Sun Oven Fruit Cobbler

The kids are out of school and the craziness that has been my life over the last 9 months has slowed to a less-crazy life.  Time is on my side for a moment and I thought I would bake a little something in my Global Sun Oven. (click here to read more on the Global Sun Oven) It has been over 90 degrees where I live and that always makes me want to cook with my sun oven.  The sun oven doesn't need the summer heat to work, just the sun, but the heat makes me want to cook outside and not inside my house. (click here to see how the Sun Oven saved my Christmas dinner)

Apple cobbler sounded like a yummy treat, but this recipe is very versatile and other fruit will work as well.  Because I have to change every recipe into a food storage recipe I started off with dehydrated apples from the LDS Cannery, and boiled them in some water to speed up the rehydrating process.  

 I boiled 2 cups of dehydrated apples, 4 cups of water, a dash of lemon juice and 1/3 cup of sugar for about 5 minutes.  It was as easy as that and after draining them I poured them into a greased dark metal pan.  The dark cookware is a good option for sun oven cooking.  It keeps the heat inside the food, where as shiny metal, or glass pans, will reflect the heat outside of the oven.  

To save cleaning another bowl I melted the butter in the same pan that the apples cooked in.  The flour and brown sugar were added to the butter and honestly it was hard not to eat it straight from the pan!! 

Once the crumb topping was mixed well I sprinkled it over the apples and it was ready for the oven. 

The sun oven was preheated for about 20 minutes while I put the cobbler together and when I put the cobbler in, it had reached 375 degrees.  Cover the dish and bake for 2 or more hours. If you aren't familiar with the sun oven you will have to make sure the oven gets turned towards the sun as the day goes on.  A good way to make sure the position is correct is to check the shadows on either side of the oven.  If they are even on both sides of the oven, the oven is correctly facing the sun. I actually forgot about the cobbler cooking and it was in the oven for a little over 3 hours, but what is so great about the sun oven is that most dishes won't burn.  Food stays warm and ready to eat when you are ready!

This cobbler was delicious!!  Kind of warm on a hot day, but I loved that it was made from dehydrated apples.  I'm adding it to my food storage recipe binder. 

Fruit Cobbler

2 C fresh fruit (apples and berries work best) OR

2 C dehydrated apples

1/3 C sugar

1/2 t lemon juice

1/2 C butter

1 C flour

1 C brown sugar

cinnamon

If using dehydrated apples:  place apples plus 4 cups of water in a saucepan and bring to a boil.  Simmer for 5-10 minutes or until soft.  Remove from heat and drain.  Stir in the sugar and lemon juice.  Pour into greased baking dish. 

If using fresh fruit: mix the fruit with the sugar and lemon juice and pour into greased baking dish.

In a saucepan pan melt the butter over low heat.  Remove from heat and stir in flour and brown sugar.  Stir until well mixed.  Sprinkle over the apples in the baking dish.  Sprinkle cinnamon over the crumb topping. Cover the dish and bake in a preheated sun oven for about 2 hours. To cook in a conventional oven bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes.

 

Making Yogurt With Acidophilus Tablets

Making yogurt is a skill that will save you money and also allow you to make several other things, like cream cheese or sour cream, out of plain yogurt.  I have been making yogurt for a few years now and I have tried many different ways and have found what works and doesn't work.  I started making yogurt with regular milk from the grocery store but milk started to get expensive so I switched to using powdered milk.  For a yogurt starter I have tried regular, plain yogurt, dried starters, and even a forever starter that gets used over and over.  They all worked but my goal was to be able to make yogurt without having to use a refrigerated starter.  I do keep plain yogurt in 1/2 C measurements in the freezer, but that will still be a problem if there wasn't electricity.  My husband has always laughed at the fact that you need yogurt to make yogurt, but I think I have found a way around needing refrigeration for a starter.  One of my favorite websites is myfoodstoragecookbook.com  and that is where I learned about acidophilus three billion.

