Posts Tagged ‘sustainable living’





Making a Solar Oven

Thursday, July 28th, 2011





By Golly, It Works!!




Image and video hosting by TinyPic



Yesterday it was somewhere around 110 degrees in Okieland. Shoot, at 7 pm it was still 107! It’s that kind of stifling heat that just puts you in a bad mood. A lot of people are in a bad mood around here. The sad part is that the weatherman says that it will be this way for the next 20 or so days unless a miraculous tropical storm comes ashore and moves north. I never thought that I would hope for a tropical storm!


On days like these, one has a tendency to get a little odd. Heat has a way of doing that to people. It’s getting so bad that we in the country are seeing Dairy Queen mirages, in the distance, way down the gravel road and in a film of dust. You take off at a jog, salivating for a frozen, cold, chocolatey Dilly Bar, only to wind up in a cloud of lime dust as the mirage disappears, without so much as a popsicle stick. It is truly sad.


Yesterday, to keep myself from going crazy, I decided to do something different. I mean, REALLY different. I had received an email from a reader, and questions from a friend, regarding solar ovens. As I said in the last post, my experience has been with reflector ovens, but a solar oven seemed of utmost interest considering we Okies are not allowed to even say the word fire, let alone strike a match in our parched environs right now. And the thought of not heating up the kitchen gave real incentive. So, I did some research and chose this hottest day of the week to harness the rays of the brutal sun to make dinner for Mr. Fix-It.


I settled on a meal of chicken breasts, carrots, new potatoes and onions and thought I would surprise him with this delicious meal. Somehow, I knew his reaction would be, “Chicken cooked in the sun? Nope. Not taking my chances. Sounds like ptomaine poisoning in a box.” However, he always loses and eats whatever I put in front of him. He hasn’t died yet. So the following is a step-by-step process for making a very simple solar oven. I kid you not – it works!!


You’ll Need:


  • One small box, large enough to hold your pan or pans
  • One larger box that, when the small box is placed inside, leaves 2″ of space around the small box
  • Aluminum foil
  • Plastic wrap
  • Tape and stapler
  • A piece of cardboard larger than the large box
  • black construction paper
  • Lots of newspaper or newsprint


  • Image and video hosting by TinyPic



    Fold the flaps of the small box inside the box or cut them off. Line the inside of the box with aluminum foil and press against the sides as smooth as possible. Tape the foil to the outside of the box or just fold it over in place.


    Image and video hosting by TinyPic



    Cut a sheet of construction paper to fit the bottom of the small box. I had to piece this one together and taped it together on the underside of the paper. As I was cutting the construction paper, I felt like Captain Kangaroo with safety scissors showing a craft project on television. I think it was that sound of cutting construction paper. OK. So the heat is getting to me. Just ignore me.


    Image and video hosting by TinyPic



    Wad up sheets of newspaper or newsprint and make a cushion on the bottom of the large box.


    Image and video hosting by TinyPic



    Center the small box inside the large box and pack wadded paper around the small box as insulation.


    Image and video hosting by TinyPic



    Measure the opening of the large box and cut the extra cardboard to measure 4″ longer and wider.


    Image and video hosting by TinyPic



    Cover the cardboard with aluminum foil and tape or glue onto the back. Note: I can see using mirrors instead of aluminum foil in this project and getting some hot heat!


    Image and video hosting by TinyPic



    Image and video hosting by TinyPic



    Staple the cardboard to the back flap of the large box with the aluminum foiled surface facing toward the box opening. Tape the flap to the cardboard piece for extra strength.


    Image and video hosting by TinyPic



    I sprinkled garlic powder, paprika, thyme and pepper on boneless, skinless chicken breasts


    Image and video hosting by TinyPic



    I added new potatoes, carrots and onions into the bottom of a dark enamel pot. The pots or pans need to be dark and so cast iron or enamel work well.


    Image and video hosting by TinyPic



    Chicken breasts were placed on top of the veggies and 1 tbsp of Italian dressing, 1/3 cup of water and 1 tsp of chicken bouillon granules were added.


