8 Reasons You Should Be Solar Cooking

These are my 8 Reasons You Should Be Solar Cooking in Arizona. You only need the sun for a fun outdoor cooking adventure.

It’s Arizona. It’s summer. It’s hot. It’s really really hot. It’s so hot that you can boil eggs in the pool. The air conditioner is working overtime 24/7, and the electric meter is spinning faster than a top on a Tilt-A-Whirl. As you sit there in a heat coma,  you hear a sweet little voice ask, “Mom, will you bake brownies for me to take in my lunch?” As you look down into those precious little eyes, every fiber of your body silently screams “No, No, No”, except for your mouth which you hear reply “Of course, honey.”

Solar oven to the rescue! Here are some great reasons to add a solar oven to your kitchen resources.

• Cooking—A solar oven can cook almost anything that can be cooked in the oven, in the microwave, in a crockpot, or on the stovetop. Solar ovens reach temperatures of 250° – 400°. Parabolic solar cookers reach temperatures of 800°-1000° and can fry and grill.

• Easy – Just place the food into the oven, place the oven out in the direct sun, and then wait. Aside from occasionally turning the oven to keep it facing into the sun, the food does not need to be watched. As the saying goes, you can “set it and forget it.” It will not burn.

• Free fuel– A solar oven cooks using only the free energy provided by the sun. And we have plenty of it. With an average of 211 sunny days a year, Phoenix is considered to be the sunniest major city in the United States.

• Conserves Energy–Using a solar oven, even occasionally, conserves energy and saves on fuel costs. Sure, you save a little bit from not turning on the stove, but the real savings comes from the air conditioner not going into overdrive to cool down a hot kitchen. Save your charcoal, butane, firewood, and electricity for nighttime, and rainy days.

• Safe and pollution free– You don’t have to worry about your children playing near it because there is no flame, no smoke, nothing to catch fire. Going camping? A solar oven can be used in “No Burn” areas and on “No burn” days.

• Budget Friendly– It goes without saying that using less electricity and charcoal helps your pocketbook.

• Emergencies—When the power is out, you can still prepare dinner.

• And the best reason to use a solar oven? It’s just plain fun to see the reaction of your friends and neighbors when they see your new “toy.”

Baking brownies in the summertime is no longer an unthinkable event. With a solar oven, you can  bake treats for your family, while keeping your cool.