What could be more entertaining and magical than putting food into a cardboard box outdoors on a sunny day and taking it out fully cooked a few hours later? Solar cooking — a safe, simple cooking method using the sun's rays as the sole heat source — has been known for centuries and can be done at least during the summer in just about any place where there's sun. In Cooking with Sunshine, Lorraine Anderson and Rick Palkovic provide everything you need to know to cook great sun-fueled meals. They describe how to build your own inexpensive solar cooker, explain how solar cooking works and its benefits over traditional methods, offer more than 100 tasty recipes emphasizing healthy ingredients, and suggest a month's worth of menu ideas.
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About the Author
Lorraine Anderson is a freelance writer and editor with a special interest in encouraging a reciprocal relationship with nature. Her books include Sisters of the Earth: Women’s Prose and Poetry About Nature, Literature and the Environment: A Reader on Nature and Culture (with Scott Slovic and John P. O’Grady), and At Home on This Earth: Two Centuries of U.S. Women’s Nature Writing (with Thomas Edwards). She lives in Corvallis, Oregon. Rick Palkovic is an electrical engineer and technical writer. He lives in Davis, California.
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More About the Author
Lorraine Anderson (b. 1952) grew up on a free-range chicken ranch in Cupertino, California, in the days when the Santa Clara Valley was still known as the Valley of Heart's Delight. (It's now known as Silicon Valley.) She freelances as a writer and editor and teaches writing as an adjunct professor at Linn-Benton Community College in Corvallis, Oregon.
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
87 of 87 people found the following review helpful
By sunhat66
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I usually preview my books by borrowing them from the library to see if they are worth buying. This is one that I chose for my personal collection.
I also checked out "Cooking with the Sun" (by Halacy and Halacy), which had some good introductory information and interesting-looking recipes. However, as soon as I got to the list of supplies needed for actually building their solar oven (plywood, fiberglass insulation, 1/16" thick aluminum or iron sheets, double-strength window glass, etc.) I gave up. My tools are limited to hammers and screwdrivers, and I didn't even know what some of the required items were, much less what to do with them.
This book, by contrast, has wonderful, step-by-step, illustrated directions on how to make a solar oven (box cooker) using simple stuff I have at home (cardboard boxes, newspaper, aluminum foil, turkey oven-roasting bag, Elmer's glue, etc.). There are also simple-looking directions for making a reflective-panel cooker.
I love how this book caters to the average Joe (or Josephine) who wants to cook with solar but doesn't want to spend a bundle to get started. The book gives lots of recommendations for improvising inexpensive options in cookware, explaining what works best and what doesn't work so well (and why!). For example, two dark 9" cake pans held together with large binder clamps (those things used in offices to hold large quantities of paper together) can work just as well as an expensive enameled dutch oven.
I also checked out "Cooking with the Sun" (by Halacy and Halacy), which had some good introductory information and interesting-looking recipes. However, as soon as I got to the list of supplies needed for actually building their solar oven (plywood, fiberglass insulation, 1/16" thick aluminum or iron sheets, double-strength window glass, etc.) I gave up. My tools are limited to hammers and screwdrivers, and I didn't even know what some of the required items were, much less what to do with them.
This book, by contrast, has wonderful, step-by-step, illustrated directions on how to make a solar oven (box cooker) using simple stuff I have at home (cardboard boxes, newspaper, aluminum foil, turkey oven-roasting bag, Elmer's glue, etc.). There are also simple-looking directions for making a reflective-panel cooker.
I love how this book caters to the average Joe (or Josephine) who wants to cook with solar but doesn't want to spend a bundle to get started. The book gives lots of recommendations for improvising inexpensive options in cookware, explaining what works best and what doesn't work so well (and why!). For example, two dark 9" cake pans held together with large binder clamps (those things used in offices to hold large quantities of paper together) can work just as well as an expensive enameled dutch oven.
50 of 50 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I must say this book is a real gem. It is small but contains some good information. Half the book is information on solar cooking and it even tells you how to build two simple solar cookers from things you probably have around the house or can get cheap. The other half of the book contains recipes for cooking with your solar cooker. Excluding the recipes, the book can be read in a few hours at most. After which you will know enough to be able to build your own solar cooker and be cooking in no time. The book also gives sources for buying a cooker should you really want to do so.
