Parabolic Solar Oven


While searching for ways to reduce the use of nonrenewable resources, you might encounter solar power. Solar power, or solar energy, is the use of the sun’s rays to either create energy (electricity), charge a battery, heat water or other fluids, passively heat homes through glass windows, or even cook foods. When solar power is used to cook food it’s often in the form of a solar oven, which can be used in place of firewood and other fuels in order to cook meals. One popular type of solar oven is the parabolic solar oven, used over others for many reasons.

A parabolic solar oven collects the sun’s rays by using a reflective surface in a parabola, or curved shape. There are many different styles of parabolic solar ovens available, and there are instructions available to create most of them. The parabolic style allows for food to cook at much the same rate as a conventional oven, making it more convenient than other outdoor cooking methods such as campfires. Additionally, since the parabolic solar oven doesn’t use wood or other fuel, it’s quicker to start cooking and requires little time to set up – whereas with a campfire, you’ve got to spend time hunting for firewood, as well as lighting the fire and waiting for it to get hot.

One easy way to start building your own parabolic solar oven is by using a ready-made satellite dish (of course, use one that someone has discarded). Its parabolic shape is perfect for creating the oven, and all you need to do is coat the inside with a reflective substance, such as a mirror finish reflective aluminum sheet. Other people prefer to start their parabolic solar oven with more of a bowl shape, as they believe this allows food inside to cook better and helps to shelter the food from the wind.

Once you have the parabolic solar oven, you need to consider the cooking pot. The pot needs to be of a dark color. It also needs to be placed in the correct position. The parabolic solar oven should be oriented to the sun. The pot should then be placed on a small stand so that it sits at the point of focus for the oven. If you imagine a magnifying glass, the pot should be located where the glass focuses its beam. Once in position, the oven should work for 60 to 90 minutes. If the food is not cooked by then or another pot needs heating, the oven should be readjusted to the orientation of the sun.

When using your parabolic solar oven, be sure to always wear UV (ultraviolet) protective sunglasses that are darkly tinted. The reflection off the aluminum that helps to cook the food at a quick rate also can burn your retinas quite easily. You’ll also want to make sure to cover your parabolic solar oven whenever it’s not in use – this will prevent accidental flashes of light from blinding people as well as prevent the oven from heating up when it’s not needed. If you follow these simple steps, having your own parabolic solar cooker can be a great asset to your environmentally conscious lifestyle.

When you cook with Italian wine, the alcohol evaporates, so the dish will be appropriate for individuals unable to consume alcohol, underage eaters, or individuals who do not wish to imbibe any alcohol.


Many international dishes include wine, especially Italian, French, and Spanish favorites. You can use any type of wine or alcohol to cook with, but Italian wine has substantial fan following when it comes to cooking with wine. Whether you want to add a unique flavor or a powerful zest to your dishes, adding your favorite Italian wine will have everyone raving over your cooking skills and the dishes you serve.

The key to cooking with wine is to choose good quality Italian wine. Just as quality directly affects the drinking enjoyment of a glass of Italian wine, the quality will also affect the end taste of dishes that are prepared using wine as an ingredient. Remember, quality wines are not necessarily the most expensive wines, so avoid associating price with taste. It is safe to say that if you enjoy drinking a particular vineyard’s wine, you will also enjoy cooking with the same wine.

Also, you should carefully choose a Italian wine appropriate for the dish. Generally, the recipe you choose will come with the appropriate Italian wine included, but the traditional rules for serving wine with food applies to including the wine as ingredients with food. Many individuals choose to cook with white wine for a tangier, crisp taste and choose red wines for heartier dishes, including those filled with tasty cuts of meats.

Even though water boils at 212 degrees Fahrenheit, alcohol has a much lower boiling point, around 175 degree Fahrenheit. For this reason, you can quickly remove alcohol in Italian wine, in fact, approximately 40 percent of the alcohol is boiled out in approximately 15 minutes. Eventually, the Italian wine will turn into a thick syrup is boiled long enough. This syrup is perfect for use as a glaze with meats or vegetables.