    Image and video hosting by TinyPic



    The pot is placed inside the small box (a thermometer is hanging from the handle of the pan) and plastic wrap is stretched tightly over the opening of the large box. The plastic wrap is taped to the sides.


    Image and video hosting by TinyPic



    Voila – I just covered the front flap with foil to make it look balanced. It’s the artist in me.


    Image and video hosting by TinyPic



    Now, I discovered a problem for Oklahomans. We have wind. REAL wind – you know, that comes sweeping down the plain ala the movie. So, I grabbed a trashcan full of 2 x 4 scraps and put it behind the cardboard reflector. I ran packing tape from the reflector around the trash can. That way, I could move the trash can and repostition the cardboard if I needed to in order to catch the sun right.


    Image and video hosting by TinyPic



    Within minutes it got up to 160º


    Image and video hosting by TinyPic



    I checked it about every 45 minutes but only looked at the food once. It cooked for 8 hours with the highest temperature reaching 190º. When planning your recipes, look at it like a crockpot slow cooker.


    Image and video hosting by TinyPic



    All done


    Image and video hosting by TinyPic



    It was delicious! Really. So tender! I think that the only thing I might have changed would be that I would add some cream of mushroom soup to the chicken! Now you can bake in the sun and not use a drop of suntan lotion!!


    Happy Sun Baking!



    MB
    Please join us on FaceBook!!


    Join in the conversation by leaving a comment below!


    Image and video hosting by TinyPic
    THUMBTACK.COM

    for the Oklahoma Pastry Cloth™ Company





    Home-Cured Ham

    Friday, May 20th, 2011





    Home-Cured Tennessee

    Country Ham



    Image and video hosting by TinyPic

    Country Ham and Red-eye gravy made with a dash of coffee, eggs, grits and biscuits – yum, yum!


    I have to preface this post with the smart-aleck comment made by Mr. Fix-It this morning. As he was looking through the photos being chosen to include and saw the title of the post, “Home-Cured Ham”, he asked, “The ham’s sick? What’s it got? Swine Flu?” Yes, you can groan too.


    Though I was born an “Okie”, I spent most of my “growing up years” in East Tennessee. If one lives in East Tennessee long enough, one eventually falls in love with the local treat – Tennessee Country Ham. This salty, aged and sometimes smoked miracle of meat is only improved when accompanied by beans, “red-eye gravy”, fried okra, biscuits and Spoonbread or grits. Because it is salty-salty, slices are soaked for a few hours to overnight, depending on the amount of saltiness enjoyed, and then pan fried in a cast iron skillet for a crusty delicacy.


    Image and video hosting by TinyPic

    Various stages and amounts of mold can cover salt-cured hams

    The unique feature of country ham is the layer of mold that forms on the wrapping paper and ham surface as it hangs and ages. Newbies who receive a Tennessee Country Ham for a gift usually freak when they unbag their present and then unwrap the paper that has shrouded the meat all during the curing process. A nice, moldy carpet coats portions of the rind and paper. This is simply removed by scrubbing the ham with a mixture of vinegar and water or with plain water and a stiff bristle brush. The meat is sliced with a saw just 1/4″ thick.


    Having worked in a meat department that was constantly visited by local farmers toting their treasured cured hams to be sliced, I learned that it was ‘bragging rights’ when it came to how long one of these hams were hung. Three years was the limit, but it seemed that the more mold and the longer aged the better these ‘specialists’ viewed their product. Hog killing commenced around Thanksgiving, hams, bacon and shoulders were cured and smokehouses were loaded with the goodies to be smoked or to be used without smoking.