Acidophilus Three Billion is a probiotic that aids in digestion, but it is also the live cultures needed to make yogurt.  Instead of using plain yogurt with live cultures, use the acidophilus tablets instead.  (I bought mine on Amazon, but health food stores should have it too) Take note that the incubation period for the yogurt will be quite a bit longer, like 18-24 hours, before it starts to firm up.  Normally, with a plain yogurt starter, I would get the yogurt started in the morning and it would be setting up in the fridge by dinner time.  I made yogurt with the acidophilus and started incubating at 9am and I let it sit until about 10am the next day.  It wasn't bitter, like yogurt can get, it just took longer to set up.  I also made the yogurt in my Saratoga Jacks Thermal Cooker and that was a great option if I didn't have electricity.   I usually use my yogurt maker, and I'll have to try my next batch with my tablets to see if the yogurt comes out any differently.  


This is how I make yogurt.  You will notice that I don't heat up my milk and then let it cool. If you are using powdered milk you can skip that step.  If you use regular milk from the grocery store you will need to heat up your milk to 180 degrees and then let it cool to 100-110 degrees before adding your starter.  Don't let it cool to under 100 degrees or the starter won't "start".  It will stay in kind of a hibernation state.

Start by putting 3 3/4 C water and 1 C powdered milk into a blender.  Blend until combined.  Allow a few moments for the frothy milk to settle to the top.  You can scoop it off at this point and discard.  I add 1/3 C sugar and 1 T vanilla flavoring to my yogurt unless I am planning on making sour cream with it.  My children really like a little sweetness and flavor to their yogurt. I used to give them honey to mix in but the yogurt would get runny and they wouldn't eat it.  If you really don't care to use the sugar you can try a sugar substitute.  

Pill Crusher that I bought on amazon.com.

Using a pill crusher, crush 3 acidophilus tablets and add to a little of the blended milk.  Add it back to the blender and just stir to combine.  

Pour the milk into a clean, warm quart jar.  This recipe makes enough yogurt for one quart.  (I fill my mason jar with hot water while I make up the yogurt.)

There are several ways to incubate your yogurt but I decided to try my Saratoga Jacks Thermal Cooker.  If you don't have one try a small cooler or wonderbox.  Just make sure to have little or no air space around the jar.  I filled my cooker with the hottest water I could get out of my faucet, which was around 125 degrees.  Anything hotter will kill your starter.  After 8 hours I did switch out my water for hot water again.  The yogurt won't set up if it is too cool either.  Try to keep it above 110 degrees.  Don't let all of the temperature info scare you away from making yogurt.  It really isn't as hard as it may seem.  

Here is my yogurt after about 24 hours of incubation.  It is now in the fridge cooling off.  I tasted it and it was smooth, creamy, and just sweet enough.

Powdered Milk Yogurt Recipe

3 3/4 C warm tap water
1 C non-instant powdered milk (milk from the cannery)
2-4 T plain yogurt with active cultures OR 3 Acidophilus tablets, crushed
1/3 C sugar
1 T vanilla


Combine the water and powdered milk in a blender or use an emulsion blender.  Scoop off the foam.  Add the sugar and vanilla and blend.  Add the starter to a little of the milk from the blender and stir to combine, then add back to blended milk.  Use a spoon and stir gently to combine.  Pour into a warmed quart mason jar and incubate.  Wrap tightly in towels and place in a cooler or use a thermal cooker.  Fill the thermal cooker with hot tap water and place mason jar inside.  If using a yogurt starter your yogurt will be ready after about 8 hours.  Place in fridge and allow to firm up.  The thermal cooker can take up to 24 hours.  I checked it about every 8 hours.  

I filled my jars with warm water to heat them up.

