Customer Reviews

Cooking with Sunshine: The Complete Guide to Solar Cuisine with 150 Easy Sun-Cooked Recipes

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

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 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.

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.

This book is easy to read and use. The information is presented clearly and it is easy to understand. This book is a great source book to teach yourself solar cooking. It is also easy to include younger children. Older children could pick it up and teach themselves from reading it. The recipes are of a wide variety so there should be a favorite for just about everyone. It isn't too "new age" as some other books on this subject. Outlines food safety issues very well with easy to remember rules and suggestions for building your own solar cooker. Easy enough for a child to do.

Just picked up the book yesterday and read it from cover to cover last night. Great opening section about how solar cooking works. I haven't seen it explained more clearly anywhere else. Great explanations on how to build your own- two types. And the recipes look wonderful. I'll be trying many of them when I finish building mine.

I've lived in Seattle for 30 years and with heavy seasonal rain and a yard that boasts three hours of sun in the middle of summer, I had never considered cooking with sunshine a possibility-- not until I read Cooking with Sunshine. I might have to move the oven around my yard to follow the sun, but I'm ready to give it a try. If you don't know much about solar cooking, this book is the best place to start. Flip through the recipes first and consider pumpkin bread, fruit pies and brownies, all these and more you can make with energy from the sun. But before you rush out and order order a solar oven, finish this book first because details like what is solar cooking, the history of solar cooking, what you can cook and what kinds of pans to use are essential information. And the last sections provide instructions for making your own solar oven. I'm so excited about this book, I'm ordering it for my sister in Texas.

I am just getting into solar cooking and we made a solar cooker. Great fun. Now that autumn is almost here, I probably won't be using it as much.
This book has lots of recipes and helps you to see that almost any recipe can be used in a solar oven. I feel great when I don't turn on my oven and save energy.

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! The book has good instructions in how to cook everything outside. I bought my solar cooker, and first tried her cream cheese recipe, which was great, and then eventually cooked everything from breads to meats, desserts, black beans, rice, steamed vegetables and more. In fact, when I'm cooking rice in the solar cooker, I put in a steamer w/vegetables right over the rice & they cook together! Some were her recipes which I liked & some were mine which also came out good. And today I did her southwest quinoa salad, which was sooo delicious! Thank you to Lorraine & Rick!

You must try the Asparagus Pesto! By my calculations, a batch of this makes more and costs less than store-bought pesto. (Also less oily, if you wish.)

I am a pro when it comes to cooking with a solar oven, so that was not an issue for me. But the recipes in this book are dreadful. I made the onion dill bread--nasty, and embarassing. I made the yogurt chicken enchilda recipe--couldn't be more boring in taste--also an embarassment to serve for others. I also made one of the grain recipes--more ho hum. This book may be alright for those wanting to get simply educated on using a solar oven, but it's definitely not a worthwhile cookbook. Sorry.