    I remember one farmer’s story about a most disastrous year. He had corn fed and slaughtered his pigs to put up meat for the year. After a gruelling day of salting down, wrapping and hanging portions, cutting up roasts, chops, ribs and other cuts for the freezer, grinding sausage and rendering lard, this industrious man and his family went to bed and slept the sleep of hard workers. The family went about the rest of the year and on into winter with the happy knowledge that come Fall, there would be good eatin’s from the smokehouse for sure. Sometime during the summer, the farmer went to the smokehouse and opened the door. To his horror, all that he found hanging from the rafters were bones tied with rope and picked totally clean of any shred of meat. Rats had crawled along the rafters, shinnied down the ropes and feasted on the cured meats without so much as asking!


    In the meat department, we cured hams all year long. We purchased fresh hams from our local packing plant, which you can do as well. We let them warm at room temperature for a couple of hours and then coated with our cure, hanging them in the cooler for the first 12 weeks. As meat begins to cure, it must be kept cool. This is why the farmers always waited until Thanksgiving or later to kill their hogs. With a walk-in cooler or refrigerator, however, the curing process can take place any time of the year.


    Image and video hosting by TinyPic

    Boning the loin to make boneless pork chops and babyback ribs

    I thought that I would give you a step-by-step lesson on how to create these wonderful hams with the help of some great kids. A group of home schooled students got to mix an anatomy and physiology class with learning to cure meat at the Oklahoma Pastry Cloth™ digs. We had purchased a hog that was taken to our local packing house and then we picked up the quarters to process ourselves, including curing the hams. As you will see, curing meat is a pretty simple process and is a wonderful way to preserve meats for a long time. One note, however, once these hams are sliced, the meat must be wrapped in freezer paper and frozen or, if eaten soon after slicing, kept in the refrigerator for a short time.


    Cure Mix For One Ham

  • 3 cups salt without iodine
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 tablespoon saltpeter (purchase at pharmacy)
  • 1 teaspoon red pepper


  • Image and video hosting by TinyPic



    Open two paper bags to lay flat and tape together or use butcher paper. Center ham onto paper. Mix ingredients together into a bowl and pack, little-by-little, around the meat



    Image and video hosting by TinyPic



    Force cure into crevices, under flaps of skin or fat and into and around any protruding bones.



    Image and video hosting by TinyPic



    Fold paper bag or butcher paper over the ham and tape as a tight package



    Image and video hosting by TinyPic



    Tape completely shut and tape around shank area so that final product has the shape of the ham



    Image and video hosting by TinyPic



    Place in a bag – we use old pillow cases – with the shank end into one corner of the bag. Twist top tightly and tie a rope around the twisted end. Hang in a refrigerator with shank down by tying the rope to one of the refrigerator shelves. An old extra refrigerator works great for this as other shelves can be removed, using only one shelf from which to hang hams. The temperature should be normal frig temperature. Hang for 12 weeks. A pan should be put below the ham because fluid will drip from it for those 12 weeks. At the end of the three months, remove ham from refrigerator and hang anywhere convenient at room temperature. We like to hang ours for a year but some people hang them for 8 to 9 months.



    Image and video hosting by TinyPic



    When the ham has cured for the desired length of time, take it down, remove the cloth sack and cut away the paper.



    Image and video hosting by TinyPic



    Wash the ham, using vinegar and water or just water and a good bristle scrub brush



    Image and video hosting by TinyPic



    Cleaned ham ready for cutting



    Image and video hosting by TinyPic



    Cut off rind and trim fat



    Image and video hosting by TinyPic

    Slice with a hand saw or band saw or take to your local meat packer to have him slice it for you. Wrap slices in freezer paper and freeze



    Image and video hosting by TinyPic



    To cook, soak meat in water for a couple of hours in the refrigerator and then place in a heated cast iron skillet coated with a little bit of olive oil. Brown on both sides and add water to nearly cover. Allow to cook for about 15-20 minutes until water cooks down to nearly gone. Remove ham and add more water plus about a tablespoon of coffee. Cook down until the consistency of thin gravy for “red-eye” gravy.



    So there you have it!!


    Happy Curing!



    MB
    Please join us on FaceBook!!


    Join in the conversation by leaving a comment below!


    Image and video hosting by TinyPic