Now you can have yogurt anytime, even in an emergency.  The cooling of the yogurt after incubation could be done with a cooler that has been buried under ground (with the lid open at the top) or in cold storage, but that is a whole other post :)


Click HERE to view another post on how I made yogurt in my yogurt maker and even how I made yogurt cream cheese :)

Prepare Today Homemade- Applesauce in the Saratoga Jacks

This is a yummy recipe re-post from 2012....it's easy and smells sooooo good....I hope you enjoy it!

Applesauce in the Saratoga Jacks Thermal Cooker is simply delicious!  I have made it several times and my kids love it!  I also made it for a class I taught at Honeyville Grain and they loved it too!

 Cutting up the apples is the hardest part of this super easy recipe.  The spices and sugar slow cook with the apples and it smells like Christmas.  My kids kept thinking I was baking something for them and it was the applesauce.

 Just like all the other Saratoga Jacks recipes I boiled the apples for 2 minutes and also had the smaller pan boiling.  The apples didn't quite fill the larger pan enough, so the smaller pan used up the air space.

 After slow cooking for several hours the apples were ready to be mashed.  I wish you could smell this picture because it smelled just like the holidays.

My daughter used a potato masher and smashed the apples into applesauce.  You could also use an immersion blender.

 Applesauce
3lbs (8-9) apples, peeled, cored, and cut into 1 1/2" chunks (dehydrated or freeze dried also works!!!)
1 C apple juice or apple cider
2 T sugar, plus more to taste
pinch salt
2  (3") cinnamon sticks or 1/4 t ground cinnamon- optional but so good!  (remove sticks before mashing)

Combine all ingredients in the larger Saratoga Jacks pan.  Bring to a boil with the lid on for 2 minutes.  Also fill the smaller pan with water and bring it to a boil.  After 2 minutes place the pans together and put into the cooker base.  Cook for 2 or more hours.  When apples are soft, mash using a potato masher or immersion blender.  Add more sugar or apple juice if desired.  Serve warm, room temp or chilled.  Store in the fridge for up to 1 week.

*This recipe was originally for a slow cooker and would work just as well.

Kitchen In A Box-- An Emergency Essential!

Before we get to the kitchen in a box, let me give you a little background on why I made one.  If you have read the blog for awhile you know what a big fan I am of the Saratoga Jacks Thermal Cooker. The thermal cooker is great for emergency preparedness BUT it is also one of my favorite kitchen appliances to use daily.  Click HERE to view a post on the thermal cooker. I have had fun experimenting with the thermal cooker but it is always helpful to have a cookbook to guide me along.  Cindy Miller has recently published a brand new thermal cookbook called "Let's Make Sense of Thermal Cooking".  (click here to see her website) 

It is a gorgeous cookbook with color photos, spiral bound binding, and so many helpful tips and tricks to use with the thermal cooker.  There are also recipes that will help you gather and use your food storage.  She has recipes for grains, beans, pastas, meat, and veggies.  It is the most complete book on thermal cooking to date!! I highly recommend you own this book if you own a thermal cooker or wonderbox/oven.

I have attended several classes taught by the owners of Saratoga Jack's thermal cookers, Amy & Jack, and they are always so organized with everything they need to cook, and demonstrate the thermal cookers. Amy calls it her kitchen in a box.  I always thought it was a great idea for them because they travel and teach so often, but I never really considered making one for myself. While reading Cindy's book she writes about using a kitchen in a box as well when she teaches, but it also is part of her 72-hour kit.  When I read that I felt prompted that I really needed to have one of these kitchens in a box for my emergency kits.  

It really just makes sense to have all the basic cooking utensils in a grab-n-go type container.  What was I planning on using in an evacuation type situation to cook our food in our 72-hour kits?  I really hadn't thought this through very well.  The kitchen in a box is very easy, and inexpensive to put together. 

If you have a Wal-Mart or Dollar Store near your home you can find everything you need for your own kitchen in a box.  Wal-Mart had most items for around .88 each.  I bought a stack-able plastic container (in the office supply area of Wal-Mart) and it was the perfect size to fit the longer spoons.  I really want a stack-able container that has separate layers that snap together, but this will work until I can save up for that.  This is what I included in my kitchen in a box.  It isn't finished quite yet, but I found the basics. 