Once the alcohol has been evaporated, the flavors are emphasized. Also, alcohol, including Italian wine, brings out the flavor of tomatoes and other ingredients. Consider adding a bit of white Italian wine to tomato sauces to bring out the flavors.

There are a variety of cooking wines on the market, but you should avoid these products, since they are of lower quality than a fine Italian wine and usually contain a high amount of sodium. However, if you are a collector of fine Italian wine, save these delicious drinks from the heat, since the alcohol will only be evaporated and the importance of the wine will be lost. There are a variety of quality Italian wine on the market that are perfect for cooking. Choose rich, fruity wines for dessert dishes and strong white wines for sautéed or baking dishes.

“When you add particular kinds of wood smoke to your food, you are taking advantage of a technique that most people associate with charcoal. Actually, it’s just about as easy to control wood smoke with a gas grill, and the results are fantastic,” says Chef Jamie Purviance, author of “Weber’s Real Grilling.”


As one of the country’s top grilling and barbecue experts, Purviance offers consumers useful tips when smoking meats, fish and vegetables on gas grills:

Choosing a Smoking Flavor. “The world of barbecue has its traditional pairings of certain woods with certain meats, like hickory with pork and mesquite with beef. Those traditions wouldn’t last if they didn’t taste great, but keep in mind that there are many flavors of wood and foods, other than pork and beef, that improve with a touch of smoke,” says Purviance. Purviance suggests smoking with hardwoods provided they are sold dry and untreated. Avoid softwoods, like pine and fir, because they are too resinous for smoking.

According to Purviance, hardwood chips and chunks fall into three categories of flavor intensity: pungent (mesquite, hickory and pecan), moderate (oak, maple and alder) and mild (apple, cherry and pear). “Beef, lamb and pork handle the pungent woods really well,” he adds. “For the moderate woods, I like fish, pork and poultry. It’s amazing what a handful or two of oak chips can do for chicken pieces. Very quickly they pick up a deep wood-fired flavor without any bitterness. The mild woods have an even sweeter, fruitier quality, which works beautifully with chicken and also with vegetables.”

Prepping the Wood. Not quite ready for grilling, wood chips should be soaked in water for at least 30 minutes; chunks need at least a one-hour soak. Soaking ensures that chips/chunks will smolder rather than simply burn. Thoroughly drain and loosely fill the gas grill’s smoker box, such as the one featured on some Weber Summit® grills, and leave enough room for air to circulate.

On the Rocks. Even without a smoking attachment, you can still enjoy the diverse, rich flavors imparted by smoking. Simply place presoaked wood chips in a foil pan, cover with aluminum foil, and poke enough holes in the foil to allow the smoke to escape. Once the grill is preheated, place the foil pan directly on the bars or lava rocks over the lit burner. Place the cooking grates on top, turn the burners on high, and close the lid. Begin cooking when the grill is fully smoking.

Smoking Sense. Whenever smoking your foods, Purviance offers this last reminder: Meats and vegetables will taste best if the smoke is kept inside the grill. So don’t peek too much. Keep the lid down when grilling with wood. And, for safety, always allow the wood to cool completely before disposing it.

The Mediterranean olive dates back 6000 years and was native to Iran, Syria and Palestine (Asia Minor). From there it spread to the Mediterranean basin. It is one of the earliest known cultivated trees. According to the Bible, an olive leaf was that which a dove brought back to Noah, as an indication the great flood waters were abating.


The olive tree thrives best in a sunny position and climate. A rocky subsoil suits it well. The trunk is knotty, hard, and gnarled, the bark smooth and ash colored. Olive wood is valuable for its durability and is crafted into many items such as gourmet cooking utensils. The olive tree experiences slow growth, but it lives very long. It is reported that the olive trees on Mount of Olives in Jerusalem, are over 2000 years old. It is commonly believed the Bible passage of “the fruit thereof shall be for meat, and the leaf thereof for medicine,” refers to the olive tree. Olive leaves are silver grey-green, and possesses the health qualities of “olive leaf extract” which is pressed from them. Extracted from olive leaves is a bitter substance named oleuropein. In the 1960’s researchers reported that oleuropein lowered blood pressure in animals, this caused immediate medicinal interest in the olive leaf. There are new studies that indicate olive leaf extract may be a natural preventative against the common cold and flu.

