How To Cook With A Solar Panel Cooker

If you build it they will come. Well, maybe not "they" but the sun will work. Below I have included easy steps to building an easy cooker.
The cook it: This one does get hot enough to cook. Basically you need some kind of cardboard and some aluminum foil. Make a shape similar to the one you see pictured with the cardboard. The bigger the better. I just used soda pop boxes that hold 12 or 24 sodas. I make a shape sorta like the one shown. Usually using two boxes. I glue aluminum foil to the cardboard shapes.; Tape it all together with duct tape and set it out in the sun. I am no builder so I do things the easy way. I did include a link to a web site with detailed instructions. if you are like me though, basically you will read the instructions and do it your own way. As long as you have reflectors and enough room at the bottom for your pans, you will cook. Here is the link to the instructions

Things you will need:
Cake mix
Two small cake pans (I used the round ones)
Aluminum foil painted black on top (with non toxic paint)
Oven bag (the kind you use to cook meat in)
Black construction paper
String or twist ties (I use string because its easier for me.)

To Bake a cake in solar oven its very simple. I just used a cake mix that you can buy at any store. Mixed it up. Put it in two separate cake pans. Seal the top of pan with the piece of aluminum foil that was painted black on one side. Make sure the black side is on the top.Then take an oven bag, place the piece of Black paper (cut to make it fit) on bottom of bag.Put in one cake pan and seal the bag with string or twist ties.
Place on bottom of the cooker and make sure you turn it towards the sun. Following is a video which shows the different ways to use a cooker. Let cook for at least two to four hours. The cake will be done when you stick a fork in it and it comes out clean

You can either wait for the first cake to be done before baking the second cake or have two solar cookers ready and bake one on each..

It was over 80 degrees F outside. I decided to make a meal today. I started with biscuits. I put them out at 7:30 AM. They cooked till about 10:30 am. They were done and very yummy. I had biscuits and gravy.

At 9am I put rice on to cook. I added two cups of water to one cup of rice. I put it in a black pot and sealed it with a plastic oven bag. It cooked till about 1 pm. It was completely done. BUT a bit mushy for me. I will probably make rice pudding out of it.

At about 10 am, I made a meat loaf and put it in a dark pan with a lid. Covered it all in an oven bag and put it on my third cooker. it cooked till 2 pm. It was completely done and VERY good. Probably the best meat loaf i have ever made.

I took a picture of the biscuits after they were done. They look pretty good don't they??