• kitchen scissors
• can opener
• jar opener
• vegetable/fruit peeler
• complete set of measuring spoons/cups
• small knife with a cover
• large stirring spoon
• smaller wooden spoons
• cutting board (found in the camping section)
• whisk
• two dish towels
• plastic gloves
• sanitizer 

I wanted the absolute basics that would allow me to make a meal on the spot without having to make-do with a utensil that wasn't proper for the job.  I still need to add:

• spices
• spatulas
• pancake turner
• camping pots
• hot pads
• cleaning scrubbies and soap
• grater

As you cook your next meal, think of what you use the most to get the meal prepared.  Make a list of these items and keep a look out for them at the store.  We are all different and cook differently, but I think we all use the basic measuring cups and knives. 

My kitchen in a box now sits along side my butane stove and fuel.  They are ready to go with our 72-hour kits.  These along with my thermal cooker will allow me to prepare and serve meals to my family in any situation.  The days following a disaster will be filled with chaos and making meals will be a huge stress for everyone.  But preparing beforehand and knowing that you have a 72-hour kit, food, and a way to prepare the food will give you peace of mind.  

Sun Oven Cooking-- Corn on the Cob

This a re-post from May 2012.  I saw this post on the blog the other day I thought I would share again with those readers who may have missed it. I can't wait to cook summer corn in my Sun Oven.  

Cooking for a crowd can get tricky when you want everything to be cooked and ready at the same time.  Mother's Day dinner was at my house with 17 people.  I didn't want the stove and oven going while everyone was in the kitchen so we decided to grill hamburgers.  That got the main dish outside but we still had all the side dishes to cook.  I used the oven for the sweet potato fries but I didn't want to lug my big pot upstairs from the storage room and use the stove to cook the corn on the cob.  Then I remembered a post I saw on the Global Sun Oven site about cooking corn on the cob in the Global Sun Oven.  I tossed 8 rather large ears of corn, still in their husks, into the sun oven and closed the door.  That was literally the easiest thing I have "cooked" in a long time.  

They cooked for about 1 1/2 hours, and they could have gone for about another 1/2 hour or so to be really done, but I forgot about cooking the corn until right before dinner.  (seriously if my head wasn't attached...) We were ready to eat but I knew the corn was close to being done because the glass had condensation on the inside of it.  That usually means your dish is close to being finished, if not all the way done.  The temperature hovered just above 250 degrees the whole time.  The corn was crisp tender and so sweet when we ate it!  I am really surprised every time I cook something in the Sun Oven and it comes out tasting so good.  I should know by now that it will work but it just makes me happy every time it does!

Post Disaster Meals - No Cooking Required!

*This is a a re-post from Oct. 2012

{While talking to a neighbor last night this post came to mind and I thought it would be a good reminder for everyone. We were discussing what we would eat in the days immediately following a disaster.  Even those of us who like to eat fresh food most of the time, the hours and days after a disaster will require a different approach to eating.  The concept of having at least three days worth of food will go right along side your 72-hour kits.}

Post Disaster Meals--No Cooking Required! 

I read a great post over at Homestead Revival and it got me thinking about the minutes, hours, and first days after a disaster.  What would I be doing?  What would my family be eating, drinking, sleeping on, etc?  Amy, from Homestead Revival, described a situation just like Hurricane Katrina and the aftermath that ensued.  I was inspired by her words and her challenge to come up with enough meals for 3 days that required NO cooking.  This is definitely a challenge!  I do  have ways to cook without power, but in the hours following a disaster I don't know if I will be able to get to my butane stove, and have the sense to even want to think about cooking a meal.  