The olive is believed to be a source of wealth for the Minoan Kingdom. Egyptians tombs dating back as far as 2000 BC have been proved to contain olives. The Greeks spread the usage of olives to the Romans who, in turn, spread it across their vast empire. The use of olive oil has been advocated by many religions and cultures. The early Greek Kings were anointed with olive oil. It was also used to anoint winning Olympic athletes. Across many cultures, olive oil is recognized for healthy benefits for both the inner and outward body.

Some research indicates extra-virgin olive oil is the most digestible of the edible fats. Olive oil also it helps to assimilate vitamins A, D and K in the human body. Benefits of consuming olive oil include slowing down the aging process and helps liver, bile, and intestinal functions. Olive oil is valued for its culinary attributes and organoleptic virtues, these being: flavor, bouquet or aroma, and color. Various grades of olive oil are derived from the time of pressing. Earlier pressings are regarded as better quality. Cold pressed olive oil is a pressing process requiring no heat or chemicals, which destroy vital nutrients. This olive oil is generally the best to use for cooking and healthy cuisine.

Olive oil has been extensively used in cooking and forms an integral part of the basic Mediterranean diet. It is a healthier substitute to butter. Strong and pungent flavored olive oils are great for frying fish or other items having a strong flavor. Extra virgin olive oil goes well with salads. A late harvest mission variety olive oil, which is mellow, can be used for baking cakes. Gourmet olive oil is a healthier and tastier substitute to other fatty cooking oils. The health benefits of cold pressed olive oil already have federal agency approval. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration authorized marketing ads that say organic olive oil helps reduce the risk of coronary disease and disorders.

Given below is a simple recipe for olive oil bread dipping sauce.

Bread Dipping Sauce

Servings : 2 – 4
Preparation time : 10 minutes

Ingredients:

½ cup virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon fresh parsley, minced (Italian parsley is best)
1 tablespoon fresh basil, minced
½ teaspoon fresh rosemary, minced
1 tablespoon fresh garlic, minced
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon thyme
1 teaspoon black pepper
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes, crushed well
1/8 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
Salt, to taste

Method:

Heat the olive oil in a pan. Add the garlic and sauté till it changes color. Add all the other ingredients and cook for about 2 – 3 minutes. Remove from the heat. Serve as a bread dip.

There was a stumbling block, however, which was the endless list of spices, seasonings and flavorings in the front of the book.


I didn’t know where to start – I’d heard of quite a lot of them, having watched a few TV programs on Indian cooking but, “help” I thought, “buying that many all at once is going to cost a fortune”. If you’re thinking the same, don’t panic. Check in your store cupboard. You probably already have some of the items you will need. For example, look for black peppercorns, bay leaves, chilli powder (if you’re already a fan of chilli con carne), ground ginger, nutmeg, cloves and cinnamon if you bake cakes or apple pies. Maybe you’ll find mustard seeds if you do your own pickling and sesame seeds if you make rolls or cook Chinese food. That only leaves a few basic ingredients which appear in a lot of Indian recipes – cumin, coriander, turmeric and cardamom. Often you need ground cumin and coriander but if you buy the whole spices, you can grind them as necessary (and they keep longer that way too).

The other thing I did was to choose a fairly simple recipe to start with and I just bought the spices I needed for that. The next time I want to cook an Indian meal, I chose another recipe with similar ingredients so I had to just buy a couple more things. Soon enough I built up a whole store cupboard of the things I needed and it didn’t have had such a drastic effect on my wallet.

Then there was no stopping me – I even know some recipes by heart now and you can do the same if you want to.

