I know what you are thinking. Is there no end to her planning for the day when we have no electricity and must survive with our own resources! Or maybe you are thinking that Zelda has gone over the edge. In any event, this contraption is a combination of several internet articles about building your own solar oven. This “oven” consists of 2 main parts. A $3.97 car windshield screen and a sewing pin. The other components are jury rigged and could vary slightly. The “product” is a perfectly baked peanut butter-chocolate chip muffin, courtesy of Bubbles.
It amazes me still, but this WORKED!! (And worked well). The shield is folded into a funnel shape and pinned in place. Set it on an oven rack in a 5 gallon bucket (or waste basket, or bowl, or pit). Place the item to be cooked in a dark pan, put the pan in a glass bowl. (The pan cover was removed for this picture. There is nothing special about it except that it is black.) Aim the funnel towards the sun and move it if necessary as the sun shifts position.
I left it and checked about an hour later, perfection. The other implication of this aside from the obvious (and fun/amazing cooking) is the ability to pasteurize water. This cooker can easily boil water and hold it for the 8-10 minutes required to kill yucky things that might be in it.
I am going to assign the kids tasks of measuring things for successful and practical use of this devise, ie time needed, temps generated, etc. Should be fun.