The first meal that Amy put together was tuna, crackers, a small container of mayo, pickle relish, canned fruit, and small bags of trail mix.  She keeps this in a Rubbermaid type container and has it labeled.  Everything required for the meal would be contained in the box, even a can opener, and there is no cooking needed.  Amy then challenged her readers to come up with their own meals to add to a disaster kit.  I sat and thought what could I possibly have on hand for breakfast, lunch, and, dinner without cooking.  Here is what I came up with......

Breakfast would include:

• Cereal
• Shelf-stable milk
• bowls and spoons

 Lunch  #1 would include:

• Tuna
• Saltine crackers
• Mayo
• Pineapple (for in the sandwich or a side fruit)
• Chex Mix

Lunch #2 would include:

• Peanut butter
• Jelly
• Saltine Crackers
• Oranges

Lunch or Dinner idea:

•  Soup (different kinds for picky family eaters)
• Saltine Crackers
• Spoons & bowls
• Pears

The soup wouldn't be warm, but it is edible.  

 Dinner would include:

• Taco shells
• Black beans
• Olives
• Salsa
• Oranges
• And I forgot the utensils in this pic :)

Now I need to put all this food into a water safe container with a variety of crackers, more silverware, napkins, and utensils.  I added some peanut butter and crackers at the top of the picture for a snack.  I might just add a few pieces of Halloween candy to keep our sweet tooth happy too!

And don't forget a......

What meal ideas would work for your family??  This is only the beginning, I will have to ponder this subject some more and see what else would work for us!  This idea will supplement our 72-hour kits nicely and having it all in one bin will allow me to rotate it easier, and I know that all our food is in one place.   

Prepping In September: My Week In Review

September is...

What are you doing to become more prepared?

This week in Utah several grocery stores are having case lot sales.  We are able to by food by the case for a discounted price. I was running low on several things and I purchased:

• tuna
• pasta sauce
• creamed soups
• black beans
• bottled water
• chicken broth
• paper towel 
• toilet paper

We were running low on toilet paper so I have been buying a few every time I go to the store.  The sale goes for two weeks so I'll have plenty of time to stock up!

After shopping I had a baking day.

My kids love bagels and bagel sandwiches in their school lunches, so I cooked up a batch.  Click HERE to see the recipe that I use. 

A big money saver is making my own crackers. Wheat thins are a hit at my house and making them is pretty simple.  My issue with making crackers was always getting the dough uniform so they cooked evenly.  My friend Megan over at myfoodstoragecookbook.com is a genius!  She uses her pasta roller to roll out the cracker dough so it will be the same thickness and cook evenly.  It's the only way I make crackers now!  Here is the recipe that I have been using lately for wheat thin crackers.

Wheat Thin Crackers

1 C. whole wheat flour

1 C. white flour

1/2 C. sugar (or 1/2 C. honey, use less milk when mixing)

1/4 t salt

2 T. butter softened

approx. 1/2 C milk

salt for the tops

 ranch dressing mix, cheese powder, garlic powder, etc for seasoning the crackers*

Combine the flours, sugar, and salt in a bowl.  Cut in butter until it looks like coarse meal.  (I use my hands for this) Add the milk a little at a time and mix the dough until it forms a ball and the dough holds together.  (I have never used all the milk, so slowly add it in) If you are using honey, the dough will be slightly sticky and you'll need to work it a little more to get it to stick together.

*if you would like to make a flavored cracker this is the point to divide the dough and add in the spices.  I added a package of ranch dressing mix (homemade) to one batch, and cheese powder to another batch.  Start with a tablespoon or two and see how cheesy you like them.  Mix the dough with the desired flavor until incorporated.

Divide the dough into fourths and roll the dough using a pasta roller, or rolling pin, to 1/16-1/8" thick.  Lay the pieces of dough on a sprayed cookie sheet.  Cut into cracker sized pieces. (no need to move the cut squares apart, they will separate a little on their own) Spray with cooking spray and add salt to the tops, if desired.  (I use the tool on the right to cut my crackers.  Very easy and takes only seconds to cut a whole tray of crackers)

Bake at 325° for 15-20  minutes.  Really watch the oven after about 12 minutes.  All ovens vary and they will burn very easy.  The tops should be slightly browned.  Cool on the cookie sheets a few minutes.  The crackers will harden as they cool.  Remove to a cooling rack.  Store in airtight container or bag.