You don’t need special equipment for Indian cookery, although I wouldn’t be without my electric coffee grinder (to grind spices) and it’s nice (but not necessary) to have the traditional dishes to serve your meal in. Other than that, you need a bit of patience and it’s fun to cook with a friend so that you can share the chopping and grinding or have someone read the recipe out to you step by step so you don’t go wrong in the middle.

The flavors are great, a curry evening is really sociable, so go on, give it a try.

This is a Tex-Mex casserole dish that will be eaten up so fast. It is petty simple to make. It is assembled just like a Lasagna dish. Only differnece is that we use Corn Tortillas.

Happy Cooking!


Ingredients:

* 10 – 7 inch corn tortillas
* 1 lb. chicken, cooked and shredded
* 1 lb. Cheddar cheese, shredded
* 1 pt. sour cream
* 1/2 cup chicken broth
* 1 packet taco seasoning
* 1 cup mayo.
* 1/4 green onions, chopped (garnish)
* 1 can Rotel, drained (garnish)

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350
2. Cook chicken, shred, and cool.
3. Mix shredded chicken, sour cream, chicken broth, taco seasoning, mayo, 3/4 of cheddar cheese, and salt & pepper in a bowl.
4. Lightly grease a 9×9 casserole dish.
5. Place 2 corn tortillas on bottom of the casserole dish.
6. Cover with chicken mixture.
7. Repeat until all tortillas are gone. Note: The final layer should be 2 tortillas.
8. Place drained Rotel and remaining cheddar cheese on top.
9. Cover with foil and bake for 45 min.
10. Remove foil and place under broiler for 3-5 mins.
11. Garnish with chopped green onions.

Tips from Chef Bek:

* Boil your chicken to prevent from overcooking.
* If Rotel is not available, use a can of Mexican Stewed Tomatoes.

————————————–
Black Bean Corn Salsa Recipe
————————————–

Salsa does just not have to be served with the traditional tortilla chips anymore. This black bean corn salsa is a great addition to any meal, or dish. Best of all, it is a fat free and low calorie accompaniment.

Happy Cooking!

* 1 can black beans – drained and washed
* 1 can corn – drained
* 1/2 cup diced red onion
* 1/4 cup diced jalapenos
* 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
* 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
* 2 large tomatoes – diced
* 2 cloves garlic – chopped
* salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Wash all your veggies, drain all your canned goods, and cut as described. Combine all into a plastic or glass container.

Chill in the refrigerator at least 8 hours, or overnight, before serving.

Tip From Chef Bek:
Do not use a metal container to store the salsa. The acids in the lime juice and tomatoes will have a reaction with the metal.

Serving Suggestions:
* Serve with warm tortilla chips.
* Serve as a sauce for fresh fish.
* Wrap in a warm tortilla with chicken, sliced avocado, and lettuce.
* Place inside a breakfast omelet.
* Add to a bed of mixed greens with some crushed tortilla chips.

Happy Eating!

Real cooking consists of more than opening a can with a dull picture of green beans on the front, or popping a TV dinner from a wax-covered box into the oven or microwave. The true goal of cooking is to nourish these marvelous bodies that we live in, to allow them to grow and express vitality and strength, to keep them healthy and able to overcome environmental germs and bacteria. Summarized in one word, the main purpose of cooking is heath!


When does a fruit or vegetable (or any baked item) furnish us with the most nutrition? The experts feel that food grown in one’s own environment will usually contain the most nutrition. Freshly harvested food provides the maximum nutritional value. After a fruit or vegetable has been sitting for several days, or transported around the world, the value of the vitamins and minerals diminishes.

The best means of ‘cooking’ fruits and vegetables for their health value is to eat them raw in salads or as snacks. As soon as heat is applied, a good quantity of the nutrition is destroyed. A good cook can prepare a beautiful plate with the natural colors of freshly picked fruits and vegetables.

Genetically engineered food has infiltrated the growing of almost all crops. This procedure didn’t exist until the last decade, and it remains highly controversial as the long range effect on humans has never been tested.

