“Free energy“… what could be cooler than that? Well, “free energy” and “food“…
Today, I’m baking Solar Powered Cookies in my Passive Solar Oven for snacks at this weekend’s South Sound Green Tour.
About 20 years ago, I was hired to go to Boston to teach the Fundamentals of Energy at a summer prep school. Given that the classes offered were electives and there were many to choose from, I was pretty concerned about whether kids would sign up for my class. As a desperate act, I got Randy, my husband, to help me build a Passive Solar Oven… I’m not above bribing in the name of education.
We got the thing made, prior to the command performance, I tested it with cookies, a sturdy cake, brownies, stew and a casserole… proved it worked… put it on an eastbound train… and met it several days later at the South Station Amtrak in Boston.
What a hit it turned out to be! For some reason, the concept of cooking from the sun’s energy seems elusive to hear about it, but when those kids saw it in action when they were able to pop cookies in and be munching on chewy/crispy cookies less than 12 minutes later… what a boon to that educational process! It worked out superbly for all parties.
Here it is, 20 years later, the Solar Oven out and dusted off… ready for action for the upcoming Tour. I’m starting early in the baking process because the one major drawback to cooking with the sun is… if there’s no sun… there’s no cookies. Welcome to the Pacific Northwest. However, consider me a Myth Buster in this case.
So, Saturday, if you’d like to show up to our Design Center while you are out on the tour… we’ll have a Solar Powered Cookie ready with your name on it!
Posted on April 13, 2010