 

I cooked up part of the dough in my Global Sun Oven and they were delicious!  Perfectly cooked.  Don't walk away from them though.  Even though the sun oven won't burn most foods, crackers and cookies will burn.  These took about 11 minutes to cook.

I love the feeling of being well stocked after shopping at the case lot sales and baking all day. Now, I only wish the food didn't disappear as easily as I accumulated it.  :)

Chilling Food Without Electricity- The Zeer Pot

I just received my Every Needful Thing monthly newsletter, from the Global Sun Oven company, and this article really caught my interest.  Chilling Food Without Electricity by using a Zeer Pot.  A Zer Pot is a grouping of terra cotta pots and wet sand stacked together, and used to keep produce chilled.  It can help produce stay fresh, and edible, for up to 20 days longer than without a fridge.

Zeer Pot from Prepare Every Needful Thing

Click HERE to read the full article on how the Zeer Pot is made and why from the Global Sun Oven newsletter....Every Needful Thing.




Click HERE to sign up to receive the newsletter.  It's free and has so much information on preparedness.

And Click HERE for even more information from 4dtraveler.net. This link has great info on how much it cost to build a zeer pot and where to buy the materials. 

My Freezer Had No Power For How Long???

A good friend of mine shared a really cool idea with me and I had never heard of it before, so I had to share.

 

The Mason Jar!  It has so many uses besides the obvious canning job.  Store water in them, seal your salad in them, keep your chocolate fresh for years, AND use it to let you know if your fridge lost power for a long enough time for your food to go bad. 

Use a quart mason jar, lid, and ring. Fill halfway with water and freeze.  Once frozen, turn upside down.  Now, if you go out of town or can't make it home during a disaster, and your power goes out check the frozen status of the water in the jar.  By the look of the frozen, or not so frozen, water in the mason jar, you'll be able to tell how long your power was out.  If you have just liquid left in the jar, don't eat the food.  If you have a frozen ice cube....probably safe to cook and eat.

A few tips on helping your frozen food stay frozen if the power goes out.

1. Keep your freezer full!  Full freezers without opening the door will stay cold for 2-4 days.
2. Don't open the door! Keep the cold air in!
3. Keep the fridge unit in a darker, cooler area of the kitchen.  Not in the sun.  I know that this isn't possible in all kitchens.  But if you are planning a new kitchen, something to think about in the planning stage.
4. Find a thick blanket and use it to cover the fridge.  It will help insulate the fridge and keep the cold air in.

Keep a thermometer in the fridge/freezer as well.  Then you can be sure what the temperature will be.  (it's like the mason jar trick with a gauge)

I found this tip to be useful if you were planning a trip out of town. Because, let's be honest, that is the only time something bad happens to your house, right?!

Tailgating With The Saratoga Jacks Thermal Cooker

The Saratorga Jacks Thermal Cooker has been a favorite preparedness item, as well as an everyday cooking appliance, of mine for awhile now.  I have mentioned it once or twice before on the blog. ;) I haven't been blogging as much as before I moved, but I still practice what I preach, and I use my food storage and preparedness items almost daily.  Now that fall is here, I am cooking more often in the slow cooker, and those recipes work so well in the SJ Cooker.  My son plays football and when he has away games, we are driving at least 30 minutes to the closest game.  This also happens right in the middle of the dinner hour. 

Well, the Saratoga Jacks cooker has come to the rescue again and we have had warm, yummy meals on the road.

 I made minestrone soup and we ate it with crusty sourdough bread.  One of the other football moms was walking by and she said it smelled so good!  It WAS good and so much cheaper, and healthier, then stopping by a fast food joint. 