Briefly described, this procedure consists of infecting a healthy seed or grain with various bacteria or insects to lengthen its shelf life, to make it look ‘pretty’ for the consumer long after the nutritional value has dissolved. This not only has a negative effect on one’s health, but leaves the cook with a less than delicious product to serve.

Cooking with natural foods that are organically grown (that means with no harmful pesticides or chemical fertilizers) gives today’s health conscious cooks the best chance to delight in the time spent shopping and in the kitchen. Whipping up a carrot cake that will enchant both family and friends (best make two cakes while you’re at it), or preparing a quick but nutritious breakfast so the body will gleefully handle the challenges of the day without needing to be drugged by coffee or caffeine, make heading for the kitchen the favorite part of the day! Truly the cook is the god of the household!

Skillet/frying pan has a flat bottom with short sides that are flared or sloped, which makes it easier to toss and turn food with a spatula. The pan is usually made of a responsive to heat material such as lined copper, stainless steel with a copper or aluminum core, anodized aluminum or cast iron. Non-stick surface is also popular in such pans. They are available in different sizes and generally come with a cover.


Roasting pan is usually of a rectangular shape with low sides allowing the heat from the oven to expose the entire surface of the meat. Roasting pan is generally used with a rack to prevent the meat from sitting in its own juices and stewing instead of browning. The pans are available made of different materials including stainless steel, aluminum with non-stick surface, clay and granite.

Saucepan is a round pot with high straight sides and a flat bottom, can be used for several purposes, such as cooking soup, stewing vegetables, making sauces. There are a few styles to suit special purposes. A saucepan known as a Windsor has sides that flare out and another known as a saucier has sides that are rounded. There are also different sizes and materials of saucepans. Most of them have a snug fitting cover.

Stir-fry pan is a round, deep pan that may have straight sides with a slightly rounded base or more commonly a round base that slopes out and upward. Sizes and handle length can vary to match the cooking process. Heat is evenly distributed across the base while the sloping sides make it easier to stir and turn the ingredients.

Wok is a bowl shaped version of stir-fry pan, best for quick cooking food over high heat. It is available with rounded or flat bottom. Some varieties of woks have one long handle, some have two short handles and others have a long handle on one side and a short one on the opposite side. The materials used are carbon steel, cast iron, and metals with non-stick coating.

Stockpot is a deep, tall, straight-sided pot with two big, loop handles. It is used for simmering large amount of liquid, such as stock, soup and stews, but also works well for thick soups, chili and for boiling pasta. Sometimes comes along with pasta insert – made of stainless steel perforated insert that fits inside a stockpot and acts as a colander for draining pasta.

Grill pan is a heavy metal pan that consists of ridges spaced evenly across the bottom, that closely simulate the grilling process when cooking various meats and foods. Can be with shallow sides or with deeper sides similar to a frying pan. Many grill pans are made of cast iron and are available in different shapes and sizes.

Double boiler consists of two pans – one inside of the other. The bottom pan contains hot water and the top pan holds the ingredients that are being cooked. Generally used for making delicate sauces that have a tendency to separate if cooked on direct heat. Double boilers can be made of stainless steel, enameled steel, glass and aluminum.

Fondue pot is a type of cookware that consists of a pot with a heat source such as a portable cooking fuel or an electrical heating element placed directly below the pot that is used for a food preparation process known as fondues (“fondue” is a French term meaning “to melt”). The heat source melts or fully warms the contents (usually cheese, chocolate, wine or other ingredients) so that food can be dipped into the pot and either cooked or coated with its contents and eaten as an appetizer or part of a meal.

“The keynote to happiness within the four walls that make any home is plain, wholesome, well cooked food, attractively served.” — Louis P. De Gouy


Balsamic Vinegar has an almost other worldly flavor that enhances nearly any food it touches. You can see a visible change on the face of someone who is trying Italian balsamico for the first time. Their face is transformed by awe and delight.

