Going Green

Solar ovens have been used for cooking since the Indians prepared meals. Of course their version of sun cooked food didn’t use foil, but with modern foil conveniences, the solar oven that is made in your home gets a revamp. Here is a great way to teach your children about the importance of sun and conserving energy.

Materials you will need:

Medium sized-box with lid

Smaller box that will fit inside the medium-sized box

Roll of Foil (at least 75 square feet)

Newspaper

Scissors

Plastic wrap

Stapler

What to do: You want to make sure that your smaller box definitely will fit inside the larger box and have a bit of gap on the sides. The smaller boxes lid needs to be removed or cut away so that you just have the box itself. Set the smaller box in the larger box and fill the gap on the sides with newspaper, pack it pretty tight because you want it to insulate the box to keep the heat in. Cover the smaller boxes inside with aluminum foil and use the stapler where needed to hold it in place. Once that is done, cover the lid of the larger box and if it isn’t attached to the box already use the stapler it attach it to the larger box to where it will open and shut. Cut a small window in the box and cover with plastic wrap and attach the wrap with the stapler. Don’t use tape, because the solar ovens inside gets up to temperatures well above 250 degrees at times and can melt the adhesive. Using the lid of the smaller box, cover it with aluminum foil and secure to the back of the box so that the foil covered side is at a 90 degree angle above the lid. Once everything is in place, try cooking some chocolate chip cookies or a personal pan pizza in the oven. Place the solar oven in direct sunlight with the lid closed for about 30 minutes and place the food inside. Allow the cooking time to be doubled for it takes longer for food to sun cook as it would in your own oven. Once the food is ready, open the lid and enjoy.