The soup was piping hot and was STILL warm after I closed it up and drove home.  My son ate some when he got home from the game and I didn't even have to reheat it.  I also noticed something and I am not sure if it's the stainless steel pan or what, but I stored the soup in the fridge over night, and when we ate it for lunch the next day the noodles hadn't absorbed the liquid.  Usually when I make this soup we store the leftovers in a plastic container.  I always have to add more chicken broth the next day, and the noodles are kind of soggy.  I had to test my theory and try a different soup.  I made chicken noodle soup and stored it in the SJ pan in the fridge.  For two days it sat in there and the noodles didn't soak up the liquid.  This makes me wonder what is really wrong with the plastic that we are using.  So, along with just loving my SJ cooker, it is also a great way to store soups in the fridge.  

Saratoga Jacks Thermal Cooker Cake Pan

Since moving 6 months ago, I haven't had many chances to shop at Honeyville Grain in Salt Lake City.  Although I have kept a running list of items that I needed, I didn't have a chance to shop until yesterday. Honeyville was having a 15% off everything sale and I was ready to shop!!  While perusing the aisles I saw two new products that got me really excited!!  They were stainless steel pans and a trivet made for the Saratoga Jacks thermal cooker.  

I have tried many times to bake in my thermal cooker with no luck. Now there is hope!! There were two pan sizes to choose from, the round cake tin, and the oval bread tin.  I chose the round cake tin because it looked like it would take up more space in the cooker and wouldn't allow as much air space as the oval shape.  That is totally my observation and I have no clue if it's true, but I went with it :)  You'll also notice the trivet that I purchased.  That allows the pan to stay up out of the water so your food won't turn out mushy. 

Cute little cake pan!!

See how it will fit into the stainless steel cooking pan!

 

I can't wait to try this out!!

If you aren't familiar with the Saratoga Jacks Thermal cooker I'll quickly go over it for you.  The idea of the cooker is to boil food for 2-4 minutes, depending on a raw meat dish, just veggies, or dehydrated foods, then closed in the thermal base the food will "cook" inside.  The thermal base is not electric, the heat retained from boiling the food will slow cook the meal.  This is great from a preparedness standpoint because it saves precious fuel in times of emergency.  I have made soups, meats, muffins, applesauce, and even kept my cold dishes chilled,etc.  Click HERE to view all my previous posts on the Saratoga Jacks Thermal Cooker.  And click HERE to visit the Saratoga Jacks website.

I must also say I was disappointed when I opened the cake tin box and realized there were no instructions included.  Thank goodness for the amazing Lisa at Honeyville.  She explained how to use the cake tin in the cooker.  Once the trivet and cake pan are in place, you only fill water up to the bottom of the tin, or else the food will not cook through and be mushy.  I would have thought I had to fill the water up the the edge of the cake tin lid, but there was nothing included with the cake pan explaining how to use it or even how full to fill the pan with food.  I am not sure how much cake batter or bread dough to use in the tin.  It'll be a trial and error kind of experiment. I think I have some more questions for Lisa!!

*Update: Amy from Saratoga Jacks contacted me and filled me in on all the cooking instructions.   
Add far as making a cake with the round cake pan.
-The round cake pan you purchased was designed to hold ONE box cake... any box of cake mix will work.
-Spray the stainless steel pot and the inside of the lid first.
-Mix the cake mix exactly as the instructions on the back of the box say... except subtract out 1/4 cup of the liquid.
-And add a tablespoon of flour.
-Pour the batter into the oiled stainless steel pan... clamp lid on. 
-I put the trivet into the thermal cooking pot... and fill with water to about one cm... above the top of the trivet. Set the cake pan on top.
-Place the lid on the cooker... and boil for 20 minutes and transfer to thermal base.
-The cake is ready in about an hour and a half. ..but as always... I have left it in for longer... and pulled it out hot and perfect hours later. 

The round pan produces a cake... similiar to the size of a wedding cake topper.
Delicious and moist!
I have done all sorts of different cakes in it.