Cost and Quality

The cost of balsamic vinegar is tempered by the fact that a little bit goes a long way. Typical recipes use little more than ¼ cup of balsamic vinegar, so the cost of the bottle is generally offset by the long-term usefulness and good taste of the product.

Cooking Tips

You may be interested in knowing that balsamic vinegar is used for much more than an ingredient in salad dressings. For instance, many will no longer eat fresh strawberries if they can’t apply a bit of aged balsamic vinegar.

If you are a fan of fresh vegetables you should know that balsamic vinegar can make a perfect marinade for grilled veggies such as bell peppers and eggplant. That same marinade can be used when grilling fish and chicken. Red meats can also gain a complimentary taste using an Italian balsamic like Villa Bellentani.

When cooking with balsamic vinegar it is important to note that it may be best to apply the vinegar after the dish is fully cooked. Adding balsamic vinegar to your favorite dishes will, in fact, enhance the flavor, but heat mellows the taste and may be best applied after the cooking is finished.

When used in a balsamic vinaigrette, the blending of this famed Italian vinegar and extra virgin olive oil results in an incredible accent to fresh seafood as well as asparagus and artichokes.

There are even exclusive ice creams that use balsamic vinegar to create a one of kind desert. Drizzling a small amount of thick balsamic vinegar over vanilla ice cream is a popular dessert in Europe.

Supply is Shorter than Demand

It may surprise you to know that only 3,000 gallons of Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale balsamic vinegar is released to the public each year. This has brought about a new group of modestly priced balsamic vinegar that varies widely in price. The reduction in price may generally be attributed to limited aging. It is this type of balsamic vinegar that may be best suited to marinades, sauces and dressings.

Beware of the very inexpensive varieties due to the fact that they are often developed using caramelized brown sugar (to add color and sweetness) and common vinegar. They may also include preservatives that many are allergic to.

Balsamic Vinaigrette Made Easy

Should you desire a homemade bottle of balsamic vinaigrette the instructions are as follows:

One part balsamic vinegar
Four to five parts olive oil
Season and pepper to taste
A teaspoon of mustard (Dijon is often preferred) per half cup of dressing

Additional Ingredients

The following should be used only when desired.

Chives and sage – or other favorite complimentary herbs
Finely chopped shallot of ginger root

(Please note that many find garlic to be incompatible with balsamic vinegar.)

Here are some tips to take the stress out of cooking, whether you are stirring up supper for your mate or hoping to impress the new in-laws:

Dinners-in-a-Bag


Make these dinner bags involving glorious aluminum foil and write on them,

25 minutes at 425 F”, for example, with a marker pen. Even though Jools didn’t like cooking, she never had a problem with cooking the bags. I just program the “Favorites Cycle, in your microwave . Here’s just one version, but feel free to vary the recipe with things like grated parsnip, smoked bacon or red wine.

Chicken Breasts Baked in a Bag

(Serves two)

2 7-ounce skinless chicken breasts

1 handful of dried porcini

9 ounces of mixed mushrooms, torn up

1 large wineglass of white wine

3 large pats of butter

1 handful of fresh thyme

2 cloves of garlic, peeled and sliced

Using wide aluminum foil, make your bag by placing two pieces on top of each other (about as big as two shoeboxes in length), folding three sides in and leaving one side open. Mix everything together in a bowl, including the chicken. Place in your bag, with all the wine, making sure you do not pierce the foil. Close up the final edge, making sure it is tightly sealed and secure on the sides, and slide it onto a roasting pan. Place the pan on a high heat for one minute to get the heat going, and then bake in the middle of a 425-degree oven for 25 minutes.

Bare-Bones Cooking Techniques

* If you invited friends to come round but they are running late, pop up to four plates of food in the separate warming oven. Your glorious food not only stays warm, but also keeps the kitchen smelling wonderful until they walk in the door.

* If your side dish is ready but you still have other things to cook, just slide the pot onto the middle of the cook top. The “warming zone” there acts like a fifth burner, keeping it warm and freeing up the other burners so you can finish cooking.