I built a panel cooker in about an hour or two following the easy instructions. The next day I cooked a meal with it using a recipe I modified a bit to work with the cooker. It turned out better than I thought it would to be honest. I have cooked several dishes using the cooker now and everything has turned out great. I personally find the food to be of better quality than the typical high heat cooking usually done on stoves and ovens.
Most recipes can be adapted to be cooked with sunshine so you are not limited to what is provided in the book. As the book says a general rule is a conventional recipe will take about twice as long to cook in the solar cooker. I found this to be about true, though it might take just a little longer but doubling the time seems to be about right.
If you are interested in learning how to build a solar cooker and start cooking with one then I recommend getting this book. It keeps things pretty simple and easy while still giving you the information you need to start cooking good meals with free energy from the sun.
I built a panel cooker in about an hour or two following the easy instructions. The next day I cooked a meal with it using a recipe I modified a bit to work with the cooker. It turned out better than I thought it would to be honest. I have cooked several dishes using the cooker now and everything has turned out great. I personally find the food to be of better quality than the typical high heat cooking usually done on stoves and ovens.
Most recipes can be adapted to be cooked with sunshine so you are not limited to what is provided in the book. As the book says a general rule is a conventional recipe will take about twice as long to cook in the solar cooker. I found this to be about true, though it might take just a little longer but doubling the time seems to be about right.
If you are interested in learning how to build a solar cooker and start cooking with one then I recommend getting this book. It keeps things pretty simple and easy while still giving you the information you need to start cooking good meals with free energy from the sun.
51 of 52 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
The idea of cooking with solar energy is new to me, but since I've been so impressed by previous publications by Lorraine Anderson, I decided to give the book a whirl and order it. The 150 easy recipes include a tantalizing tomato bisque soup, a unique Ozark pudding, and a to-die-for Boppin' John (traditional New Year's Day dinner down South). Using the free and clean energy of the sun will appeal to anyone hoping to be more environmentally responsible. Not only do Anderson and Palkovic teach neonates like me how to construct a solar oven (out of tin foil, cardboard, newspapers, and glass!), but the book also lists places where I can order such ovens. As for me, I'll be taking the solar cooker and a copy of Cooking with Sunshine to the Mississippi River beaches this summer. Bon appetit.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Good book to get started.
This book does have pretty detailed instructions for building a few types of solar ovens using easy to obtain parts. Also includes a nice selection of recipes for using the oven.
Published 5 months ago by B. Hawkins
4.0 out of 5 stars
Book: Cooking with Sunshine
Some of the recipes I'll likely never use, based on my life-style, but most I will. I bought a solar oven several months ago, and have to spend some time learning to be competent... Read more
Published 6 months ago by NorthTXguy
3.0 out of 5 stars
Helpful and Probably Good for Ideas
I live in the caribbean and use a solar oven. I bought this book to give me some ideas regarding suitable recipies for the oven. Read more
Published 8 months ago by Frank A. Goodwill
3.0 out of 5 stars
Older-
This is not a bad book, but it was published nearly 20 years ago; there have been advancements in solar ovens and solar cooking. Read more
Published 9 months ago by J Keistler
4.0 out of 5 stars
Harvesting the sun in cooking
Cooking with Sunshine is an easy to read informative book packed with recipes for the owner of a sun oven that wants to enjoy success right from the start. Read more
Published 10 months ago by prairiewind
5.0 out of 5 stars
So Far love EVERYTHING about the book (and our new cooker!)
We have been toying with the idea of a solar cooker for quite some time, but thought the pre-made models were too expensive, and recently came across this publication. Read more
Published 10 months ago by J. Manchester
4.0 out of 5 stars
Off the grid made easy
This book is great for camping and just getting back to basics. It has recipes and how to that will help to get you off the grid or make a splash at the campsite. I love it.
Published 20 months ago by Gail A. Preset
5.0 out of 5 stars
Cooking with Sunshine
This book came quickly, it was well packaged and was exactly as it was represented to be. I appreciate the rapidity with which it was handled and sent. Read more
Published 20 months ago by J. Koniuszy
5.0 out of 5 stars
An amazing & helpful book
To me, this is an amazing book. It was sooo helpful when I was new to solar cooking, plus it is very helpful for others in how to create a solar cooker! Read more
Published 24 months ago by Lynne
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great little book
I love this cookbook. I got it with my solar cooker and I have used SO many of the recipes. It was well worth the price. All of the recipes are straight-forward. Read more
Published on May 10, 2011 by GenuineImitation
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