When you bake bread...
It only needs a ten minute boil... once the dough has risen.

The oblong loaf pan... is exactly 1/2 of one loaf of bread...
So about 25% of a standard Two loaf recipe... will fill one of those oblong loaf pans.

I'll have to report back when I try out the new cake tin! 

The All American Sun Oven Newsletter- June Edition

The Global Sun Oven company sends out a free newsletter once a month entitled, Every Needful Thing.  It is full of emergency prep information along with Sun Oven tips and tricks, and of course, Sun Oven recipes.  In the June newsletter I found this tip too good to not share.  

 Use your Sun Oven as a wonderbox cooker!!!!

From the June issue of Every Needful Thing....

Use Your Sun Oven® as a Food Wonder Box

Sometimes the best laid plans, like cooking in your Sun Oven®, get messed up. We

were all set to bake pork chops in our Sun Oven®. The oven had been preheated to

250 degrees on a partly sunny day. Previously skillet browned chops, placed in a

graniteware pan over sliced, raw sweet potatoes, were on their way to the oven when

we noticed that our partly sunny day had become a much less sunny day. We put the

chops in the Sun Oven®, left it for about an hour, checking from time to time. The

weather deteriorated, so we closed the oven reflector and took it inside, leaving it

closed until dinner time. When opened, the potatoes were soft and the chops were

“melt in your-mouth” tender. What a concept-use your SunOven® as a wonder box.

A Wonder Box is a heat retention cooker. Once you heat your food to boiling,

place it in the insulated cooker. It will keep your food at cooking temperature for

hours. This can be done with gas cookers outside as well as starting food on your

stovetop. The other night, we prepared old fashioned oatmeal and cracked barley in

coconut milk for breakfast, just bringing it to a boil. Into the Sun Oven® it went.

Next morning all we had to do was add some warm milk, stir and eat.



I thought this was a great idea for all those cloudy days.  I don't know if this happens to anyone else, but whenever I set out my Sun Oven, the clouds roll in.  Now I have a back up plan if this happens again!!  For all other questions and for a great collection of Sun Oven recipes check out their website HERE!

Prepare Today Homemade: Homemade Butter

In times when food storage may be our sole source of food, dairy foods will become few and far between, unless you have a cow.  I know that I could give up quite a few foods, but cheese and butter are two that I am not going to let go of quietly.  Cheese can be found in many forms for storage but butter is a little trickier.  Butter powder is available and works for baking but sometimes you just want some creamy goodness on a piece of bread!!!  There is a way to make butter and it is very simple to make. My sister was making us dinner the other night and the soup recipe called for cream.  We used my Gossner's shelf stable cream in the recipe and we had about a half of box leftover. I was lazy and was just going to throw it away, but my sister was appalled and she told me to make butter.  It really isn't hard so I don't know why I didn't just get out the mixer and make the butter in the first place.

 Let me introduce you to Gossner's Shelf Stable Whipping Cream.  While it is great for dessert it also whips up into butter in about 2 minutes!!! For times when the grocery store isn't an option, or if you don't have a friend with a cow, this stuff is gold!! 

Fresh Butter from Whipping Cream
1 container Gossner's shelf stable whipping cream
stand mixer

Mix cream in mixer until a liquid begins to separate (that's the buttermilk) from butter.  Watch carefully, don't let it mix too much or it will ruin your batch of butter.  Save or drain off the buttermilk and rinse the butter in cold water until water runs clear.  The buttermilk will cause the butter to go rancid so make sure to rinse the butter well.   Store the butter in a container in the fridge.  You can add salt if desired.

It spreads just like butter and I think the taste was much better then the butter from the store.  It tasted so fresh! The butter can also be made with a manual mixer for times of no electricity. I bought the whipping cream at Honeyville in Salt Lake City. It isn't available on their website but you can purchase it HERE online.  It also lasts much longer then the expiration date.  I have used it a year past the date with great results.