. It's similar to cooking in a Dutch oven. And what you get is good, but it's sometimes different from what you expect,'' Walsh explained.
For example, Walsh said breads made in his cooker turned out soft, but were fine after being allowed to dry out a little. The skins of his baked potatoes remained soft rather than turning crispy as they do in a conventional oven.
``But Indian foods, beans and rice, stews, casseroles and things like that turn out fine. A meat loaf probably would, too. One manufacturer says you can cook a 10- or 12-pound turkey,'' Walsh said.
Author Kofalk doesn't include any meats and, in fact, limits the recipes in her book to vegan dishes. She nicely combines an adequate rudimentary introduction to solar cooking, instructions for building a basic box cooker, a list of resources and additional information, plus valuable personal insight and interesting recipes. The book is available for $8.95 plus $2.50 shipping and handling from The Book Publishing Company, P. O. Box 99, Summertown, TN 38483 or by calling (800) 695-2241.
Walsh, who hopes to develop his own catalog including cookers, said that one well-regarded brand of cooker is the Solar Chef, manufactured in Grants Pass, Ore., (503) 471-4371. Another source of information is Solar Cookers International, 1724 Eleventh St., Sacramento, Ca. 95814 (916) 444-6616.
Walsh and Moonlight Solar can be reached at (703) 381-4971.
Recipes for:
HARRIET'S IMPASTA
BLACK BEAN SUN PATTIES MEXICAN FOCACCIA
SHORT-CUT CASSOULET
SLOPPY JOE UNDER A "BUN"
CHUNKY 3-CHEESE AND CHICKEN PIZZA
Memo: ***CORRECTION***